In a new study, researchers found two of the commonly used coronavirus vaccines provide protection against multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, including the highly infectious Delta variant.
The findings also showed that those infected with the virus prior to vaccination exhibit a more robust immune response to all variants than those who were uninfected and fully vaccinated.
The results come as an increase in so-called “breakthrough” infections caused by the Delta variant among vaccinated individuals continues to raise questions about whether the vaccines offer broad protection against newly arising variants.
According to the researchers, the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines do bolster the immune system’s response to infection.
In addition, the results suggest that booster shots can be effective in warding off SARS-CoV-2.
In the study, the team collected blood samples from 40 healthcare workers in the Yale New Haven Health System between November, 2020 and January, 2021 before they had received vaccinations.
In the following weeks, they periodically took additional samples after the volunteers received their first and second doses of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA vaccines.
The researchers then exposed the volunteers’ blood samples to 16 different SARS-COV-2 variants, including the Delta variant, the most predominate strain circulating in the United States.
The researchers found evidence of enhanced immune system response in all blood samples, although the strength of response varied by variant and by individual.
The immune system response to the Delta variant in the blood of all volunteers was generally robust—and even stronger in samples collected after the individuals’ second shots.
The breakthrough cases attributed to the Delta variant are unlikely to arise from a failure of vaccines, Iwasaki said.
Rather, they likely stem from the extremely infectious nature of the Delta variant, which can overcome the immune defense.
Other studies have also shown that vaccinated individuals tend to have less severe infections.
The team says the Delta variant is more infectious than earlier variants. The high transmissibility of the variant, not its escape from the vaccine-induced immune response, best explains infections among the vaccinated.
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The study is published in the journal Nature. One author of the study is Akiko Iwasaki.
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