Association between Adverse Reactions and Humoral Immune Response No Longer Detectable after BNT162b2 Booster Vaccination

Abstract

In a previous study, we described a highly significant association between reactogenicity and SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG titers and wild-type neutralization capacity in males after basic vaccination with BNT162b2. The objective of this study was to assess whether this benefit was long lasting and also evident after BNT162b2 booster vaccination. Reactogenicity was classified into three groups: no or minor injection site symptoms, moderate (not further classified) and severe adverse reactions (defined as any symptom(s) resulting in sick leave). We initially compared 76 non-immunocompromised individuals who reported either no or minor injection site symptoms or severe adverse reactions after second vaccination. In total, 65 of them took part in another blood sampling and 47 were evaluated after booster vaccination. 26 weeks after second vaccination, men who reported severe adverse reactions after second vaccination had 1.7-fold higher SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG titers (p = 0.025) and a 2.5-fold better neutralization capacity (p = 0.006) than men with no or only minor injection site symptoms. Again, no association was found in women. Reactogenicity of BNT162b2 booster vaccination was different from second vaccination according to our classification and was no longer associated with SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG titers or wild-type neutralization capacity. To conclude, after BNT162b2 basic vaccination, the association between reactogenicity and humoral immune response in men persisted over time but was no longer detectable after BNT162b2 booster vaccination.

Association between reactogenicity and immunogenicity after BNT162b2 booster vaccination: a secondary analysis of a prospective cohort study

“…This is the first study to examine the association between reactogenicity and pre-booster and 28-day antibody levels in a large cohort. Two previous smaller studies found no association between symptoms and antibody levels after booster vaccination with BNT162b2 [ 6 ]. In contrast, we observed a weak but statistically significant correlation between the severity of systemic symptoms and 28-day antibody levels.…”

“…However, in many parts of the world, primary immunizations are largely complete, and recent developments suggest that COVID-19 vaccines, similar to influenza vaccines, will require seasonal or periodic boosters. To date, only two studies have examined the interplay between reactogenicity and immunogenicity after COVID-19 booster vaccination [ 6 , 7 ]. These studies had small sample sizes (47 and 62, respectively), which limited the strengths of their findings.…”

“…These studies had small sample sizes (47 and 62, respectively), which limited the strengths of their findings. Surprisingly, one of these studies claimed that the association between post-booster symptoms and antibody levels disappeared after booster vaccination [ 6 ]. The second study focused only on fever and also failed to detect a statistically significant association between the presence of fever and antibody levels at 4 weeks [ 7 ].…”

Case Report: Kinetics and durability of humoral and cellular response of SARS-CoV-2 messenger RNA vaccine in a lung and kidney transplant recipient

“…It is plausible that this pattern of reactivity reflects a pre-existing immunity induced by prior exposures to the related non-SARS hCoVs. However, it is unclear whether this T cell response will prove durable over many months: In one study of SOT recipients, no immune response was detectable after booster ( 24 ). Many SOT patients did not demonstrate robust production of antibodies was not produced until after third dose of mRNA vaccine ( 25 – 27 ), and antibody titers have been shown to wane after three months following a third dose ( 6 ).…”

Progress in Nucleic Acid Testing and Vaccine Research for the Novel Coronavirus

“…Additionally, positive anal swabs correlate with disease severity and can serve as an early warning sign for severe illnesses. By using suitable swabbing approaches for different patients, sample collectors can obtain optimal specimens for COVID-19 testing [9,10]. Pooled sampling and pooled testing are two approaches for mass nucleic acid testing that may improve efficiency to some extent.…”