Omicron variants, which spread rapidly worldwide, attach to cells more effectively and elude antibodies with greater efficiency compared to earlier variants. The omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which have rapidly spread around the world over the past year, latch onto our cells more tightl
A multinational research team found that Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 bind to cells more efficiently and are better at evading antibodies than earlier strains. The study also notes that prior exposure to the virus or vaccination still offers some level of protection against severe illness from newer variants.
Since the 2019 outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Wuhan, China, the virus has continually evolved. New variants of the original strain are constantly emerging. In some cases, these variants have proved to be less fit, thereby limiting their spread. But in other cases, more efficient variants have caused waves of infections and deaths.
They have also been able to reinfect people who had been infected by earlier variants and break through the immune protection of vaccines designed to protect against the earlier variants. These reinfections and breakthrough infections are possible because the new variants can evade antibodies induced by exposure to the earlier variants, Veesler and his colleagues found.
Although the neutralizing activity of most antibodies generated against earlier variants was much reduced, the effectiveness of one antibody, called S309, was retained. The scientists explained one reason why previous infection or vaccination against earlier variants does not protect against infection by new variants as efficiently as with earlier variants: The immune system tends to react by producing antibodies induced by previous variants and cross-reacting with newer variants instead of producing new bespoke antibodies tailored to target the altered proteins on the new variants.
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