Antibody Responses After mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccination in Residential Older Adults: Implications for Reopening.

OBJECTIVE: COVID-19 disproportionately impacts residents in long-term care facilities. Our objective was to quantify the presence and magnitude of antibody response in vaccinated, older adult residents at assisted living, personal care, and independent living communities. DESIGN: A cross-sectional quality improvement study was conducted March 15 - April 1, 2021 in the greater Pittsburgh region. SETTING AND POPULATION: Participants were older adult residents at assisted living, personal care, and independent living communities, who received mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. Conditions that impair immune responses were exclusionary criteria. METHODS: Sera were collected to measure IgG anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody level with reflex to total anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin levels, and blinded evaluation of SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus neutralization titers. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression analysis evaluated relationships between factors potentially associated with antibody levels. Spearman correlations were calculated between antibody levels and neutralization titers. RESULTS: All participants (N = 70) had received two rounds of vaccination and were found to have antibodies with wide variation in relative levels. Antibody levels trended lower in males, advanced age, current use of steroids, and longer length of time from vaccination. Pseudovirus neutralization titer levels were strongly correlated (P < .001) with Beckman Coulter antibody levels [D614 G NT50, rs = 0.91; B.1.1.7 (UK) NT50, rs = 0.91]. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Higher functioning, healthier, residential older adults mounted detectable antibody responses when vaccinated with mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. Data suggests some degree of immunity is present during the immediate period following vaccination. However, protective effects remain to be determined in larger studies as clinical protection is afforded by ongoing adaptive immunity, which is known to be decreased in older adults. This study provides important preliminary results on level of population risk in older adult residents at assisted living, personal care, and independent living communities to inform reopening strategies, but are not likely to be translatable for residents in nursing homes.

Making sense of mild cognitive impairment: a qualitative exploration of the patient's experience.

PURPOSE: The proposed dementia precursor state of mild cognitive impairment is emerging as a primary target of aging research. Yet, little is known about the subjective experience of living with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. This study examines, from the patient's perspective, the experience of living with and making sense of the diagnosis. DESIGN AND METHODS: We recruited 12 older adults with amnestic or nonamnestic mild cognitive impairment from a university-based memory disorders clinic. We conducted in-home, semistructured interviews in order to elicit rich descriptions of the personal experience of having mild cognitive impairment. We used the qualitative method of grounded theory to analyze narrative data. RESULTS: Understanding and coming to terms with the syndrome, or assigning meaning, constituted a fundamental aspect of living with a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. This process comprised interrelated emotional and cognitive dimensions. Participants employed a range of positive, neutral, and negative phrasing in order to depict their emotional reactions to receiving a diagnosis. Cognitive representations of mild cognitive impairment included both prognosis-focused and face-value appraisals. Expectations of normal aging, personal experience with dementia, and concurrent health problems were key contextual factors that provided the backdrop against which participants assigned meaning to a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. IMPLICATIONS: Clinicians who disclose diagnoses of mild cognitive impairment need to be mindful of the potential for varying interpretations of the information that is conveyed. Future research needs to include systematic, longitudinal investigations of illness representation and its impact on health behaviors among individuals with mild cognitive impairment.