The original COVID-19 vaccines protected against disease and saved lives. However, a new study published in Nature Immunology, and co-authored by researchers with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, uncovers a caveat. Vaccinated people’s immune responses to newly emerged versions of the virus showed less specificity to these variants.
Essential workers and others who contracted the Delta or Omicron variants after being vaccinated produced stronger responses with higher levels of antibodies overall than their unvaccinated counterparts. However, the team’s analysis uncovered deficits in their ability to target the mutated parts of the variant specifically.