Association between Vitamin D Serum Levels and Immune Response to the BNT162b2 Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2

Biomedicines. 2022 Aug 17;10(8):1993. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10081993.

Abstract

The use of micronutrients such as vitamin D could improve the response to viral vaccines, particularly in immunosuppressed and immunosenescent subjects. Here, we analysed the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and the immune response elicited by the BNT162b2 vaccine in a cohort of 101 healthcare workers naïve for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We observed no significant differences in anti-spike (S) IgG and T-cell responses according to the 25OHD status at baseline. However, significant correlations between the 25OHD concentration at baseline and (i) the anti-S response (p < 0.020) and (ii) the neutralizing antibody (NT) titre (p = 0.040) at six months after the second dose were detected. We concluded that adequate levels of vitamin D may improve the immune response to mRNA vaccines such as BNT162b2, and that further larger studies are warranted in order to confirm these preliminary observations.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; immune response; vaccine; vitamin D.

Grants and funding

The research was supported by an unconditioned grant by NUTRICIA S.p.A., Italy, and Fondazione Cariplo (grant CoVIM, no. 2020-1374).