Immune Response to Third Dose of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine in a Cohort of Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has claimed over 5 million lives globally. Fortunately, a substantial and growing number of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines with very high efficacy have been developed, manufactured, and rapidly approved. Novel mRNA vaccines such as the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) have reported a stunning >94% efficacy against COVID-19. However, global access has not been equitable, with many low- and middle-income countries having no vaccine access or access under emergency use mainly to traditional inactivated SARS-CoV2-2 vaccines such as BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm Beijing), CoronaVac (Sinovac) and BBV152 (Bharat Biotech). Emerging studies have shown that lower concentrations of neutralizing antibodies (Nab) are attained after CoronaVac than after an mRNA-based vaccine in healthy individuals. This difference seems to be more pronounced in immunocompromised patients who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and death from COVID-19. As such, several countries including the United States, Israel and Chile have recommended a third vaccine dose for high-risk populations. However, it is not currently known which is the best vaccine combination regarding immunogenicity, particularly in these vulnerable patients.

This observational study will explore the humoral and cellular response to a SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccine booster in solid organ transplant patients who received two previous doses of the inactivated Coronavac or two doses of BNT162b2 vaccines.