Antigenic Distance and Antigenic Field: A Novel Approach to Enhance COVID-19 Vaccination Against Emerging Variants of Concern

---

Presentation Time: 03:15 PM - 04:30 PM
Poster Board Number: B914
Abstract ID: 4783

Presenting Author:
JIANDONG HUANG , Chair Professor at Univ. of Hong Kong, Shenzhen Inst. of Advanced Technol., Chinese Acad. of Sci.

Abstract:

Current COVID-19 vaccines effectively combat symptomatic disease, yet repeated boosters with ancestral strain-based vaccines provide limited additional protection against variants of concern (VOC). We developed a model grounded in the "antigenic distance hypothesis" and supported by human serum results to identify optimal booster vaccine seed strains. Our model indicates that a SARS-CoV-1-based booster vaccine could offer broader coverage for current and future VOCs. This SARS-CoV-1-based booster outperformed other candidates, generating more extensive and long-lasting neutralizing antibodies against novel VOCs such as BA.4/5 and XBB. We introduce the "antigenic field" concept to demonstrate the scope and potency of protection induced by booster vaccines. Our study presents the "antigenic field" theory as a means to quantify antiviral responses, which may prove invaluable for future vaccine design and antigen-based immunotherapies.