SARS-CoV-2 vaccine immunogenicity for people living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Previous publications on the immunogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines in people living with HIV (PLWH) have reported inconsistent results. Additionally, a meta-analysis investigating the immunogenicity in PLWH after the third SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose is lacking. In this article we aim to provide a systematic review and a meta-analysis studying the immunogenicity of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in PLWH and to identify potential drivers for antibody response in PLWH.

We used three databases (PubMed, Embase and Web of Science) to conduct our review. Studies with information on numbers of PLWH producing immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies or neutralizing antibodies were included.

The meta-analysis included 59 studies and illustrated a pooled serological response of 87.09% in the 10 343 PLWH after they received a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. High CD4 T-cell counts and low viral load indicated that the study populations had HIV that was well treated, despite varying in location. The pooled effect increased to 91.62% for 8053 PLWH when excluding studies that used inactivated vaccines (BBIBP-CorV and CoronaVac). For the third vaccine dose, the pooled effect was 92.35% for 1974 PLWH. Additionally, weighted linear regression models demonstrated weak relationships between CD4 T-cell count, percentages of people with undetectable HIV load, and age compared with the percentages of PLWH producing a serological response. However, more research is needed to determine the effect of those factors on SARS-CoV-2 vaccine immunogenicity in PLWH.

SARS-CoV-2 vaccines show a favourable effect on immunogenicity in PLWH. However, the results are not ideal. This meta-analysis suggests that a third SARS-CoV-2 vaccine dose and good HIV treatment procedures are vital to induce a good immunogenicity in PLWH.