Loss of Pfizer (BNT162b2) Vaccine-Induced Antibody Responses against the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Adolescents and Adults
Sneh Lata Gupta, Grace Mantus, Kelly E. Manning, Madison Ellis, Mit Patel, Caroline Ciric, Austin Lu, Jackson S. Turner, Jane A. O’Halloran, Rachel M. Presti, Devyani Joshi, Ali H. Ellebedy, Evan J. Anderson, Christina A. Rostad, Mehul S. Suthar, Jens Wrammert
Abstract
While plasma binding and neutralizing antibody responses have been reported for cohorts of infected and vaccinated adults, much less is known about the vaccine-induced antibody responses to variants including Omicron in children. This illustrates the need to characterize vaccine efficacy in key vulnerable populations. A third (booster) dose of BNTb162b was approved for children 12 to 15 years of age by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on January 1, 2022, and pediatric clinical trials are under way to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity, and effectiveness of a third dose in younger children. Similarly, variant-specific booster doses and pan-coronavirus vaccines are areas of active research. Our data show adolescents mounted stronger humoral immune responses after vaccination than adults. It also highlights the need for future studies of antibody durability in adolescents and children as well as the need for future studies of booster vaccination and their efficacy against the Omicron variant.