Long-term Durable Humoral Immune Response to Heterologous Antigenic Exposure Post six months by Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Vaccination
Authors: Batra Gaurav , Rathna Murugesan Deepika , Chattopadhyay Souvick , Mehdi Farha , Ayushi  , Gosain Mudita , Singh Savita , Das Soon Jyoti , Deshpande Suprit , Bhattacharya Jayanta , Pandey Anil K , Jha Sankalp , Goswami Shweta , Das Asim , Dwivedi Tanima , Sharma Nandini , Kumar Suresh , Sharma Pragya , Kapoor Seema , Kshetrapal Pallavi , Wadhwa Nitya , Thiruvengadam Ramachandran , Kumar Rakesh , Gupta Ritu , Garg Pramod Kumar , Bhatnagar Shinjini ,   DBT Consortium for COVID-19 Research
Published: February 2022

AbstractImportanceBoth vaccination and natural infection lead to immunity and may augment mutual immune response against SARS-CoV-2. There is a need for an evidence-driven booster vaccination policy depending on durability of immune response.ObjectiveTo determine the durability of humoral immune response with varying age, vaccine type, duration, and previous natural infection at least six months after complete vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BBV152.DesignCross-sectional observational study conducted between November 2021 and January 2022.SettingParticipants were drawn from a DBT COVID-19 Research Consortium cohort in Delhi National Capital Region, India.ParticipantsWe included 2003 individuals who had completed six months after complete vaccination: (i) vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and aged 18-59 years, (ii) vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and aged ≥60 years (iii) vaccination with BBV152 and aged 18-59 years (iv) vaccination with BBV152 and aged ≥60 years (v) vaccination with either vaccine plus SARS-CoV-2 infection referred as those having hybrid immunity. A group of 94 unvaccinated individuals was also included for comparison.ExposureAge, vaccination type, prior SARS-CoV-2 infection and duration from vaccination/infection.Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s)Humoral immune response determined by anti-RBD IgG concentrations and the presence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG.ResultsThe serum anti-RBD IgG antibodies were detected (cut-off 24 BAU/ml) in 85% participants with a median titer of 163 (IQR 73, 403) BAU/ml. In the hybrid immunity group, 97.6% [295 (IQR 128, 687) BAU/mL] tested positive for anti-RBD IgG compared to 81.3% [139 (IQR 62, 326) BAU/ml] of only vaccinated participants [χ2 test: p <0.001]. The median anti-RBD IgG titers were higher in the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 versus BBV152 groups. The median anti-RBD IgG titer in the anti-nucleocapsid positive participants [326 (IQR 132, 739) BAU/ml] was significantly higher than in those without anti-nucleocapsid antibodies [131 (IQR 58, 288) BAU/ml; p <0.001]. The IgG anti-RBD antibodies was present in 85% of participants beyond a median of 8 months after complete vaccination.Conclusions and RelevanceConsidering the wide seropositivity rates due to natural SARS-CoV-2 infection, recommendation for boosters should take into account past infections in the population.Key pointsQuestionWhat is the extent of waning of humoral immune response in various groups of vaccinated individuals at least six months after complete vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BBV152 with or without prior natural infection?FindingsCross-sectional observational study demonstrates persistence of anti-RBD IgG in 85% of participants even beyond a median of 8 months after complete vaccination. The antibody concentrations were significantly higher in those with hybrid immunity.MeaningHumoral immunity may last longer due to heterologous antigenic exposure following vaccination and natural infection emphasizing the need for contextualizing the booster policy.