Background: Immune dysregulation in individuals with Down syndrome (DS) leads to an increased risk for hospitalization and death due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and may impair the generation of protective immunity after vaccine administration.
Methods: The cellular and humoral responses of 55 individuals with DS who received a complete SARS-CoV-2 vaccination regime at 1 to 3 (visit [V 1]) and 6 (V2) months were characterized.
Results: SARS-CoV-2-reactive CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes with a predominant Th1 phenotype were observed at V1 and increased at V2. Likewise, an increase in SARS-CoV-2-specific circulating Tfh (cTfh) cells and CD8+ CXCR5+ PD-1hi lymphocytes was already observed at V1 after vaccine administration. Specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 S protein were detected in 96% and 98% of subjects at V1 and V2, respectively, although IgG titers decreased significantly between both time points.
Conclusions: Our findings show that DS individuals develop an effective immune response to usual regimes of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.
Keywords: COVID-19; Down syndrome; SARS-CoV-2; immune system; vaccination.
© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.