Background: COVID-19 vaccines induce a differentiated humoral and cellular response, and one of the comparable parameters of the vaccine response is the determination of IgG antibodies.
Materials and methods: Concentrations of IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were analyzed at three time points (at the beginning of May, at the end of June and at the end of September). Serum samples were obtained from 954 employees of the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (a total of three samples each were obtained from 511 vaccinated participants). IgG antibody concentrations were determined by enzyme immunoassay. The statistical analysis included comparisons between vaccines, between convalescents and COVID-19 non-patients, between individual measurements and included the gender, age and blood groups of participants.
Results: There were significant differences in antibody levels between mRNA and vector vaccines. People vaccinated with mRNA-1273 achieved the highest levels of antibodies, regardless of the time since full vaccination. People vaccinated with ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 produced several times lower antibody levels compared to the mRNA vaccines, while the antibody levels were more stable. In the case of each of the vaccines, the factor having the strongest impact on the level and stability of the IgG antibody titers was previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. There were no significant correlations with age, gender and blood type.
Summary: mRNA vaccines induce a stronger humoral response of the immune system with the fastest loss of antibodies over time.
Keywords: COVID-19; Janssen/Johnson & Johnson; Moderna; Oxford/AstraZeneca; Pfizer/BioNTech; SARS-CoV-2; antibodies; vaccines.