TechShout - Jul 12, 2021 A new study of antibodies produced in saliva after Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shows both importance of second vaccine dose and updating vaccines to combat new variants of concern. The study showed that the number of antibodies produced and protection offered by vaccination increased substantially after the second vaccine dose was given, showing the importance of receiving the second dose. The team, including Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra at the University of Tubingen, also examined whether it offered protection against Alpha and Beta variants. They found that while there was no reduction in neutralising antibodies against the Alpha variant, there was a substantial reduction in neutralising antibodies against the Beta variant, indicated the study, presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases.