Prime-boost vaccination with BNT162b2 induces high neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 variants in naïve and COVID-19 convalescent individuals

Background The objective of this study was to investigate the neutralizing response against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants of concern (VoC) during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) convalescence and after vaccination. Methods COVID-19-convalescent and -naive individuals were tested for neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 VoC Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta at 1 and 7 months postinfection and 4-6 weeks after BNT162b2 vaccination. Results Vaccination induced a high neutralizing response in naive individuals. Interestingly, vaccination of convalescent patients induced a boosted response that was able to neutralize all VoC at high titers. Conclusions Vaccination with BNT162b2 induced high levels of neutralization against SARS-CoV-2 VoC in most patients; this is especially beneficial in COVID-19-convalescent individuals.