COVID-19: People Who Have Received Pfizer Vaccine Have Fewer Antibodies Targeting Indian Variant, Study Finds | UK News

People who have received the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine have fewer antibodies targeting the Indian variant COVID-19 than other strains, new data suggests.

Levels of these antibodies decrease with age and decline over time, also suggests analysis of blood samples from 250 healthy people.

According to the researchers, this provides even more evidence in favor of vaccine boosters for vulnerable people next fall.

The data, from the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Center, also supports current plans to reduce the dose gap between jabs.

It found that after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine, recipients were less likely to develop antibody levels against the Indian variant, also known as Delta, as high as those seen against the now known UK variant. under the name of Alpha.

But scientists say antibody levels alone don’t predict the effectiveness of the vaccine, and prospective studies are needed as well.

Lower levels of antibodies could still protect against the virus, experts say.

Now considered the dominant COVID strain in the UK, early evidence suggests that the Indian variant may carry an increased risk of hospitalization compared to the UK variant.

Data from Public Health England through June 2 shows a total of 12,431 cases of the Indian variant have been confirmed in the UK, a 79% increase from the previous week’s total of 6,959.

Emma Wall, infectious disease consultant at UCLH and senior clinical researcher for the Legacy study, said: “This virus will likely be around for a while, so we need to stay nimble and vigilant.

“Our study is designed to be responsive to changes in the pandemic so that we can quickly provide evidence on evolving risks and protection.

“The most important thing is to make sure that vaccine protection remains high enough to prevent as many people as possible from being hospitalized.”

She said the best way to keep …