According to new research in New York, the efficacy of mRNA vaccines and antibody therapy against all three subvariants of Omicron is reduced.

As per the study conducted by Columbia University and the University of Hong Kong, only one currently approved antibody treatment retains its activity against all Omicron subvariants.

Omicron is a highly transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2 that has caused the greatest increase in Covid cases in many countries so far. Researchers named three subvariants of Omicron that share 21 mutations in the spike protein BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2. The findings, which were published in the journal Nature, all three variants exhibited strong resistance to most of the monoclonal antibodies tested in neutralisation experiments.

17 of the 19 antibodies tested negative for the BA.2 subvariant. The researchers discovered that bebtelovimab, the most recent monoclonal antibody to receive FDA Emergency Use Authorization, is the only antibody therapy currently available that can adequately treat all three Omicron subvariants.

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