Robust Neutralizing Antibody Responses 6 Months Post Vaccination with BNT162b2: A Prospective Study in 308 Healthy Individuals
Evangelos Terpos,
Vangelis Karalis,
Ioannis Ntanasis-Stathopoulos,
Maria Gavriatopoulou,
Sentiljana Gumeni,
Panagiotis Malandrakis,
Eleni-Dimitra Papanagnou,
Efstathios Kastritis,
Ioannis P. Trougakos,
Meletios A. Dimopoulos
Affiliations
Evangelos Terpos
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Vangelis Karalis
Section of Pharmaceutical Technology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Ioannis Ntanasis-Stathopoulos
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Maria Gavriatopoulou
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Sentiljana Gumeni
Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Panagiotis Malandrakis
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Eleni-Dimitra Papanagnou
Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Efstathios Kastritis
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Ioannis P. Trougakos
Department of Cell Biology and Biophysics, Faculty of Biology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Meletios A. Dimopoulos
Department of Clinical Therapeutics, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11528 Athens, Greece
Elucidating long-term immunity following COVID-19 vaccination is essential for decision-making regarding booster shots. The aim of this study was to investigate the kinetics of neutralizing antibodies (Nabs) against SARS-CoV-2 up to six months after the second vaccination dose with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Nabs levels were measured on days 1 (before the first vaccine shot), 8, 22 (before the second shot), 36, 50, and 3 and 6 months after the second vaccination (NCT04743388). Three hundred and eight healthy individuals without malignant disease were included in this study. At six months, 2.59% of the participants had a Nabs value less than 30%, while 11.9% had Nabs values of less than 50%. Importantly, 58% of the subjects had Nabs values of more than 75%. Nabs were initially eliminated at a relatively slow rate, but after three months their elimination was 5.7 times higher. Older age was inversely associated with Nabs levels at all examined timepoints. Interestingly, a population modeling analysis estimated that half of the subjects will have Nabs values less than 73.8% and 64.6% at 9 and 12 months, respectively, post vaccination completion. In conclusion, we found a persistent but declining anti-SARS-CoV-2 humoral immunity at six months following full vaccination with BNT162b2 in healthy individuals, which was more pronounced among older persons. These data may inform the public health policies regarding the prioritization of booster vaccine shots.
