Lab tests show Delta variant partly evades vaccine- and infection-induced antibodies
In short: In laboratory experiments, researchers found the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 was about six times less effectively neutralised by antibodies from previously infected people, and about eight times less effectively neutralised by vaccine-induced antibodies, compared with the original Wuhan strain. Delta also replicated faster than the Alpha variant in airway tissue models.
Delta's spike protein was more readily cleaved and fused infected cells together more efficiently, which may explain its faster spread. An analysis of over 130 health care workers in India also pointed to lower real-world protection from the ChAdOx1 vaccine against Delta than against other variants.
Most of this evidence comes from cells and lab-grown airway tissue rather than people, and the health care worker comparison was observational with possible residual confounding, so the findings are an early signal rather than a precise measure of real-world vaccine failure.
Why it matters: Early lab and observational evidence suggested the Delta variant could partly dodge immunity from past infection and vaccination, helping explain its rapid spread.
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Sources
- Source: Research: Mlcochova et al. (2021). SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 Delta variant replication and immune evasion. Nature. · cc-by
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