COVID-19 recovered patients showing better response to Covishield vaccine: Study

A recent study has revealed that those who have recovered from COVID-19 respond faster to the Covishield vaccine and reach high antibody levels.

By: Satata Karmakar | | Updated: March 4, 2021 6:45 pm

COVID-19 recovered patients showing better response to Covisheild

India is currently witnessing mass vaccination programs for novel coronavirus. In the second phase of the inoculation drive that started on March 1, people aged 60 years and above and those in the 45-59 age group with specific comorbidities are being administered the vaccine at 192 hospitals across Delhi. Also Read - ‘Get COVID-19 vaccination 24*7’: Government removes time cap

While people will be vaccinated free of cost at government hospitals pan India, those taking the shots at private hospitals will have to pay. The charges for getting COVID-19 vaccines at private hospitals are Rs 250. Also Read - It is ‘unrealistic’ that COVID-19 pandemic would be over by 2021 end: WHO expert

Earlier this week, the government also announced that the hospitals will be providing vaccines against coronavirus 24*7. The complete list of private hospitals where the vaccines are being administered is available at the Health Ministry portal online. The complete registration is also available on the Co-WIN portal. Also Read - Bihar to get free COVID-19 vaccination, even at private hospitals: CM Nitish Kumar

According to the reports, so far, a total of 1,66,16,048 doses of coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the country since the drive began on January 16 after approval for ‘Covishield‘ and ‘Covaxin’ (including phase one of the vaccination drive and phase two of the immunization program).

Recovered COVID-19 Patients Responding Better To Covishield Vaccine

Amid the ongoing vaccination process, a study has revealed that those who have recovered from COVID-19 respond faster to the Covishield vaccine and reach high antibody levels.

The study on the immune response to Covishield was carried out by researchers from New Delhi’s CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Max Super Speciality Hospital, and Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism as well as the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) in Ghaziabad.

What Is Seropositivity?

Speaking to the media, one of the study authors said, “Covishield is inducing a robust immune response. Those who are seropositive at baseline respond faster and reach higher antibody levels….”

Seropositivity is an indicator of the presence of the virus in the serum, or evidence of previous exposure to it.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID 19 vaccine, or ChAdOx, is an important part of the global vaccine roll-out. Covishield, a locally manufactured version by Pune’s Serum Institute of India, is one of the two vaccines along with the indigenous Covaxin, from the Hyderabad-based company Bharat Biotech, approved for use in the country.

The study, covering 135 healthcare workers, was Covishield specific.

Here’s How The Study Was Carried

In the vaccine, scientists have engineered a version of adenoviruses that infect chimpanzees to carry the gene responsible for the spike protein of the novel coronavirus, which it uses to enter the human cells.

The adenoviruses are common viruses that cause a wide range of illnesses and symptoms such as:

1. Mild cold and cough

2. Soar throat which can also lead to itchy and painful throat pain.

3. Bronchitis

4. Sign of pneumonia, and

5. Diarrhoea

Effectiveness Of First Dose Of Covishield COVID-19 Vaccine

Using two doses of ChAdOx, administered four weeks apart, human cells train the immune system to recognize and retain the memory of the virus spike protein to neutralise it and prevent infection when the actual coronavirus infects people.

The new study, posted online on preprint repository medRxiv and not peer-reviewed, estimated the effectiveness of the first dose of Covishield in generating antibody response.

Researchers measured antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 directed against the spike protein in the 135 healthcare workers administered by Covishield.

“Antibody levels were quantitatively measured at 0, 7, 14, 28 days after the first dose of the vaccine,” said Agrawal.

In-Depth Study Of The Antibodies Found In Recovered COVID-19 Patients

The team found differences in the levels of antibodies among immunized individuals who were already seropositive, compared to those who were not.

In 44 people who had already developed antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 at day 0 (before immunization), the antibody response was significantly higher, with the maximum increase seen between days 0 and 7, the researchers said.

In contrast, the seronegative group of 91 people started developing antibody response only after 14 days or later. Three seronegative individuals did not develop any antibody response even on day 28 of vaccination, the researchers said.

The average antibody response at 28 days in seronegative subjects was similar to that of seropositive subjects at baseline (day 0), and was on a rising trajectory, they said.

“Our data suggest that ChAdOx1 is highly immunogenic, particularly so where previous SARS CoV2 antibody-response is established,” the authors of the study noted.

“Given the high background seropositivity in India, this may be useful in determining the optimal timing of the second dose during mass immunization within the constraints of vaccine supply and administration,” they said.

A Single Dose Of Covishield Enough For Individuals Exposed To COVID-19

Reacting to the findings, immunologist Vineeta Bal, who was not involved in the research, said the study sample size is small.

Though a single dose of Covishield is not enough to trigger an adequate immune response in everyone, making a booster dose necessary, it is enough in individuals already exposed to SARS-CoV2, she noted.

“They may not need the second dose and hence those doses can be spared to increase coverage,” explained the scientist from Pune’s Indian Institute of Science Education and Research.

This number, the immunologist said, could be as high as 30 per cent of all the population based on the results of sporadic serosurveys available in the public domain from India.

“Thus there is some logic in doing spot-check for pre-existing antibodies before vaccination,” she added.

Agrawal said the study supports the effectiveness of India’s vaccination program and helps in determining the timing of the second dose.

“By 28 days, there was a good immune response in almost all of our participants. This needs to be confirmed further and may lengthen our window for the second dose, especially in communities with high seropositivity rates,” he explained.

A caveat in the data, Bal noted, is that whether pre-immune individuals were asymptomatic RT-PCR positives, or suffered from the disease, is not mentioned.

“A wide range of antibody titers is seen and making some correlation between the severity of disease and an immune response would have been nice, even if it was only a weak association because of limited numbers,” she added.

The antibody titer is a test that detects the presence as well as quantitatively measures the antibodies within a person’s blood.

Published : March 4, 2021 6:41 pm | Updated:March 4, 2021 6:45 pm

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