TY - JOUR
AU - Willett, Brian J.
AU - Grove, Joe
AU - MacLean, Oscar A.
AU - Wilkie, Craig
AU - Logan, Nicola
AU - De Lorenzo, Giuditta
AU - Furnon, Wilhelm
AU - Scott, Sam
AU - Manali, Maria
AU - Szemiel, Agnieszka
AU - Ashraf, Shirin
AU - Vink, Elen
AU - Harvey, William T.
AU - Davis, Chris
AU - Orton, Richard J.
AU - Hughes, Joseph
AU - Holland, Poppy
AU - Silva, Vanessa
AU - Pascall, David
AU - Puxty, Kathryn
AU - da Silva Filipe, Ana
AU - Yebra, Gonzalo
AU - Shabaan, Sharif
AU - Holden, Matthew T.G.
AU - Pinto, Rute Maria
AU - Gunson, Rory N.
AU - Templeton, Kate
AU - Murcia, Pablo R.
AU - Patel, Arvind H.
AU - The COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium
AU - Haughney, John
AU - Robertson, David L.
AU - Palmarini, Massimo
AU - Ray, Surajit
AU - Thomson, Emma C.
PY - 2022
DA - January
TI - The hyper-transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant exhibits significant antigenic change, vaccine escape and a switch in cell entry mechanism
JO - MedRxiv
DO - https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.03.21268111
AB - Vaccines based on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 are a cornerstone of the public health response to COVID-19. The emergence of hypermutated, increasingly transmissible variants of concern (VOCs) threaten this strategy. Omicron, the fifth VOC to be described, harbours 30 amino acid mutations in spike including 15 in the receptor-binding domain. Here, we demonstrate substantial evasion of neutralisation by Omicronin vitrousing sera from vaccinated individuals. Importantly, these data are mirrored by a substantial reduction in real-world vaccine effectiveness that is partially restored by booster vaccination. We also demonstrate that Omicron does not induce cell syncytia and favours a TMPRSS2-independent endosomal entry pathway. Such marked changes in antigenicity and replicative biology may underlie the rapid global spread and altered pathogenicity of the Omicron variant.
PB - medRxiv
UR - https://publichealthscotland.scot/id/83247
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Immunisation and screening
ER