- The researchers tested the modern candidate vaccine against the UK mutation (B.1.1.7) and found that neutralizing antibodies still work against the new strain.
- The tests also involved testing neutralizing antibodies for people with acute COVID-19 infections and survivors of COVID-19.
- The researchers found that infected people contained antibodies capable of neutralizing the mutation in the UK, which should reduce the risk of reinfection.
Vaccination campaigns for COVID-19 began less than two months ago and more than 134 million doses have been administered, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. That’s more doses than the number of worldwide COVID-19 infections confirmed so far, but not enough to change the course of the pandemic. The world is far from achieving collective immunity, which could end the pandemic, with the same tracker estimating that it would take about 6.6 years to vaccinate 75% of the planet’s population at the current rate of almost 4.75 million doses per day. This estimate is deeply flawed, however, as it does not take into account the next production ramps and additional vaccines that will be allowed in the coming months and years.
That said, there is a new problem that worries researchers: mutations. At least one of the recently discovered coronavirus mutants can reduce the effectiveness of current vaccine candidates, and this can lead to additional delays in achieving collective immunity. But vaccines still work against some known mutations, including the United Kingdom variant, which is dominant in Britain and spreads across the United States and other regions. The good news is that new research indicates that the Modern vaccine is effective against the UK strain and a mutation seen in different variants.
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Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, the University of Texas Medical Branch and the COVID-19 Neutralization Study Group tested the vaccine against the UK virus variant, publishing their results online in a study that was not done by peers – reviewed (via Medical News)
The team looked at three categories of neutralizing antibodies to measure the effectiveness of the modern drug against the B.1.1.7 virus. The SARS-CoV-2 strain B.1.1.7 is a collection of genetic changes, not just a single mutation. Some of them occurred at the peak protein level, which explains why scientists are re-testing the effectiveness of their vaccines. The researchers collected plasma from 20 patients with acute infections, 20 patients who recovered from COVID-19 and 14 healthy individuals who were vaccinated. All of these blood samples contained different levels of neutralizing antibodies that were supposed to bind to the new coronavirus spike protein.
The 20 people with acute infection developed symptoms of COVID-19 between 8 and 24 days before sample collection. Recovered patients had COVID-19 between 30 and 90 days before the test. The immunized patients received both injections of Moderna, administered 28 days apart, and serum samples were collected 14 days after the second injection.
The scientists tested all of these samples against several strains of coronavirus, including an initial version of the virus obtained in Washington (WA1), a D614G variant isolated in Georgia in March 2020 (EHC-083E) and a B.1.1.7 variant from California . Finally, the researchers also tested the samples against a recombinant SARS-CoV-2 virus containing a single point mutation in the spike protein at position 501 (N501Y).
The authors found that all types of neutralizing antibodies, whether they were developed in response to direct infection or after vaccination, worked just as well. The team did not see any reduction in the levels of neutralizing antibodies against any of the variants, an indication that the drug Moderna works. “These results show that neutralizing antibody titers after natural infection or vaccination are effective against the UK variant (B.1.1.7) and viral strains containing single point mutations at positions 501 and 614 within the peak protein” said the team.
These findings indicate that the vaccine can protect against severe COVID-19 and death after infection with B.1.1.7 and other strains containing the 501 mutation. The South African mutation also has the N501Y alteration. Another study also showed that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, an mRNA drug like Moderna’s candidate, works against B.1.1.7 and N501Y mutations.
Also important is the implication that people who survived a new coronavirus infection at some point before the UK mutation was discovered must be protected against the UK strain.
However, the South African mutation also contains several genetic changes. The new study did not test the Modern vaccine against the complete B.1.351 strain from South Africa. Existing experiments proved that survivors of COVID-19 can be reinfected with B.1.351. South African officials have suspended the launch of the Oxford vaccine in the region, after disappointing results in recent tests. Separately, Moderna announced a few days ago that it is working on a booster injection for its vaccine that may help it be effective against more recent mutations, including the South African mutation.
In a related note, researchers in the UK found that the B.1.1.7 strains were developing a more vaccine-resistant mutation, which was also seen in South African and Brazilian strains. The new study did not test the drug Moderna against these more recent B.1.1.7 variations.
The full study is available at this link.
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Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby and, before he knew it, was already sharing his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he’s not writing about gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he tries desperately. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.