Comparison of Antibody Responses in Older Adults Who Had Natural Infection vs. Those Who Received an mRNA Booster Following ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccination
Abstract
Material and Methods: A study was conducted during an outbreak at a nursing home between October and November 2021. Antibodies were tested at 12±2 weeks after recovery from COVID-19 or after the mRNA vaccine booster.
Results: Forty-three patients in the CVD group and 16 patients in the CVV group were enrolled. The levels of neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 (% inhibition) were 97.9 (interquartile range (IQR) 97.3-98.2) and 96.8 (IQR 75.2- 97.8); p-value=0.007 for wild-type SARS-CoV-2, 98 (IQR 97-98.5) and 88.3 (IQR 55.2-96.8); p-value<0.001 against B.1.1.7 (Alpha), 95.9 (IQR 90.2-97.7) and 79.1 (IQR 47-88.5); p-value<0.001 against B.1.351 (Beta), 98.1 (IQR 97.4- 98.4) and 84 (IQR 37.3-96.6); p-value<0.001 against B.1.617.2 (Delta), and 28.2 (IQR 0-66) and 17.0 (IQR 1.5-36.9); p-value=0.388 against B.1.1.529 (Omicron), respectively.
Conclusion: Hybrid immunity elicited higher neutralizing antibody levels than vaccination alone. However, for newer variants like Omicron, both hybrid immunity and vaccination alone resulted in low neutralizing antibody levels during the study period.
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