Longitudinal waning of mRNA vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 detected by an LFIA rapid test

Qiao Wang; Lili Feng; Haohai Zhang; Juehua Gao; Changchuin Mao; Esther Landesman-Bollag; Gustavo Mostoslavsky; Justin M Lunderberg; Weina Zheng; Shushun Hao; Wenda Gao

doi:10.1093/abt/tbac004

Longitudinal waning of mRNA vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 detected by an LFIA rapid test

Antib Ther. 2022 Jan 15;5(1):55-62. doi: 10.1093/abt/tbac004. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Shijiazhuang Hipro Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Hebei, 050035, P.R. China.
² Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
⁴ Antagen Diagnostics, Inc., Canton, MA 02021, USA.
⁵ Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA.
⁶ Center for Regenerative Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.

Abstract

Although mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 were highly efficacious against severe illness and hospitalization, they seem to be less effective in preventing infection months after vaccination, especially with the Delta variant. Breakthrough infections might be due to higher infectivity of the variants, relaxed protective measures by the general public in "COVID-19 fatigue", and/or waning immunity post-vaccination. Determining the neutralizing antibody levels in a longitudinal manner may address this issue, but technical complexity of classic assays precludes easy detection and quick answers. We developed a lateral flow immunoassay NeutraXpress™ (commercial name of the test kit by Antagen Diagnostics, Inc.) and tested fingertip blood samples of subjects receiving either Moderna or Pfizer vaccines at various time points. With this device, we confirmed the reported clinical findings that mRNA vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies quickly wane after 3-6 months. Thus, using rapid tests to monitor neutralizing antibody status could help identify individuals at risk, prevent breakthrough infections, and guide social behavior to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Keywords: LFIA; SARS-CoV-2; mRNA vaccine; neutralizing antibody; rapid test.