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Volume 27, Number 8—August 2021
Dispatch

Delayed Antibody and T-Cell Response to BNT162b2 Vaccination in the Elderly, Germany

Tatjana Schwarz1, Pinkus Tober-Lau1, David Hillus, Elisa T. Helbig, Lena J. Lippert, Charlotte Thibeault, Willi Koch, Irmgard Landgraf, Janine Michel, Leon Bergfeld, Daniela Niemeyer, Barbara Mühlemann, Claudia Conrad, Chantip Dang-Heine, Stefanie Kasper, Friederike Münn, Kai Kappert, Andreas Nitsche, Rudolf Tauber, Sein Schmidt, Piotr Kopankiewicz, Harald Bias, Joachim Seybold, Christof von Kalle, Terry C. Jones, Norbert Suttorp, Christian Drosten, Leif Erik Sander2Comments to Author , Victor M. Corman2Comments to Author , and Florian Kurth2Comments to Author 
Author affiliations: Charité–Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany (T. Schwarz, P. Tober-Lau, D. Hillus, E.T. Helbig, L.J. Lippert, C. Thibeault, W. Koch, L. Bergfeld, D. Niemeyer, B. Mühlemann, C. Conrad, C. Dang-Heine, S. Kasper, F. Münn, K. Kappert, R. Tauber, S. Schmidt, P. Kopankiewicz, H. Bias, J. Seybold, C. von Kalle, T.C. Jones, N. Suttorp, C. Drosten, L.E. Sander, V.M. Corman, F. Kurth); Hausarztpraxis am Agaplesion Bethanien Sophienhaus, Berlin (I. Landgraf); Robert Koch Institute, Berlin (J. Michel, A. Nitsche); German Centre for Infection Research, Berlin (D. Niemeyer, B. Mühlemann, T.C. Jones, C. Drosten, V.M. Corman); Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin (C. Dang-Heine, K. Kappert, R. Tauber, S. Schmidt, J. Seybold, C. von Kalle); Labor Berlin–Charité Vivantes GmbH, Berlin (K. Kappert, R. Tauber); University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK (T.C. Jones); G; erman Center for Lung Research, Gießen, Germany (N. Suttorp, L.E. Sander, F. Kurth); Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany (F. Kurth); University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg (F. Kurth)

Main Article

Table

Cohort characteristics in study of delayed antibody and T-cell response to BNT162b2 vaccination in the elderly, Germany*

Characteristic Healthcare workers
 Elderly
No. patients
 123
 71
Sex
F 65 (52.9) 54 (76.1)
M
 58 (47.2)
 17 (23.9)
Median age, y (IQR)
 34 (20–64)
 81 (70–96)
Underlying conditions
Cardiovascular disease 15 (12.2) 56 (78.9)
Type 2 diabetes 1 (0.8) 13 (18.3)
Respiratory disease 16 (13.0) 11 (15.5)
Dyslipidemia 5 (4.1) 21 (29.6)
Thyroid dysfunction 0 16 (22.5)
Chronic kidney disease 0 12 (16.9)
Chronic liver or GI disease 2 (1.6) 18 (25.4)
Rheumatic disease 6 (4.9) 7 (9.9)
Active solid malignancy 2 (1.6) 4 (5.6)
Active hematological malignancy 0 4 (5.6)
Neurologic disease 1 (0.8) 18 (25.4)
Immunodeficiency 1 (0.8) 0
Others
 9 (7.3)
 29 (40.9)
Outpatient medication
No 79 (64.2) 5 (7.0)
Yes 39 (31.7) 64 (90.1)
Unknown 5 (4.1)
 2 (2.8)

*Values are no. (%) except as indicated. BNT162b2 is manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech (https://www.pfizer.com). GI, gastrointestinal; IQR, interquartile range.

Main Article

1These authors contributed equally to this article.

2These senior authors contributed equally to this article.

Page created: June 02, 2021
Page updated: July 18, 2021
Page reviewed: July 18, 2021
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