Neutralization and durability of 2 or 3 doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine against Omicron SARS-CoV-2

Two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine are highly effective against SARS-CoV-2. Here, we tested the antibody neutralization against Omicron SARS-CoV-2 after 2 and 3 doses of BNT162b2. Serum from vaccinated individuals was serially tested for its ability to neutralize wild-type SARS-CoV-2 (USA-WA1/2020) and an engineered USA-WA1/2020 bearing the Omicron spike glycoprotein. At 2 or 4 weeks post dose 2, the neutralization geometric mean titers (GMTs) against the wild-type and Omicron-spike viruses were 511 and 20, respectively; at 1 month post dose 3, the neutralization GMTs increased to 1,342 and 336; and at 4 months post dose 3, the neutralization GMTs decreased to 820 and 171. The data support a 3-dose vaccination strategy and provide a glimpse into the durability of the neutralization response against Omicron.

Automated summary

Two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine demonstrate high efficacy against SARS-CoV-2 and also provide neutralization against Omicron SARS-CoV-2. The study shows that the neutralization response improves with the third dose, but decreases slightly after four months.