PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Zahra Hasan
AU  - Kiran Iqbal Masood
AU  - Shama Qaiser
AU  - Erum Khan
AU  - Areeba Hussain
AU  - Zara Ghous
AU  - Unab Khan
AU  - Maliha Yameen
AU  - Imran Hassan
AU  - Muhammad Imran Nasir
AU  - Muhammad Farrukh Qazi
AU  - Haris Ali Memon
AU  - Shiza Ali
AU  - Sadaf Baloch
AU  - Zulfiqar A. Bhutta
AU  - Marc Veldhoen
AU  - J. Pedro Simas
AU  - Syed Faisal Mahmood
AU  - Rabia Hussain
AU  - Kulsoom Ghias
TI  - BBIBP-CorV (Sinopharm) vaccination- induced immunity is affected by age, gender and prior COVID-19 and activates responses to spike and other antigens
AID  - 10.1101/2022.11.30.518633
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.11.30.518633
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/12/02/2022.11.30.518633.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/12/02/2022.11.30.518633.full
AB  - Long-term solutions against SARS-CoV-2 infections require understanding of immune protection induced by different vaccine COVID-19 formulations. We investigated humoral and cellular immunity induced by Sinopharm (BBIBP-CorV) in a region of high SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence.Levels of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and its receptor-binding domain (RBD) were determined 24-weeks. Cellular immunity was investigated using a commercially available IFN-γ release assay to SARS-CoV-2 spike (Ag1 and 2) and extended genome antigens (Ag3).Increasing IgG seropositivity to Spike protein and RBD was observed post-vaccination. Seropositivity was reduced in those over 50 years and raised in females and those with prior COVID-19. After 20 weeks post-vaccination, only one third of participants had positive T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 antigens. Prior COVID-19 impacted IFNγ responses, with reactivity enhanced in those infected earlier. The frequency of IFNγ responses was highest to extended genome antigen set.Overall, BBIBP-CorV- induced antibody responses were impacted by age, gender and prior COVID-19. Cellular immunity was present in a limited number of individuals after 20 weeks but was enhanced by prior infection. This suggests the need for booster vaccinations in older individuals. BBIBP-CorV-induced cellular activation is broader than to spike, requiring further study to understand how to monitor vaccine effectiveness.