Long-Term Effectiveness of BNT162b2 Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA-Based Vaccine on B Cell Compartment: Efficient Recall of SARS-CoV-2-Specific Memory B Cells

At present, there is a lack of clinical evidence about the impact and long-term durability of the immune response induced by the third dose of mRNA vaccines. In this study, we followed up the B cell compartment behavior in a cohort of immunocompetent individuals three and six months after the third dose of vaccine. During this period, some subjects contracted the virus. In uninfected vaccinated subjects, we did not report any changes in serum spike-specific IgG levels, with a significant reduction in IgA. Instead, subjects recovered from natural infection showed a significant increase in both specific IgG and IgA. Moreover, we showed a time-related decrease in IgG neutralizing potential to all SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) in uninfected compared to recovered subjects, who displayed an increased neutralizing ability, particularly against the omicron variant. Finally, we underlined the presence of a pool of SARS-CoV-2-specific B cells in both groups that are prone to respond to restimulation, as demonstrated by their ability to differentiate into plasma cells and to produce anti-SARS-CoV-2-specific immunoglobulins. These data lead us to assert the long-term effectiveness of the BNT162b2 vaccine in contrasting the severe form of the pathology and prevent COVID-19-associated hospitalization.

Automated summary

Through observation of individuals with normal immune function, we found that the third dose of mRNA vaccine is less effective in promoting specific IgG and IgA compared to natural infection. In addition, uninfected vaccinated individuals showed decreased resistance to virus variants compared to recovered individuals, who demonstrated enhanced neutralizing ability, particularly against the omicron variant. Finally, we discovered a pool of B cells in both groups that were capable of producing anti-SARS-CoV-2 specific immunoglobulins.