Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

March 16, 2021

BNT162b2 MRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Antibodies of Broader Cross-Reactivity than Natural Infection but Recognition of Mutant Viruses Is up to 10-Fold Reduced

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  • [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Antibodies induced by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had higher binding capacities (avidity) than antibodies induced by natural infection against the receptor binding domain (RBD) containing mutations representative of circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (N501Y, K417N, E484K, and a combination of all three).  Vaccine-induced sera (n=6) reduced binding against the RBD containing the N501Y and K417 mutations (2.5-3 fold reduction) compared to wild type RBD. Of note, both the RBD with E484K mutation and RBD with all three mutations reduced binding by ~10-fold, indicating that E484K mutation (found in the B.1.351 and P.1 variant but not in the B.1.1.7 variant) substantially reduces antibody binding.

Chang et al. (Mar 15, 2021). BNT162b2 MRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Induces Antibodies of Broader Cross-Reactivity than Natural Infection but Recognition of Mutant Viruses Is up to 10-Fold Reduced. Pre-print downloaded Mar 16 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.03.13.435222