Study suggests Pfizer jab recipients have lower antibodies targeting Indian variant
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People who have received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine have fewer antibodies targeting the Indian COVID-19 variant compared to other strains, new data suggests.
Levels of these antibodies are lower with increasing age and decline over time, the analysis of blood samples from 250 healthy people also suggests.
This provides even more evidence in support for vaccine boosters for the vulnerable come autumn, researchers believe.
The data, from the Francis Crick Institute and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, also supports current plans to reduce the dose gap between the jabs.
It found that after just one dose of the Pfizer jab, recipients were less likely to develop antibody levels against the Indian variant, also known as Delta, as high as those seen against the UK variant, now known as Alpha.
But scientists say antibody levels alone do not predict vaccine effectiveness and prospective studies are also needed.
Lower levels of antibodies could still protect against the virus, according to experts.
Photo: A syringe that contains the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19. EPA-EFE/SEAN GALLUP / POOL
