Humoral response to the SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine: Real-world data from a large cohort of healthcare workers

Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic was responsible for the death of millions of people around the world, which accelerated the study of vaccines. The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 is a messenger RNA vaccine that encodes the spike protein of the virus. However, the duration of the protection conferred by this vaccine and factors associated with immune responses require validation in large cohorts.

Methods: Here, we present data of humoral immune response to vaccination in4264 healthcare workers, tested before (T0) and 15 and 90 days (T1 and T2, respectively) following vaccination.Peripheral blood was collected for immunological analysis using the Quant SARS-CoV-2 IgG II Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay (CMIA) to determine anti-spike IgG, receptor binding domain (RBD), S1 subunit of SARS-CoV-2.

Findings: At T0, 96·8% (n = 4129) of participants had IgG antibodies non-reactive to anti-SARS-CoV-2. Fifteen days after completing the vaccination, the IgG overall median titer was significantly elevated (21·7x10³AU/mL). Both for uni- and multivariate logistic regression analyses women presented higher antibody levels than men, independent of age. Titers were significantly altered among age groups, decreasing by each increase in 10-year of age. At 3 months after completing the vaccination, anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers were 6·3-fold diminished. This real-world post-vaccination data confirmed production of a frequent and elevated anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG titers, associated with high protection rates. Females and younger participants had higher titer 15 days after vaccination, and despite the significant reduction from 15-to-90 days, those with higher pre-vaccination titers maintained higher levels throughout the remaining timepoints.

Interpretation: These findings support the need to track humoral immunity kinetics to uncover viral susceptibility and eventually implement re-vaccination, particularly in groups prone to lower humoral immune response.

Funding: No external funding was received to conduct this study.