1. Antibody levels following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2: associations with post-vaccination infection and risk factors in two UK longitudinal studies.
- Author
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Cheetham NJ, Kibble M, Wong A, Silverwood RJ, Knuppel A, Williams DM, Hamilton OKL, Lee PH, Bridger Staatz C, Di Gessa G, Zhu J, Katikireddi SV, Ploubidis GB, Thompson EJ, Bowyer RCE, Zhang X, Abbasian G, Garcia MP, Hart D, Seow J, Graham C, Kouphou N, Acors S, Malim MH, Mitchell RE, Northstone K, Major-Smith D, Matthews S, Breeze T, Crawford M, Molloy L, Kwong ASF, Doores K, Chaturvedi N, Duncan EL, Timpson NJ, and Steves CJ
- Subjects
- Humans, COVID-19 Vaccines, Cross-Sectional Studies, Risk Factors, Antibodies, Viral, London, Longitudinal Studies, Vaccination, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control
- Abstract
Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibody levels can be used to assess humoral immune responses following SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination, and may predict risk of future infection. Higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 anti-Spike antibodies are known to be associated with increased protection against future SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, variation in antibody levels and risk factors for lower antibody levels following each round of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination have not been explored across a wide range of socio-demographic, SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination, and health factors within population-based cohorts., Methods: Samples were collected from 9361 individuals from TwinsUK and ALSPAC UK population-based longitudinal studies and tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Cross-sectional sampling was undertaken jointly in April-May 2021 (TwinsUK, N=4256; ALSPAC, N=4622), and in TwinsUK only in November 2021-January 2022 (N=3575). Variation in antibody levels after first, second, and third SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with health, socio-demographic, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination variables were analysed. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we tested associations between antibody levels following vaccination and: (1) SARS-CoV-2 infection following vaccination(s); (2) health, socio-demographic, SARS-CoV-2 infection, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination variables., Results: Within TwinsUK, single-vaccinated individuals with the lowest 20% of anti-Spike antibody levels at initial testing had threefold greater odds of SARS-CoV-2 infection over the next 6-9 months (OR = 2.9, 95% CI: 1.4, 6.0), compared to the top 20%. In TwinsUK and ALSPAC, individuals identified as at increased risk of COVID-19 complication through the UK 'Shielded Patient List' had consistently greater odds (two- to fourfold) of having antibody levels in the lowest 10%. Third vaccination increased absolute antibody levels for almost all individuals, and reduced relative disparities compared with earlier vaccinations., Conclusions: These findings quantify the association between antibody level and risk of subsequent infection, and support a policy of triple vaccination for the generation of protective antibodies., Funding: Antibody testing was funded by UK Health Security Agency. The National Core Studies program is funded by COVID-19 Longitudinal Health and Wellbeing - National Core Study (LHW-NCS) HMT/UKRI/MRC ([MC_PC_20030] and [MC_PC_20059]). Related funding was also provided by the NIHR 606 (CONVALESCENCE grant [COV-LT-0009]). TwinsUK is funded by the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council, Versus Arthritis, European Union Horizon 2020, Chronic Disease Research Foundation (CDRF), Zoe Ltd and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Network (CRN) and Biomedical Research Centre based at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. The UK Medical Research Council and Wellcome (Grant ref: [217065/Z/19/Z]) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC., Competing Interests: NC, AW, RS, AK, DW, OH, PL, GD, JZ, GP, ET, RB, XZ, GA, DH, JS, CG, NK, SA, MM, RM, KN, DM, SM, TB, MC, LM, AK, KD, ED, NT No competing interests declared, MK received payment for attending the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) symposium. The author has no other competing interests to declare, CB received an ESRC and NIHR funded Grant, and MRC Funded Studentship. The author has no other competing interests to declare, SK participates on the Scottish Government Expert Reference Group on Ethnicity and COVID-19, and UK Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (SAGE) subgroup on Ethnicity. The author has no other competing interests to declare, MG is a member of the King's College London Health Faculties Research Ethics Subcommittee (Purple), and a Chair of the TwinsUK Volunteer Advisory Panel. The author has no other competing interests to declare, NC received payment for clinical trials of a diabetes drug from AstraZeneca. Nishi Chaturvedi is Chair of British Heart Foundation Fellowships Committee, a member of Diabetes UK research committee and a member of NWO Gravitational Awards Committee. The author has no other competing interests to declare, CS received payment for consultancy work for Zoe Ltd. The author has no other competing interests to declare, (© 2023, Cheetham et al.)
- Published
- 2023
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