Neutralizing activity of Sputnik V vaccine sera against SARS-CoV-2 variants

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has infected at least 180 million people since its identification as the cause of the current COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid pace of vaccine development has resulted in multiple vaccines already in use worldwide. The contemporaneous emergence of SARS-CoV-2 ‘variants of concern’ (VOC) across diverse geographic locales underscores the need to monitor the efficacy of vaccines being administered globally. All WHO designated VOC carry spike (S) polymorphisms thought to enable escape from neutralizing antibodies. Here, we characterize the neutralizing activity of post-Sputnik V vaccination sera against the ensemble of S mutations present in alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) VOC. Using de novo generated replication-competent vesicular stomatitis virus expressing various SARS-CoV-2-S in place of VSV-G (rcVSV-CoV2-S), coupled with a clonal 293T-ACE2 + TMPRSS2 + cell line optimized for highly efficient S-mediated infection, we determine that only 1 out of 12 post-vaccination serum samples shows effective neutralization (IC 90 ) of rcVSV-CoV2-S: B.1.351 at full serum strength. The same set of sera efficiently neutralize S from B.1.1.7 and exhibit only moderately reduced activity against S carrying the E484K substitution alone. Taken together, our data suggest that control of some emergent SARS-CoV-2 variants may benefit from updated vaccines. Here, the authors characterize the neutralization capacity of post-Sputnik V vaccination sera against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern B.1.1.7 (alpha) and B.1.351 (beta), showing the latter to exhibit resistance to neutralization in vitro.