Durability for 12 months of antibody response to a booster dose of monovalent BNT162b2 in adults who had initially received 2 doses of inactivated vaccine

Eunice Y C Shiu; Samuel M S Cheng; Mario Martín-Sánchez; Niki Y M Au; Karl C K Chan; John K C Li; Lison W C Fung; Leo L H Luk; Sara Chaothai; Tsz Chun Kwan; Dennis K M Ip; Gabriel M Leung; Leo L M Poon; J S Malik Peiris; Nancy H L Leung; Benjamin J Cowling

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126317

Durability for 12 months of antibody response to a booster dose of monovalent BNT162b2 in adults who had initially received 2 doses of inactivated vaccine

Vaccine. 2024 Sep 13;42(26):126317. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126317. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Eunice Y C Shiu¹, Samuel M S Cheng¹, Mario Martín-Sánchez¹, Niki Y M Au¹, Karl C K Chan¹, John K C Li¹, Lison W C Fung¹, Leo L H Luk¹, Sara Chaothai¹, Tsz Chun Kwan¹, Dennis K M Ip¹, Gabriel M Leung², Leo L M Poon³, J S Malik Peiris³, Nancy H L Leung², Benjamin J Cowling⁴

Affiliations

¹ WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
² WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
³ WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; HKU-Pasteur Research Pole, School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Centre for Immunology and Infection, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
⁴ WHO Collaborating Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Control, School of Public Health, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Laboratory of Data Discovery for Health Limited, Hong Kong Science and Technology Park, New Territories, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.. Electronic address: bcowling@hku.hk.

PMID: 39276621
DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126317

Abstract

This study examined the strength and durability of antibody responses in 277 adults who received a heterologous third dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine, following two doses of an inactivated vaccine. Neutralizing antibody levels against both the ancestral virus and Omicron BA.2 subvariant decreased from one month to 6 months after the third dose, and were then maintained at 12 months. Participants who received both a fourth dose and reported a SARS-CoV-2 infection had the highest antibody titers at 365 days after the third dose. Individuals with chronic medical conditions had lower antibody levels against the Omicron BA.2 subvariant at 12 months after the third dose. The results suggest that the heterologous third dose provides durable neutralizing antibody responses, which may be influenced by subsequent infection or vaccination and pre-existing medical conditions. These findings may help explain the differences in immune protection between vaccination and natural infection.

Keywords: Antibody; BNT162b2; Immunogenicity; Waning.