A new study found that children and adolescents showed a decrease in cross-neutralization against all of the variants, especially against Omicron.
A new study done by doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital discovered that children who have had COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C) are not immune from the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant, while those who have been vaccinated are.
How was the study carried out?
In the study, which was peer-reviewed and came out in the scientific journal Nature Communications on Friday, researchers took blood samples from 62 children and teens who were hospitalized with COVID-19, 65 who were hospitalized with MIS-C, and 50 who had recovered from mild COVID-19 and were no longer in the hospital. The samples were taken between the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, before the Omicron variant came out.
The researchers next inserted a SARS-CoV-2-derived pseudovirus into the samples to see how well antibodies in the samples eliminated the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variants.
“Omicron is very different”
All the variants were found to have less cross-neutralization in children and adolescents, notably Omicron.
“Omicron is very different from previous variants, with many mutations on the spike protein, and this work confirms that it is able to evade the antibody response. Unvaccinated children remain susceptible,” according to Dr. Adrienne Randolph.
According to Dr. Adrienne Randolph of Boston Children’s Hospital, who conducted a prior study, “Omicron is very different from previous variants, with many mutations on the spike protein, and this work confirms that it is able to evade the antibody response. Unvaccinated children remain susceptible.”
In contrast, the COVID-19 vaccine worked better against the variants in children who had gotten two doses.
Randolph said that she hopes these results will make parents more likely to vaccinate their kids.
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