Background: Information regarding seropositivity and vaccine efficacy among medical students is scarce. This study aims to detect the status of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies among the Sinopharm's Vero Cell (BBIBP-CorV) vaccinated medical students.
Materials and methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was carried out among medical students of Gandaki Medical College Teaching Hospital, Pokhara, Nepal from March through August 2022. The level of SARS-CoV-2 serum- neutralizing IgG antibody was measured and its relation with participants' age and sex, duration of vaccination, and any comorbid condition was determined.
Results: A total of 110 medical students were included in the final analysis, the majority being females (65.5%) and the mean age is 23.1 ± 3.2 years. Most of the students (96.4%) had neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Among the 29 (26.36%) students who received a booster dose, the positivity rate was 100%. The mean IgG levels were 9.57 ± 9.58 μg/ml and 2.91 ± 2.47 μg/ml among students receiving an additional booster dose and among those not receiving it, respectively. In the cohort receiving a booster dose of the vaccine, the average value of neutralizing IgG antibodies was high. In contrast, the ones not receiving it, the titers were low and showed a declining trend.
Conclusion: Though the dose strategy of the Sinopharm vaccine is effective, booster vaccination may be an important strategy to ensure protection among medical students, who are at high risk of COVID-19 due to constant patient exposure during their training. Further studies should assess vaccine efficacy among individuals who received other vaccines as well.
Keywords: Medical students; neutralizing antibody; seropositive; sinopharm; vaccine.