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Study: Delta coronavirus variant evades certain antibodies because of mutations

08 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

One dose of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine "barely" protects against the Delta variant of the virus, because of mutations the variant has developed, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Thursday.

Why it matters: The study found that two doses of those vaccines generated a neutralizing response to the variant in 95% of people, highlighting the importance of full vaccination against COVID-19.

  • The findings may also offer an explanation for why the Delta variant is rapidly spreading in multiple countries around the world — including the U.S., where it is now the most dominant version of the virus.

How it works: The team of French researchers tested how efficiently antibodies produced through natural infections or vaccines neutralized variants of the coronavirus, including Delta, which was first identified in India.

  • They discovered that the Delta variant has developed mutations to cell entry mechanisms that allow it to evade certain antibodies.
  • While one dose of Pfizer's or AstraZeneca's vaccines was less effective at neutralizing the variant compared to two, it still performed better than the antibodies produced through natural infection, suggesting that people who contracted the virus may still need vaccine to help defend against variants.

Flashback:A study in The Lancet published in June found that the Delta variant is primarily a threat to people who have not been vaccinated.

  • Unvaccinated people were twice as likely to be hospitalized if they were infected by the Delta variant compared to infections from the Alpha variant, which was first detected in the United Kingdom.

What they're saying: "In parts of the Midwest and upper mountain states, [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's] early sequence data suggests the Delta variant accounts for approximately 80% of cases," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky during a briefing on Thursday.

  • "To be clear, there will likely continue to be an increase in cases among unvaccinated Americans, and in communities with low vaccination rates, particularly given the spread of the more transmissible Delta variant," Jeffrey Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said.

Go deeper:Delta variant threatens masking guidance

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.