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. 2022 Jun 2;13(1):3082.
doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-30895-3.

Duration of mRNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants in Qatar

Hiam Chemaitelly  1   2   3 , Houssein H Ayoub  4 , Sawsan AlMukdad  5   6 , Peter Coyle  7   8   9 , Patrick Tang  10 , Hadi M Yassine  8   11 , Hebah A Al-Khatib  8   11 , Maria K Smatti  8   11 , Mohammad R Hasan  10 , Zaina Al-Kanaani  7 , Einas Al-Kuwari  7 , Andrew Jeremijenko  7 , Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal  7 , Ali Nizar Latif  7 , Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik  7 , Hanan F Abdul-Rahim  12 , Gheyath K Nasrallah  8   11 , Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari  13 , Adeel A Butt  14   7   15 , Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi  16 , Mohamed H Al-Thani  16 , Abdullatif Al-Khal  7 , Roberto Bertollini  16 , Laith J Abu-Raddad  17   18   19   20
Affiliations

Duration of mRNA vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants in Qatar

Hiam Chemaitelly et al. Nat Commun. .

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 subvariants are genetically divergent. We conducted a matched, test-negative, case-control study to estimate duration of protection of the second and third/booster doses of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against BA.1 and BA.2 infections in Qatar. BNT162b2 effectiveness was highest at 46.6% (95% CI: 33.4-57.2%) against symptomatic BA.1 and at 51.7% (95% CI: 43.2-58.9%) against symptomatic BA.2 infections in the first three months after the second dose, but declined to ~10% or below thereafter. Effectiveness rebounded to 59.9% (95% CI: 51.2-67.0%) and 43.7% (95% CI: 36.5-50.0%), respectively, in the first month after the booster dose, before declining again. Effectiveness against COVID-19 hospitalization and death was 70-80% after the second dose and >90% after the booster dose. mRNA-1273 vaccine protection showed similar patterns. mRNA vaccines provide comparable, moderate, and short-lived protection against symptomatic BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron infections, but strong and durable protection against COVID-19 hospitalization and death.

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Conflict of interest statement

A.A.B. has received institutional grant funding from Gilead Sciences unrelated to the work presented in this paper. Otherwise, we declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Distribution of SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 versus BA.2 Omicron infections.
Proportion of Omicron infections with the BA.1 (versus BA.2) subvariant in PCR-positive tests assessed using TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit during the study period.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Study population selection process.
Flowchart describing the population selection process for investigating effectiveness of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines during the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection wave.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron infections.
Effectiveness (a) of the BNT162b2 vaccine and (b) of the mRNA-1273 vaccine. a Includes 7022 and 12,278 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively, in the BA.1 analysis and 21,541 biologically independent samples for each of cases and controls in the BA.2 analysis in the BNT162b2 vaccine study. b includes 3574 and 6176 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively, in the BA.1 analysis and 13,537 biologically independent samples for each of cases and controls in the BA.2 analysis in the mRNA-1273 vaccine study. Data are presented as effectiveness point estimates. Error bars indicate the corresponding 95% confidence intervals.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Effectiveness of mRNA vaccines against any symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection regardless of subvariant and against severe COVID-19.
Effectiveness of the BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 vaccines against any symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Omicron infection regardless of subvariant (panels a and b, respectively) and against any severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19 due to an Omicron infection (c, d, respectively). a Includes 39,855 and 23,814 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively, (b) includes 21,810 and 13,288 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively, (c) includes 268 and 692 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively, and (d) includes 164 and 404 biologically independent samples for cases and controls, respectively. Data are presented as effectiveness point estimates. Error bars indicate the corresponding 95% confidence intervals.
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References

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