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. 2021 Sep 13;9(9):1017.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines9091017.

Comparative Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine with Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Mina Psichogiou  1 , Andreas Karabinis  2 , Garyphallia Poulakou  3 , Anastasia Antoniadou  4 , Anastasia Kotanidou  5 , Dimitrios Degiannis  2 , Ioanna D Pavlopoulou  6 , Antigoni Chaidaroglou  2 , Sotirios Roussos  7 , Elpida Mastrogianni  1 , Irene Eliadi  1 , Dimitrios Basoulis  1 , Konstantinos Petsios  8 , Konstantinos Leontis  3 , Eleni Kakalou  3 , Konstantinos Protopapas  4 , Edison Jahaj  5 , Maria Pratikaki  5 , Konstantinos N Syrigos  3 , Pagona Lagiou  7 , Helen Gogas  1 , Sotirios Tsiodras  4 , Gkikas Magiorkinis  7 , Dimitrios Paraskevis  7 , Vana Sypsa  7 , Angelos Hatzakis  7   9
Affiliations

Comparative Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 mRNA Vaccine with Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection

Mina Psichogiou et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

BNT162b2 has proven to be highly effective, but there is a paucity of data regarding immunogenicity factors and comparison between response to vaccination and natural infection. This study included 871 vaccinated healthcare workers (HCW) and 181 patients with natural infection. Immunogenicity was assessed by measuring anti-SARS-CoV-2 against the RBD domain of the spike protein (anti-RBD). Samples were collected 1-2 weeks after vaccination or 15-59 days post-onset of symptoms. Post-vaccine anti-RBD concentrations were associated with age, gender, vaccination side-effects (VSE) and prior infection (Pr-CoV). Anti-RBD median levels (95%CI) were lower by 2466 (651-5583), 6228 (3254-9203) and 7651 (4479-10,823) AU/mL in 35-44, 45-54, 55-70 yrs, respectively, compared with the 18-34 yrs group. In females, the median levels were higher by 2823 (859-4787), 5024 (3122-6926) in individuals with VSE, and 9971 (5158-14,783) AU/mL in HCWs with Pr-CoV. The ratio of anti-RBD in vaccinated individuals versus those with natural infection varied from 1.0 to 19.4. The high immunogenicity of BNT162b2 is verified, although its sustainability has yet to be elucidated. The use of comparative data from natural infection serological panels, expressing the clinical heterogeneity of natural infection, may facilitate early decisions for candidate vaccines to be evaluated in clinical trials.

Keywords: BNT162b2 vaccine; COVID-19; anti-RBD; health care workers; immune response.

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Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have relevant conflict of interest to declare. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Median concentrations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD (AU/mL) in vaccinated health care workers 7–15 days after the 2nd dose of BNT162b2 and individuals with natural infection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ratio of median concentrations of anti-SARS-CoV-2 RBD in vaccinated groups versus naturally infected individuals with asymptomatic/mild, moderate/severe and critical infection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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