Study finds Delta strain in India 8 times less sensitive to COVID-19 vaccine antibodies

New Delhi, India | Xinhua | A study conducted on 100 healthcare workers across three centers in India has found the Delta variant eight times less sensitive to antibodies generated by the COVID-19 vaccine, a local media report said Monday.

The study, named “Sars-Cov-2 B.1.617.2 Deltavariant Emergence and Vaccine Breakthrough: Collaborative Study”, also found that the variant has a much higher capacity to infect more people.

The collaborative study from India was conducted along with scientists from the Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease.

“The B.1.617.2 Delta variant not only dominates vaccine-breakthrough infections with higher respiratory viral loads compared to non-delta infections but also generates greater transmission between fully vaccinated healthcare workers, as compared to other variants B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant) or B.1.617.1 (Kappa variant),” the findings of the study revealed.

The study said the Delta variant is less sensitive to neutralizing antibodies from recovered individuals, with “higher replication efficiency” as compared to the Alpha variant.

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Xinhua