(2021-2022) – Principal Investigator for IVN Mihaela Chivu-Economescu, PhD
Grant agreement Ref. INSP 4521/19.03.2021
Objective: Assessment of the post-vaccination immune status and the dynamics of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in vaccinated healthcare personnel in the municipality of Bucharest.
Objectives:
- Evaluation of the rate of appearance of anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and their neutralizing capacity after vaccination.
- Kinetics of neutralizing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies after vaccination.
- Assessment of factors that may influence the response to vaccination and the persistence of antibodies.
- Detection of the presence of anti-N antibodies developed during natural infection, to identify possible asymptomatic infections occurring post-vaccination.
Method:
The National Institute of Public Health will conduct a prospective cohort study on vaccinated healthcare personnel. The study will take place between March 2021 and April 2022, in collaboration with the National Institute of Infectious Diseases “Prof. Dr. Matei Balș,” the “Ștefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology, the “Dr. Victor Babeș” Clinical Hospital for Infectious and Tropical Diseases in Bucharest, the Bucharest University Emergency Hospital, and the Romanian Society of Microbiology.
The study involves collecting serum samples from a representative sample of vaccinated healthcare personnel for the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Participation in the study will be voluntary.
Repeated sample collections will be performed to evaluate the immune response dynamically: at a minimum of two weeks and a maximum of 10 weeks after the last vaccination, and subsequently at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, and 12 months post-vaccination.
Sample testing will be conducted at the Seroepidemiology Laboratory within the National Institute of Public Health – Regional Public Health Center Bucharest for the detection of anti-Spike and anti-N antibodies, as well as at the “Ștefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology for testing the neutralizing capacity of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.
The results of all tests and data collected through questionnaires will be statistically analyzed within the National Institute of Public Health and “Ștefan S. Nicolau” Institute of Virology.
Results:
Articles and communications:
Chivu-Economescu M, Vremera T, Ruta SM, Grancea C; Leustean M, Chiriac D, David A, Matei L, Diaconu CC, Gatea A, Ilie C, Radu I, Cornienco AM, Iancu LS, Cirstoiu C, Pop CS, Petru R, Strambu V, Malciolu S, Popescu CP, Florescu SA, Rafila A, Furtunescu FL, Pistol A. Assessment of the Humoral Immune Response Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Healthcare Workers: A One Year Longitudinal Study. Biomedicines 2022, 10, 1526. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines10071526 IF=4.757; Q2
Chivu-Economescu M, Bleotu C, Grancea C, Chiriac D, Botezatu A, Iancu IV, Pitica I, Necula LG, Neagu A, Matei L, Dragu D, Sultana C, Radu EL, Nastasie A, Voicu O, Ataman M, Nedeianu S, Mambet C, Diaconu CC, Ruta SM: Kinetics and persistence of cellular and humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in healthcare workers with or without prior COVID-19. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 2022; 26:1293-1305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcmm.17186 IF=5.3; Q2
