Evaluation of the Efficacy of BBIBP-CorV Inactivated Vaccine Combined with BNT62b2 mRNA Booster Vaccine

Éva Rákóczi; Gusztáv Magócs; Sára Kovács; Béla Nagy Jr; Gabriella Szűcs; Zoltán Szekanecz

doi:10.3390/diagnostics13030556

Evaluation of the Efficacy of BBIBP-CorV Inactivated Vaccine Combined with BNT62b2 mRNA Booster Vaccine

Diagnostics (Basel). 2023 Feb 2;13(3):556. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13030556.

Authors

Éva Rákóczi^{1

2}, Gusztáv Magócs², Sára Kovács^{1

2}, Béla Nagy Jr³, Gabriella Szűcs¹, Zoltán Szekanecz¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Rheumatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4023 Debrecen, Hungary.
² General Practitioner Service, 4283 Létavértes, Hungary.
³ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 4023 Debrecen, Hungary.

Abstract

Objectives: In this prospective study, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein specific total immunoglobulin (Ig) levels were analyzed before and after BNT162 b2 mRNA booster vaccination in individuals previously administered with two doses of BBIBP-CorV vaccine in comparison to immunized participants with three doses of BNT162 b2 vaccination.

Methods: Sixty-one Caucasian volunteers (39 females, 22 males) vaccinated by BBIBP-CorV were included (mean age: 63.9 years). Sixty-one patients (41 females, 20 males) as controls were vaccinated with BNT162b2 (mean age: 59.9 years). Both groups received the third booster BNT162b2 vaccine. Total anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1-RBD Ig levels were measured by an immunoassay (Roche Diagnostics) and their calculated ratios after/before booster dose were compared between the two groups.

Results: At baseline, significantly lower anti-SARS-CoV-2 S1-RBD total antibody levels were determined after initial immunization by two doses of inactivated BBIBP-CorV compared to BNT62b2 mRNA vaccine (p < 0.001). After BNT162b2 boosters, similarly high total Ig levels were detected in both the heterologous (27,195 [15,604-42,754] BAU/mL, p < 0.001) and the homologous booster cohort (24,492 [13,779-42,671] BAU/mL, p < 0.001) compared to baseline. Hence, the ratio of after/before total Ig levels was significantly higher with heterologous vs homologous immunization (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: To address the concept that basic BBIBP-CorV vaccination is not as effective as BNT162b, we analyzed the effect of heterologous vaccination with BNT162b2. Our results suggest that BNT162b2 can successfully boost the effects of two-dose BBIBP-CorV vaccination.

Keywords: BBIBP-CorV; BNT62b2; COVID−19; booster; vaccine.

Grants and funding

This project was supported by an OTKA grant (FK 135327) (B.N.J.) by the National Research, Development and Innovation Office, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (POST- COVID2021–33).