BNT162b2-elicited neutralization of B.1.617 and other SARS-CoV-2 variants

Jianying Liu, Yang Liu, Hongjie Xia, Jing Zou, Scott C. Weaver, Kena A. Swanson, Hui Cai, Mark Cutler, David Cooper, Alexander Muik, Kathrin U. Jansen, Ugur Sahin (), Xuping Xie (), Philip R. Dormitzer () and Pei-Yong Shi ()
Additional contact information
Jianying Liu: University of Texas Medical Branch
Yang Liu: University of Texas Medical Branch
Hongjie Xia: University of Texas Medical Branch
Jing Zou: University of Texas Medical Branch
Scott C. Weaver: University of Texas Medical Branch
Kena A. Swanson: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
Hui Cai: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
Mark Cutler: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
David Cooper: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
Alexander Muik: BioNTech
Kathrin U. Jansen: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
Ugur Sahin: BioNTech
Xuping Xie: University of Texas Medical Branch
Philip R. Dormitzer: Pfizer Vaccine Research and Development
Pei-Yong Shi: University of Texas Medical Branch

Nature, 2021, vol. 596, issue 7871, 273-275

Abstract: Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is continuing to evolve around the world, generating new variants that are of concern on the basis of their potential for altered transmissibility, pathogenicity, and coverage by vaccines and therapeutic agents1–5. Here we show that serum samples taken from twenty human volunteers, two or four weeks after their second dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, neutralize engineered SARS-CoV-2 with a USA-WA1/2020 genetic background (a virus strain isolated in January 2020) and spike glycoproteins from the recently identified B.1.617.1, B.1.617.2, B.1.618 (all of which were first identified in India) or B.1.525 (first identified in Nigeria) lineages. Geometric mean plaque reduction neutralization titres against the variant viruses—particularly the B.1.617.1 variant—seemed to be lower than the titre against the USA-WA1/2020 virus, but all sera tested neutralized the variant viruses at titres of at least 1:40. The susceptibility of the variant strains to neutralization elicited by the BNT162b2 vaccine supports mass immunization as a central strategy to end the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic globally.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03693-y

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