Superior immunogenicity and effectiveness of the 3rd BNT162b2 vaccine dose

ABSTRACT

In a prospective cohort study involving 12,413 Health Care Workers (HCW), we assessed immunogenicity, vaccine-effectiveness (VE) and safety of the third BNT162b2 vaccine dose. One month after third dose, anti-RBD-IgG were induced 1.7-folds compared to one month after the second. A significant increase in avidity from 61.1% (95%CI56.1-66.7) to 96.3% (95%CI94.2-98.5) resulted in a 6.1-folds neutralizing antibodies induction. Linear mixed model demonstrated that the third dose elicited a greater response among HCW[≥]60 or those with [≥]two comorbidities who had a lower response following the second dose. VE of the third dose relative to two doses was 85.6% (95% CI, 79.2-90.1%). No serious adverse effects were reported. These results suggest that the third dose is superior to the second dose in both quantity and quality of IgG-antibodies and safely boosts protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection by generating high avidity antibodies to levels that are not significantly different between healthy and vulnerable populations.