SARS-CoV-2 vaccine efficacy testing is now facing increasing challenges in the face of an ongoing pandemic with the emergence of new variants and waning vaccine immunity. Evidence supports the correlation between neutralizing antibody titers and protection from this dangerous virus. Recent studies show that only 40% of fully vaccinated elderly (over 80 years of age) and immunocompromised people eliciting these protective antibodies. Furthermore, Israel’s early vaccination program exclusively using the Pfizer vaccine has shown waning population immunity after about six months post-vaccination leading to a dramatic uptick in infections particularly from the Omicron and Delta variant. Additionally, breakthrough infections are happening globally due to rapid spread of Omicron VOC. This talk explores the key questions associated with the healthcare implications of SARS-CoV-2 and how neutralizing antibody testing using a SVNT may help in determining individual need for booster and protection against COVID-19 VOCs.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Classify the principles of a new cPass surrogate virus neutralization test (cPass sVNT) and how it compares to the gold standard live cell virus neutralization tests.

2. Visualize neutralizing antibodies as correlate of protection for adaptive immune response.

3. Use of sVNT to determine neutralizing activity against VOCs.