Follow-up of SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels in Belgian nursing home residents and staff two, four and six months after primary course BNT162b2 vaccination

When COVID-19 vaccines were implemented, nursing home residents (NHRs) and staff (NHS) in Belgium were prioritized for vaccination. To characterize the vaccine response over time in this population and to identify poorly responding groups, we assessed antibody concentrations two (T1), four (T2) and six months (T3) after primary course BNT162b2 vaccination in six groups of infection-naive/infection-primed NHRs/NHS, with/without comorbidity (NHRs only). Participant groups (N = 125 per group) were defined within a national serosurveillance study in nursing homes, based on questionnaire data. Drie... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Meyers, Eline
De Rop, Liselore
Engels, Fien
Gioveni, Claudia
Coen, Anja
De Burghgraeve, Tine
Digregorio, Marina
Van Ngoc, Pauline
De Clercq, Nele
Buret, Laëtitia
Coenen, Samuel
Deschepper, Ellen
Padalko, Elizaveta
Callens, Steven
Duysburgh, Els
De Sutter, An
Scholtes, Beatrice
Verbakel, Jan
Heytens, Stefan
Cools, Piet
Dokumenttyp: journalarticle
Erscheinungsdatum: 2024
Schlagwörter: Medicine and Health Sciences
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-28878350
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/01J60H61Y22082NJ51ASAQZ08X

When COVID-19 vaccines were implemented, nursing home residents (NHRs) and staff (NHS) in Belgium were prioritized for vaccination. To characterize the vaccine response over time in this population and to identify poorly responding groups, we assessed antibody concentrations two (T1), four (T2) and six months (T3) after primary course BNT162b2 vaccination in six groups of infection-naive/infection-primed NHRs/NHS, with/without comorbidity (NHRs only). Participant groups (N = 125 per group) were defined within a national serosurveillance study in nursing homes, based on questionnaire data. Dried blood spots were analyzed using ELISA for the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 S1RBD IgG antibodies. Among all groups, antibody concentrations significantly decreased between T1 and T2/T3, all with a ≥70% decrease at T3, except for infection-primed staff (−32%). Antibody concentrations among infection-naive NHRs were 11.96 times lower than those among infection-primed NHR, while the latter were comparable (x1.05) to infection-primed NHS. The largest proportion [13% (95% CI: 11–24%)] of vaccine non-responders was observed in the group of infection-naive NHRs with comorbidities. A longer interval between infection and vaccination (≥3 months) elicited higher antibody responses. Our data retrospectively show the necessity of timely COVID-19 booster vaccination. Infection-naive NHRs require special attention regarding immune monitoring in future epidemics or pandemics.