Seasonal betacoronavirus antibodies expansion post BNT161b2 vaccination associates with reduced SARS-CoV-2 VoCs neutralization

Dispinseri, S.; Marzinotto, I.; Brigatti, C.; Pirillo, M. F.; Tolazzi, M.; Bazzigaluppi, E.; Canitano, A.; Borghi, M.; Gallinaro, A.; Caccia, R.; Vercesi, R.; McKay, P. F.; Ciceri, F.; Piemonti, L.; Negri, D.; Cinque, P.; Cara, A.; Lampasona, V.; Scarlatti, G.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccination is known to induce antibodies that recognize also variants of concerns (VoCs) of the virus. However, epidemiological and laboratory evidences indicate that these antibodies have a reduce neutralization ability against VoCs. We studied binding and neutralizing antibodies against the Spike RBD and S2 domains of the Wuhan-Hu-1 virus and its alpha and beta VoCs and of seasonal betacoronaviruses (HKU1 and OC43) in a cohort of 31 health care workers vaccinated with BNT162b2-Comirnaty and prospectively followed post-vaccination. The study of sequential samples collected up to 64 days post-vaccination showed that serological assays measuring IgG against Wuhan-Hu-1 antigens were a poor proxy for VoCs neutralization. In addition, in subjects who had asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 prior to vaccination the loss of nAbs following disease can be rapid and protection from re-infection post-vaccination is often no better than in naive subjects. Interestingly, in health care workers naive for SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination induced a rapid and transient reactivation of pre-existing seasonal coronaviruses IgG responses that was associated with a subsequent reduced ability to neutralize some VoCs.