Waning of BNT162b2 Vaccine Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Qatar

作者：Hiam Chemaitelly, Patrick Tang, Mohammad R. Hasan, Sawsan AlMukdad, Hadi M. Yassine, Fatiha M. Benslimane, Hebah A. Al Khatib, Peter Coyle, Houssein H. Ayoub, Zaina Al Kanaani, Einas Al Kuwari, Andrew Jeremijenko, Anvar H. Kaleeckal, Ali N. Latif, Riyazuddin M. Shaik, Hanan F. Abdul Rahim, Gheyath K. Nasrallah, Mohamed G. Al Kuwari, Hamad E. Al Romaihi, Adeel A. Butt, Mohamed H. Al-Thani, Abdullatif Al Khal, Roberto Bertollini, Laith J. Abu-Raddad · 发表于：New England Journal of Medicine · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1056/nejmoa2114114 · 被引用次数：874 · 研究领域：SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research、Immune responses and vaccinations、Diverse Scientific Research Studies

BACKGROUND: Waning of vaccine protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection or coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is a concern. The persistence of BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccine effectiveness against infection and disease in Qatar, where the B.1.351 (or beta) and B.1.617.2 (or delta) variants have dominated incidence and polymerase-chain-reaction testing is done on a mass scale, is unclear. METHODS: We used a matched test-negative, case-control study design to estimate vaccine effectiveness against any SARS-CoV-2 infection and against any severe, critical, or fatal case of Covid-19, from January 1 to September 5, 2021. RESULTS: Estimated BNT162b2 effectiveness against any SARS-CoV-2 infection was negligible in the first 2 weeks after the first dose. It increased to 36.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.2 to 40.2) in the third week after the first dose and reached its peak at 77.5% (95% CI, 76.4 to 78.6) in the first month after the second dose. Effectiveness declined gradually thereafter, with the decline accelerating after the fourth month to reach approximately 20% in months 5 through 7 after the second dose. Effectiveness against symptomatic infection was higher than effectiveness against asymptomatic infection but waned similarly. Variant-specific effectiveness waned in the same pattern. Effectiveness against any severe, critical, or fatal case of Covid-19 increased rapidly to 66.1% (95% CI, 56.8 to 73.5) by the third wee...