SARS-CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibodies to B.1 and to BA.5 Variant after Booster Dose of BNT162b2 Vaccine in HIV Patients COVID-Naïve and on Successful Antiretroviral Therapy
Ilaria Vicenti,
Monica Basso,
Nicole Pirola,
Beatrice Bragato,
Maria Cristina Rossi,
Mario Giobbia,
Susanna Pascoli,
Antonio Vinci,
Sara Caputo,
Ilenia Varasi,
Camilla Biba,
Lia Fiaschi,
Maurizio Zazzi,
Saverio Giuseppe Parisi
Affiliations
Ilaria Vicenti
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Monica Basso
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
Nicole Pirola
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
Beatrice Bragato
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
Maria Cristina Rossi
Infectious Diseases Unit, Treviso Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy
Mario Giobbia
Infectious Diseases Unit, Treviso Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy
Susanna Pascoli
Microbiology Unit, Department of Specialist and Laboratory Medicine, Ca’ Foncello University Hospital, 31100 Treviso, Italy
Antonio Vinci
Hospital Health Management Area, Local Health Authority “Roma 1”, Borgo Santo Spirito 3, 00193 Rome, Italy
Sara Caputo
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
Ilenia Varasi
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Camilla Biba
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Lia Fiaschi
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Maurizio Zazzi
Department of Medical Biotechnologies, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy
Saverio Giuseppe Parisi
Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
Live virus neutralization is the gold standard to investigate immunity. This prospective observational study aimed to determine the magnitude of response against the original B.1 lineage and against the BA.5 lineage six months after the third BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine dose in patients with HIV infection on successful antiretroviral treatment and no previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. A total of 100 subjects (M/F 83/17, median age 54 years) were included in the analysis: 95 had plasma HIV RNA 3, and the median nadir CD4+ T cell count was 258 cells/mm3. Neutralizing antibodies (NtAb) against B.1 were detectable in all the subjects, but those to BA.5 were only detected in 88 (p p p < 0.0001). Linear regression on a subset of 87 patients excluding outlier NtAb titers showed that 48% of the changes in NtAb titers to BA.5 are related to the changes in value titers to B.1. SARS-CoV-2 variants evolve rapidly, challenging the efficacy of vaccines, and data on comparative NtAb responses may help in tailoring intervals between vaccine doses and in predicting vaccine efficacy.
