Impaired immunity in elderly, vaccinated residents of an long-term care facility affected by a COVID-19 outbreak
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology
; 95(6), 2022.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-1968190
ABSTRACT
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has hit long-term care facilities (LTCF), with outbreaks affecting both residents and health care workers (HCWs). Elderly persons have been prioritized in the implementation of vaccination programs. Here we investigated a COVID-19 outbreak, caused by the Beta variant (B.1.351) in a LTCF where residents and HCWs had received 2 doses of Comirnaty vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech) until one month before the outbreak. Samples from 14 residents (SARS-CoV-2 PCR-negative n = 8, PCR-positive n = 6) and 10 HCWs (PCR-negative n = 10) were collected at a median of 54 days following the second vaccine dose. IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers were measured. Additionally, functional responses of PBMCs to SARS-CoV-2 spike and nucleocapsid proteins were investigated. We observed that Comirnaty induced higher IgG concentrations and NAb titers in HCWs compared to residents. PBMCs of HCWs responded vigorously to stimulation with SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein, with the secretion of interferon gamma, granzyme B and perforin-1 into supernatants. In comparison, only 3 of 9 samples from residents showed positive cellular responses to spike glycoprotein. Group-level cellular responses directed at SARS-CoV-2 nucleoprotein remained low both in HCWs and in residents. Only 2 of 2 PCR-positive residents showed a positive response consistent with exposure to SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infection. Our results show that elderly persons are at increased risk for breakthrough infection after vaccination. Weak vaccine-directed responses in the elderly need to be addressed in vaccination protocols.
endogenous compound; gamma interferon; granzyme B; immunoglobulin G; immunoglobulin G antibody; neutralizing antibody; nucleocapsid protein; nucleoprotein; perforin; tozinameran; virus spike protein; aged; breakthrough infection; clinical article; conference abstract; controlled study; coronavirus disease 2019; female; health care personnel; human; human tissue; immunity; male; nonhuman; nursing home; peripheral blood mononuclear cell; resident; SARS-CoV-2 Beta; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; spike; supernatant; vaccination
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Topics:
Long Covid
/
Vaccines
Language:
English
Journal:
Scandinavian Journal of Immunology
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Similar
MEDLINE
...
LILACS
LIS