Anti-SARS-COV-2 specific immunity in HIV immunological non-responders after mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination

Individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) belong to the group of people most vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infections and the associated disease COVID-19. Here we describe SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody and cellular immune responses in a small cohort of immunological non-responder HIV-1 patients (HIV-INRs) after receiving the COVID-19 mRNA-based BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine. Compared to the control group of vaccinated healthy individuals that all developed a virus-specific immune response, 5 of 10 vaccinated HIV-1 patients showed insufficient immune responses. The lack of response was not directly correlated with patients CD4 cell counts. Three of the five non-responders that agreed to receive a booster vaccination subsequently generated a virus-specific response. Thus, even HIV-INRs can be efficiently vaccinated against COVID-19 but may require a follow-up by virus-specific immune monitoring to guarantee clinical vaccine benefits. The authors are supported by Spanish Melanoma Group Grant (GEM) (III Beca GEM para Grupos Emergentes), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation grant no. PID2019-106323RB-I00 AEI//10.13039/501100011033, the “Unidad de Excelencia María de Maeztu”, funded by the MCIN and the AEI (DOI: 10.13039/501100011033); Ref: CEX2018-000792-M and by a FIS Project “PI19/00019” funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII) and co-funded by the European Union.