SARS-CoV-2-infection- and vaccine-induced antibody responses are long lasting with an initial waning phase followed by a stabilization phase
Komal Srivastava, Juan Manuel Carreño, Charles Gleason, Brian Monahan, Gagandeep Singh, Anass Abbad, Johnstone Tcheou, Ariel Raskin, Giulio Kleiner, Harm van Bakel, Emilia Mia Sordillo, Hala Alshammary, Angela A. Amoako, Dalles Andre, Mahmoud Awawda, Maria C. Bermúdez‐González, Katherine F. Beach, Dominika Bielak, Gianna Y. Cai, Rachel Chernet, Christian Cognigni, Yuexing Chen, Lily Eaker, Emily D. Ferreri, Daniel Floda, M. Fried, Joshua Hamburger, Denise Jurczyszak, Hyun Min Kang, Neko Lyttle, Julia C. Matthews, Jacob Mauldin, Wanni A. Mendez, Jacob Mischka, Sara Morris, Lubbertus C. F. Mulder, Ismail Nabeel, Jessica Nardulli, José Polanco, Annika Oostenink, Aria Rooker, Kayla T. Russo, Ashley-Beathrese Salimbangon, Miti Saksena, Amber A. Shin, Levy A. Sominsky, Daniel Stadlbauer, Leeba Sullivan, Morgan van Kesteren, Temima Yellin, Ania Wajnberg, Florian Krammer, Viviana Simon
Abstract
It is thought that mRNA-based vaccine-induced immunity to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) wanes quickly, based mostly on short-term studies. Here, we analyzed the kinetics and durability of the humoral responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination using >8,000 longitudinal samples collected over a 3-year period in New York City. Upon primary immunization, participants with pre-existing immunity mounted higher antibody responses faster and achieved higher steady-state antibody titers than naive individuals. Antibody kinetics were characterized by two phases: an initial rapid decay, followed by a stabilization phase with very slow decay. Booster vaccination equalized the differences in antibody concentration between participants with and without hybrid immunity, but the peak antibody titers decreased with each successive antigen exposure. Breakthrough infections increased antibodies to similar titers as an additional vaccine dose in naive individuals. Our study provides strong evidence that SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses are long lasting, with initial waning followed by stabilization.