Third dose of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine induces strong immune response

A third shot of Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac given six months or more after the second shot would result in a remarkable increase in antibody levels, a new study has found.

The results indicate that a two-dose schedule generates good immune memory. After a third dose was given 6-8 months after the second dose, strong immune response was induced quickly and the neutralizing antibody titers at day 28 after the third dose increased by three to five times higher than the level recorded on day 28 after the second shot.

In addition, the findings brought on evidence showing that longer intervals between the third dose and the second dose result in higher antibody levels.

Seropositive rates in all dose groups were above 90.0% on day 28 after both the second and third doses.

The severity of solicited local and systemic adverse reactions reported within 28 days after the third dose were grade 1 to grade 2 in all vaccination cohorts, and no serious adverse reactions were considered as related to the vaccination. A lower adverse reaction rate was observed after the third dose compared to the previous two-dose schedule.

In the discussion section, the authors proposed that a booster shot after a two-dose vaccination schedule of CoronaVac may be necessary; however, policy makers must also consider factors such as the country’s epidemic situation, risk of infection, vaccine supply, etc. At this time, rather than promoting the use of a booster shot, priority should be given to increasing coverage of a two-dose vaccination with CoronaVac.