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Volume 10
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10.3390/vaccines10020260
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Article

Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination Indicate the Need for Post-Vaccination Testing in Frail Population

by
Wojciech Witkowski
1,
Sarah Gerlo
1,2,
Evelien De Smet
1,
Magdalena Wejda
1,
Delphine Acar
1,
Steven Callens
3,
Stefan Heytens
4,
Elizaveta Padalko
5,6,
Hanne Vercruysse
7,
Piet Cools
5,† and
Linos Vandekerckhove
1,*,†
1
HIV Cure Research Center, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
2
Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
3
Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
4
Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
5
Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
6
Department of Medical Microbiology, Ghent University Hospital, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
7
Research and Analytics, Liantis Occupational Health Services, 8000 Bruges, Belgium
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Vaccines 2022, 10(2), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020260
Submission received: 20 December 2021 / Revised: 14 January 2022 / Accepted: 4 February 2022 / Published: 8 February 2022
(This article belongs to the Section COVID-19 Vaccines and Vaccination)
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Abstract

Despite the high efficacy of the BNT162b2 vaccine in the general population, data on its immunogenicity among frail elderly individuals are limited. Recently, levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike IgG antibodies and serum neutralization titers were confirmed as good immune markers of protection against the virus, with evidence showing a reverse correlation between these two parameters and susceptibility to infection. Here we analyzed sera from 138 nursing home residents (median age of 88.9 years) and 312 nursing home staff (median age of 50.7 years) to determine the humoral response to two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine, and found markedly decreased serum anti-spike antibody levels and neutralization titers in the nursing home resident (NHR) group, with over 11% non-responders compared to only 1.3% among the controls. Moreover, three months post-vaccination, a significant decrease in antibody titers was observed in COVID-19-naive nursing home residents. Subsequent flow cytometry and interferon gamma secretion analyses indicated that antibody non-responders among NHRs also failed to mount cellular responses. The presented data emphasize that additional measures are needed in the population of frail elderly individuals. Given the high proportion of non-responders among NHRs, continued monitoring should be considered in this group.
Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; nursing home; vaccination; antibodies; cellular immunity SARS-CoV-2; nursing home; vaccination; antibodies; cellular immunity

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MDPI and ACS Style

Witkowski, W.; Gerlo, S.; De Smet, E.; Wejda, M.; Acar, D.; Callens, S.; Heytens, S.; Padalko, E.; Vercruysse, H.; Cools, P.; et al. Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination Indicate the Need for Post-Vaccination Testing in Frail Population. Vaccines 2022, 10, 260. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020260

AMA Style

Witkowski W, Gerlo S, De Smet E, Wejda M, Acar D, Callens S, Heytens S, Padalko E, Vercruysse H, Cools P, et al. Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination Indicate the Need for Post-Vaccination Testing in Frail Population. Vaccines. 2022; 10(2):260. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020260

Chicago/Turabian Style

Witkowski, Wojciech, Sarah Gerlo, Evelien De Smet, Magdalena Wejda, Delphine Acar, Steven Callens, Stefan Heytens, Elizaveta Padalko, Hanne Vercruysse, Piet Cools, and et al. 2022. "Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination Indicate the Need for Post-Vaccination Testing in Frail Population" Vaccines 10, no. 2: 260. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020260

APA Style

Witkowski, W., Gerlo, S., De Smet, E., Wejda, M., Acar, D., Callens, S., Heytens, S., Padalko, E., Vercruysse, H., Cools, P., & Vandekerckhove, L. (2022). Humoral and Cellular Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination Indicate the Need for Post-Vaccination Testing in Frail Population. Vaccines, 10(2), 260. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020260

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