Protection by BNT162b2, mRNA-1273 COVID vaccines in fully vaccinated cohorts with/without prior infection

  

View ORCID ProfileLaith J Abu-Raddad,  View ORCID ProfileHiam Chemaitelly,  View ORCID ProfileHoussein H. Ayoub,  View ORCID ProfileHADI M. YASSINE,  View ORCID ProfileFatiha Benslimane, Hebah A. Al Khatib,  View ORCID ProfilePatrick Tang, Mohammad Rubayet Hasan,  View ORCID ProfilePeter Coyle,  View ORCID ProfileZaina Al Kanaani,  View ORCID ProfileEinas Al Kuwari,  View ORCID ProfileAndrew Jeremijenko,  View ORCID ProfileAnvar Hassan Kaleeckal, Ali Nizar Latif,  View ORCID ProfileRiyazuddin Mohammad Shaik,  View ORCID ProfileHanan F. Abdul Rahim,  View ORCID ProfileGheyath Nasrallah,  View ORCID ProfileMohamed Ghaith Al Kuwari, Adeel A Butt, Hamad Eid Al Romaihi,  View ORCID ProfileMohamed H. Al-Thani, Abdullatif Al Khal,  View ORCID ProfileRoberto Bertollini

doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.25.21261093

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

PDF: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.25.21261093v1.full.pdf

Abstract

Effect of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection on vaccine protection remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether persons vaccinated after a prior infection have better protection against future infection than those vaccinated without prior infection. Effect of prior infection was assessed in Qatar population, where the Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Beta (B.1.351) variants dominate incidence, using two national retrospective, matched-cohort studies, one for the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine, and one for the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine. Incidence rates of infection among BNT162b2-vaccinated persons, with and without prior infection, were estimated, respectively, at 1.66 (95% CI: 1.26-2.18) and 11.02 (95% CI: 9.90-12.26) per 10,000 person-weeks. The incidence rate ratio was 0.15 (95% CI: 0.11-0.20). Analogous incidence rates among mRNA-1273-vaccinated persons were estimated at 1.55 (95% CI: 0.86-2.80) and 1.83 (95% CI: 1.07-3.16) per 10,000 person-weeks. The incidence rate ratio was 0.85 (95% CI: 0.34-2.05). Prior infection enhanced protection of those BNT162b2-vaccinated, but not those mRNA-1273-vaccinated. These findings may have implications for dosing, interval between doses, and potential need for booster vaccination.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Funding Statement

The authors are grateful for support from the Biomedical Research Program, the Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Biomathematics Research Core, and the Genomics Core, all at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, as well as for support provided by the Ministry of Public Health and Hamad Medical Corporation. The authors are also grateful for the Qatar Genome Programme for supporting the viral genome sequencing. The funders of the study had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, or writing of the article. Statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.25.21261093v1