New data add to our understanding about how well the bivalent shots can protect against newer COVID-19 variants, like BQ.1.1 and XBB.1
he Omicron variant has morphed into more than half a dozen different strains—the latest of which include BQ.1.1 and XBB.1, and XBB.1.5. Combined, these variants and their close relatives now account for nearlyBut so far, no COVID-19 vaccine directly targets them. Instead, the latest bivalent formulation of the booster was designed against the Omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, which are no longer widely circulating.
In the real-world CDC data, researchers show that the bivalent booster is reducing COVID-19 among those who receive it, and that protection from disease against the newest variants is similar to that against the BA.5 variant. That’s “reassuring that the vaccines are continuing to work,” says the CDC’s Ruth Link-Gelles, lead author of the report.
In this study, the bivalent booster was slightly better at generating virus-fighting antibodies than in, which found only small differences between people boosted with the original and bivalent vaccines in terms of antibodies generated against BQ.1.1 and XBB.1.
Still, Shi acknowledges that the response produced by the bivalent vaccine against the newest variants isn’t dramatic. “We have to acknowledge that BQ.1.1. and XBB.1 really knock down or evade the antibody response substantially,” he says.
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