Immunological response against SARS-CoV-2 following full-dose administration of Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine in nursing home residents

Eliseo Albert; Javier S Burgos; Salvador Peiró; Dolores Salas; Hermelinda Vanaclocha; Estela Giménez; Ramón Limón; María Jesús Alcaraz; José Sánchez-Payá; Javier Díez-Domingo; David Navarro; Valencian Vaccine Research Programme (ProVaVac) Study Group

doi:10.1016/j.cmi.2021.09.031

Immunological response against SARS-CoV-2 following full-dose administration of Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine in nursing home residents

Clin Microbiol Infect. 2022 Feb;28(2):279-284. doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2021.09.031. Epub 2021 Oct 5.

Collaborators

Valencian Vaccine Research Programme (ProVaVac) Study Group:
J S Burgos², R Meneu de Guillerna⁹, H Vanaclocha Luna⁵, D J Burks¹⁰, A Cervantes¹¹, I Comas¹², J Díez-Domingo³, S Peiro³, F González-Candelas¹³, C Ferrer Albiach¹⁴, I Hernández-Aguado¹⁵, N Oliver Ramírez¹⁶, J Sánchez-Payá⁷, M Vento Torres¹⁷, E Zapater Latorre¹⁸, D Navarro¹⁹

Affiliations

¹ Microbiology Service, Clinic University Hospital, INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain.
² General Directorate of Research and Healthcare Supervision, Department of Health, Valencia Government, Valencia, Spain.
³ Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (FISABIO), Valencia, Spain.
⁴ Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (FISABIO), Valencia, Spain; General Directorate of Public Health, Department of Health, Valencia Government, Valencia, Spain.
⁵ General Directorate of Public Health, Department of Health, Valencia Government, Valencia, Spain.
⁶ General Directorate of Healthcare. Department of Health, Valencia Government, Valencia, Spain.
⁷ Preventive Medicine Service, Alicante General and University Hospital, Alicante, Spain; Alicante Institute of Health and Biomedical Research (ISABIAL), Alicante, Spain.
⁸ Microbiology Service, Clinic University Hospital, INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain; Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Electronic address: david.navarro@uv.es.
⁹ Vice-President Foundation Research Institute in Public Services, Valencia, Spain.
¹⁰ The Prince Felipe Research Center-CIPF, Valencia, Spain.
¹¹ INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain.
¹² Biomedicine Institute of Valencia, Spanish Research Council (CSIC), Spain.
¹³ CIBER in Epidemiology and Public Health, Spain; Joint Research Unit "Infection and Public Health" FISABIO-University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain; Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio), CSIC-University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
¹⁴ Fundación Hospital Provincial de Castelló, Spain.
¹⁵ University Miguel Hernández, Alicante, Spain.
¹⁶ DataPop Alliance, UK.
¹⁷ Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe, Spain.
¹⁸ Fundación Hospital General Universitario de València, Spain.
¹⁹ Microbiology Service, Clinic University Hospital, INCLIVA Health Research Institute, Valencia, Spain; Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.

Abstract

Objectives: The current study was aimed at examining SARS-CoV-2 immune responses following two doses of Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine among elderly people in nursing homes.

Methods: A prospective cohort study in a representative sample from nursing homes in Valencia (n = 881; males: 271, females 610; median age, 86 years) recruited residents using a random one-stage cluster sampling approach. A lateral flow immunochromatography device (LFIC) (OnSite COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test; CTK BIOTECH, Poway, CA, USA) was used as the front-line test for detecting SARS-CoV-2-Spike (S)-specific antibodies in whole blood obtained using a fingerstick. Residents returning negative LFIC results underwent venipuncture and testing for presence of SARS-CoV-2-S-reactive antibodies and T cells using the Roche Elecsys® Anti-SARS-CoV-2 S (Roche Diagnostics, Pleasanton, CA, USA), the LIAISON® SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS IgG assay (Diasorin S.p.A, Saluggia, Italy) and by flow cytometry, respectively.

Results: The SARS-CoV-2-S antibody detection rate in nursing home residents was 99.6% (283/284) and 98.3% (587/597) for SARS-CoV-2 recovered and naïve residents, respectively, within a median of 99 days (range 17-125 days) after full vaccination. Three out of five residents lacking SARS-CoV-2-S antibodies had detectable S-reactive CD8⁺ and/or CD4⁺ T cells. In addition, 50/50 and 40/50 participants with detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies also had SARS-CoV-2-S-reactive interferon-γ-producing CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, respectively.

Discussion: The Comirnaty® COVID-19 vaccine is highly immunogenic in nursing home residents.

Keywords: Comirnaty®COVID-19 vaccine; Nursing home residents; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2-S antibodies.

MeSH terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Antibodies, Viral
CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes
COVID-19 Vaccines*
COVID-19*
Female
Humans
Male
Nursing Homes
Prospective Studies
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

Antibodies, Viral
COVID-19 Vaccines