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New virus variants: what is known so far about vaccination protection against mutants

2021-05-20T17:24:13.641Z


The corona vaccines originally target the wild type of the virus. New variants are now circulating, also in Germany. How does this affect immune protection?


Enlarge image

Vaccines from Biontech, Moderna and AstraZeneca

Photo: Daniel Karmann / dpa

Researchers around the world are investigating whether the corona vaccines can also fight new virus variants.

How good is the protection for variants that are circulating in Germany?

With a share of more than 90 percent of the samples examined, the mutant B.1.1.7, which was initially detected in Great Britain some time ago, currently dominates the infection process in Germany.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the pathogen B.1.351, which was initially detected in South Africa, is constant at up to 1 percent, variant P.1 - known from Brazil - at up to 0.5 percent.

The mutant B.1.617, which was newly classified as worrying, was first discovered in India and is now circulating in dozens of countries, and most recently had a share of less than two percent.

The absolute number is still "only in the two-digit range" - most recently around 30 cases per week, according to the current RKI report on the variants.

However, the proportion has recently risen steadily.

Which vaccine works how well against which variant?

According to the RKI, the probability of getting seriously ill with Covid-19 falls by at least 80 percent for those who are fully vaccinated compared to those who are not vaccinated for all four vaccines approved in Germany.

However, these were developed against the original form of the virus, the so-called wild type.

Do they also work against the variants?

  • B.1.1.7 (the »British«): The RKI assumes that the

    effectiveness of the Biontech vaccine in this mutant is not particularly weakened compared to the wild type

    .

    This is indicated, among other things, by the results of analyzes in Israel and Great Britain.

    According to the RKI, the AstraZeneca preparation may be a little less effective.

    The previous studies on this, however, are only "of limited informative value" as only a few cases have been investigated so far.

  • B.1.351 (the »South African«): According to the RKI, there is currently only little data available on this mutant, which occurs rarely in Germany, but this suggests that

    the vaccinations are »at least less effective«

    . According to an analysis in Qatar, the Biontech vaccine can very well prevent serious and fatal courses of disease in B.1.351. According to a study in South Africa, where the corona events were dominated by B.1.351, the AstraZeneca preparation can prevent symptomatic disease less effectively than with the original virus. According to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), there are also indications in the preliminary data for the drug from Johnson & Johnson that the effectiveness could be reduced.

  • P.1 (the »Brazilian«): This Sars-CoV-2 variant, which is particularly widespread in Brazil, is similar to B.1.351. According to the RKI, experimental data indicate

    a reduced effectiveness of the vaccinations

    here too

    . But there are still no clear study data. A British study from mid-March came to the result that the AstraZeneca and Biontech preparations against P.1 are about as effective as against the British variant - and thus better than against the South African. A US study from mid-February again showed that the vaccines from Biontech and Moderna could have a “significantly reduced” effectiveness in P.1 and B.1.351.

  • B.1.617 (the »Indian«): According to the RKI, initial laboratory experiments indicate that the

    effectiveness of vaccines is not substantially impaired in this mutant

    .

    However, secured data is not yet available here either.

    "There is currently no reason to worry that the vaccinations will lose their effectiveness due to this virus variant," said Leif-Erik Sander, head of the Infection Immunology and Vaccine Research Research Group at Berlin's Charité.

Vaccines could be adapted quickly

Scientists use different ways to find out whether a vaccine is also effective against new mutants. One possibility is to expose the blood of vaccinated persons to the virus variants in the laboratory. If the antibodies in the blood continue to bind to the pathogen, the vaccinated people are probably still protected. In addition, research teams are investigating suspected cases in which people have been infected with the coronavirus even though they had full vaccination protection. If a certain variant of the pathogen accumulates in them, this indicates that it can at least partially escape vaccination protection.

But is a possibly reduced effectiveness of some or all vaccines against virus variants a cause for concern?

Not really, say experts.

According to previous knowledge, vaccines can continue to reliably prevent serious or even fatal courses even with the known variants.

In addition, vaccines adapted to booster vaccinations could be developed quickly against threatening mutants.

koe / dpa

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2021-05-20

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