Monitoring of adaptive immune responses in healthcare workers who received a Coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine booster dose

Abstract

Background and Aims: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a global pandemic and led to increased mortality and morbidity. Vaccines against the etiologic agent; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) were approved for emergency use on different platforms. In the early phase of the pandemic, Thai healthcare workers (HCWs) received CoronaVac, an inactivated vaccine, as the first vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, followed by ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, a viral vector-based vaccine, or BNT162b2, an mRNA vaccine, as a booster dose. This preliminary study evaluated the immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BNT162b2 as a booster dose in HCWs who previously received two doses of CoronaVac. Methods: Ten HCW participants received ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and another 10 HCWs received BNT162b2 as a booster dose after two doses of CoronaVac. Anti-RBD IgG, neutralizing antibodies (NAb), and cellular immunity, including interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-releasing CD4, CD8, double negative T cells, and NK cells, were measured at 3 and 5 months after the booster dose. Results: There was no significant difference in anti-RBD IgG levels at 3 and 5 months between the two different types of booster vaccine. The levels of anti-RBD IgG and NAb were significantly decreased at 5 months. HCWs receiving BNT162b2 had significantly higher NAb levels than those receiving ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 at 5 months after the booster dose. IFN-γ release from CD4 T cells was detected at 3 months with no significant difference between the two types of booster vaccines. However, IFN-γ-releasing CD4 T cells were present at 5 months in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 group only. Conclusion: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or BNT162b2 can be used as a booster dose after completion of the primary series primed by inactivated vaccine. Although the levels of immunity decline at 5 months, they may be adequate during the first 3 months after the booster dose.