SEATTLE — While omicron subvariants have evolved to evade antibody responses from the primary COVID-19 vaccine series, a new laboratory study led by researchers at UW Medicine suggests boosters may offer some protection against serious disease.
An international research team analyzed plasma samples from people who had been infected with COVID-19 before vaccines were available, from those who had completed only a primary vaccine series, and from others who had been boosted with currently available vaccines.
Led by the lab of David Veesler, associate professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine, the research team assessed seven of the world’s primary vaccines as well as immunity acquired through previous infection. The team consisted of infectious disease research physicians and scientists from UW Medicine, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, and research institutes in California, Argentina, Italy, Pakistan and Switzerland.
