Assessment of the Neutralizing Antibody Response of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Naïve and Previously Infected Individuals: A Comparative Study

Farah M Shurrab; Duaa W Al-Sadeq; Haissam Abou-Saleh; Nader Al-Dewik; Amira E Elsharafi; Fatima M Hamaydeh; Bushra Y Abo Halawa; Tala M Jamaleddin; Huda M Abdul Hameed; Parveen B Nizamuddin; Fathima Humaira Amanullah; Hanin I Daas; Laith J Abu-Raddad; Gheyath K Nasrallah

doi:10.3390/vaccines10020191

Assessment of the Neutralizing Antibody Response of BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Naïve and Previously Infected Individuals: A Comparative Study

Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Jan 25;10(2):191. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10020191.

Authors

Farah M Shurrab¹, Duaa W Al-Sadeq^{1

2}, Haissam Abou-Saleh^{1

3}, Nader Al-Dewik⁴, Amira E Elsharafi⁵, Fatima M Hamaydeh⁵, Bushra Y Abo Halawa³, Tala M Jamaleddin⁵, Huda M Abdul Hameed⁵, Parveen B Nizamuddin¹, Fathima Humaira Amanullah¹, Hanin I Daas⁶, Laith J Abu-Raddad^{7

8

9}, Gheyath K Nasrallah^{1

5}

Affiliations

¹ Biomedical Research Center, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
² College of Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
³ Biological Science Program, Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Science, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
⁴ Women's Wellness and Research Center (WWRC), Clinical and Metabolic Genetics Section, Pediatrics Department, Hamad General Hospital (HGH), Interim Translational Research Institute (iTRI), Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), College of Health and Life Science (CHLS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), Doha P.O. Box 3050, Qatar.
⁵ Department of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
⁶ College of Dental Medicine, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.
⁷ Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Qatar Foundation-Education City, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar.
⁸ World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Disease Epidemiology Analytics on HIV/AIDS, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and Viral Hepatitis, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell University, Qatar Foundation-Education City, Doha P.O. Box 24144, Qatar.
⁹ Department of Healthcare Policy and Research, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY 14850, USA.

Abstract

The currently authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer-BNT162b2 and Moderna-mRNA-1273, offer great promise for reducing the spread of the COVID-19 by generating protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2. Recently, it was shown that the magnitude of the neutralizing antibody (NAbs) response correlates with the degree of protection. However, the difference between the immune response in naïve mRNA-vaccinated and previously infected (PI) individuals is not well studied. We investigated the level of NAbs in naïve and PI individuals after 1 to 26 (median = 6) weeks of the second dose of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273 vaccination. The naïve mRNA-1273 vaccinated group (n = 68) generated significantly higher (~2-fold, p ≤ 0.001) NAbs than the naïve BNT162b2 (n = 358) group. The P -vaccinated group (n = 42) generated significantly higher (~3-fold; p ≤ 0.001) NAbs levels than the naïve-BNT162b2 (n = 426). Additionally, the older age groups produced a significantly higher levels of antibodies than the young age group (<30) (p = 0.0007). Our results showed that mRNA-1273 generated a higher NAbs response than the BNT162b2 vaccine, and the PI group generated the highest level of NAbs response regardless of the type of vaccine.

Keywords: Moderna-mRNA-1273; Pfizer-BNT162b2; SARS-CoV-2; neutralizing antibodies; vaccine.

Grants and funding

UREP28-173-3-07/Qatar National Research Fund