Live virus neutralizing antibodies against pre and post Omicron strains in food and retail workers in Québec, Canada
Henintsoa Rabezanahary,
Caroline Gilbert,
Kim Santerre,
Martina Scarrone,
Megan Gilbert,
Mathieu Thériault,
Nicholas Brousseau,
Jean-François Masson,
Joelle N. Pelletier,
Denis Boudreau,
Sylvie Trottier,
Mariana Baz
Affiliations
Henintsoa Rabezanahary
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Caroline Gilbert
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Kim Santerre
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Martina Scarrone
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Megan Gilbert
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Mathieu Thériault
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Nicholas Brousseau
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Biological Risks Department, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, Québec, QC, G1V 5B3, Canada
Jean-François Masson
Department of Chemistry, Quebec Center for Advanced Materials, Regroupement québécois sur les Matériaux de Pointe, and Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche sur le Cerveau et l'apprentissage, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
Joelle N. Pelletier
Department of Chemistry, Department of Biochemistry, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H2V 0B3, Canada; PROTEO-The Québec Network for Research on Protein Function, Engineering, and Applications, Québec, Canada
Denis Boudreau
Département de Chimie et Centre d'Optique, Photonique et laser (COPL), Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Sylvie Trottier
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada
Mariana Baz
Division of Infectious and Immune Diseases, CHU de Québec Research Center, QC, Quebec, Canada; Department of Microbiology, Infectious Disease and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Laval, QC, Quebec, Canada; Corresponding author. Infectious Disease Research Centre CHU de Quebec and Laval University Québec, Canada G1V 4G2.
Background: Measuring the ability of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to neutralize live viruses remains an effective approach to quantify the level of protection of individuals. We assessed the neutralization activity against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2, Delta, Omicron BA.1, BA.2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 strains, in 280 vaccinated restaurant/bar, grocery and hardware store workers in Québec, Canada. Methods: Participants were recruited during the emergence of Omicron BA.1 variant. The neutralizing activity of participant sera was assessed by microneutralization assay. Results: Serum neutralizing antibody (NtAb) titers of all participants against the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain were comparable with those against Delta variant (ranges of titers 10–2032 and 10–2560, respectively), however, their response was significantly reduced against Omicron BA.1, BA2, BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 (10–1016, 10–1016, 10–320, 10–80 and 10–254, respectively). Individuals who received 2 doses of vaccine had significantly reduced NtAb titers against all SARS-CoV-2 strains compared to those infected and then vaccinated (≥1 dose), vaccinated (≥2 doses) and then infected, or those who received 3 doses of vaccine. Participants vaccinated with 2 or 3 doses of vaccine and then infected had the highest NtAb titers against all SARS-CoV-2 strains tested. Conclusion: We assessed for the first time the NtAb response in food and retail workers. We found that vaccination prior to the emergence of Omicron BA.1 was associated with higher neutralizing activity against pre-Omicron variants, suggesting the importance of updating vaccines to increase antibody response against new SARS-CoV-2 variants. Vaccination followed by infection was associated with higher neutralizing activity against all SARS-CoV-2 strains tested.
