Keywords
Categories
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: The aim of this study was to measure anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity of hospital workers after a completed 2-dose Pfizer-BionTech vaccination, and to examine factors potentially associated with immunity status. Side effects of the vaccine were also studied.
Method: This was a cross-sectional study of a representative sample of General University Hospital of Castellon workers, vaccinated with two doses in January and February 2021. We measured IgG antibodies against protein N (IgG-NP), IgM against protein S (IgM-S), and quantitative levles of IgG against protein S (IgG-Quant) one month after the last dose. We obtained information on demographic, risk factors, and vaccine side effects via a self-completed questionnaire. For the statistical analysis we used multiple regression models.
Results: Two hundred seventy-five workers participated (96.8%, 275/284). Positive IgG-Quant, IgM-S, and IgG-NP were 99.6%, 14.9% and 4.4%, respectively. Adjusted IgG-Quant levels increased significantly with obesity, nonsmoking status, positive IgM-S, and/or IgG-NP. The prevalence of IgM-S was higher in males, and associated with the same factors as those for IgG-Quant. Among those with a history of COVD-19 infection, 42.9% did not have IgG-NP. Overall 86.5% of participants had side effects, which were associated with positive IgG-NP, high IgG-Quant levels, younger age, and being female.
Conclusions: All but one participant developed immunity. Those who had suffered from COVID-19 infection had higher antibody levels. A high proportion of participants had mild secondary effects, especially those with previous COVID-19 infection.
References
Reina J. El SARS-CoV-2, una nueva zoonosis pandémica que amenaza al mundo. Vacunas. 2020;21(1):17–22. doi:10.1016/j.vacun.2020.03.001.
Ullah H, Ullah A, Gull A, Mousavi T, Khan MW. Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic Outbreak: A Comprehensive Review of the Current Literature. Vacunas. 2021;22(2):106-113.
Médicos Sin Fronteras. Informe sobre la protección del personal sanitario durante la COVID-19 en España. Barcelona: Médicos Sin Fronteras; 2020 [citado 25 Ago 2021]. Disponible en: https://www.msf.es/sites/default/files/documents/msf-informe-covid19-proteccion-web01.pdf
Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Centro Nacional de Epidemiología, Red Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica. Análisis de los casos de COVID-19 en personal sanitario notificados a la Red Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica (RENAVE) hasta el 10 de mayo en España. 2020 [citado 25 Ago 2021]. Disponible en: https://www.isciii.es/QueHacemos/Servicios/VigilanciaSaludPublicaRENAVE/EnfermedadesTransmisibles/Documents/INFORMES/Informes%20COVID-19/COVID-19%20en%20personal%20sanitario%2029%20de%20mayo%20de%202020.pdf
Amit S, Regev-Yochay G, Afek A, Kreiss Y, Leshem E. Early rate reductions of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 in BNT162b2 vaccine recipients. Lancet. 2021;397(10277):875-877.
Belete TM. A review on Promising vaccine development progress for COVID-19 disease. Vacunas. 2020;21(2):121-128.
Camara C, Lozano-Ojalvo D, Lopez-Granados E, Paz-Artal E, Pion M, Rafael Correa-Rocha R, et al. Differential effects of the second SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine dose on T cell immunity in naïve and COVID-19 recovered individuals. Cell Rep. 2021;36(8):109570.
Sharma O, Sultan AA, Ding H, Triggle CR. A review of the progress and challenges of developing a vaccine for COVID-19. Front Immunol. 2020;11:585354.
Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, AbsalonJ, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2603-2615.
Narasimhan M, Mahimainathan L, Araj E, Clark AE, Markantonis J, Green A, Xu J et al. Clinical evaluation of the Abbott Alinity SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific quantitative IgG and IgM assays among infected, recovered, and vaccinated groups. J Clin Microbiol. 2021;59(7):e0038821.
Epi Info version 7. Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2013. [citado 25 Ago 2021]. Disponible en: https://www.cdc.gov/epiinfo
Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(27):2603-2615.
Oliver SE, Gargano JW, Marin M, Wallace M, Curran KG, Chamberland M, et al. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ Interim recommendation for use of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020;69(50):1922-1924.
Varona JF, Madurga R, Peñalver F, Abarca E, Almirall C, Cruz, et al. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in over 6000 healthcare workers in Spain. Int J Epidemiol. 2021;50(2):400-409.
Barallat J,Fernández-Rivas G, Quirant-Sánchez B, González V, Doladé M, Martinez-Caceres E, et al. Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG specific antibodies among healthcare workers in the Northern Metropolitan Area of Barcelona, Spain, after the first pandemic wave. PLoS One. 2020;15(12):e0244348.
Dean AG, Sullivan KM, Soe MM. Open Source Epidemiologic Statistics for Public Health (OpenEpi), Version 2013. [citado 25 Ago 2021]. Disponible en: https://www.openepi.com/Menu/OE_Menu.htm
Textor J, van der Zander B, Gilthorpe MS, Liskiewicz M, Ellison GT. Robust causal inference using directed acyclic graphs: the R package ‘dagitty’. Int J Epidemiol. 2016;45:1887-1894.
Müller L, Andrée M, Moskorz W, Drexler I, Walotka L, Grothmann R, et al. Age-dependent immune response to the Biontech/Pfizer BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccination. Clin Infect Dis. 2021:ciab381.
Abu Jabal K, Ben-Amram H, Beiruti K, Batheesh Y, Sussan C, Zarka S, et al. Impact of age, ethnicity, sex and prior infection status on immunogenicity following a single dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine: real-world evidence from healthcare workers, Israel, December 2020 to January 2021. Euro Surveill. 2021;26:2100096.
Soiza RL, Scicluna C, Thomson EC. Efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines in older people. Age Ageing. 2021;50(2):279-283.
Bossé Y, Xiao F, Kheradmand F, Amos CI. Tobacco Smoking Increases the Lung Gene Expression of ACE2, the Receptor of SARS-CoV-2. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020;201(12):1557-1559.
Brake SJ, Barnsley K, Lu W, McAlinden KD, Eapen MS, Sohal SS. Smoking Upregulates Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme-2 Receptor: A Potential Adhesion Site for Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19). J Clin Med. 2020;9(3):841.
Watanabe M, Balena A, Tuccinardi D, TozziR, Risi R, Masi D, et al. Central obesity, smoking habit, and hypertension are associated with lower antibody titres in response to COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2021:e3465.
Grzelak L, Velay A, Madec Y, Gallais F, Staropoli I, Schmidt-Mutter C, et al. Sex differences in the evolution of neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. J Infect Dis. 2021:jiab127.
Gerhards C, Thiaucourt M, Kittel M, Becker C, Ast V, Hetjens M, et al. Longitudinal assessment of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics and clinical features following convalescence from a COVID-19 infection. Int J Infect Dis. 2021;107:221-227.
Pellini R, Venuti A, Pimpinelli F, Abril E, Blandino G, Campo F, et al. Initial observations on age, gender, BMI and hypertension in antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine. E Clinical Medicine 2021:100928.
Soffer S, Glicksberg BS, Zimlichman E, Efros O, Levin MA, Freeman R, et al. The association between obesity and peak antibody titer response in COVID-19 infection. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2021:10.1002/oby.23208.
Manisty C, Otter AD, Treibel TA, McKnight Á, Altmann DM, Brooks T, et al. Antibody response to first BNT162b2 dose in previously SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Lancet. 2021;397:1057-1058.
Tré-Hardy M, Cupaiolo R, Papleux E, Wilmet A, Horeanga A, Antoine-Moussiaux T, et al. Reactogenicity, safety and antibody response, after one and two doses of mRNA-1273 in seronegative and seropositive healthcare workers. J Infect. 2021:S0163-4453(21)00158-4.
Krammer F, Srivastava K, Alshammary H, Amoako AA, Awawda MH, Beach KF, et al. Antibody responses in seropositive persons after a single dose of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine. N Engl J Med. 2021;384(14):1372-1374.
Favresse J, Bayart JL, Mullier F, Dogné JM, Closset M, Douxfils J. Early antibody response in healthcare professionals after two doses of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccine (BNT162b2). Clin Microbiol Infect. 2021:S1198-743X(21)00224-X.
Schaffner A, Risch L, Aeschbacher S, Risch C, Weber MC, Thiel SL, et al. Characterization of a Pan-Immunoglobulin Assay Quantifying Antibodies Directed against the Receptor Binding Domain of the SARS-CoV-2 S1-Subunit of the Spike Protein: A Population-Based Study. J Clin Med. 2020;9(12):3989.
Harris RJ, Whitaker HJ, Andrews NJ, Aiano F, Amin-Chowdhury Z, Flood J, et al. Serological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2: Six-month trends and antibody response in a cohort of public health workers. J Infect. 2021;82(5):162-169.
Callegaro A, Borleri D, Farina C, Napolitano G, Valenti D, Rizzi M, et al. Antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is extremely vivacious in subjects with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. J Med Virol. 2021;93(7):4612-4615.
Ruiz-Galiana J, Cantón R, De Lucas-Ramos P, García-Botella A, García-Lledó A, Gómez-Pavón J, et al. Vacunación anti-COVID-19: La realidad tras los ensayos clínicos. Rev Esp Quimioter. 2021:ruiz28apr2021.
The authors whose submissions are published in this Journal accept the following terms:
The copyright is held by the author(s), which will simultaneously be subject to a licence Creative Commons 4.0 BY-NC-ND.
The author(s) may enter into any other licence agreements for non-exclusive distribution of versions of the published work (e.g. deposit in an institutional repository or publication in a collective work) provided that the initial publication in this Journal is stated.
The author/s is/are permitted and recommended to post their work online (e.g. in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and increase the number of citations of the published work. (See The effect of open access).