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A new study preprinted on biorxiv by researchers at New York University provides good news. While some of the new variants described in India evade, to some degree, the antibodies of patients who have recovered from infection (convalescent plasma), both these antibodies and those derived from fully vaccinated people still appear to function as intended, at least in laboratory settings. To a lesser extent, the study found the same to be true of monoclonal antibodies (i.e. Regeneron's therapeutic compound). These data imply that the new variants, B.1.617 and B.1.618 may be a little more slippery in their ability to wriggle away from natural and vaccine-induced antibodies, but not enough that those antibodies are rendered ineffective. In particular, most people who have recovered from infection or have been vaccinated are likely to have antibodies that are good enough to provide protection (the true clinical effect of the monoclonal antibodies among the "original" or "wildtype" variants remains debated).\ Interestingly, the measured antibody levels among vaccinated persons were about 5 times greater than those found among samples of blood taken from covid-19-recovered persons. This once again demonstrates that vaccines induce a massive antibody response, which is likely what makes them so effective to begin with and also explains in part why they have, so far, been remarkably able to overcome an onslaught variants. That said, the strength of the binding between the B.1.617 variant and vaccine-induced antibodies dropped 4-fold in this laboratory-based study. A 2.7-fold decrease was noted for the B.1.618 variant.
