A press release by the University of Cyprus says that researchers from the University of Cyprus in collaboration with the Medical School of the Harvard University, USA, analysed – using mathematics- the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the coronavirus. The study showed the vaccine coverage period in terms of recent variants of the virus but also in terms of new more aggressive mutations that are likely to emerge in the future.
The research was published in the PNAS magazine, one of the world’s most-cited and comprehensive multidisciplinary scientific journals, with the title «Mechanistic model for booster doses effectiveness in healthy, cancer, and immunosuppressed patients infected with SARS-CoV-.
In the abstract it says that SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are effective at limiting disease severity, but effectiveness is lower among patients with cancer or immunosuppression, adding that effectiveness wanes with time and varies by vaccine type.
Moreover, it adds, previously prescribed vaccines were based on the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 spike-protein that emerging variants may evade.
“Here, we describe a mechanistic mathematical model for vaccination-induced immunity. We validate it with available clinical data and use it to simulate the effectiveness of vaccines against viral variants with lower antigenicity, increased virulence, or enhanced cell binding for various vaccine platforms,” it notes.
The analysis, the research says, includes the omicron variant as well as hypothetical future variants with even greater immune evasion of vaccine-induced antibodies and addresses the potential benefits of the new bivalent vaccines.
“We further account for concurrent cancer or underlying immunosuppression. The model confirms enhanced immunogenicity following booster vaccination in immunosuppressed patients but predicts ongoing booster requirements for these individuals to maintain protection,” it continues.
“We further studied the impact of variants on immunosuppressed individuals as a function of the interval between multiple booster doses. Our model suggests possible strategies for future vaccinations and suggests tailored strategies for high-risk groups,” it says.
“Our results can help to better plan the booster vaccinations in population groups with different characteristics and level of morbidity, as well as for new mutations of the virus,” Associate Professor at the University of Cyprus Triantafyllos Stylianopoulos said.
The University of Cyprus researchers received funding from the European Commission, the European Research Council and the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation.
Source: Cyprus News Agency