The Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccine was more likely to elicit a stronger response in patients with varying degrees of immunosuppression than the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to data published in JAMA Network Open.
Limitations include self-reporting of SARS-CoV-2 infection and lack of virus neutralization testing. However, this self-report correlated well with prevaccination antibody levels, and a previous study correlated anti-RBD levels with neutralization capacity in vaccinated individuals.
“In conclusion, mRNA-1273 was more likely to induce stronger humoral immunogenicity compared with BNT162b2 in immunosuppressed patients; this effect was more pronounced with greater immunosuppression,” Mitchell and colleagues wrote. “These findings suggest that choice of mRNA vaccine platform is important in optimizing immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and can help inform strategies for booster doses in high-risk, immunosuppressed populations.”
