The viral spike (S) protein is the key target of the neutralising antibody response, and the omicron variant harbours more than 35 mutations in the S protein, which allow highly efficient evasion from neutralising antibodies.1 In keeping with these findings, the omicron variant efficiently spreads in populations with a high percentage of convalescent or vaccinated individuals.2,3 The three main subvariants of the omicron variant are BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. The omicron subvariants display remarkable differences regarding S protein mutations, particularly with respect to the N-terminal domain and the receptor-binding domain (appendix pp 2–3), which are known to harbour key epitopes of neutralising antibodies.5,6 Here, we compared BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3 for sensitivity to neutralisation by antibodies induced by infection and vaccination, using pseudoviruses as a model system, which adequately mirrors SARS-CoV-2 neutralisation by antibodies.7 We analysed particles harbouring the S protein of B.1—which is identical to the wildtype strain apart from the D614G mutation—and S proteins of BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. ...neutralisation by antibodies induced in fully vaccinated (three vaccine doses) individuals with breakthrough infection during the fourth wave in Germany (October, 2021, to January, 2022, dominated by the delta variant) was most potent and neutralisation of particles bearing omicron S protein was 9–12-times less efficient than B.1pp (BA.1 p=0·0020; BA.2 p=0·0039; BA.3 p=0·0039; appendix pp 2–3).