Daily Lankadeepa E-Paper

Immune responses to one dose of COVISHIELD

The February-March 2021 immunogenicity studies carried out by the Sri Jayewardenepura University’s Allergy, Immunology and Cell Biology Unit, Department of Immunology and Molecular Medicine on Sri Lankan healthcare workers who were the first to get the jab with AstraZeneca’s COVISHIELD vaccine have been published in the scientific journal ‘ Nature Communications’ on Thursday.

The local research team headed by Prof. Neelika Malavige investigated antibody responses to SARS- CoV- 2, neutralizing antibody responses, antibody responses to the variants, along with T cell responses.

They had found the following with regard to the immune responses to a single dose of COVISHIELD: 93.4% healthcare workers developed antibodies to a single dose of the vaccine, while 97.1% developed neutralizing antibodies. (Antibodies or immunoglobulins are protective proteins produced by the immune system in response to the presence of the virus.) There was no difference in immune responses in younger individuals compared to those >60 years of age.

The vaccine induced potent T cell responses with 67.1% developing T cell responses.

However, the antibody responses to the beta SARS-CoV-2 virus variant (the South African variant – B.1.351 or the 501Y.V2) was low. The antibodies to Delta (the Indian variant) were not measured, as Delta was not a problem during the time of the study. Meanwhile, the group is also studying immune responses to other vaccines such as Sputnik V, Moderna and Sinopharm and how the immunity to

these different vaccines persists. They are also comparing it with natural infection.

COVID-19

en-lk

2021-08-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-08-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://dailylankadeepa.pressreader.com/article/281706912723151

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