Importance of the COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose in Protection and Immunity

• Published in: Vaccines (Basel) Vol. 10; no. 10; p. 1708
• Main Authors: Abdollahi, Alireza, Afsharyzad, Yeganeh, Vaezi, Atefeh, Meysamie, Alipasha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Antibodies; Antibody response; Autoimmune diseases; booster dose; Chicken pox; Comparative analysis; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Cross-sectional studies; Diabetes; Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; Health aspects; Hospitals; Immune response; Immunoglobulin G; Infections; Influenza; Influenza vaccines; Laboratories; neutralizing antibody; Population; Public health; RBD antibody; Regression analysis; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; spike antibody; Statistical analysis; Vaccination; Vaccines; Viral infections; Iran
• ISSN: 2076-393X; 2076-393X
• DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10101708

Background: There is debate on the necessity of booster doses of COVID-19 vaccination, especially in countries with limited resources. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in a referral laboratory in Tehran, Iran. The level of COVID-19 antibodies was measured and compared between individuals regarding the number of COVID-19 vaccine shots. Results: In this study, 176 individuals with a mean age of 36.3 (±11.7) years participated. A total of 112 individuals received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 64 individuals received three doses. Level of all antibodies was higher in those who received three doses than in those who received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Considering the SARS-CoV-2 Spike IgG, the difference was not statistically significant but for the SARS-CoV-2 RBD IgG and SARS-CoV-2 NAB the difference was statistically significant. Regarding to the background variables, receiving influenza vaccine in the past year, history of autoimmune diseases and past medical history of chicken pox showed a significant association with the number of vaccine doses received. Their effects on the outcome variables assessed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: The results of our study show that a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine enhances the antibody response.