According to a study published in Nature Medicine, researchers have identified an “immune correlate” that can predict the degree of protection conferred by a COVID-19 vaccine based on the levels of neutralizing antibodies in the vaccinated individual. The antibody levels help determine the efficacy of a vaccine against the different variants and predict the need for annual booster doses. Our bodies produce Y-shaped proteins called neutralizing antibodies in response to an infection or vaccination. These antibodies bind to the virus, rendering it ineffective.
The researchers examined the data from seven COVID-19 vaccines to see how the response measured immediately after the vaccination correlated with protection against the virus. They used the existing data on immune responses to develop a model that predicts the neutralization titer that correlates with immune protection. They…
