A multitude of studies have attempted to characterize the antibody response of individuals to the SARS-CoV-2 virus on a linear peptide level by utilizing peptide microarrays. These studies have helped to identify epitopes that have potential to be used for diagnostic tests to identify infected individuals, however the immunological responses of individuals who have received the currently available mRNA vaccines have not been characterized. We aimed to identify linear peptides of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein that elicited high IgA or IgG binding activity and compare the immunoreactivity of infected individuals to those who received recommended doses of either the Moderna mRNA-1273 or Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccines by utilizing peptide microarrays. Our results revealed peptide epitopes of significant IgG binding among recently infected individuals, many of which are located near functional domains implicated in the high infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccinated individuals were found to have less intense antibody binding activity than those acutely infected, yet novel markers of IgG binding were identified in the vaccinated group.
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