The study was published in the journal Cell and found that the neutralizing antibodies caused by the Pfizer and Moderna COVID 19 vaccines are less effective against the coronavirus variants first found in South Africa and Brazil.
According to scientists, the neutralizing antibodies work by binding tightly to the virus and preventing it from entering the cells and thus preventing infection. That said, this binding only occurs when the antibodies and viruses match perfectly, such as a key in a lock.
If the form of the virus changes when the antibody attaches to it, the antibody may no longer recognize and neutralize the virus.
The scientists compared how well the antibodies work against the original strain, compared to the new variants.
When the scientists tested the new strains against neutralizing antibodies tested by vaccines, the three new strains first described in South Africa were 20-40 times more resistant to neutralization.
The two strains first described in Brazil and Japan were five to seven times more resistant to the original SARS-CoV-2 virus from Wuhan, China.
“In particular, we found that mutations in a specific part of the vein protein, called the receptor-binding domain, were likely to help the virus resist the neutralizing antibodies,” said one of the authors.
However, the ability of these variants to resist neutralizing antibodies does not mean that the vaccines will not be effective.
“The body has other methods of immune protection besides antibodies. Our findings do not necessarily mean that COVID vaccines will not occur, but only that the antibody portion of the immune response is having trouble recognizing some of these new variants,” say scientists.
To develop the next generation, it is important to understand which mutations are more likely to evade the virus’ immunity.
The study could also help researchers develop more effective preventative methods, such as a broad-spectrum protective vaccine that works against a wide range of variants, regardless of the number of mutations that develop.