Recent omicron variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have at least 32 changes in the spike protein relative to the original strain identified in Wuhan, rendering many monoclonal antibodies (e.g., sotrovimab and tixagevimab) developed against the Wuhan strain ineffective. Clinical trials, however, have shown that COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) transfusions decrease the risk of hospitalization and mortality given to outpatients and immunosuppressed individuals with COVID-19, respectively. High-titer CCP may be an effective treatment since the antibodies are polyclonal and also evolve with the viral variants. Indeed, new research shows that high-titer CCP is effective at neutralizing new variants of concern. Specifically, 108 pre-delta/pre-omicron CCP units and 20 post-delta/post-vaccination units were analyzed for viral neutralization of the Wuhan, delta, and omicron strains of SARS-CoV-2. Plasma units of pre-delta and pre-omicron in the upper 10% of antibody levels were effective against all strains of SARS-CoV-2; all units of post-delta/post-vaccination were also effective. High-titer CCP is effective at neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 variants despite lack of previous exposure and is an important treatment in the toolbox to control SARS-CoV-2.
References:
- Schmidt F, Muecksch F, Weisblum Y, Da Silva J, et al. Plasma neutralization of the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant. N Engl J Med 2022; 386(6); 599-601.
- Li M, Beck EJ, Laeyandecker O, Eby Y, et al. High viral specific convalescent plasma effectively neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. medRxiv 2022
