Monitoring humoral responses against three SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in a university population from Chihuahua, Mexico

Abstract

Introduction: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), has spread worldwide since 2019. Survey of the antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 is one of the most important measures of immunity since it can give an idea on the effectiveness of administered vaccines and the serologic status of individuals. We determined the concentrations of blood IgM and IgG against three SARS-CoV-2 proteins in vaccinated teachers and students among a university population from Chihuahua, Mexico.

Methodology: Humoral response surveillance against the 3C-like proteinase (3CLpro), nuclear protein (NP), and receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2 was carried out. A total of 239 samples were analyzed: 67 from teachers who were vaccinated with CanSino and 172 from students (27.9% were vaccinated with AstraZeneca, 32.6% with Sinovac, 24.4% with Pfizer-BioNTech, 15.1% with other vaccines).

Results: Significant differences in the levels of IgG were observed between serum from individuals prior to vaccination (preimmunization serum) and from those that were vaccinated with CanSino. However, samples from asymptomatic individuals did not show differences between the preimmunization and post-immunization serum. The three vaccinated groups (AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Sinovac) did not show significant differences in anti-RBD IgG antibody titers compared to the positive control group, except for a Pfizer non-COVID-19 subgroup where the level of antibodies in the Pfizer group was 1.7 times higher. Neither vaccine group showed significant differences between those individuals who previously had COVID-19 and uninfected individuals.

Conclusions: These results provide a picture of the situation at the time when in-person classes resumed.