Safety and Immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in people with HIV

To evaluate the safety and the serological response after two doses of mRNA-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in people with HIV (PWH).

Participants were evaluated 4 weeks after the second dose of mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2 vaccine. Tolerability was evaluated with a specific adverse event questionnaire. Patient's sera were analysed using LIAISON SARS-CoV-2 TrimericS IgG (DiaSorin).

One-hundred PWH were included, 75% of them men, with a mean age of 44 ± 11 years old, all receiving antiretroviral treatment and mostly with controlled viral loads (98% with HIV RNA <50 copies/ml) and 96% had >200 CD4+/μl. All patients seroconverted after vaccination (antibody concentration ≥33.8 binding antibody units [BAU]/ml). Only 3% of the patients had a low antibody concentration (<520 BAU/ml), whereas 67% of them had concentrations above the assay's detection range (>2080 BAU/ml). Fifty-six patients had local or systemic symptoms, with mild arthromyalgia being the most common systemic symptom. No severe adverse events were reported.

Vaccination with two doses of mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2 is well tolerated in PWH under effective antiretroviral treatment and it leads to a successful antibody response.