Monovalent vaccination with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 BA.5 protects hamsters against Omicron but not non-Omicron variants
Chon Phin Ong,
Kaiming Tang,
Pak-Hin Hinson Cheung,
Hongzhuo Zhang,
Tze-Tung Tang,
Yaqian Xue,
Junjue Wang,
Kelvin Kai-Wang To,
Shuofeng Yuan,
Zi-Wei Ye,
Dong-Yan Jin
Affiliations
Chon Phin Ong
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Kaiming Tang
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Pak-Hin Hinson Cheung
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Hongzhuo Zhang
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Tze-Tung Tang
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Yaqian Xue
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Junjue Wang
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Kelvin Kai-Wang To
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Shuofeng Yuan
State Key Laboratory of Emerging Infectious Diseases, Carol Yu Centre for Infection, Department of Microbiology, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Zi-Wei Ye
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Dong-Yan Jin
School of Biomedical Sciences, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam
Abstract We compared the protective effects of inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccines derived from the ancestral and the currently circulating BA.5.2 strains against infection with multiple variants in Syrian golden hamsters. Vaccination with BA.5.2 effectively protected against infection with the Omicron subvariants including XBB.1, but not the Alpha or Delta variant. In contrast, hamsters vaccinated with the ancestral strain demonstrated decent neutralization activity against both the Omicron and non-Omicron variants. Our findings might instruct future design and formulation of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
