Dynamic Changes in the Immune Response Correlate with Disease Severity and Outcomes During Infection with SARS-CoV-2

June 11, 2021

Dynamic Changes in the Immune Response Correlate with Disease Severity and Outcomes During Infection with SARS-CoV-2

A small, single center study of persons hospitalized with COVID-19 in China (N=74) identified innate and adaptive immunological differences between patients with severe and non-severe disease. Specifically, patients with severe disease had lower baseline lymphocyte counts, higher neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios, and lower eosinophil counts. T-cell, B-cell, and natural killer cells were also lower among…

Does Reactogenicity after a Second Injection of the BNT162b2 Vaccine Predict Spike IgG Antibody Levels in Healthy Japanese Subjects

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A small study of Japanese healthcare workers (N=67) found that reactogenicity to a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was not a predictor of subsequent IgG antibody levels. The study controlled for age, sex, and IgG levels after the first dose of vaccine. The prevalence of local and systemic reactogenicity was 2.5-times…

June 10, 2021

Neutralizing Antibodies Elicited by the Ad26.COV2.S COVID-19 Vaccine Show Reduced Activity against 501Y.V2 (B.1.351) despite Protection against Severe Disease by This Variant

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody binding responses among individuals 29 days after vaccination with the single-dose Johnson & Johnson-Janssen vaccine (n=88) were reduced by 1.8-fold against the B.1.351 (Beta) variant compared to the wild-type D614G strain. By contrast, 82% in a subset of 27 individuals showed no neutralizing activity against B.1.351 (Beta) at Day 29…

May 28, 2021

The Humoral Response to the BNT162b2 Vaccine in Hemodialysis Patients

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] Anti-SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies were detected in 80% of chronic hemodialysis patients (n=66) 28 days after a single dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in a cohort study in Toronto, Canada. However, only 23% mounted a robust response defined by exceeding the median level of anti-spike antibodies observed in serum of healthy convalescent controls…

May 27, 2021

Type I, II, and III Interferon Signatures Correspond to COVID-19 Disease Severity

In an analysis of plasma levels of interferons (IFNs) and cytokines among patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and varying disease severity (n=67), type I IFN responses appeared to be transient among those with mild disease but prolonged among those admitted to the ICU. Plasma levels of type II IFNs were comparable among patients overall and induced…

Cellular and Humoral Response after MRNA-1273 SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in Kidney Transplant Recipients

Only 35 of 117 (30%) kidney transplant recipients without known prior SARS-CoV-2 infection had a detectable humoral immune response (anti-spike IgG and/or IgM antibodies) to the Moderna vaccine two weeks after the second dose, while 55% had a detectable cellular immune response. Development of both humoral and cellular immune responses was observed in 20% of…

May 18, 2021

Individuals Who Were Mildly Symptomatic Following Infection with SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.28 Have Neutralizing Antibodies to the P.1 Variant

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] 84% of sera from to individuals (n=60) recovered from mild SARS-CoV-2 infection caused by the B.1.1.28 variant (the wild-type strain circulating in Brazil) had neutralizing antibodies against the P.1 variant of concern. Neutralization titers against the wild-type strain were consistently higher compared to the P.1 variant, but the differences were not more…

May 3, 2021

SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies Remain Detectable 12 Months after Infection and Antibody Magnitude Is Associated with Age and COVID-19 Severity

[Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] An analysis of longitudinal serum samples collected from U.S. active duty service members, dependents, and military retirees with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between March 2020 and March 2021 found 100% seropositivity among inpatients followed for six months (58/58) to one year (8/8). Seroreversion was observed in 5% (9/192) of outpatients six to ten…

April 16, 2021

Distinct Antibody and Memory B Cell Responses in SARS-CoV-2 Naïve and Recovered Individuals Following mRNA Vaccination

A single dose of an mRNA vaccine (Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech) administered to SARS-CoV-2 naïve individuals produced neutralizing activity against the D614G variant in 50% of recipients and against the B.1.351 variant in 16% of recipients (n=33). Neutralizing activity improved to 100% against the D614G variant and 96% against the against the B.1.351 variant following a…

Spike Antibody Levels of Nursing Home Residents With or Without Prior COVID-19 3 Weeks After a Single BNT162b2 Vaccine Dose

Nursing home residents with a past history of COVID-19 were far more likely than those without a history of COVID-19 to mount an antibody response to the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Among a cohort of nursing home residents in France, all 36 residents with prior COVID-19 were seropositive for anti-spike (S) IgG antibodies…