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. 2022 Apr 13;30(4):485-488.e3.
doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2022.02.015. Epub 2022 Feb 18.

Neutralization and durability of 2 or 3 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine against Omicron SARS-CoV-2

Hongjie Xia  1 , Jing Zou  1 , Chaitanya Kurhade  1 , Hui Cai  2 , Qi Yang  2 , Mark Cutler  2 , David Cooper  2 , Alexander Muik  3 , Kathrin U Jansen  2 , Xuping Xie  4 , Kena A Swanson  5 , Pei-Yong Shi  6
Affiliations

Neutralization and durability of 2 or 3 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine against Omicron SARS-CoV-2

Hongjie Xia et al. Cell Host Microbe. .

Abstract

Two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2. Here, we tested the antibody neutralization against Omicron SARS-CoV-2 after 2 and 3 doses of BNT162b2. Serum from vaccinated individuals was serially tested for its ability to neutralize wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (USA-WA1/2020) and an engineered USA-WA1/2020 bearing the Omicron spike glycoprotein. At 2 or 4 weeks post dose 2, the neutralization geometric mean titers (GMTs) against the wild-type and Omicron-spike viruses were 511 and 20, respectively; at 1 month post dose 3, the neutralization GMTs increased to 1,342 and 336; and at 4 months post dose 3, the neutralization GMTs decreased to 820 and 171. The data support a 3-dose vaccination strategy and provide a glimpse into the durability of the neutralization response against Omicron.

Keywords: BNT162b2 vaccine; Pfizer vacine; SARS-CoV-2; neutralization; neutralization durability; variants.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of interests X.X. and P.-Y.S. have filed a patent on the reverse genetic system of SARS-CoV-2. H.X., J.Z., C.K., X.X., and P.-Y.S. received compensation from Pfizer to perform the project. H.C., Q.Y., M.C., D.C., K.U.J., and K.A.S. are employees of Pfizer and may hold stock options. A.M. is an employee of BioNTech and may hold stock options.

Figures

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Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Serum neutralization of USA-WA1/2020 and Omicron-spike SARS-CoV-2 after 2 and 3 doses of BNT162b2 (A) BNT162b2-vaccinated serum collection. Four BNT162b2-vaccinated serum panels were used. The first panel had 20 samples obtained at 2 weeks (circles) or 4 weeks (triangles) after the second dose. The second panel (n = 22) was collected on the day of the third dose. The third (n = 22) and fourth (n = 21) panels were collected at 1 and 4 months after the third dose, respectively. (B–E) PRNT50 data for the 4 panels of BNT162b2-vaccinated sera collected at 2 or 4 weeks after the second dose (B), the day of the third dose (C), 1 month after the third dose (D), and 4 months after the third dose (E). Each data point represents the geometric mean PRNT50 obtained with a serum specimen against the indicated virus, as detailed in Table S1. The neutralization titer was determined in duplicate assays, and the geometric mean was presented. The bar heights and the numbers above indicate geometric mean titers. The whiskers indicate 95% confidence intervals (CI). The dotted line indicates the limit of detection of PRNT50. PRNT50 of <20 was treated as 10 for plot purposes and statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test. The statistical significance of the difference between geometric mean titers in the USA-WA1/2020 and Omicron-spike SARS-CoV-2 is p < 0.0001 for each panel of (B)–(E). (F and G) PRNT50 data from individual subjects against USA-WA1/2020 (F) and Omicron-spike SARS-CoV-2 (G). The PRNT50 values from individual subjects are connected with lines. The GMTs for each time point are presented as squares. Error bars indicate the 95% CI of the GMTs. The dotted lines indicate the limit of detection of PRNT50. (H) Ratio PRNT50 after dose 3 (month 4 PRNT50 versus month 1 PRNT50). Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-rank test.
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