Over-80s show similar antibody responses following single vaccination with either Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine – but cellular responses are enhanced after AstraZeneca vaccine

People aged over 80 receiving a single dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca COVID vaccine show equivalent antibody responses five weeks post vaccination. However, stronger cellular (T cell) responses were seen in people who had received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. The study, led by University of Birmingham researchers and supported by the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium, is available via Preprints with The Lancet. It is the first to directly compare antibody and cellular immune responses between different COVID vaccines in any age group. The UK and some other countries have adopted a programme in which the interval between the first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine is extended to increase population coverage for the first dose. Both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines show good clinical effectiveness after a single dose but it is important to understand the differential immune responses generated by different vaccination platforms. This is particularly true for older people...