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WHICH ANTIVIRAL TREATMENT OPTIONS ARE SUITABLE FOR THERAPY OF PATIENTS INFECTED WITH THE OMIC... Treatment with recombinant monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that neutralize SARS-CoV-2 can reduce the risk for severe disease. In contrast, neutralization of the Omicron variant is dramatically reduced,1 indicating that immunity following infection by previously circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants provides little to no protection against the Omicron variant. Keywords: antibody; omicron; SARS-CoV-2; spike EN antibody omicron SARS-CoV-2 spike 1 3 3 05/31/22 20220501 NES 220501 The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) swept the globe with breathtaking speed, rapidly displacing the Delta variant and causing record numbers of new infections. [Extracted from the article]

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant suggests that the virus might become globally dominant. Further, the high number of mutations in the viral spike protein raised concerns that the virus might evade antibodies induced by infection or vaccination. Here, we report that the Omicron spike was resistant against most therapeutic antibodies but remained susceptible to inhibition by sotrovimab. Similarly, the Omicron spike evaded neutralization by antibodies from convalescent patients or individuals vaccinated with the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine (BNT162b2) with 12- to 44-fold higher efficiency than the spike of the Delta variant. Neutralization of the Omicron spike by antibodies induced upon heterologous ChAdOx1 (Astra Zeneca-Oxford)/BNT162b2 vaccination or vaccination with three doses of BNT162b2 was more efficient, but the Omicron spike still evaded neutralization more efficiently than the Delta spike. These findings indicate that most therapeutic antibodies will be ineffective against the Omicron variant and that double immunization with BNT162b2 might not adequately protect against severe disease induced by this variant. [Display omitted] • Omicron uses human and animal ACE2 for host cell entry • Omicron is resistant against neutralization by several therapeutic antibodies • Omicron efficiently evades antibodies from infected or 2 × BNT-vaccinated patients • Omicron moderately evades antibodies induced by 3 × BNT or heterologous vaccination The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant is rapidly spreading worldwide and a public health concern. Experiments show that this variant is resistant against several therapeutic antibodies for COVID-19 and efficiently evades antibodies induced upon infection or double BNT162b2 vaccination, but not triple BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1/BNT162b2 vaccination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]