Witkowski Wojciech, Gerlo Sarah, De Smet Evelien, Wejda Magdalena, Acar Delphine, Callens Steven, Heytens Stefan, Padalko Elizaveta, Vercruysse Hanne, Cools Piet, Vandekerckhove Linos
HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Feb 8;10(2):260. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10020260.
Despite the high efficacy of the BNT162b2 vaccine in the general population, data on its immunogenicity among frail elderly individuals are limited. Recently, levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG antibodies and serum neutralization titers were confirmed as good immune markers of protection against the virus, with evidence showing a reverse correlation between these two parameters and susceptibility to infection. Here we analyzed sera from 138 nursing home residents (median age of 88.9 years) and 312 nursing home staff (median age of 50.7 years) to determine the humoral response to two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine, and found markedly decreased serum anti-spike antibody levels and neutralization titers in the nursing home resident (NHR) group, with over 11% non-responders compared to only 1.3% among the controls. Moreover, three months post-vaccination, a significant decrease in antibody titers was observed in COVID-19-naive nursing home residents. Subsequent flow cytometry and interferon gamma secretion analyses indicated that antibody non-responders among NHRs also failed to mount cellular responses. The presented data emphasize that additional measures are needed in the population of frail elderly individuals. Given the high proportion of non-responders among NHRs, continued monitoring should be considered in this group.
尽管BNT162b2疫苗在普通人群中具有高效性，但关于其在体弱老年人中的免疫原性数据有限。最近，抗SARS-CoV-2刺突IgG抗体水平和血清中和滴度被确认为针对该病毒的良好免疫保护标志物，有证据表明这两个参数与感染易感性呈负相关。在此，我们分析了138名养老院居民（中位年龄88.9岁）和312名养老院工作人员（中位年龄50.7岁）的血清，以确定对两剂BNT162b2疫苗的体液反应，发现养老院居民（NHR）组的血清抗刺突抗体水平和中和滴度明显降低，无反应者超过11%，而对照组仅为1.3%。此外，在接种疫苗三个月后，未感染过COVID-19的养老院居民的抗体滴度显著下降。随后的流式细胞术和干扰素γ分泌分析表明，NHR中的抗体无反应者也未能产生细胞反应。所呈现的数据强调，体弱老年人需要采取额外措施。鉴于NHR中无反应者比例较高，应考虑对该群体进行持续监测。
