Primary Omicron infection elicits weak antibody response but robust cellularimmunity in children (preprint)

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is now globally dominant but despite high prevalence little is known regarding the immune response in children. We determined the antibody and cellular immune response following Omicron infection in children aged 6-14 years and related this to prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination status. Primary Omicron infection elicited a weak antibody response and only 53% of children developed detectable neutralising antibodies. In contrast, children with secondary Omicron infection following prior infection with a pre-Omicron variant developed 24-fold higher antibody titres and neutralisation of Omicron. Vaccination elicited the highest levels of antibody response and was also strongly immunogenic following prior natural infection with Omicron. Cellular responses against Omicron were robust and broadly equivalent in all study groups. These data reveal that primary Omicron infection elicits a weak humoral immune response in children and may presage a clinical profile of recurrent infection as seen with antecedent seasonal coronaviruses. Vaccination may represent the most effective approach to control infection whilst cellular immunity should offer strong clinical protection.

Strong peak immunogenicity but rapid antibody waning following third vaccine dose in elderly residents of care homes (preprint)

Third dose COVID-19 vaccines are being deployed widely but their efficacy has not been assessed adequately in vulnerable elderly people who exhibit suboptimal responses after primary series vaccination. We studied spike-specific immune responses in 341 staff and residents in long-term care facilities (LTCF) who received an mRNA vaccine following dual primary series vaccination with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1. Third dose vaccination strongly increased antibody responses with preferential enhancement in older people and was required to elicit neutralisation of Omicron. Cellular immune responses were also enhanced with strong cross-reactive recognition of Omicron. However, antibody titres fell 21-78% within 100 days post vaccine and 27% of participants developed a breakthrough Omicron infection. These findings reveal strong immunogenicity of a 3rd vaccine in one of the most vulnerable population groups and endorse an approach for widespread delivery across this population. Ongoing assessment will be required to determine the stability of immune protection.

SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibody levels following second dose of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in residents of long-term care facilities in England (VIVALDI) (preprint)

Background General population studies have shown strong humoral response following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with subsequent waning of anti-spike antibody levels. Vaccine-induced immune responses are often attenuated in frail and older populations such as Long-Term Care Facility (LTCF) residents but published data are scarce. Methods VIVALDI is a prospective cohort study in England which links serial blood sampling in LTCF staff and residents to routine healthcare records. We measured quantitative titres of SARS-CoV-2 anti-spike antibodies in residents and staff following second vaccination dose with ChAdOx1 nCov-19 (Oxford-AstraZeneca) or BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech). We investigated differences in peak antibody levels and rates of decline using linear mixed effects models. Results We report on 1317 samples from 402 residents (median age 86 years, IQR 78-91) and 632 staff (50 years, 37-58), ≤280 days from second vaccination dose. Peak antibody titres were 7.9-fold higher after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine compared to Oxford-AstraZeneca (95%CI 3.6-17.0; P <0.01) but rate of decline was increased, and titres were similar at 6 months. Prior infection was associated with higher peak antibody levels in both Pfizer-BioNTech (2.8-fold, 1.9-4.1; P <0.01) and Oxford-AstraZeneca (4.8-fold, 3.2-7.1; P <0.01) recipients and slower rates of antibody decline. Increasing age was associated with a modest reduction in peak antibody levels for Oxford-AstraZeneca recipients. Conclusions Double-dose vaccination elicits robust and stable antibody responses in older LTCF residents, suggesting comparable levels of vaccine-induced immunity to that in the general population. Antibody levels are higher after Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination but fall more rapidly compared to Oxford-AstraZeneca recipients and are enhanced by prior infection in both groups.

mRNA COVID-19 vaccines induce enhanced antibody and cellular responses compared to ChAdOx1 or natural infection in children (preprint)

We present a comprehensive analysis of antibody and cellular responses in children aged 12-16 years who received COVID-19 vaccination with ChAdOx1 (n=6) or mRNA vaccine (mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2, n=9) using a 12-week extended-interval schedule. mRNA vaccination of seropositive children induces high antibody levels, with one dose, but a second dose is required in infection-naïve children. Following a second ChAdOx1 dose, antibody titres were higher than natural infection, but lower than mRNA vaccination. Vaccination induced live virus neutralising antibodies against Alpha, Beta and Delta variants, however, a second dose is required in infection-naïve children. We found higher T-cell responses following mRNA vaccination than ChAdOx1. Phenotyping of responses showed predominantly early effector-memory CD4 T cell populations, with a type-1 cytotoxic cytokine signature, with IL-10. These data demonstrate mRNA vaccination induces a co-ordinated superior antibody and robust cellular responses in children. Seronegative children require a prime-boost regime for optimal protection.

Impaired Neutralisation of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant in Vaccinated Patients With B Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (preprint)

Background: Immune suppression is a clinical feature of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and patients show increased vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 infection and suboptimal antibody responses.Method: We studied antibody responses in 500 patients following dual COVID-19 vaccination to assess the magnitude, correlates of response, stability and functional activity of the spike-specific antibody response with 2 different vaccine platforms.Results: Spike-specific seroconversion post-vaccine was seen in 67% of patients compared to 100% of age-matched controls. Amongst responders, titres were 3.7 times lower than the control group. Antibody responses showed a 33% fall over the next 4 months. The use of an mRNA (n=204) or adenovirus-based (n=296) vaccine platform did not impact on antibody response. Male gender, BTKi therapy, prophylactic antibiotics use and low serum IgA/IgM were predictive of failure to respond. Antibody responses after CD20-targeted immunotherapy recovered 12 months-post treatment. Post-vaccine sera from CLL patients with Spike-specific antibody response showed markedly reduced neutralisation of the SARS-CoV-2 delta variant compared to healthy controls. Patients with previous natural SARS-CoV-2 infection showed equivalent antibody levels and function as healthy donors after vaccination.Interpretation: These findings demonstrate impaired antibody responses following dual COVID-19 vaccination in patients with CLL and further define patient risk groups. Furthermore, humoral protection against the globally-dominant delta variant is markedly impaired in CLL patients and indicates the need for further optimisation of immune protection in this patient cohort.Funding Information: This work was partially supported by the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium (UK-CIC) funded by DHSC/UKRI and the National Core Studies Immunity programme.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.Ethics Approval Statement: Informed consent was obtained by remote consultation and work performed under the CIA UPH IRAS approval (REC 20\NW\0240) from North-West and Preston ethics committee and conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

Robust SARS-CoV-2-specific and heterologous immune responses after natural infection in elderly residents of Long-Term Care Facilities (preprint)

Long term care facilities (LTCF) provide residential and/or nursing care support for frail and elderly people and many have suffered from a high prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Although mortality rates have been high in LTCF residents there is little information regarding the features of SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity after infection in this setting or how this may influence immunity to other infections. We studied humoral and cellular immunity against SARS-CoV-2 in 152 LTCF staff and 124 residents over a prospective 4-month period shortly after the first wave of infection and related viral serostatus to heterologous immunity to other respiratory viruses and systemic inflammatory markers. LTCF residents developed high levels of antibodies against spike protein and RBD domain which were stable over 4 months of follow up. Nucleocapsid-specific responses were also elevated in elderly donors but showed waning across all populations. Antibodies showed stable and equivalent levels of functional inhibition against spike-ACE2 binding in all age groups with comparable activity against viral variants of concern. SARS-CoV-2 seropositive donors showed high levels of antibodies to other beta-coronaviruses but serostatus did not impact humoral immunity to influenza or RSV. SARS-CoV-2-specific cellular responses were equivalent across the life course but virus-specific populations showed elevated levels of activation in older donors. LTCF residents who are survivors of SARS-CoV-2 infection thus show robust and stable immunity which does not impact responses to other seasonal viruses. These findings augur well for relative protection of LTCF residents to re-infection. Furthermore, they underlie the potent influence of previous infection on the immune response to Covid-19 vaccine which may prove to be an important determinant of future vaccine strategy. One sentence summeryCare home residents show waning of nucleocapsid specific antibodies and enhanced expression of activation markers on SARS-CoV-2 specific cells

Differential Immunogenicity of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 Vaccines After Extended-Interval Homologous Dual Vaccination in Older People (preprint)

Background: Several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines have shown clinical efficacy against Covid-19 infection but there remains uncertainty about the immune responses elicited by different regimens. This is a particularly important question for older people who are at increased clinical risk following infection and in whom immune senescence may limit vaccine responses. The BNT162b2 mRNA and ChAdOx1 adenovirus vaccines were the first two vaccines deployed in the UK programme using an 8-12 week ‘extended interval’. Objectives: We undertook analysis of the spike-specific antibody and cellular immune response in 131 participants aged 80+ years after the second dose of ‘extended interval’ dual vaccination with either BNT162b2 mRNA (n=54) or ChAdOx1 (n=77) adenovirus vaccine. Blood samples were taken 2-3 weeks after second vaccine and were paired with samples taken at 5-weeks after first vaccine which have been reported previously. Antibody responses were measured using the Elecsys® electrochemiluminescence immunoassay assay and cellular responses were assessed by IFN-g ELISpot. Results: Antibody responses against spike protein became detectable in all donors following dual vaccination with either vaccine. 4 donors had evidence of previous natural infection which is known to boost vaccine responses. Within the 53 infection-naïve donors the median antibody titre was 4030 U/ml (IQR 1892-8530) following BNT162b2 dual vaccination and 1405 (IQR 469.5- 2543) in the 74 patients after the ChAdOx1 vaccine (p=<0.0001). Spike-specific T cell responses were observed in 30% and 49% of mRNA and ChAdOx1 recipients respectively and median responses were 1.4-times higher in ChAdOx1 vaccinees at 14 vs 20 spots/million respectively (p=0.022). Conclusion: Dual vaccination with BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 induces strong humoral immunity in older people following an extended interval protocol. Antibody responses are 2.9-times higher following the mRNA regimen whilst cellular responses are 1.7-times higher with the adenovirus-based vaccine. Differential patterns of immunogenicity are therefore elicited from the two vaccine platforms. It will be of interest to assess the relative stability of immune responses after these homologous vaccine regimens in order to assess the potential need for vaccine boosting. Furthermore, these findings indicate that heterologous vaccine platforms may offer the opportunity to further optimize vaccine responses.

Extended interval BNT162b2 vaccination enhances peak antibody generation in older people (preprint)

Abstract Objectives: To assess the relative immunogenicity of standard or extended interval BNT162b2 vaccination. Design: Population based cohort study comparing immune responses 2 weeks after the second vaccine, with appropriate time-matched samples in participants who received standard or extended interval double vaccination. Setting: Primary care networks, Birmingham, UK. December 2020 to April 2021. Participants: 175 people aged over 80 years of age. All donors received the BNT162b2 Pfizer/BioNTech vaccination and were vaccinated with either a standard 3 week interval between doses or an extended interval schedule. Main outcome measures: Peak quantitative spike-specific antibody and cellular immune responses. Results: In donors without evidence of previous infection the peak antibody response was 3.5-fold higher in donors who had undergone delayed interval vaccination. Cellular immune responses were 3.6-fold lower. Conclusion: Peak antibody responses after the second BNT162b2 vaccine are markedly enhanced in older people when this is delayed to 12 weeks although cellular responses are lower. Extended interval vaccination may therefore offer the potential to enhance and extend humoral immunity. Further follow up is now required to assess long term immunity and clinical protection.

Profile of Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses to Single BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 Vaccine in Residents and Staff Within Residential Care Homes (VIVALDI Study) (preprint)

Background: Residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF) have experienced high mortality rates from SARS-CoV-2 infection and as such have been prioritized for Covid-19 vaccination. Several countries have implemented an extended interval of up to 12 weeks between first and second vaccine doses to increase population coverage after single administration. Methods: Spike-specific immune responses that were induced following single administration of BNT162b2 or ChAdOx1 were studied in 89 staff and 35 residents within LTCFs. Quantitative antibody and cellular responses were determined as well as antibody inhibition of spike protein-ACE2 binding from viral variants. Results: 20% of staff and 34% of residents were found to have serological evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and all of these donors demonstrated strong antibody responses that were independent of age. Antibody responses were detectable within 99% and 79% of ‘infection-naive’ staff and residents respectively but were 8.2-fold lower within residents. This effect resulted from slower kinetics of antibody generation within residents which reached levels comparable to staff after only 42 days. In contrast spike-specific cellular responses were equivalent between both groups. Antibody inhibition activity against the B.1.351 and P.1 viral variants of concern was low using serum from ‘infection-naive’ older donors. Prior history of natural infection thus has a marked impact on the magnitude and quality of antibody response after a single Covid-19 vaccine in care home residents. Interpretation: Residents who are infection-naive have delayed antibody responses to the first dose of vaccine and might be considered for an early second vaccine where possible. Funding: UK Government Department of Health and Social CareDeclaration of Interests: LS reports grants from the Department of Health and Social Care during the conduct of the study and is a member of the Social Care Working Group, which reports to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies. AH is a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group at the Department of Health.Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the South Central - Hampshire B Research Ethics Committee, REC Ref: 20/SC/023.