Abstract

To evaluate vaccine-induced humoral and cell-mediated immunity at 6 months post BNT162b2 vaccination, immunoglobulin G against SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (SP IgG), 50% neutralizing antibody (NT50), and spot-forming cell (SFC) counts were evaluated by interferon-γ releasing ELISpot assay of 98 healthy subjects (median age, 43 years). The geometric mean titers of SP IgG and NT50 decreased from 95.2 (95% confidence interval (CI) 79.8-113.4) to 5.7 (95% CI 4.9-6.7) and from 680.4 (588.0-787.2) to 130.4 (95% CI 104.2-163.1), respectively, at 3 weeks and 6 months after the vaccination. SP IgG titer was negatively correlated with age and alcohol consumption. Spot-forming cell counts at 6 months did not correlate with age, gender, and other parameters of the patients. SP IgG, NT50, and SFC titers were elevated in the breakthrough infected subjects. Although the levels of vaccine-induced antibodies dramatically declined at 6 months after vaccination, a certain degree of cellular immunity was observed irrespective of the age.

Competing Interest Statement

HK received grants from Shionogi & Company, Limited, and Asahi Kasei Pharma & Co., Inc. NO is an employee of Tosoh Corporation. YY is an employee of Kanto Chemical Co., Inc. Other authors stated no conflict of interest.

Funding Statement

This study was funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) under Grant Number: JP20he0522001

Author Declarations

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

IRB of Yokohama City University Hospital gave ethical approval for this work (approval number: B210800024).

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Paper in collection COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 preprints from medRxiv and bioRxiv