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Trajectories of Seroprevalence and Neutralizing Activity of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Southern Switzerland between July 2020 and July 2021: An Ongoing, Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study

Author

Listed:
  • Rebecca Amati

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Giovanni Piumatti

    (Fondazione Agnelli, 10125 Turin, Italy)

  • Giovanni Franscella

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Peter Buttaroni

    (Faculty of Informatics, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
    Current affiliation: Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), 4058 Basel, Switzerland.)

  • Anne-Linda Camerini

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Laurie Corna

    (Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland)

  • Sara Levati

    (Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland)

  • Marta Fadda

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Maddalena Fiordelli

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
    Department of Health Sciences, University of Lucerne, 6002 Lucerne, Switzerland)

  • Anna Maria Annoni

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Kleona Bezani

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Antonio Amendola

    (Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland)

  • Cristina Fragoso Corti

    (Institute of Microbiology, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6501 Bellinzona, Switzerland)

  • Serena Sabatini

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • Marco Kaufmann

    (Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Anja Frei

    (Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Milo Alan Puhan

    (Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute, University of Zurich, 8001 Zurich, Switzerland)

  • Luca Crivelli

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
    Department of Business Economics, Health and Social Care, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, 6928 Manno, Switzerland)

  • Emiliano Albanese

    (Institute of Public Health, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland)

  • on behalf of the Corona Immunitas Ticino Study Group

    (Membership of the Group/Team Name is provided in the Acknowledgments.)

Abstract

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic continues, and evidence on infection- and vaccine-induced immunity is key. We assessed COVID-19 immunity and the neutralizing antibody response to virus variants across age groups in the Swiss population. Study Design: We conducted a cohort study in representative community-dwelling residents aged five years or older in southern Switzerland (total population 353,343), and we collected blood samples in July 2020 (in adults only, N = 646), November–December 2020 (N = 1457), and June–July 2021 (N = 885). Methods: We used a previously validated Luminex assay to measure antibodies targeting the spike (S) and the nucleocapsid (N) proteins of the virus and a high-throughput cell-free neutralization assay optimized for multiple spike protein variants. We calculated seroprevalence with a Bayesian logistic regression model accounting for the population’s sociodemographic structure and the test performance, and we compared the neutralizing activity between vaccinated and convalescent participants across virus variants. Results: The overall seroprevalence was 7.8% (95% CI: 5.4–10.4) by July 2020 and 20.2% (16.4–24.4) by December 2020. By July 2021, the overall seroprevalence increased substantially to 72.5% (69.1–76.4), with the highest estimates of 95.6% (92.8–97.8) among older adults, who developed up to 10.3 more antibodies via vaccination than after infection compared to 3.7 times more in adults. The neutralizing activity was significantly higher for vaccine-induced than infection-induced antibodies for all virus variants (all p values < 0.037). Conclusions: Vaccination chiefly contributed to the reduction in immunonaive individuals, particularly those in older age groups. Our findings on the greater neutralizing activity of vaccine-induced antibodies than infection-induced antibodies are greatly informative for future vaccination campaigns.

Suggested Citation

  • Rebecca Amati & Giovanni Piumatti & Giovanni Franscella & Peter Buttaroni & Anne-Linda Camerini & Laurie Corna & Sara Levati & Marta Fadda & Maddalena Fiordelli & Anna Maria Annoni & Kleona Bezani & A, 2023. "Trajectories of Seroprevalence and Neutralizing Activity of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Southern Switzerland between July 2020 and July 2021: An Ongoing, Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-16, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:4:p:3703-:d:1073716
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jonas Herzberg & Tanja Vollmer & Bastian Fischer & Heiko Becher & Ann-Kristin Becker & Hany Sahly & Human Honarpisheh & Salman Yousuf Guraya & Tim Strate & Cornelius Knabbe, 2021. "Half-Year Longitudinal Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2-Antibodies and Rule Compliance in German Hospital Employees," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-11, October.
    2. Erin A. West & Daniela Anker & Rebecca Amati & Aude Richard & Ania Wisniak & Audrey Butty & Emiliano Albanese & Murielle Bochud & Arnaud Chiolero & Luca Crivelli & Stéphane Cullati & Valérie d’Acremon, 2020. "Corona Immunitas: study protocol of a nationwide program of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and seroepidemiologic studies in Switzerland," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(9), pages 1529-1548, December.
    3. Anke Hildebrandt & Oktay Hökelekli & Lutz Uflacker & Henrik Rudolf & Michael Paulussen & Sören G. Gatermann, 2022. "Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Employees of Three Hospitals of a Secondary Care Hospital Network in Germany and an Associated Fire Brigade: Results of a Repeated Cross-Sectional Surveillan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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