Protective effect and molecular mechanisms of human non-neutralizing cross-reactive spike antibodies elicited by SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccination
Clark et al. show that non-neutralizing antibodies elicited by mRNA vaccination provide protection against lethal SARS-CoV-2 infection in animal models despite being unable to neutralize viral particles. These antibodies bind to spike protein of multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants and likely provide protection via Fc-mediated interaction with complement and immune cells.