Development of Hybrid Immunity During a Period of High Incidence of Omicron Infections

Overview

Journal Int J Epidemiol

Specialty Public Health

Date 2023 Jul 5

PMID 37407273

Authors

Anja Frei

Marco Kaufmann

Rebecca Amati

Audrey Butty Dettwiler

Viktor von Wyl

Anna Maria Annoni

Julia Vincentini

Celine Pellaton

Giuseppe Pantaleo

Jan S Fehr

Valerie DAcremont

Murielle Bochud

Emiliano Albanese

Milo A Puhan

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Seroprevalence and the proportion of people with neutralizing activity (functional immunity) against SARS-CoV-2 variants were high in early 2022. In this prospective, population- based, multi-region cohort study, we assessed the development of functional and hybrid immunity (induced by vaccination and infection) in the general population during this period of high incidence of infections with Omicron variants.

Methods: We randomly selected and assessed individuals aged ≥16 years from the general population in southern (n = 739) and north-eastern (n = 964) Switzerland in March 2022. We assessed them again in June/July 2022, supplemented with a random sample from western (n = 850) Switzerland. We measured SARS-CoV-2 specific IgG antibodies and SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies against three variants (ancestral strain, Delta, Omicron).

Results: Seroprevalence remained stable from March 2022 (97.6%, n = 1894) to June/July 2022 (98.4%, n = 2553). In June/July, the percentage of individuals with neutralizing capacity against ancestral strain was 94.2%, against Delta 90.8% and against Omicron 84.9%, and 50.6% developed hybrid immunity. Individuals with hybrid immunity had highest median levels of anti-spike IgG antibodies titres [4518 World Health Organization units per millilitre (WHO U/mL)] compared with those with only vaccine- (4304 WHO U/mL) or infection- (269 WHO U/mL) induced immunity, and highest neutralization capacity against ancestral strain (hybrid: 99.8%, vaccinated: 98%, infected: 47.5%), Delta (hybrid: 99%, vaccinated: 92.2%, infected: 38.7%) and Omicron (hybrid: 96.4%, vaccinated: 79.5%, infected: 47.5%).

Conclusions: This first study on functional and hybrid immunity in the Swiss general population after Omicron waves showed that SARS-CoV-2 has become endemic. The high levels of antibodies and neutralization support the emerging recommendations of some countries where booster vaccinations are still strongly recommended for vulnerable persons but less so for the general population.

Citing Articles

Mental Health Assessment of the Population: Study Protocol of the MAP Research Program in Ukraine (MAP-U) and in Zurich (MAP-Z).

Yasenok V, Neumann E, Raineri A, Kopp J, Ruegger S, Ballouz T Int J Public Health. 2025; 69:1607271.

PMID: 39872130 PMC: 11770391. DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1607271.

An Ecological Study Relating the SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology with Health-Related, Socio-Demographic, and Geographical Characteristics in South Tyrol (Italy).

Lorenzon A, Palandri L, Uguzzoni F, Cristofor C, Lozza F, Rizzi C Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2025; 21(12.

PMID: 39767445 PMC: 11675570. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21121604.

Sexual behaviours and risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection among MSM during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

Farnham A, Frei A, Kopp J, Schori L, Kotoun O, Reinacher M BMC Public Health. 2024; 24(1):3038.

PMID: 39488716 PMC: 11531119. DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-20514-9.

Canada's approach to SARS-CoV-2 sero-surveillance: Lessons learned for routine surveillance and future pandemics.

OBrien S, Asamoah-Boaheng M, Grunau B, Krajden M, Buckeridge D, Goldfarb D Can J Public Health. 2024; 115(4):558-566.

PMID: 38981961 PMC: 11382644. DOI: 10.17269/s41997-024-00901-w.

An Unwanted but Long-Known Company: Post-Viral Symptoms in the Context of Past Pandemics in Switzerland (and Beyond).

Staub K, Ballouz T, Puhan M Public Health Rev. 2024; 45:1606966.

PMID: 38651133 PMC: 11033310. DOI: 10.3389/phrs.2024.1606966.

References

Harris P, Taylor R, Thielke R, Payne J, Gonzalez N, Conde J . Research electronic data capture (REDCap)--a metadata-driven methodology and workflow process for providing translational research informatics support. J Biomed Inform. 2008; 42(2):377-81. PMC: 2700030. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2008.08.010. View

Gruell H, Vanshylla K, Tober-Lau P, Hillus D, Schommers P, Lehmann C . mRNA booster immunization elicits potent neutralizing serum activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Nat Med. 2022; 28(3):477-480. PMC: 8767537. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01676-0. View

Amati R, Frei A, Kaufmann M, Sabatini S, Pellaton C, Fehr J . Functional immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in the general population after a booster campaign and the Delta and Omicron waves, Switzerland, March 2022. Euro Surveill. 2022; 27(31). PMC: 9358404. DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2022.27.31.2200561. View

West E, Anker D, Amati R, Richard A, Wisniak A, Butty A . Corona Immunitas: study protocol of a nationwide program of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and seroepidemiologic studies in Switzerland. Int J Public Health. 2020; 65(9):1529-1548. PMC: 7584867. DOI: 10.1007/s00038-020-01494-0. View

Wratil P, Stern M, Priller A, Willmann A, Almanzar G, Vogel E . Three exposures to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 by either infection or vaccination elicit superior neutralizing immunity to all variants of concern. Nat Med. 2022; 28(3):496-503. DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-01715-4. View

Decru B, Van Elslande J, Steels S, Van Pottelbergh G, Godderis L, Van Holm B . IgG Anti-Spike Antibodies and Surrogate Neutralizing Antibody Levels Decline Faster 3 to 10 Months After BNT162b2 Vaccination Than After SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Healthcare Workers. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:909910. PMC: 9241488. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.909910. View

Hall V, Foulkes S, Insalata F, Kirwan P, Saei A, Atti A . Protection against SARS-CoV-2 after Covid-19 Vaccination and Previous Infection. N Engl J Med. 2022; 386(13):1207-1220. PMC: 8908850. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2118691. View

Jahrsdorfer B, Proffen M, Scholz J, Hagele J, Ludwig C, Vieweg C . BNT162b2 Booster Vaccination Elicits Cross-Reactive Immunity Against SARS-CoV-2 Variants B.1.1.529 and B.1.617.2 in Convalescents of All Ages. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:920210. PMC: 9250979. DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.920210. View

Gelman A, Carpenter B . Bayesian Analysis of Tests with Unknown Specificity and Sensitivity. J R Stat Soc Ser C Appl Stat. 2023; 69(5):1269-1283. PMC: 10016948. DOI: 10.1111/rssc.12435. View

10.

Vaselli N, Hungerford D, Shenton B, Khashkhusha A, Cunliffe N, French N . The seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 during the first wave in Europe 2020: A systematic review. PLoS One. 2021; 16(11):e0250541. PMC: 8562786. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250541. View

11.

Tartof S, Slezak J, Puzniak L, Hong V, Frankland T, Xie F . Effectiveness and durability of BNT162b2 vaccine against hospital and emergency department admissions due to SARS-CoV-2 omicron sub-lineages BA.1 and BA.2 in a large health system in the USA: a test-negative, case-control study. Lancet Respir Med. 2022; 11(2):176-187. PMC: 9765328. DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(22)00354-X. View

12.

Harris P, Taylor R, Minor B, Elliott V, Fernandez M, ONeal L . The REDCap consortium: Building an international community of software platform partners. J Biomed Inform. 2019; 95:103208. PMC: 7254481. DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2019.103208. View

13.

Lavezzo E, Pacenti M, Manuto L, Boldrin C, Cattai M, Grazioli M . Neutralising reactivity against SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron variants by vaccination and infection history. Genome Med. 2022; 14(1):61. PMC: 9185135. DOI: 10.1186/s13073-022-01066-2. View

14.

Stringhini S, Zaballa M, Perez-Saez J, Pullen N, de Mestral C, Picazio A . Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after the second pandemic peak. Lancet Infect Dis. 2021; 21(5):600-601. PMC: 8063076. DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00054-2. View

15.

Goldberg Y, Mandel M, Bar-On Y, Bodenheimer O, Freedman L, Ash N . Protection and Waning of Natural and Hybrid Immunity to SARS-CoV-2. N Engl J Med. 2022; 386(23):2201-2212. PMC: 9165562. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2118946. View

16.

Fenwick C, Turelli P, Pellaton C, Farina A, Campos J, Raclot C . A high-throughput cell- and virus-free assay shows reduced neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 variants by COVID-19 convalescent plasma. Sci Transl Med. 2021; 13(605). PMC: 9835890. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abi8452. View

17.

Stringhini S, Wisniak A, Piumatti G, Azman A, Lauer S, Baysson H . Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies in Geneva, Switzerland (SEROCoV-POP): a population-based study. Lancet. 2020; 396(10247):313-319. PMC: 7289564. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31304-0. View

18.

Pathela P, Crawley A, Weiss D, Maldin B, Cornell J, Purdin J . Seroprevalence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Following the Largest Initial Epidemic Wave in the United States: Findings From New York City, 13 May to 21 July 2020. J Infect Dis. 2021; 224(2):196-206. PMC: 8083309. DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiab200. View

19.

Stringhini S, Zaballa M, Pullen N, Perez-Saez J, de Mestral C, Loizeau A . Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies 6 months into the vaccination campaign in Geneva, Switzerland, 1 June to 7 July 2021. Euro Surveill. 2021; 26(43). PMC: 8555371. DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.43.2100830. View

20.

Callaway E . Will there be a COVID winter wave? What scientists say. Nature. 2022; 610(7931):239-241. DOI: 10.1038/d41586-022-03157-x. View