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Association between Vitamin D Serum Levels and Immune Response to the BNT162b2 Vaccine for SARS-CoV-2
Paola Zelini1, Piera d'Angelo2, Emanuele Cereda3
1Molecular Virology Unit, Microbiology and Virology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy.
Abstract:
The use of micronutrients such as vitamin D could improve the response to viral vaccines, particularly in immunosuppressed and immunosenescent subjects. Here, we analysed the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) levels and the immune response elicited by the BNT162b2 vaccine in a cohort of 101 healthcare workers naïve for SARS-CoV-2 infection. We observed no significant differences in anti-spike (S) IgG and T-cell responses according to the 25OHD status at baseline. However, significant correlations between the 25OHD concentration at baseline and (i) the anti-S response (p < 0.020) and (ii) the neutralizing antibody (NT) titre (p = 0.040) at six months after the second dose were detected. We concluded that adequate levels of vitamin D may improve the immune response to mRNA vaccines such as BNT162b2, and that further larger studies are warranted in order to confirm these preliminary observations.
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