22 Apr COVID-19: Response to Vaccine Linked to Timing
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr. Otter
Ashley Otter, PhD
Research scientist within Diagnostic Support
for the rare/imported pathogens laboratory (RIPL)
Public Health England (PHE)
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The SIREN study is a national research project covering all four nations of the United Kingdom. Almost 45,000 healthcare workers from across the UK were enrolled midway through 2020, each providing monthly samples for antibody testing and fortnightly PCR testing. Using samples from participants from this project, we were able to take a snapshot of ~6,000 participants at different stages after they received their vaccination to see how different factors affect their antibody responses.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?
Response: The SIREN study is a national research project covering all four nations of the United Kingdom. Almost 45,000 healthcare workers from across the UK were enrolled midway through 2020, each providing monthly samples for antibody testing and fortnightly PCR testing. Using samples from participants from this project, we were able to take a snapshot of ~6,000 participants at different stages after they received their vaccination to see how different factors affect their antibody responses.
In this study we found that the longer you leave between your first and second dose, the higher antibody response you have. The current COVID-19 vaccination programme in the United Kingdom advises a 12-week interval between primary vaccinations, and this study further supports this timeframe. In February 2022, the Centers Disease for Control and Prevention (CDC) in the US recommended that people should wait 8 weeks rather than 4 after their first dose of the vaccine before receiving their second dose.
We also found that in those with previous infection, the longer you leave between your infection and your first vaccination, the higher antibody response you get. However, we see that this timing has no effect on your antibody response after dose 2, showing that vaccination is highly beneficial to those with prior infection and mount a very high and robust antibody response.
MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: This data supports the current recommended interval timeframe between first and second doses, which is 12 weeks in the United Kingdom and 8 weeks in the US.
Those with previous infection should get vaccinated, as vaccination on top of previous infection boosts antibody responses. Those who have been both previously infected and vaccinated have very high antibody levels. In our recent vaccine effectiveness analysis, conducted during the period where the Delta variant was dominant, we see that those with hybrid immunity (vaccination following infection), have very high and durable protection against future infection, emerging as the best protected in our cohort. That paper can be found in the New England Journal of Medicine here.
More work is needed to look at the effect of timing on booster responses and how this relates to antibody titres and protection against disease.
Disclosures: This work was funded by UKHSA, the MRC and the Department of Health and Social Care, with contributions from the governments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Citation:
Determinants of SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibody 2 levels following BNT162b2 vaccination: cross- 3 sectional analysis of 6,000 SIREN study participants
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Last Updated on April 22, 2022 by Marie Benz MD FAAD