by Yana Debie

COVID-19 is a disease caused by an infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. There are a broad range of clinical presentations of a SARS-CoV-2 viral infection varying from asymptomatic, sensation of a mild cold or flu to severe bilateral pneumonia, organ failure and death. The mortality is the highest in the elderly and in people with a pre-existing condition such as cancer. It is observed that cancer patients have an increased risk for severe COVID-19 after SARS-CoV-2 infection and therefore were prioritized for COVID-19 vaccination. However, cancer patients were excluded from vaccine approval trials. Due to their immunocompromised status, they might have reduced immune responses after COVID-19 vaccination. And due to the cancer or the treatment, efficacy or occurrence of adverse events could be altered. Therefore, it is crucial to map vaccination-induced adverse events and immunity in cancer patients. We report reduced humoral immune responses in cancer patients after double-dose COVID-19 vaccination, whereas both cellular and humoral responses are more comparable with that in healthy individuals after first booster administration. It has been shown that humoral immunity against SARS-CoV-2, as induced by vaccination or natural infection, provides a degree of protection against severe disease and (re)infections. However, the level of protection against breakthrough infections conferred by the presence of anti-S1 SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (IgG) is still not well understood and thus subject of current analysis. Furthermore, even though many studies have been conducted on the subject of immunological responses after COVID-19 vaccination, there are still parts of the vaccination-induced immune response that have not been sufficiently mapped. Therefor in-depth characterization of the immune response upon COVID-19 vaccination in our study population is currently in progress.

by Deborah Herrera

Abstract

by

Abstract