Employees of the Department of Molecular Biology of Viruses of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology of the University of Gdańsk (UG) and the Medical University of Gdańsk have published a review on SARS-CoV-2 in the journal npjVaccines. The publication explains how scientists are investigating whether a natural or vaccine-induced immune response is effective against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The authors of the publication “The immune response against SARS-CoV-2 variants: the role of neutralization tests” are: Dr Alicja Maria Chmielewska, Anna Czarnota, Prof. Krystyna Bieńkowska-Szewczyk and Dr Katarzyna Grzyb. The have summarized the information on the effectiveness of vaccines against virus variants.
The scientists claim that the response caused by registered vaccines is efficient against new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although there are drops in the effectiveness of antibodies in vitro tests. On the other hand, clinical data confirm that the approved vaccines are still effective in protecting against severe illness and death.
