Further antibody escape by Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 from vaccine and BA.1 serum

  1. Aekkachai Tuekprakhon
  2. Jiandong Huo
  3. Rungtiwa Nutalai
  4. Aiste Dijokaite-Guraliuc
  5. Daming Zhou
  6. Helen M. Ginn
  7. Muneeswaran Selvaraj
  8. Chang Liu
  9. Alexander J. Mentzer
  10. Piyada Supasa
  11. Helen M.E. Duyvesteyn
  12. Raksha Das
  13. Donal Skelly
  14. Thomas G. Ritter
  15. Ali Amini
  16. Sagida Bibi
  17. Sandra Adele
  18. Sile Ann Johnson
  19. Bede Constantinides
  20. Hermione Webster
  21. Nigel Temperton
  22. Paul Klenerman
  23. Eleanor Barnes
  24. Susanna J. Dunachie
  25. Derrick Crook
  26. Andrew J Pollard
  27. Teresa Lambe
  28. Philip Goulder
  29. OPTIC consortium
  30. ISARIC4C consortium
  31. Elizabeth E. Fry
  32. Juthathip Mongkolsapaya
  33. Jingshan Ren
  34. David I. Stuart
  35. Gavin R Screaton
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Abstract

The Omicron lineage of SARS-CoV-2, first described in November 2021, spread rapidly to become globally dominant and has split into a number of sub-lineages. BA.1 dominated the initial wave but has been replaced by BA.2 in many countries. Recent sequencing from South Africa’s Gauteng region uncovered two new sub-lineages, BA.4 and BA.5 which are taking over locally, driving a new wave. BA.4 and BA.5 contain identical spike sequences and, although closely related to BA.2, contain further mutations in the receptor binding domain of spike. Here, we study the neutralization of BA.4/5 using a range of vaccine and naturally immune serum and panels of monoclonal antibodies. BA.4/5 shows reduced neutralization by serum from triple AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccinated individuals compared to BA.1 and BA.2. Furthermore, using serum from BA.1 vaccine breakthrough infections there are likewise, significant reductions in the neutralization of BA.4/5, raising the possibility of repeat Omicron infections.

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