Abstract
Background: Since the introduction of various vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 at the end of 2020, infection rates have continued to climb worldwide. This led to the establishment of a third dose vaccination in several countries, known as a booster. To date, there has been little real-world data about the immunological effect of this strategy.
Methods: We compared the humoral- and cellular immune response before and after the third dose of BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine BNT162b2, following different prime-boost regimen in a prospective observational study. Humoral immunity was assessed by determining anti-SARS-CoV-2 binding antibodies using a standardized quantitative assay. In addition, neutralizing antibodies were measured using a commercial surrogate ELISA-assay. Interferon-gamma release was measured after stimulating blood-cells with SARS-CoV-2 specific peptides using a commercial assay to evaluate the cellular immune response.
Results: We included 243 health-care workers who provided blood samples and questionnaires pre- and post- third vaccination. The median antibody level increased significantly after the third vaccination dose to 2663.1 BAU/ml vs. 101.4 BAU/ml (p < 0.001) before administration of the booster dose. This was also detected for neutralizing antibodies with a binding inhibition of 99.68% ± 0.36% vs. 69.06% ± 19.88% after the second dose (p < 0.001). 96.3% of the participants showed a detectable T-cell-response after the booster dose with a mean interferon-gamma level of 2207.07 mIU/ml ± 1905 mIU/ml.
Conclusion: This study detected a BMI-dependent antibody increase after the third dose of BNT162b2 following different vaccination protocols. All participants showed a significant increase in their immune response. This, in combination with the low rate of post-vaccination-symptoms underlines the potential beneficial effect of a BNT162b2-booster dose.
Keywords: BNT162b2; SARS-CoV-2; humoral and cellular immunity; seroprevalence; third dose; vaccination.
【저자키워드】 SARS-CoV-2, Seroprevalence, vaccination., BNT162b2, humoral and cellular immunity, third dose, 【초록키워드】 neutralizing antibody, Vaccine, immune response, vaccination, Immunity, Neutralizing antibodies, antibody, Cellular immune response, prospective observational study, Seroprevalence, interferon, peptide, real-world data, anti-SARS-CoV-2, observational study, BNT162b2, Humoral immunity, peptides, infection rate, booster dose, questionnaire, booster, humoral and cellular immunity, binding, Interferon-gamma, cellular, Combination, administration, dose, protocols, humoral, binding antibody, Questionnaires, Blood samples, infection rates, second dose, All participants, significant increase, blood sample, participant, prime-boost regimen, quantitative assay, immunological, health-care, was measured, evaluate, significantly, addition, detectable, provided, median, were measured, All participant, of BNT162b2, 【제목키워드】 COVID-19, response, Prospective, of BNT162b2,