We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App





Vaccinated Individuals with Lower Level of Antibodies Face Higher Risk of COVID-19 Breakthrough Infections, Finds New Research

By HospiMedica International staff writers
Posted on 29 Jul 2021
Print article
Illustration
Illustration
Vaccinated individuals with lower level of antibodies are more exposed to COVID-19 breakthrough infections, according to a new study. This could help decide who should be chosen first for the third shot of the COVID-19 vaccine.

New groundbreaking research by the Sheba Medical Center (Tel Aviv, Israel) has shown that some individuals who have received the COVID-19 vaccine have lesser antibodies than other inoculated individuals, placing them at a higher risk of becoming infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Despite the high efficacy of the BNT162b2 messenger RNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, rare breakthrough infections have been reported, including infections among health care workers. In their study, the researchers characterized all COVID-19 breakthrough infections among 39 fully vaccinated health care workers during the four-month period after the second vaccine dose and compared the peri-infection humoral response in these workers with the response in matched controls. They found a low rate of breakthrough infection (0.4%). Among the 39 workers who tested positive for COVID-19, most had few symptoms, yet 19% had long COVID-19 symptoms (>6 weeks).

Most of the infected health care workers had N gene Ct values that suggested they had been infectious at some point. Most importantly, the researchers found that low titers of neutralizing antibody and S-specific IgG antibody may serve as markers of breakthrough infection. In this study, the correlation between levels of neutralizing antibodies and breakthrough infections was stronger than that for IgG antibodies. The researchers found that the difference in the peak titers of neutralizing and IgG antibodies between cases and controls was more strongly associated with the risk of infection than the difference in the peri-infection titers. This finding was consistent with the hypothesis that the neutralizing antibody titer after vaccination is a marker of overall immune response and suggested a possible role for the IgG titer. Thus, a decrease in the titer of either of these antibodies (rather than in the peak titer) may not accurately predict a decrease in protection.

Moreover, the team found that the peri-infection neutralizing antibody titers correlated with the viral load and thus with the infectivity of breakthrough cases. This result may eventually be even more important, since vaccine-induced immunity has been shown to be greatly protective against clinical disease but somewhat less protective against both infection and infectivity. Identifying immune correlates of protection (or lack thereof) from SARS-CoV-2 is critical to predicting how the expected antibody decay will affect clinical outcomes, if and when a booster dose will be needed, and whether vaccinated persons are protected. Such capacity for prediction is particularly important for new vaccine development.

Related Links:
Sheba Medical Center

Gold Member
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Disposable Protective Suit For Medical Use
Gold Member
STI Test
Vivalytic Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Array
Silver Member
Compact 14-Day Uninterrupted Holter ECG
NR-314P
New
LED Examination Light
LED 110

Print article

Channels

Critical Care

view channel
Image: Researchers have developed a novel risk score for cardiovascular complications after bone marrow transplant (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Novel Tool Predicts Cardiovascular Risks after Bone Marrow Transplantation

Every year, thousands of people undergo bone marrow transplants to potentially cure serious diseases like leukemia, lymphoma, and immune deficiency disorders. While these transplants can be lifesaving,... Read more

Surgical Techniques

view channel
Image: The Early Bird Bleed Monitoring System provides visual and audible indicators of the onset and progression of bleeding events (Photo courtesy of Saranas)

Novel Technology Monitors and Lowers Bleeding Complications in Patients Undergoing Heart Procedures

Bleeding complications at the femoral access site can significantly hamper recovery, affecting the success of procedures, patient satisfaction, and overall healthcare costs. It is crucial for surgeons... Read more

Patient Care

view channel
Image: The newly-launched solution can transform operating room scheduling and boost utilization rates (Photo courtesy of Fujitsu)

Surgical Capacity Optimization Solution Helps Hospitals Boost OR Utilization

An innovative solution has the capability to transform surgical capacity utilization by targeting the root cause of surgical block time inefficiencies. Fujitsu Limited’s (Tokyo, Japan) Surgical Capacity... Read more

Health IT

view channel
Image: First ever institution-specific model provides significant performance advantage over current population-derived models (Photo courtesy of Mount Sinai)

Machine Learning Model Improves Mortality Risk Prediction for Cardiac Surgery Patients

Machine learning algorithms have been deployed to create predictive models in various medical fields, with some demonstrating improved outcomes compared to their standard-of-care counterparts.... Read more

Point of Care

view channel
Image: The new eye-safe laser technology can diagnose traumatic brain injury (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Novel Diagnostic Hand-Held Device Detects Known Biomarkers for Traumatic Brain Injury

The growing need for prompt and efficient diagnosis of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a major cause of mortality globally, has spurred the development of innovative diagnostic technologies.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2024 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.