Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation

Comparative immunogenicity and effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2 and Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 vaccines

Vivek Naranbhai et al. medRxiv. .

Update in

  • Comparative Immunogenicity and Effectiveness of mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, and Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 Vaccines.
    Naranbhai V, Garcia-Beltran WF, Chang CC, Berrios Mairena C, Thierauf JC, Kirkpatrick G, Onozato ML, Cheng J, St Denis KJ, Lam EC, Kaseke C, Tano-Menka R, Yang D, Pavlovic M, Yang W, Kui A, Miller TE, Astudillo MG, Cahill JE, Dighe AS, Gregory DJ, Poznansky MC, Gaiha GD, Balazs AB, Iafrate AJ. Naranbhai V, et al. J Infect Dis. 2022 Apr 1;225(7):1141-1150. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiab593. J Infect Dis. 2022. PMID: 34888672 Free PMC article.

Abstract

Background: Understanding immunogenicity and effectiveness of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines is critical to guide rational use.

Methods: We compared the immunogenicity of mRNA-1273, BNT-162b2 or Ad26.COV2.S in ambulatory adults in Massachusetts, USA. To correlate immunogenicity with effectiveness of the three vaccines, we performed an inverse-variance meta-analysis of population level effectiveness from public health reports in >40 million individuals.

Results: A single dose of either mRNA vaccine yielded comparable antibody and neutralization titers to convalescent individuals. Ad26.COV2.S yielded lower antibody concentrations and frequently negative neutralization titers. Bulk and cytotoxic T-cell responses were higher in mRNA1273 and BNT162b2 than Ad26.COV2.S recipients, and <50% of vaccinees demonstrate CD8+ T-cell responses to spike peptides. Antibody concentrations and neutralization titers increased comparably after the first dose of either vaccine, and further in recipients of a second dose. Prior infection was associated with high antibody concentrations and neutralization even after a single dose and regardless of vaccine. Neutralization of beta, gamma and delta strains were poorer regardless of vaccine. Relative to mRNA1273, the effectiveness of BNT162b2 was lower against infection and hospitalization; and Ad26COV2.S was lower against infection, hospitalization and death.

Conclusions: Variation in the immunogenicity correlates with variable effectiveness of the three FDA EUA vaccines deployed in the USA.

PubMed Disclaimer

Publication types