No significant influence of pre-vaccination antipyretic use on specific antibody response to a BNT162b2 vaccine booster against COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The relation between pre-vaccination antipyretic use and antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination has been unclear. We measured the pre- and post-BNT162b2 booster spike-specific IgG titers and recorded antipyretic use and adverse reactions for SARS-CoV-2-naive hospital healthcare workers. The data of 20 cases who used antipyretics within 24 hours before vaccination were compared to that of 281 controls. The post-booster geometric mean IgG titers were 15,559 AU/mL (95% CI, 11,474-21,203) for the cases and 16,850 AU/mL (95% CI, 15,563-18,243) for the controls (p=0.622). No significant reduction in the frequency or severity of any of the solicited adverse reactions was found for the cases. Similar results were obtained after adjustment with propensity-score matching for demographic characteristics, baseline IgG titer, and post-vaccination antipyretic use. Antipyretic use within 24 hours before vaccination would not affect mRNA COVID-19 vaccine-induced specific antibody responses and that postponement of vaccination due to pre-vaccination antipyretic use would be unnecessary.