Age-related immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2

DA Collier; IATM Ferreira; P Kotagiri; RP Datir; EY Lim; E Touizer; B Meng; A Abdullahi; S Baker; G Dougan; C Hess; N Kingston; PJ Lehner; PA Lyons; NJ Matheson; WH Owehand; C Saunders; C Summers; JED Thaventhiran; M Toshner; MP Weekes; P Maxwell; A Shaw; A Bucke; J Calder; L Canna; J Domingo; A Elmer; S Fuller; J Harris; S Hewitt; J Kennet; S Jose; J Kourampa; A Meadows; C O’Brien; J Price; C Publico; R Rastall; C Ribeiro; J Rowlands; V Ruffolo; H Tordesillas; B Bullman; BJ Dunmore; S Fawke; S Gräf; J Hodgson; C Huang; K Hunter; E Jones; E Legchenko; C Matara; J Martin; F Mescia; C O’Donnell; L Pointon; N Pond; J Shih; R Sutcliffe; T Tilly; C Treacy; Z Tong; J Wood; M Wylot; L Bergamaschi; A Betancourt; G Bower; C Cossetti; A De Sa; M Epping; N Gleadall; R Grenfell; A Hinch; O Huhn; S Jackson; I Jarvis; B Krishna; D Lewis; J Marsden; F Nice; G Okecha; O Omarjee; M Perera; M Potts; N Richoz; V Romashova; NS Yarkoni; R Sharma; L Stefanucci; J Stephens; M Strezlecki; L Turner; EM Eckart; K Bunclark; M Josipovic; M Mackay; A Michael; S Rossi

Journal article

Age-related immune response heterogeneity to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine BNT162b2

DA Collier, IATM Ferreira, P Kotagiri, RP Datir, EY Lim, E Touizer, B Meng, A Abdullahi, S Baker, G Dougan, C Hess, N Kingston, PJ Lehner, PA Lyons, NJ Matheson, WH Owehand, C Saunders, C Summers, JED Thaventhiran, M Toshner Show all

Nature | NATURE PORTFOLIO | Published : 2021

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03739-1

Open access

Download PDF

Abstract

Although two-dose mRNA vaccination provides excellent protection against SARS-CoV-2, there is little information about vaccine efficacy against variants of concern (VOC) in individuals above eighty years of age1. Here we analysed immune responses following vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine2 in elderly participants and younger healthcare workers. Serum neutralization and levels of binding IgG or IgA after the first vaccine dose were lower in older individuals, with a marked drop in participants over eighty years old. Sera from participants above eighty showed lower neutralization potency against the B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta) and P.1. (Gamma) VOC than against the wild-type virus..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Prasanti Kotagiri Author

Grants

Awarded by National Institute for Health Research

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust Occupational Health Department; the NIHR Cambridge Clinical Research Facility and staff at CUH; the Cambridge NIHR BRC Stratified Medicine Core Laboratory NGS Hub; the NIHR Cambridge BRC Phenotyping Hub; P. Mlcochova, S. A. Kemp, M. Potts, B. Krishna, M. Perera and G. Okecha; and J. Nathan, L. James and J. Briggs. R.K.G. is supported by a Wellcome Trust Senior Fellowship in Clinical Science (WT108082AIA). D.A.C. is supported by a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Research Fellowship. K.G.C.S. is the recipient of a Wellcome Investigator Award (200871/Z/16/Z). M.A.L. is supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBS/E/B/000C0427, BBS/E/B/000C0428). This research was supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, the Cambridge Clinical Trials Unit (CCTU), the NIHR BioResource and Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, the Evelyn Trust (20/75), and the UKRI COVID Immunology Consortium. G.B.-M. and P.C.-A. were supported by UNAM-FESC-PIAPI Program Code PIAPI2009 and by a CONACyT 829997 Fellowship. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. I.A.T.M.F. is funded by a Sub-Saharan African Network for TB/HIV Research Excellence (SANTHE, a DELTAS Africa Initiative (grant DEL-15-006)) Fellowship. We thank D. Corti for the VOC plasmids. P.K. is the recipient of a Jacquot Research Entry Scholarship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Foundation.