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Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
The globally circulating severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variant of concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) has a large number of mutations, especially in the spike protein, indicating that recognition by neutralizing antibodies may be compromised. We tested Wuhan (Wuhan-Hu-1 reference strain), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1.617.2), or Omicron pseudoviruses with sera of 51 participants who received two or three doses of the messenger RNA (mRNA)–based COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2. After two doses, Omicron-neutralizing titers were reduced >22-fold compared with Wuhan-neutralizing titers. One month after the third vaccine dose, Omicron-neutralizing titers were increased 23-fold relative to their levels after two doses and were similar to levels of Wuhan-neutralizing titers after two doses. The requirement of a third vaccine dose to effectively neutralize Omicron was confirmed with sera from a subset of participants using live SARS-CoV-2. These data suggest that three doses of the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 may protect against Omicron-mediated COVID-19.
Overview
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Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
Two doses of BNT162b2 elicited substantially reduced neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron, while a third dose boosted Omicron-neutralizing titers to levels comparable to Wuhan-neutralizing titers after two doses in the pseudovirus assay. The data suggest that three BNT162b2 doses may protect against Omicron-mediated COVID-19.
Key findings
- After two BNT162b2 doses, Omicron pseudovirus-neutralizing GMTs were 7 versus 160 for Wuhan, a 22.8-fold reduction; 20 of 32 sera had no detectable Omicron neutralization. Beta and Delta GMTs were 24 and 73, corresponding to 6.7- and 2.2-fold reductions versus Wuhan.
- One month after a third dose, Omicron pseudovirus-neutralizing GMTs rose to 164, a 23.4-fold increase over post-dose-two levels and similar to Wuhan GMTs after two doses (160); 29 of 30 sera neutralized Omicron. Beta, Delta, and Wuhan GMTs after dose three were 279, 413, and 368.
- In live SARS-CoV-2 assays, two doses gave Omicron GMTs of 6 versus 368 for Wuhan, a 61.3-fold reduction, with 17 of 25 sera showing no detectable Omicron neutralization. After a third dose, Omicron GMTs increased 17.6-fold to 106 and remained 3.4-fold lower than Wuhan GMTs after two doses; 27 of 28 sera neutralized live Omicron.
- Among 244 HLA class I–restricted Wuhan S epitopes from IEDB, 85.3% (208) were unaffected at the amino acid sequence level in Omicron.
Methods
- Pseudovirus-neutralization tests used VSV-SARS-CoV-2-S pseudoviruses bearing Wuhan, Omicron, Beta, or Delta S proteins with sera from 32 BNT162-01 participants 21 days after dose two and 30 BNT162-14/BNT162-17 participants 1 month after dose three; 11 participants were analyzed longitudinally.
- Live SARS-CoV-2 neutralization tests used Wuhan and Omicron virus with sera from 32 and 25 participants after dose two, respectively, and 7 and 28 participants after dose three, respectively. Specimens were tested in duplicate and geometric mean 50% neutralizing titers were calculated.
- T cell analysis assessed 244 HLA class I–restricted S epitopes reported in IEDB for conservation in Omicron.
Limitations
- The paper states that serum panels came from different clinical trials with limited sample size, and the interval between second and third doses was not consistent across participants.
- The paper states that future analyses are needed to evaluate antibody persistence, and notes that a longer interval (>42 days) between first and second doses may improve immunogenicity but was not evaluated here.
- Evident from the text: the study reports neutralization titers, not clinical efficacy; live Omicron testing used smaller subsets than pseudovirus testing; and durability beyond 1 month after the third dose was not assessed.
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A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“and were reduced 3.4-fold compared with those against the Wuhan reference at 21 days after two doses of BNT162b2 (GMT of 106 versus 368).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Rests on an assumption: Sera from different clinical trials are comparable for neutralizing antibody analysis.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Twenty-nine of 30 serum specimens were capable of neutralizing the Omicron pseudovirus (table S3).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“After two doses of BNT162b2, geometric mean neutralization titers (GMTs) against Omicron pseudovirus were reduced 22.8-fold compared with those for the Wuhan reference pseudovirus (Fig. 1; GMT of 7 versus 160).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“One month after the third BNT162b2 dose, neutralizing GMTs against the Omicron variant pseudovirus increased 23.4-fold relative to their levels 21 days after the second dose (GMT of 164 versus 7)”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Twenty of 32 immune serum specimens displayed no detectable neutralizing activity against Omicron (table S2).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Neutralizing GMTs against live SARS-CoV-2 Omicron were reduced 61.3-fold relative to those against the Wuhan reference strain (Fig. 2; GMT of 6 versus 368) at 21 days after two doses of BNT162b2.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Twenty-one days after dose two, sera exhibited a 21.4-fold reduction in GMT against the Omicron variant compared with the Wuhan reference pseudovirus (fig. S1; GMT of 7 versus 150).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“One month after the third BNT162b2 dose, neutralizing GMTs against Omicron were increased 17.6-fold compared with neutralizing GMTs at 21 days after the second dose (GMT of 106 versus 6)”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Seventeen of 25 serum specimens displayed no detectable neutralizing activity against Omicron (table S4).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesA result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“and were comparable to neutralizing GMTs against the reference Wuhan pseudovirus at 21 days after two doses of BNT162b2 (GMT of 164 versus 160).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passes- Rests on an assumption: Sera from different clinical trials are comparable for neutralizing antibody analysis.
- It may state two separate claims as one. 9
- Probably not a substantial claim. 7
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“By contrast, the majority of sera neutralized Beta and Delta pseudoviruses with GMTs of 24 and 73, respectively. This corresponds to 6.7- and 2.2-fold reductions in neutralization activity compared with the Wuhan pseudovirus”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“the third dose of BNT162b2 resulted in a significant increase in neutralizing titers against the Wuhan pseudovirus (GMT of 320) and a 25.8-fold increase in neutralizing titers against Omicron 1 month after dose three compared with 21 days after dose two (GMT of 181 versus 7).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Before receiving the third dose of BNT162b2 (at a median 256 days after dose two), neutralizing titers against the Wuhan pseudovirus were considerably reduced (GMT of 13), whereas the Omicron-specific titers were below the limit of detection.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The third dose of BNT162b2 also increased neutralizing activity against Beta, Delta, and Wuhan pseudoviruses, with GMTs of 279, 413, and 368, respectively.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“both being immunodominant targets of neutralizing antibodies elicited by COVID-19 vaccines or by SARS-CoV-2 infection (5, 6).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [5] L. Premkumar, B. Segovia-Chumbez, R. Jadi, D. R. Martinez, R. Raut, A. Markmann, C. Cornaby, L. Bartelt, S. Weiss, Y. Park, C. E. Edwards, E. Weimer, E. M. Scherer, N. Rouphael, S. Edupuganti, D. Weiskopf, L. V. Tse, Y. J. Hou, D. Margolis, A. Sette, M. H. Collins, J. Schmitz, R. S. Baric, A. M. de Silva, The receptor binding domain of the viral spike protein is an immunodominant and highly specific target of antibodies in SARS-CoV-2 patients. Sci. Immunol. 5, eabc8413 (2020). 10.1126/sciimmunol.abc8413 32527802 PMC7292505 source
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Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“and to elicit strong antibody responses, effectively neutralizing the parental strain as well as diverse SARS-CoV-2 VOCs (13–15).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [13] A. Muik, A.-K. Wallisch, B. Sänger, K. A. Swanson, J. Mühl, W. Chen, H. Cai, D. Maurus, R. Sarkar, Ö. Türeci, P. R. Dormitzer, U. Şahin, Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 lineage B.1.1.7 pseudovirus by BNT162b2 vaccine-elicited human sera. Science 371, 1152– 1153 (2021). 10.1126/science.abg6105 33514629 PMC7971771 source
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- Not checked yetcites [15] Y. Liu, J. Liu, H. Xia, X. Zhang, C. R. Fontes-Garfias, K. A. Swanson, H. Cai, R. Sarkar, W. Chen, M. Cutler, D. Cooper, S. C. Weaver, A. Muik, U. Sahin, K. U. Jansen, X. Xie, P. R. Dormitzer, P.-Y. Shi, Neutralizing Activity of BNT162b2-Elicited Serum. N. Engl. J. Med. 384, 1466– 1468 (2021). 10.1056/NEJMc2102017 33684280 PMC7944950 source
Tests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Administration of two 30-μg doses of BNT162b2 was shown to have 95% efficacy in a phase 3 trial (12)”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [12] F. P. Polack, S. J. Thomas, N. Kitchin, J. Absalon, A. Gurtman, S. Lockhart, J. L. Perez, G. Pérez Marc, E. D. Moreira, C. Zerbini, R. Bailey, K. A. Swanson, S. Roychoudhury, K. Koury, P. Li, W. V. Kalina, D. Cooper, R. W. Frenck Jr., L. L. Hammitt, Ö. Türeci, H. Nell, A. Schaefer, S. Ünal, D. B. Tresnan, S. Mather, P. R. Dormitzer, U. Şahin, K. U. Jansen, W. C. Gruber; C4591001 Clinical Trial Group, Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. N. Engl. J. Med. 383, 2603– 2615 (2020). 10.1056/NEJMoa2034577 33301246 PMC7745181 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“Fifteen mutations are located in the receptor binding domain and another eight mutated sites are found in the N-terminal domain”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [4] WHO Headquarters, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, “Enhancing Readiness for Omicron (B.1.1.529): Technical Brief and Priority Actions for Member States” (2021); www.who.int/publications/m/item/enhancing-readiness-for-omicron-(b.1.1.529)-technical-brief-and-priority-actions-for-member-states.
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Some amino acid changes [Δ69/70, T95I, G142D, Δ145, K417N, T478K, N501Y, and P681H (T, Thr; I, Ile; G, Gly; D, Asp; K, Lys; N, Asn; Y, Tyr; P, Pro; H, His)] are shared mutations also found in the Alpha, Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), or Delta VOCs and were described to lead to increased transmissibility, as well as to a typically mild partial escape from vaccine-induced humoral immunity (7–10).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [7] P. Wang, M. S. Nair, L. Liu, S. Iketani, Y. Luo, Y. Guo, M. Wang, J. Yu, B. Zhang, P. D. Kwong, B. S. Graham, J. R. Mascola, J. Y. Chang, M. T. Yin, M. Sobieszczyk, C. A. Kyratsous, L. Shapiro, Z. Sheng, Y. Huang, D. D. Ho, Antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. Nature 593, 130– 135 (2021). 10.1038/s41586-021-03398-2 33684923 source
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Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes? Load-bearing: unclear✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
In the paper
“Omicron is a highly divergent variant and harbors a previously unseen number of mutations in its spike (S) glycoprotein (4).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [4] WHO Headquarters, WHO Health Emergencies Programme, “Enhancing Readiness for Omicron (B.1.1.529): Technical Brief and Priority Actions for Member States” (2021); www.who.int/publications/m/item/enhancing-readiness-for-omicron-(b.1.1.529)-technical-brief-and-priority-actions-for-member-states.
Load-bearingStrength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✓ Load-bearing: passes✓ Based: passesIt may state two separate claims as one.
None of the sources cited for this claim have been checked yet.
In the paper
“Beta [as a benchmark for partially reduced neutralization (7) without major impact on effectiveness (19, 20)]”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [7] P. Wang, M. S. Nair, L. Liu, S. Iketani, Y. Luo, Y. Guo, M. Wang, J. Yu, B. Zhang, P. D. Kwong, B. S. Graham, J. R. Mascola, J. Y. Chang, M. T. Yin, M. Sobieszczyk, C. A. Kyratsous, L. Shapiro, Z. Sheng, Y. Huang, D. D. Ho, Antibody resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variants B.1.351 and B.1.1.7. Nature 593, 130– 135 (2021). 10.1038/s41586-021-03398-2 33684923 source
- Not checked yetcites [19] L. J. Abu-Raddad, H. Chemaitelly, A. A. Butt; National Study Group for COVID-19 Vaccination, Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine against the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 Variants. N. Engl. J. Med. 385, 187– 189 (2021). 10.1056/NEJMc2104974 33951357 PMC8117967 source
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Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it. It may state two separate claims as one.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“In the analysis presented here, we have evaluated and compared serum panels from different clinical trials with a limited sample size.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Each specimen was tested in duplicate, and geometric mean 50% pseudovirus-neutralizing titers (GMTs) were plotted.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
What the paper did — it cites no source for this, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“but the time elapsed between the second and third doses was not consistent across participants.”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
In the paper
“T cell responses play a vital role as a second layer of defense, in particular in the prevention of severe COVID-19 (26).”
§ Neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron by BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine–elicited human sera > Abstract
What the sources say
- Not checked yetcites [26] A. Bertoletti, N. Le Bert, M. Qui, A. T. Tan, SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells in infection and vaccination. Cell. Mol. Immunol. 18, 2307– 2312 (2021). 10.1038/s41423-021-00743-3 34471260 PMC8408362 source
Strength:plain· not yet calibratedCausal:direct· not yet calibratedTests✓ Asserted: passes✓ Checkable: passes✗ Load-bearing: fails✓ Based: passesProbably not a substantial claim. The paper’s conclusions may not depend on it.
The paper relies on this without support.
Class I epitopes that are unchanged at the amino acid sequence level remain recognized by vaccine-elicited CD8+ T cells.
“Despite the multitude of mutations in the Omicron S protein, 85.3% (n = 208) of the described class I epitopes were not affected on the amino acid sequence level, indicating that the targets of most T cell responses elicited by BNT162b2 may still be conserved in the Omicron variant (fig. S3).”
“our analyses suggest that CD8+ T cell recognition of Omicron S glycoprotein epitopes is largely preserved.”
The paper relies on this without support.
Sera from different clinical trials are comparable for neutralizing antibody analysis.
“we have evaluated and compared serum panels from different clinical trials with a limited sample size.”
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“neutralization titers induced after two doses of BNT162b2 were 160, 7, 24, and 73 GMTs for wild-type SARS-CoV-2, Omicron, Beta, and Delta variants, respectively”
From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [406]
In the citing paper
“but improved to 368, 164, 279, and 413 GMTs, after one month following a booster vaccination.”
From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [406]
In the citing paper
“In all cases, neutralizing antibody titers after the second dose of mRNA-based vaccines were highly reduced for omicron (B.1.1.529) compared with delta (B.1.617.2) and especially compared with the wild-type variant, while the third dose significantly improved antibody neutralization titers.110,112,113”
From COVID-19 mRNA vaccines: Platforms and current developments (2022) · cites this paper as [113]
In the citing paper
“Comparable trends were observed in live virus neutralization testing.”
From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [406]
In the citing paper
“Thus vaccine booster with BNT162b2 may enhance neutralization of the Omicron variant.406”
From Advances in COVID-19 mRNA vaccine development (2022) · cites this paper as [406]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Live-virus fold reduction does not match the reported GMTs
MinorThe reported GMTs give 368 ÷ 106 = 3.47, which rounds to a 3.5-fold reduction, not 3.4-fold. Rounding the GMTs to whole numbers cannot account for the difference.
Reported 3.4 · recomputed 3.471698
“were reduced 3.4-fold compared with those against the Wuhan reference at 21 days after two doses of BNT162b2 (GMT of 106 versus 368)”
Citations
Cites
MAFFT Multiple Sequence Alignment Software Version 7: Improvements in Performance and Usability
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Metadata
- Authors
- Muik, A., Lui, B. G., Wallisch, A.-K., Bacher, M., Mühl, J., Reinholz, J., Ozhelvaci, O., Beckmann, N., Güimil Garcia, R. D. L. C., Poran, A., Shpyro, S., Finlayson, A., Cai, H., Yang, Q., Swanson, K. A., Türeci, Ö., & Şahin, U.
- Affiliations
- BioNTech (Germany) (DE)
- BioNTech, An der Goldgrube 12, 55131 Mainz, Germany.
- BioNTech (United States) (US)
- Pfizer (United States) (US)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Şahin, Uğur
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2022-02-11
- Volume
- 375
- Issue
- 6581
- Pages
- 678-680
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- PMC
- PMC9836206
- OpenAlex
- W4205283268
- Semantic Scholar
- 31ac060c1da1a7151d25d210ffb13c5366317bbf
- Cited by
- 367
- References
- 29
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 103 · 2022: 190
- FWCI
- 43.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- medRxiv (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Pfizer
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Animal Science and Zoology › Animal Virus Infections Studies
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › COVID-19 Clinical Research Studies
- Keywords
- Omicron variant, BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine, neutralizing antibodies, third vaccine dose, spike protein mutations, COVID-19 protection, pseudovirus neutralization
- MeSH terms
- COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Vaccines, BNT162 Vaccine, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Antibodies, Viral, Humans, Immunization Schedule, Immunization, Secondary, Middle Aged, Mutation, Neutralization Tests, T-Lymphocytes, Vaccination, Young Adult, Antibodies, Neutralizing, Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-10-10, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-10-10 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
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Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
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