SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Alpha and Delta Variant Breakthrough Infections Are Rare and Mild but Can Happen Relatively Early after Vaccination

Peter, Jelissa Katharina; Wegner, Fanny; Gsponer, Severin; Helfenstein, Fabrice; Roloff, Tim; Tarnutzer, Rahel; Grosheintz, Kerstin; Back, Moritz; Schaubhut, Carla; Wagner, Sabina; Seth-Smith, Helena M. B.; Scotton, Patrick; Redondo, Maurice; Beckmann, Christiane; Stadler, Tanja; Salzmann, Andrea Patrizia; Kurth, Henriette; Leuzinger, Karoline; Bassetti, Stefano; Bingisser, Roland; Siegemund, Martin; Weisser, Maja; Battegay, Manuel; Sutter, Sarah Tschudin; Lebrand, Aitana; Hirsch, Hans H.; Fuchs, Simon; Egli, Adrian

doi:10.3390/microorganisms10050857

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…These features of mRNA vaccines raised high hopes for the worldwide SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign to curb the ongoing pandemic. Unfortunately, however, the virus mutated more rapidly and new variants emerged that would overcome vaccine-induced immunity (9)(10)(11)(12). The wild-type virus was consecutively succeeded by the alpha, delta, and omicron variants accumulating mutations in the spike protein (13).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal monitoring of mRNA-vaccine-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2

et al. 2023

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BackgroundWorldwide vaccination campaigns significantly reduced mortality caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection and diminished the devastating effects of the pandemic. The first approved vaccines are based on novel mRNA technology and elicit potent immune responses offering high levels of protection from severe disease.MethodsHere we longitudinally assessed adaptive immune responses during a 12-month follow-up period after the initial immunization with 2 doses of mRNA vaccines and after the booster dose in blood and saliva.ResultsOur findings demonstrate a rapid waning of the anti-spike IgG titers between months 3 and 6 after the initial vaccination (1.7- and 2.5-fold decrease in plasma and saliva, respectively; P<0.0001). Conversely, the frequency of spike-specific memory B cells increased during this period (2.4-fold increase; P<0.0001) while the frequency of spike-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells remained stable for all assessed functions: cytotoxicity, IFNγ, IL-2, and TNFα expression. Booster vaccination significantly improved the antibody response in plasma and saliva, with the most profound changes observed in the neutralization capacity against the currently circulating omicron variant (25.6-fold increase; P<0.0001). The positive effect of booster vaccination was also evident for spike-specific IgG+ memory B cell (2.4-fold increase; P<0.0001) and cytotoxic CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses (1.7- and 1.9-fold increase respectively; P<0.05).ConclusionsCollectively, our findings offer a detailed insight into the kinetics of adaptive immune response following SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and underline the beneficial effects of a booster vaccination.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal monitoring of mRNA-vaccine-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2

et al. 2023

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“…The first approved vaccines were based on the novel mRNA technology and triggered a robust immune response resulting in high protection efficiency [4][5][6][7] . This was reflected in the low frequency of breakthrough infections among the vaccinated, which were mostly caused by the alpha variant (Pango lineage B.1.1.7), and resulted in mild disease 8,9 . However, similar to infection-induced immunity, the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 vaccines rapidly declines below the level required for protection from infection 10,11 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular immunity following different combinations of vaccination and breakthrough infection

et al. 2023

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The elicited anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunity is becoming increasingly complex with individuals receiving a different number of vaccine doses paired with or without recovery from breakthrough infections with different variants. Here we analyze the immunity of individuals that initially received two doses of mRNA vaccine and either received a booster vaccination, recovered from a breakthrough infection, or both. Our data suggest that two vaccine doses and delta breakthrough infection or three vaccine doses and optionally omicron or delta infection provide better B cell immunity than the initial two doses of mRNA vaccine with or without alpha breakthrough infection. A particularly potent B cell response against the currently circulating omicron variant (B. 1.1.529) was observed for thrice vaccinated individuals with omicron breakthrough infection; a 46-fold increase in plasma neutralization compared to two vaccine doses (p < 0.0001). The T cell response after two vaccine doses is not significantly influenced by additional antigen exposures. Of note, individuals with hybrid immunity show better correlated adaptive immune responses compared to those only vaccinated. Taken together, our data provide a detailed insight into SARS-CoV-2 immunity following different antigen exposure scenarios.

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“…In our study, about 29% of the participants had a history of COVID-19 infection, yet the breakthrough infection rates were high. A survey of 126,586 vaccine recipients reported that working in healthcare centers is associated with a higher risk of breakthrough infection ( 40 ). Although exposure is essential, our study’s rate of 5.13% breakthrough cases is very high compared to previous studies on healthcare workers ( 33 , 40 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vaccines breakthrough infection and adverse reactions in medical students: a nationwide survey in Iran

Allahgholipour,

Safavi-Naini,

Shekarriz Foomany

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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IntroductionThere are different types of COVID-19 vaccines approved worldwide. Since no national studies focus on vaccine-related adverse reactions and breakthrough cases, this study aimed to investigate the rate of adverse events and COVID-19 infection in medical students in Iran.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included Iranian medical students who received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The medical team gathered the demographic characteristics, comorbidities, type of vaccine, adverse events following vaccination, and history of COVID-19 infection data through a phone interview. The frequency of adverse events and breakthrough infection was stratified by vaccine type (ChAdOx1-S, Gam-COVID-Vac, and BIBP-CorV).ResultsA total of 3,591 medical students enrolled in this study, of which 57.02% were females, with a mean age of 23.31 + 4.87. A PCR-confirmed and suspicious-for-COVID-19 breakthrough infection rate of 4.51 and 7.02% was detected, respectively. There was no significant relation between breakthrough infection and gender, BMI, blood groups, and comorbidities. However, there was a significant difference in breakthrough infection rate among different types of vaccines (p = 0.001) and history of COVID-19 infection (p = 0.001). A total of 16 participants were hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection after vaccination for reasons such as dyspnea, abnormal imaging, or decreased oxygen saturation. No severe infection or death was observed in the studied population.ConclusionVaccination prevented severe COVID-19 infection, although a high breakthrough infection rate was evident among Iranian medical students during the Delta variant’s peak. Vaccine effectiveness may be fragile during emerging new variants and in high-exposure settings. Moreover, adverse events are rare, and the benefits of vaccination outweigh the side effects. However, many limitations challenged this study, and the results should be cautious.

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SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Alpha and Delta Variant Breakthrough Infections Are Rare and Mild but Can Happen Relatively Early after Vaccination

Cited by 8 publications

References 43 publications

Longitudinal monitoring of mRNA-vaccine-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2

Longitudinal monitoring of mRNA-vaccine-induced immunity against SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 humoral and cellular immunity following different combinations of vaccination and breakthrough infection

COVID-19 vaccines breakthrough infection and adverse reactions in medical students: a nationwide survey in Iran

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