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
Observational Study
. 2022 Apr 20;40(18):2535-2539.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.02.087. Epub 2022 Mar 3.

IgG antibody production and persistence to 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: A Northern Ireland observational study

Louise J Robertson  1 , Ruth Price  1 , Julie S Moore  1 , Grace Curry  1 , John Farnan  2 , Amy Black  2 , Kevin Blighe  1 , M Andrew Nesbit  1 , James A D McLaughlin  3 , Tara Moore  4
Affiliations
Observational Study

IgG antibody production and persistence to 6 months following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: A Northern Ireland observational study

Louise J Robertson et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Background: This study evaluates spike protein IgG antibody response following Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination using the AbC-19™ lateral flow device.

Methods: Plasma samples were collected from n = 111 individuals from Northern Ireland. The majority were >50 years old and/or clinically vulnerable. Samples were taken at five timepoints from pre-vaccination until 6-months post-first dose.

Results: 20.3% of participants had detectable IgG responses pre-vaccination, indicating prior COVID-19. Antibodies were detected in 86.9% of participants three weeks after the first vaccine dose, falling to 74.7% immediately prior to the second dose, and rising to 99% three weeks post-second vaccine. At 6-months post-first dose, this decreased to 90.5%. At all timepoints, previously infected participants had significantly higher antibody levels than those not previously infected.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates that strong anti-spike protein antibody responses are evoked in almost all individuals that receive two doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and which largely persist beyond six months after first vaccination.

Keywords: Adenovirus vector-based vaccine; Antibody response; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccination; Oxford-AstraZeneca ChAdOx1; SARS-CoV-2.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Professor Tara Moore acted as a consultant for Abingdon Health during the final period of sampling. At time of conception and commencement of this study, none of the authors received payment from Abingdon Health.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Semi-quantitative scoring of AbC-19™ result for participants at five time points. TP1 = before 1st vaccination, TP2 = 3 weeks after 1st vaccination, TP3 = before 2nd vaccination, TP4 = 3 weeks after 2nd vaccination and TP5 = 6 months after 1st vaccination.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
AbC-19™ quantitative score between previously RT-PCR positive, no known infection groups and infection after vaccination at all time points (where relevant). TP1 = before 1st vaccination, TP2 = 3 weeks after 1st vaccination, TP3 = before 2nd vaccination, TP4 = 3 weeks after 2nd vaccination and TP5 = 6 months after 1st vaccination. Differences in means analysed using Welchs two-tailed unpaired t-test or Brown-Forsythe and Welch ANOVA (median *=p < 0.05, **P < 0.01, ****=p < 0.0001).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Change in AbC-19™ quantitative score between TP4 (3 weeks after 2nd vaccination) and TP5 (6 months after first vaccination). Differences in means analysed using Brown-Forsythe and Welch ANOVA. ns = not significant, **=P < 0.01, ***=p < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Voysey M., Clemens S.A.C., Madhi S.A., Weckx L.Y., Folegatti P.M., Aley P.K., et al. Safety and efficacy of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine (AZD1222) against SARS-CoV-2: an interim analysis of four randomised controlled trials in Brazil, South Africa, and the UK. Lancet. 2021;397:99–111. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32661-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Folegatti P.M., Ewer K.J., Aley P.K., Angus B., Becker S., Belij-Rammerstorfer S., et al. Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2020;396:467–478. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31604-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ramasamy M.N., Minassian A.M., Ewer K.J., Flaxman A.L., Folegatti P.M., Owens D.R., et al. Safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine administered in a prime-boost regimen in young and old adults (COV002): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial. Lancet. 2020;396:1979–1993. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32466-1. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Robertson L.J., Moore J.S., Blighe K., Ng K.Y., Quinn N., Jennings F., et al. Evaluation of the IgG antibody response to SARS CoV-2 infection and performance of a lateral flow immunoassay: cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis over 11 months. BMJ Open. 2021;11:e048142. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048142. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Jing M., Bond R., Robertson L.J., Moore J., Kowalczyk A., Price R., et al. User experience analysis of AbC-19 Rapid Test via lateral flow immunoassays for self-administrated SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing. Sci Rep. 2021;11:14026. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93262-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types