TY - JOUR
T1 - Boosting of serum neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant among recovered COVID-19 patients by BNT162b2 and CoronaVac vaccines
AU - Lu, Lu
AU - Chen, Lin Lei
AU - Zhang, Ricky Rui Qi
AU - Tsang, Owen Tak Yin
AU - Chan, Jacky Man Chun
AU - Tam, Anthony Raymond
AU - Leung, Wai Shing
AU - Chik, Thomas Shiu Hong
AU - Lau, Daphne Pui Ling
AU - Choi, Chris Yau Chung
AU - Fong, Carol Ho Yan
AU - Cai, Jian Piao
AU - Tsoi, Hoi Wah
AU - Choi, Charlotte Yee Ki
AU - Zhang, Xiaojuan
AU - Abdullah, Syed Muhammad Umer
AU - Chan, Brian Pui Chun
AU - Chan, Kwok Hung
AU - Yuen, Kwok Yung
AU - Hung, Ivan Fan Ngai
AU - To, Kelvin Kai Wang
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Author(s)
PY - 2022/5
Y1 - 2022/5
N2 - Background: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant evades immunity from past infection or vaccination and is associated with a greater risk of reinfection among recovered COVID-19 patients. We assessed the serum neutralizing antibody (NAb) activity against Omicron variant (Omicron NAb) among recovered COVID-19 patients with or without vaccination. Methods: In this prospective cohort study with 135 recovered COVID-19 patients, we determined the serum NAb titers against ancestral virus or variants using a live virus NAb assay. We used the receiver operating characteristic analysis to determine the optimal cutoff for a commercially-available surrogate NAb assay. Findings: Among recovered COVID-19 patients, the serum live virus geometric mean Omicron NAb titer was statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 recipients compared to non-vaccinated individuals (85.4 vs 5.6,P < 0.0001). The Omicron seropositive rates in live virus NAb test (NAb titer ≥10) were statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 (90.6% [29/32];P < 0.0001) or CoronaVac (36.7% [11/30]; P = 0.0115) recipients when compared with non-vaccinated individuals (12.3% [9/73]). Subgroup analysis of CoronaVac recipients showed that the Omicron seropositive rates were higher among individuals with two doses than those with one dose (85.7% vs 21.7%; P = 0.0045). For the surrogate NAb assay, a cutoff of 109.1 AU/ml, which is 7.3-fold higher than the manufacturer's recommended cutoff, could achieve a sensitivity and specificity of 89.5% and 89.8%, respectively, in detecting Omicron NAb. Interpretation: Among individuals with prior COVID-19, one dose of BNT162b2 or two doses of CoronaVac could induce detectable serum Omicron NAb. Our result would be particularly important for guiding vaccine policies in countries with COVID-19 vaccine shortage. Funding: Health and Medical Research Fund, Richard and Carol Yu, Michael Tong (see acknowledgments for full list).
AB - Background: SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant evades immunity from past infection or vaccination and is associated with a greater risk of reinfection among recovered COVID-19 patients. We assessed the serum neutralizing antibody (NAb) activity against Omicron variant (Omicron NAb) among recovered COVID-19 patients with or without vaccination. Methods: In this prospective cohort study with 135 recovered COVID-19 patients, we determined the serum NAb titers against ancestral virus or variants using a live virus NAb assay. We used the receiver operating characteristic analysis to determine the optimal cutoff for a commercially-available surrogate NAb assay. Findings: Among recovered COVID-19 patients, the serum live virus geometric mean Omicron NAb titer was statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 recipients compared to non-vaccinated individuals (85.4 vs 5.6,P < 0.0001). The Omicron seropositive rates in live virus NAb test (NAb titer ≥10) were statistically significantly higher among BNT162b2 (90.6% [29/32];P < 0.0001) or CoronaVac (36.7% [11/30]; P = 0.0115) recipients when compared with non-vaccinated individuals (12.3% [9/73]). Subgroup analysis of CoronaVac recipients showed that the Omicron seropositive rates were higher among individuals with two doses than those with one dose (85.7% vs 21.7%; P = 0.0045). For the surrogate NAb assay, a cutoff of 109.1 AU/ml, which is 7.3-fold higher than the manufacturer's recommended cutoff, could achieve a sensitivity and specificity of 89.5% and 89.8%, respectively, in detecting Omicron NAb. Interpretation: Among individuals with prior COVID-19, one dose of BNT162b2 or two doses of CoronaVac could induce detectable serum Omicron NAb. Our result would be particularly important for guiding vaccine policies in countries with COVID-19 vaccine shortage. Funding: Health and Medical Research Fund, Richard and Carol Yu, Michael Tong (see acknowledgments for full list).
KW - Beta variant
KW - COVID-19
KW - Delta variant
KW - Inactivated vaccine
KW - Neutralizing antibody
KW - Omicron variant
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - Spike protein receptor binding domain
KW - Surrogate neutralizing antibody test
KW - mRNA vaccine
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.103986
DO - 10.1016/j.ebiom.2022.103986
M3 - Article
C2 - 35398786
AN - SCOPUS:85127763464
SN - 2352-3964
VL - 79
JO - eBioMedicine
JF - eBioMedicine
M1 - 103986
ER -