Abstract
The newly emerged Omicron SARS-CoV-2 has 3 distinct sublineages: BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. BA.1 accounts for the initial surge and is being replaced by BA.2, whereas BA.3 is at a low prevalence at this time. Here we report the neutralization of BNT162b2-vaccinated sera (collected at 1 month after dose 3) against the three Omicron sublineages. To facilitate the neutralization testing, we engineered the complete BA.1, BA.2, or BA.3 spike into an mNeonGreen USA-WA1/2020 SRAS-CoV-2. All BNT162b2-vaccinated sera neutralized USA-WA1/2020, BA.1-, BA.2-, and BA.3-spike SARS-CoV-2s with titers of >20; the neutralization geometric mean titers (GMTs) against the four viruses were 1211, 336, 300, and 190, respectively. Thus, the BA.1-, BA.2-, and BA.3-spike SARS-CoV-2s were 3.6-, 4.0-, and 6.4-fold less efficiently neutralized than the USA-WA1/2020, respectively. Our data have implications in vaccine strategy and understanding the biology of Omicron sublineages.
Competing Interest Statement
X.X. and P.-Y.S. have filed a patent on the reverse genetic system of SARS-CoV-2. C.K., J.Z., H.X., X.X., and P.-Y.S. received compensation from Pfizer to perform the project. H.C., Q.Y., M.C., D.C., K.U.J., and K.A.S. are employees of Pfizer and may hold stock options. A.M. is an employee of BioNTech and may hold stock options.
Footnotes
↵† Lead contact: P.-Y.S. (peshi{at}utmb.edu)