Sinopharm's COVID Booster Reverses Antibody Decline, Enhances Cell-Based Responses

In this Feb. 8, 2021 file photo, a man receives his Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from a medical staffer at Guru Nanak Darbar temple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)
In this Feb. 8, 2021 file photo, a man receives his Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from a medical staffer at Guru Nanak Darbar temple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)
TT
20

Sinopharm's COVID Booster Reverses Antibody Decline, Enhances Cell-Based Responses

In this Feb. 8, 2021 file photo, a man receives his Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from a medical staffer at Guru Nanak Darbar temple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)
In this Feb. 8, 2021 file photo, a man receives his Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine from a medical staffer at Guru Nanak Darbar temple in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP)

A third shot of Sinopharm's COVID-19 vaccine leads to a rebound in antibody levels that drop months after a second dose, a small-scale Chinese study showed.

It also showed the booster enhanced cell-based responses to the coronavirus, reported Reuters.

The findings yet to undergo peer review, come as China starts to give a third COVID-19 shot to higher risk members of the population, as concerns grow that waning antibody levels over time could weaken protection against the virus.

The Sinopharm vaccine is among China's major inoculation tools and is also used in countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Cambodia.

About five months after a second Sinopharm dose, the average concentration of neutralizing antibody against the virus dropped by 70% from the level seen four weeks after that shot, according to analysis of samples taken from vaccinated healthcare workers.

But one week after a third shot, the antibody concentration had increased 7.2-fold compared with the level seen five months after the second shot, researchers from a hospital affiliated with the Sun Yat-sen University said in the paper.

The study on the BBIBP-CorV shot did not discuss how the changes in antibody concentration might impact the vaccine's efficacy, or how the boosted antibody works against variants of the virus.

Several other vaccines have also shown declines in antibody levels over time and their developers have used such data to make a case for boosters.

But some scientists say more data is needed to decide whether boosters are needed.

Cellular responses, another important part of the human immune system, also improved after the third Sinopharm shot, the paper said. "Both humoral and cellular responses were induced by the third dose of robustly and rapidly," researchers said, adding the cellular responses could be key for durable protection.

But two experts outside the study said the implication of the cellular readings could be limited, partly because it remains unclear how T cell-mediated responses correlate with COVID shots' protection.



California Man Wins $50 Million in Lawsuit over Burns from Starbucks Tea

FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
TT
20

California Man Wins $50 Million in Lawsuit over Burns from Starbucks Tea

FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE - This is the Starbucks sign on Black Friday shoppers line at a Starbucks kiosk in the Walden Galleria in Buffalo, NY., Friday, Nov. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show.
A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. He has suffered permanent and life-changing disfigurement, according to his attorneys.
Garcia's negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn't wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray.
“This jury verdict is a critical step in holding Starbucks accountable for flagrant disregard for customer safety and failure to accept responsibility,” one of Garcia's attorneys, Nick Rowley, said in a statement.
Starbucks said it sympathized with Garcia but planned to appeal, The Associated Press reported.
“We disagree with the jury’s decision that we were at fault for this incident and believe the damages awarded to be excessive," the Seattle-based coffee giant said in a statement to media outlets, adding that it was “committed to the highest safety standards” in handling hot drinks.
US eateries have faced lawsuits before over customer burns.
In one famous 1990s case, a New Mexico jury awarded a woman nearly $3 million in damages for burns she suffered while trying to pry the lid off a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s drive-through. A judge later reduced the award, and the case ultimately was settled for an undisclosed sum under $600,000.
Juries have sided with restaurants at times, as in another 1990s case involving a child who tipped a cup of McDonald's coffee onto himself in Iowa.