iScience
Volume 26, Issue 5, 19 May 2023, 106694
Journal home page for iScience

Article
Saturation time of exposure interval for cross-neutralization response to SARS-CoV-2: Implications for vaccine dose interval

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.106694Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • A modeling to estimate the effects on cross-neutralization by the exposure interval

  • The saturation time to generate a high neutralization titer differs for each variant

  • The optimal booster vaccination interval is estimated to exceed 4 months

Summary

Evaluating the serum cross-neutralization responses after breakthrough infection with various SARS-CoV-2 variants provides valuable insight for developing variant-proof COVID-19 booster vaccines. However, fairly comparing the impact of breakthrough infections with distinct epidemic timing on cross-neutralization responses, influenced by the exposure interval between vaccination and infection, is challenging. To compare the impact of pre-Omicron to Omicron breakthrough infection, we estimated the effects on cross-neutralizing responses by the exposure interval using Bayesian hierarchical modeling. The saturation time required to generate saturated cross-neutralization responses differed by variant, with variants more antigenically distant from the ancestral strain requiring longer intervals of 2–4 months. The breadths of saturated cross-neutralization responses to Omicron lineages were comparable in pre-Omicron and Omicron breakthrough infections. Our results highlight the importance of vaccine dosage intervals of 4 months or longer, regardless of the antigenicity of the exposed antigen, to maximize the breadth of serum cross-neutralization covering SARS-CoV-2 Omicron lineages.

Subject areas

Immune system
Immunity
Immune response
Virology

Data and code availability

  • Raw data used to estimate the increase in NTs during the interval from the second vaccination to the third exposure are provided in Table S3.

  • All original code is available at the GitHub repository (https://github.com/ShoMiyamo/VaxInfectionInterval).

  • Any additional information required to reanalyze the data reported in this paper is available from the lead contact upon request.

Cited by (0)

8

These authors contributed equally

9

Lead contact