Antibody Response against SARS-CoV-2 after mRNA Vaccine in a Cohort of Hospital Healthy Workers Followed for 17 Months

TL;DR

This study tracks antibody levels in hospital workers over 17 months to understand how mRNA vaccines protect against SARS-CoV-2 and how immunity changes over time.

Contribution

The study provides longitudinal data on antibody response in vaccinated hospital workers and identifies a critical antibody threshold for protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Findings

Antibody levels declined over time but remained higher in emergency and medical departments.

An antibody concentration of 550 BAU/mL was identified as a threshold for susceptibility to infection.

No differences in infection risk after the third vaccine dose were found across hospital departments.

Abstract

The assessment of antibody response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is of critical importance to verify the protective efficacy of available vaccines. Hospital healthcare workers play an essential role in the care and treatment of patients and were particularly at risk of contracting the SARS-CoV-2 infection during the pandemic. The vaccination protocol introduced in our hospital protected the workers and contributed to the containment of the infection’ s spread and transmission, although a reduction in vaccine efficacy against symptomatic and breakthrough infections in vaccinated individuals was observed over time. Here, we present the results of a longitudinal and prospective analysis of the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at multiple time points over a 17-month period to determine how circulating antibody levels change over time following natural infection and vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 before (T0–T4) and after the spread of the omicron variant (T5–T6), analyzing the antibody response of 232 healthy workers at the Pio XI hospital in Desio. A General Estimating Equation model indicated a significant association of the antibody response with time intervals and hospital area, independent of age and sex. Specifically, a similar pattern of antibody response was observed between the surgery and administrative departments, and a different pattern with higher peaks of average antibody response was observed in the emergency and medical departments. Furthermore, using a logistic model, we found no differences in contracting SARS-CoV-2 after the third dose based on the hospital department. Finally, analysis of antibody distribution following the spread of the omicron variant, subdividing the cohort of positive individuals into centiles, highlighted a cut-off of 550 BAU/mL and showed that subjects with antibodies below this are more susceptible to infection than those with a concentration above the established cut-off value.

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