Diminished neutralizing activity against the XBB1.5 strain in 55.9% of individuals post 6 months COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccination: insights from a pseudovirus assay on 1,353 participants in the Fukushima vaccination community survey, Japan

Tianchen Zhao; Yuta Tani; Chieko Makino-Okamura; Morihito Takita; Chika Yamamoto; Eiki Kawahara; Toshiki Abe; Sota Sugiura; Hiroki Yoshimura; Taiga Uchiyama; Isato Yamazaki; Harumichi Ishigame; Takaharu Ueno; Kazu Okuma; Masatoshi Wakui; Hidehiro Fukuyama; Masaharu Tsubokura

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2024.1337520

Diminished neutralizing activity against the XBB1.5 strain in 55.9% of individuals post 6 months COVID-19 mRNA booster vaccination: insights from a pseudovirus assay on 1,353 participants in the Fukushima vaccination community survey, Japan

Front Immunol. 2024 Mar 18:15:1337520. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1337520. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Tianchen Zhao^#^{1

2}, Yuta Tani^#^{1

3}, Chieko Makino-Okamura^#^{4

5}, Morihito Takita^{1

2}, Chika Yamamoto^{1

2}, Eiki Kawahara^{4

5

6}, Toshiki Abe², Sota Sugiura¹, Hiroki Yoshimura^{1

2}, Taiga Uchiyama², Isato Yamazaki^{4

5

6}, Harumichi Ishigame^{4

7}, Takaharu Ueno⁸, Kazu Okuma⁸, Masatoshi Wakui³, Hidehiro Fukuyama^{4

5

6

9}, Masaharu Tsubokura^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ General Incorporated Association for Comprehensive Disaster Health Management Research Institute, Tokyo, Japan.
² Department of Radiation Health Management, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan.
³ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
⁴ Division of Immunology, Near-InfraRed Photo-Immunotherapy Research Institute, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan.
⁵ Infectious Diseases Research Unit, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁶ Cell Integrative Science Laboratory, Graduate School of Medical Life Science, Yokohama City University, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁷ Laboratory for Tissue Dynamics, RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan.
⁸ Department of Microbiology, Kansai Medical University, School of Medicine, Hirakata, Osaka, Japan.
⁹ INSERM EST, Strasbourg, France.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

This study investigates the neutralizing activity against the XBB1.5 variant and the ancestral strain in a population post-bivalent vaccination using a pseudo virus assay validated with authentic virus assay. While bivalent booster vaccination and past infections enhanced neutralization against the XBB 1.5 strain, individuals with comorbidities showed reduced responses. The study suggests the need for continuous vaccine updates to address emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and highlights the importance of monitoring real-world immune responses.

Keywords: SARS-CoV2; antibody waning; bivalent vaccination; mRNA vaccination vulnerable population; vaccination.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / prevention & control
Humans
Japan / epidemiology
RNA, Messenger
SARS-CoV-2
Surveys and Questionnaires
Vaccination

Substances

RNA, Messenger

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The financial support for this research was divided based on distinct components of the study. The data acquisition was principally funded by the AMED (Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development) under the funding title “Development of Vaccines for the Novel Coronavirus Disease,” with Grant No. JP21nf0101638. The data analysis and interpretation phase were primarily supported by Moderna Inc. The funder was not involved in the study design, collection, analysis, interpretation of data, the writing of this article, or the decision to submit it for publication. It is important to note that the two funding bodies, AMED and Moderna Inc., are not related to each other in any capacity.