Oct. 4, 2021 — Antibody ranges might wane after 7 months for individuals who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, based on a new study printed on the bioRxiv preprint server.
Within the research, which hasn’t but been peer-reviewed or formally printed in a medical journal,
researchers analyzed blood samples from 46 wholesome younger or middle-aged adults after receiving two doses, after which 6 months after the second dose.
“Our research exhibits vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine induces excessive ranges of neutralizing antibodies in opposition to the unique vaccine pressure, however these ranges drop by almost 10-fold by 7 months,” the researchers told Reuters.
In about half of the adults, neutralizing antibodies have been undetectable at 6 months after the second dose, significantly in opposition to coronavirus variants corresponding to Delta, Beta, and Mu.
Neutralizing antibodies solely make up a part of the physique’s immune protection in opposition to the virus, Reuters famous, however they’re nonetheless “critically necessary” in defending in opposition to coronavirus infections.
“These findings recommend that administering a booster dose at round 6 to 7 months following the preliminary immunization will possible improve safety,” the research authors wrote.
BioNTech mentioned a brand new vaccine system will possible be wanted by mid-2022 to guard in opposition to future mutations of the virus, in accordance to the Financial Times.
“This 12 months, [a different vaccine] is totally unneeded, however by mid-next 12 months, it might be a unique state of affairs,” Ugur Sahin, MD, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, advised the information outlet.
Present variants, specifically the Delta variant, are extra contagious than the unique coronavirus pressure however not totally different sufficient to evade present vaccines, he mentioned. However new strains might be able to evade boosters.
“This virus will keep, and the virus will additional adapt,” Sahin mentioned. “It is a steady evolution, and that evolution has simply began.”
