Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variant following booster vaccination or breakthrough infection in the UK

Wei, J. et al. (2023) Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 variant following booster vaccination or breakthrough infection in the UK. Nature Communications, 14(1), 2799. (doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38275-1) (PMID:37193713) (PMCID:PMC10187514)

Abstract

Following primary SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, whether boosters or breakthrough infections provide greater protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection is incompletely understood. Here we investigated SARS-CoV-2 antibody correlates of protection against new Omicron BA.4/5 (re-)infections and anti-spike IgG antibody trajectories after a third/booster vaccination or breakthrough infection following second vaccination in 154,149 adults ≥18 y from the United Kingdom general population. Higher antibody levels were associated with increased protection against Omicron BA.4/5 infection and breakthrough infections were associated with higher levels of protection at any given antibody level than boosters. Breakthrough infections generated similar antibody levels to boosters, and the subsequent antibody declines were slightly slower than after boosters. Together our findings show breakthrough infection provides longer-lasting protection against further infections than booster vaccinations. Our findings, considered alongside the risks of severe infection and long-term consequences of infection, have important implications for vaccine policy.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This study is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care with in-kind support from the Welsh Government, the Department of Health on behalf of the Northern Ireland Government and the Scottish Government. J.W. is supported by University of Oxford and the China Scholarship Council. A.S.W., T.E.A.P., N.S., D.W.E. and K.B.P. are supported by the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at the University of Oxford in partnership with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) (NIHR200915). A.S.W. and T.E.A.P. are also supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. K.B.P. is also supported by the Huo Family Foundation. A.S.W. is also supported by core support from the Medical Research Council UK to the MRC Clinical Trials Unit [MC_UU_12023/22] and is an NIHR Senior Investigator. P.C.M. is funded by Wellcome (intermediate fellowship, grant ref 110110/Z/15/Z) and holds an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellowship award. D.W.E. is supported by a Robertson Fellowship and an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellowship. N.S. is an Oxford Martin Fellow and holds an NIHR Oxford BRC Senior Fellowship.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Conway, Professor David
• Authors: Wei, J., Matthews, P. C., Stoesser, N., Newton, J. N., Diamond, I., Studley, R., Taylor, N., Bell, J. I., Farrar, J., Kolenchery, J., Marsden, B. D., Hoosdally, S., Jones, E. Y., Stuart, D. I., Crook, D. W., Peto, T. E. A., Walker, A. S., Pouwels, K. B., Eyre, D. W., Thomas, T., Ayoubkhani, D., Black, R., Felton, A., Crees, M., Jones, J., Lloyd, L., Sutherland, E., Pritchard, E., Vihta, K.-D., Doherty, G., Kavanagh, J., Chau, K. K., Hatch, S. B., Ebner, D., Ferreira, L. M., Christott, T., Dejnirattisai, W., Mongkolsapaya, J., Cameron, S., Tamblin-Hopper, P., Wolna, M., Brown, R., Cornall, R., Screaton, G., Lythgoe, K., Bonsall, D., Golubchik, T., Fryer, H., Cox, S., Paddon, K., James, T., House, T., Robotham, J., Birrell, P., Jordan, H., Sheppard, T., Athey, G., Moody, D., Curry, L., Brereton, P., Jarvis, I., Godsmark, A., Morris, G., Mallick, B., Eeles, P., Hay, J., VanSteenhouse, H., Lee, J., White, S., Evans, T., Bloemberg, L., Allison, K., Pandya, A., Davis, S., Conway, D. I., MacLeod, M., and Cunningham, C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing > Dental School
• Journal Name: Nature Communications
• Publisher: Nature Research
• ISSN: 2041-1723
• ISSN (Online): 2041-1723
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Nature Communications 14(1):2799
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License