COVID-19 vaccination; SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence; nursing home residents; nursing homes; vaccination campaign; Family Practice
Abstract :
[en] ("[en] BACKGROUND: Nursing home residents (NHR) and staff have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and were therefore prioritised in the COVID-19 vaccination strategy. However, frail older adults, like NHR, are known to have decreased antibody responses upon vaccination targeting other viral antigens.
OBJECTIVES: As real-world data on vaccine responsiveness, we assessed the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among Belgian NHR and staff during the primary COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
METHODS: In total, we tested 1629 NHR and 1356 staff across 69 Belgian NHs for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 IgM/IgG antibodies using rapid tests. We collected socio-demographic and COVID-19-related medical data through questionnaires. Sampling occurred between 1 February and 24 March 2021, in a randomly sampled population that received none, one or two BNT162b2 vaccine doses.
RESULTS: We found that during the primary vaccination campaign with 59% of the study population fully vaccinated, 74% had SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Among fully vaccinated individuals only, fewer residents tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (77%) than staff (98%), suggesting an impaired vaccine-induced antibody response in the elderly, with lowest seroprevalences observed among infection naïve residents. COVID-19 vaccination status and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection were predictors for SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity. Alternatively, age ≥ 80 years old, the presence of comorbidities and high care dependency predicted SARS-CoV-2 seronegativity in NHR.
CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 immunity upon vaccination in the elderly population, as their impaired humoral responses could imply insufficient protection against COVID-19.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: This study was retrospectively registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04738695).","[en] ","")
Disciplines :
Immunology & infectious disease
Author, co-author :
Meyers, Eline ; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
De Rop, Liselore ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, EPI-Centre, ACHG, Leuven, Belgium
Deschepper, Ellen; Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Biostatistics Unit, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Duysburgh, Els ; Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
De Burghgraeve, Tine ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, EPI-Centre, ACHG, Leuven, Belgium
Van Ngoc, Pauline ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Soins primaires et santé
Delogne, Simon; Department of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Research Unit of Primary Care and Health, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Coen, Anja; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
De Clercq, Nele; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Buret, Laetitia ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Médecine générale
Coenen, Samuel ; Department of Family Medicine and Population Health (FAMPOP) and Vaccine & Infectious Disease Institute (VAXINFECTIO), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
De Sutter, An ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Scholtes, Béatrice ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cliniques > Médecine générale
Verbakel, Jan Y ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, EPI-Centre, ACHG, Leuven, Belgium ; Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Cools, Piet ; Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Heytens, Stefan ; Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
The SCOPE study team would like to thank all participating nursing homes, staff members and residents. Additionally, we thank the general practitioner trainees and (nursing) students for contributing to the sampling. Lastly, we thank the Belgian Institute for Public Health, Sciensano, for funding this research.
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