The impact of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination on antibody response after COVID-19 vaccination

Summary: Earlier studies showed that BCG vaccination improves antibody responses of subsequent vaccinations. Similarly, in older volunteers we found an increased IgG receptor-binding domain (RBD) concentration after SARS-CoV-2 infection if they were recently vaccinated with BCG. This study aims to a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Esther J.M. Taks, Simone J.C.F.M. Moorlag, Konstantin Föhse, Elles Simonetti, Christa E. van der Gaast-de Jongh, Cornelis H. van Werkhoven, Marc J.M. Bonten, Jaap ten Oever, Marien I. de Jonge, Janneke H.H.M. van de Wijgert, Mihai G. Netea
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-11-01
Series:iScience
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004223021399
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Summary:Summary: Earlier studies showed that BCG vaccination improves antibody responses of subsequent vaccinations. Similarly, in older volunteers we found an increased IgG receptor-binding domain (RBD) concentration after SARS-CoV-2 infection if they were recently vaccinated with BCG. This study aims to assess the effect of BCG on the serum antibody concentrations induced by COVID-19 vaccination in a population of adults older than 60 years. Serum was collected from 1,555 participants of the BCG-CORONA-ELDERLY trial a year after BCG or placebo, and we analyzed the anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody concentrations using a fluorescent-microsphere-based multiplex immunoassay. Individuals who received the full primary COVID-19 vaccination series before serum collection and did not test positive for SARS-CoV-2 between inclusion and serum collection were included in analyses (n = 945). We found that BCG vaccination before first COVID-19 vaccine (median 347 days [IQR 329–359]) did not significantly impact the IgG RBD concentration after COVID-19 vaccination in an older European population.
ISSN:2589-0042