Journal Article

Levels and functionality of Pacific Islanders’ hybrid humoral immune response to BNT162b2 vaccination and delta/omicron infection: A cohort study in New Caledonia

Jouan, Marc, van der Werf, Sylvie, Sturmach, Chloé, Albert-Dunais, Valérie, Courtot, Adrien, Madec, Yoann, Demaneuf, Thibaut, Munier, Sandie, Dupont-Rouzeyrol, Myrielle, Biron, Antoine, Gourinat, Ann-Claire, Enouf, Vincent, Inizan, Catherine, Schwartz, Olivier, Griffon, Anne-Fleur, Bruel, Timothée, Médevielle, Georges

2024

Overview

Pacific Islanders are underrepresented in vaccine efficacy trials. Few studies describe their immune response to COVID-19 vaccination. Yet, this characterization is crucial to re-enforce vaccination strategies adapted to Pacific Islanders singularities. We evaluated the humoral immune response of 585 adults, self-declaring as Melanesians, Europeans, Polynesians, or belonging to other communities, to the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine. Anti-spike and anti-nucleoprotein IgG levels, and their capacity to neutralize SARS-CoV-2 variants and to mediate antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) were assessed across communities at 1 and 3 months post-second dose or 1 and 6 months post-third dose. All sera tested contained anti-spike antibodies and 61.3% contained anti-nucleoprotein antibodies, evidencing mostly a hybrid immunity resulting from vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection. At 1-month post-immunization, the 4 ethnic communities exhibited no significant differences in their anti-spike IgG levels (p value = 0.17, in an univariate linear regression model), in their capacity to mediate omicron neutralization (p value = 0.59 and 0.60, in an univariate logistic regression model at 1-month after the second and third dose, respectively) and in their capacity to mediate ADCC (p value = 0.069 in a multivariate linear regression model), regardless of the infection status. Anti-spike IgG levels and functionalities of the hybrid humoral immune response remained equivalent across the 4 ethnic communities during follow-up and at 6 months post-third dose. Our study evidenced Pacific Islander's robust humoral immune response to Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine, which is pivotal to re-enforce vaccination deployment in a population at risk for severe COVID-19. This trial has been register in ClinicalTrials.gov (ID: NCT05135585).

• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• Subject: Adult / Aged / Antibodies / Antibodies, Neutralizing - blood / Antibodies, Neutralizing - immunology / Antibodies, Viral - blood / Antibodies, Viral - immunology / Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity - immunology / Biology and life sciences / BNT162 Vaccine - immunology / Cohort analysis / Cohort Studies / COVID-19 / COVID-19 - immunology / COVID-19 - prevention & control / COVID-19 vaccines / COVID-19 Vaccines - administration & dosage / COVID-19 Vaccines - immunology / Cytotoxicity / Drug dosages / Epidemiology / Ethnicity / Female / Funding / Health facilities / Humans / Immune response / Immune response (humoral) / Immunity (Disease) / Immunity, Humoral / Immunoglobulin G / Immunoglobulin G - blood / Immunoglobulin G - immunology / Immunology / Infections / Life Sciences / Male / Medicine and health sciences / Middle Aged / Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander / Observational studies / Pacific Island People / Pacific Islander people / People and Places / SARS-CoV-2 - immunology / Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 / Spike Glycoprotein, Coronavirus - immunology / Vaccination / Vaccine efficacy / Vaccines / Vaccinology / Young Adult