U. Virginia researchers: COVID-19 boosters enhance durabliltiy of anitibodies response

A COVID-19 booster shot increases durability of antibody response, according to new research from the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine, which has shed light on the benefits of a booster. 

According to the study, mRNA boosters from Pfizer and Moderna enhance the durability of antibodies against COVID-19, even for those who have recovered from a COVID-19 infection. 

The researchers tracked the antibody levels of 117 UVA employee volunteers who received a booster shot, comparing them to the levels seen in 228 volunteers after their primary vaccination series. The boosted antibodies were found to be longer-lasting, exceeding the levels of those generated by the primary vaccine series.

“These results fit with other recent reports and indicate that booster shots enhance the durability of vaccine-elicited antibodies,” said senior researcher Dr. Jeffrey Wilson, a Ph.D, of UVA Health’s Division of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology. 

The study also found that the antibodies generated by the Moderna booster lasted longer than those generated by the Pfizer booster, even up to the end of the study period of five months. The findings suggest that longer-lasting antibodies would provide more sustained immunity against severe COVID-19. 

The researchers also studied the effect of COVID-19 infection on antibody levels but found that the “enhanced antibody durability observed after booster vaccination was not explained by hybrid immunity". The study is the latest in Wilson’s team’s efforts to track the antibody response to the COVID-19 vaccines over time. 

Their previous research found that the antibodies generated by Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine rose more slowly and declined more quickly than those generated by the Moderna vaccine. The latest study found that younger booster recipients initially generated more antibodies than older recipients, but the difference disappeared with time.

Wilson notes that this study adds to the accumulating evidence that boosters are an important part of protecting the larger community from COVID-19. 

“Although only about half of the U.S. population that is eligible for a booster has received one, it is increasingly clear that boosters enhance the protection that is conferred by the primary series mRNA vaccines alone,” he said. 

The researchers have published their latest findings in the scientific journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. 

The team consisted of Samuel Ailsworth, Behnam Keshavarz, Nathan Richards, Lisa Workman, Deborah Murphy, Michael R. Nelson, Thomas A.E. Platts-Mills, and Wilson. 

The research was supported by the UVA Manning COVID-19 Research Fund, an American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Faculty Development Award, and a National Institutes of Health grant R37-AI20565. 

The researchers reported no financial interests in the work.