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In recent months, as the global COVID-19 pandemic rages on, new variants of SARS-CoV-2 have sparked concerns about whether existing vaccines will perform as well against the evolving virus as they did in clinical trials. Three preprints posted on bioRxiv on January 19 shed some light on this question, finding that serum from vaccinated people was able to neutralize a virus with some of the same mutations as one now-widespread variant, B.1.1.7, but was less effective in neutralizing strains mimicking another variant known as 501Y.V2.
One study investigated the effects of the 501Y.V2 variant that emerged in South Africa, using serum samples from 44 people who had had COVID-19. When these sera were exposed to the variant, which has multiple mutations in its spike protein, 48 percent were unable to neutralize the virus.
“The data do raise the possibility that the protection gained from past infection ...
