Antibody and T-Cell response to bivalent booster SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in people with compromised immune function: COVERALL-3 Study. Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Vaccines against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevented severe disease, including among immunocompromised individuals. Over the course of the pandemic, bivalent vaccines were developed to improve vaccine effectiveness against emerging variants. In this article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Amstutz et al. assessed the safety and immune response of bivalent vaccines in participants from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS) and the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study (STCS).
Between October 2022 and January 2023, the authors enrolled 112 SHCS and 62 STCS participants (79% male, median age 56 years, median CD4 cell count of people with HIV 350 cells/μL). The majority had received 3 (87%) or 4 (10%) doses of monovalent vaccines prior to the study. The geometric mean titers of people with HIV, as well as kidney and lung transplant recipients rose at least 5-fold at 4 weeks after the bivalent booster. Serologic response (anti-spike antibody concentrations ≥ 1642 IU/mL) at 4 weeks was observed in 97% of people with HIV and 75% of organ transplant recipients. All people with HIV achieved a positive T-cell response, whereas only 40% of transplant recipients had a positive reaction. Systemic and local symptoms after the vaccine booster occurred in 4-8% of individuals.
Building on the pre-established Corona Vaccine Trial Platform (COVERALL), the present study showed a robust humoral response after one booster dose of a bivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in people with HIV and kidney transplant recipients. Lung transplant recipients showed a lower humoral response, and booster doses elicited only a minimal T-cell response in organ transplant recipients compared to people with HIV. The study confirmed a favorable safety profile of the vaccines with only minimal side effects.