First-dose mRNA vaccination is sufficient to reactivate immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 in subjects who have recovered from COVID-19
Alessio Mazzoni, … , Francesco Annunziato, for the COVID-19 Research Group
Alessio Mazzoni, … , Francesco Annunziato, for the COVID-19 Research Group
Published May 3, 2021
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2021;131(12):e149150. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI149150.
View: Text | PDF
Concise Communication Immunology

First-dose mRNA vaccination is sufficient to reactivate immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2 in subjects who have recovered from COVID-19

Abstract

The characterization of the adaptive immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in individuals who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection may define current and future clinical practice. To determine the effect of the 2-dose BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination schedule in individuals who recovered from COVID-19 (COVID-19–recovered subjects) compared with naive subjects, we evaluated SARS-CoV-2 Spike–specific T and B cell responses, as well as specific IgA, IgG, IgM, and neutralizing antibodies titers in 22 individuals who received the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, 11 of whom had a previous history of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Evaluations were performed before vaccination and then weekly until 7 days after second injection. Data obtained clearly showed that one vaccine dose is sufficient to increase both cellular and humoral immune response in COVID-19–recovered subjects without any additional improvement after the second dose. On the contrary, the second dose proved mandatory in naive subjects to further enhance the immune response. These findings were further confirmed at the serological level in a larger cohort of naive (n = 68) and COVID-19–recovered (n = 29) subjects, tested up to 50 days after vaccination. These results question whether a second vaccine injection in COVID-19–recovered subjects is required, and indicate that millions of vaccine doses may be redirected to naive individuals, thus shortening the time to reach herd immunity.

Authors

Alessio Mazzoni, Nicoletta Di Lauria, Laura Maggi, Lorenzo Salvati, Anna Vanni, Manuela Capone, Giulia Lamacchia, Elisabetta Mantengoli, Michele Spinicci, Lorenzo Zammarchi, Seble Tekle Kiros, Arianna Rocca, Filippo Lagi, Maria Grazia Colao, Paola Parronchi, Cristina Scaletti, Lucia Turco, Francesco Liotta, Gian Maria Rossolini, Lorenzo Cosmi, Alessandro Bartoloni, Francesco Annunziato, for the COVID-19 Research Group

×

Figure 4

Characterization of vaccine-induced anti-Spike humoral response up to 50 days after vaccination.

Options: View larger image (or click on image) Download as PowerPoint
Characterization of vaccine-induced anti-Spike humoral response up to 50...
Evaluation of anti-S IgG (A), anti-RBD IgG (B), and S-neutralizing antibodies (C) in naive (red box) and COVID-19–recovered (blue box) subjects before and 21 and 50 days after first vaccine dose administration. Box-plots represent 25th to 75th percentiles. Black lines represent the median. Whiskers represent SE. Data were obtained from 68 naive and 29 COVID-19–recovered subjects. **P < 0.01, ***P < 0.001 calculated with Wilcoxon’s signed rank test.