Long-term COVID-19 Vaccine- and Omicron Infection-induced Humoral and Cell-mediated Immunity

Overview

Journal Front Immunol

Specialty Allergy & Immunology

Date 2024 Dec 6

PMID 39640263

Authors

Milja Belik

Arttu Reinholm

Pekka Kolehmainen

Jemna Heroum

Sari Maljanen

Eda Altan

Pamela Osterlund

Larissa Laine

Olli Ritvos

Arja Pasternack

Rauno A Naves

Alina Iakubovskaia

Alex-Mikael Barkoff

Qiushui He

Johanna Lempainen

Paula A Tahtinen

Lauri Ivaska

Pinja Jalkanen

Ilkka Julkunen

Laura Kakkola

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Introduction: Mutations occurring in the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2 enables the virus to evade COVID-19 vaccine- and infection-induced immunity.

Methods: Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of humoral and cell-mediated immunity in 111 healthcare workers who received three or four vaccine doses and were followed up to 12 and 6 months, respectively, after the last vaccine dose. Omicron breakthrough infection occurred in 71% of the vaccinees, enabling evaluation of vaccine- and vaccine/infection-induced hybrid immunity.

Results: Neutralizing antibodies were the highest against the ancestral D614G and were sequentially reduced against the Omicron variants BA.2, BA.5 and XBB.1.5. S1-specific IgG and neutralizing antibody levels were significantly higher in infected than in uninfected vaccinees, and the fourth vaccine dose in combination with a breakthrough infection resulted in high neutralizing antibody levels against all variants. T cell-mediated immunity, instead, was well retained already after two vaccine doses, and was not significantly strengthened by additional booster vaccine doses or Omicron breakthrough infections.

Discussion: While humoral immunity is sensitive to mutations in the S protein and thus declined rapidly, the cell-mediated immunity is durable to antigenic variation, which may explain the good efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines against a severe disease.

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