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The optimistic mood around COVID-19 vaccine rollouts has been clouded by new variants of the virus, which could trample the efficacy of vaccines or escape them entirely. Already, recent trial results from Johnson & Johnson and from Novavax suggest that a variant that first arose in South Africa (B.1.351) and probably a variant identified in Brazil (P.1) are partially escaping protection provided by their vaccines.
Specifically, mutations in the viruses’ spike proteins allow them to avoid being bound by antibodies produced after vaccination or natural infection. “The South African variant appears to partially escape antibody responses,” says Dan Barouch, the director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. With novel variants expected to emerge, the question is, which vaccines would be quickest to rejig and manufacture if updates become necessary?
A few vaccine makers have already announced ...
