Humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2 evoked by heterologous vaccination groups using the CoronaVac (Sinovac) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech) vaccines in Chile
Journal
Frontiers in Public Health
ISSN
2296-2565
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Diego A. Díaz-Dinamarca
Pablo Díaz
Gisselle Barra
Rodrigo Puentes
Loredana Arata
Jonnathan Grossolli
Boris Riveros-Rodriguez
Luis Ardiles
Julio Santelises
Valeria Vasquez-Saez
Daniel F. Escobar
Daniel Soto
Cecilia Canales
Janepsy Díaz
Liliana Lamperti
Daniela Castillo
Mychel Urra
Felipe Zuñiga
Valeska Ormazabal
Estefanía Nova-Lamperti
Rosana Benítez
Alejandra Rivera
Claudia P. Cortes
María Teresa Valenzuela
Heriberto E. García-Escorza
Abel E. Vasquez
Type
Resource Types::text::journal::journal article
URL Institutional Repository
Abstract
<jats:sec><jats:title>Introduction</jats:title><jats:p>Severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused over million deaths worldwide, with more than 61,000 deaths in Chile. The Chilean government has implemented a vaccination program against SARS-CoV-2, with over 17.7 million people receiving a complete vaccination scheme. The final target is 18 million individuals. The most common vaccines used in Chile are CoronaVac (Sinovac) and BNT162b2 (Pfizer-Biotech). Given the global need for vaccine boosters to combat the impact of emerging virus variants, studying the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 is crucial. In this study, we characterize the humoral immune response in inoculated volunteers from Chile who received vaccination schemes consisting of two doses of CoronaVac [CoronaVac (2x)], two doses of CoronaVac plus one dose of BNT162b2 [CoronaVac (2x) + BNT162b2 (1x)], and three doses of BNT162b2 [BNT162b2 (3x)].</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods</jats:title><jats:p>We recruited 469 participants from Clínica Dávila in Santiago and the Health Center Víctor Manuel Fernández in the city of Concepción, Chile. Additionally, we included participants who had recovered from COVID-19 but were not vaccinated (RCN). We analyzed antibodies, including anti-N, anti-S1-RBD, and neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results</jats:title><jats:p>We found that antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein were significantly higher in the CoronaVac (2x) and RCN groups compared to the CoronaVac (2x) + BNT162b2 (1x) or BNT162b2 (3x) groups. However, the CoronaVac (2x) + BNT162b2 (1x) and BNT162b2 (3x) groups exhibited a higher concentration of S1-RBD antibodies than the CoronaVac (2x) group and RCN group. There were no significant differences in S1-RBD antibody titers between the CoronaVac (2x) + BNT162b2 (1x) and BNT162b2 (3x) groups. Finally, the group immunized with BNT162b2 (3x) had higher levels of neutralizing antibodies compared to the RCN group, as well as the CoronaVac (2x) and CoronaVac (2x) + BNT162b2 (1x) groups.</jats:p></jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Discussion</jats:title><jats:p>These findings suggest that vaccination induces the secretion of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, and a booster dose of BNT162b2 is necessary to generate a protective immune response. In the current state of the pandemic, these data support the Ministry of Health of the Government of Chile’s decision to promote heterologous vaccination as they indicate that a significant portion of the Chilean population has neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.</jats:p></jats:sec>
Subjects
bnt162b2 (pfizer-biontech)
;
chilean vaccination
;
coronavac vaccine
;
covid19
;
heterologous vaccination
;
immunization schedules
;
sars-cov-2
;
sars-cov-2 neutralizing antibodies
;
antibodies, neutralizing
;
bnt162 vaccine
;
chile
;
covid-19
;
humans
;
immunity, humoral
;
sars-cov-2
;
vaccination
;
vaccines
;
bnt 162 vaccine
;
coronavac
;
neutralizing antibody
;
vaccine
;
chile
;
coronavirus disease 2019
;
human
;
humoral immunity
;
severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
;
vaccination