Scientists explore ways to tweak COVID-19 shots if coronavirus variants get worse

COVID-19 vaccines may be less effective against the coronavirus strain from South Africa, but scientists remain confident that humans have the upper hand.If fully immunized people start getting hospitalized with a mutated virus, “that’s when the line gets crossed,” saidThat hasn’t happened yet, but “we should get ready,” he added.

Moderna is about to explore one option: Could a third dose of the original vaccine boost immunity enough to fend off some variants even if it’s not an exact match? Ho said it’s a good idea to test because people may “still have plenty of cushion” if their overall antibody levels are very high.COVID-19 vaccines produce antibodies that recognize the spike protein that coats the coronavirus. When the virus mutates, sometimes the spike protein is changed in key areas, so the vaccine-produced antibodies have a harder time recognizing it.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are made with a piece of genetic code called messenger RNA that tells the body how to make some harmless copies of the spike protein that train immune cells. To update the vaccine, they can simply change the payload: swap out the original genetic code with mRNA for the mutated spike protein.

The AstraZeneca vaccine and the Johnson & Johnson shot expected to roll out soon are made with cold viruses engineered to sneak a spike protein gene into the body. Adjusting their vaccines requires growing cold viruses with the mutated gene, a little more complex than the mRNA approach but not nearly as laborious as reformulating old-fashioned flu shots.

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