The study was published in the journal Cell and found that the neutralizing antibodies induced by the Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines were less effective against the coronavirus variants found for the first time in South Africa and Brazil.
According to the scientists, neutralizing antibodies act by binding strongly to the virus and blocking its entry into cells, thus preventing infection. That said, that connection only happens when antibodies and viruses combine perfectly, like a key in a lock.
If the shape of the virus changes when the antibody binds to it, the antibody may no longer be able to recognize and neutralize the virus.
The scientists compared how well the antibodies worked against the original strain and the new variants.
When scientists tested the new strains against vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies, they found that the three new strains described for the first time in South Africa were 20-40 times more resistant to neutralization.
The two strains described for the first time in Brazil and Japan were five to seven times more resistant than the original strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from Wuhan, China.
“In particular, we found that mutations in a specific part of the spike protein called the receptor-binding domain were more likely to help the virus resist neutralizing antibodies,” said one study author.
However, the ability of these variants to resist neutralizing antibodies does not mean that vaccines will not be effective.
“The body has other methods of immunological protection besides antibodies. Our findings do not necessarily mean that vaccines do not prevent COVID, just that the antibody portion of the immune response may have trouble recognizing some of these new variants,” said the scientists. .
In order to develop the next generation, it is important to understand which mutations are most likely to allow the virus to bypass vaccine-derived immunity.
The study may also help researchers develop more effective preventive methods, such as a widely protective vaccine that works against a wide variety of variants, regardless of the number of mutations that develop.