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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Molecular Viral Pathogenesis
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1527573
This article is part of the Research Topic Emerging concepts for respiratory viruses after the pandemic View all 3 articles

Immunological memory to COVID-19 vaccines in immunocompromised and immunocompetent children

Provisionally accepted
Constanza Andrea Russo Constanza Andrea Russo 1Adrián Otero Adrián Otero 1Macarena Uranga Macarena Uranga 2Vanesa Seery Vanesa Seery 1Silvina C Raiden Silvina C Raiden 3Silvia Algieri Silvia Algieri 4Norberto De Carli Norberto De Carli 5Mauricio Borda Mauricio Borda 6María F Albistur María F Albistur 2Lourdes Heinitz Lourdes Heinitz 2María Marcó Del Pont María Marcó Del Pont 2Martina Pardini Martina Pardini 2Guillermina Budano Guillermina Budano 2Laura Alvarez Laura Alvarez 2Nancy Simaz Nancy Simaz 4Claudia Merhar Claudia Merhar 4María C Quintana María C Quintana 4Cecilia Garbini Cecilia Garbini 4Luisa Aedo Portela Luisa Aedo Portela 5Misael Salcedo Pereira Misael Salcedo Pereira 5Fernando Ferrero Fernando Ferrero 3Jorge Raul Geffner Jorge Raul Geffner 1Lourdes Arruvito Lourdes Arruvito 1,7*
  • 1 Faculty of Medicine, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 2 Hospital Universitario Austral, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 3 Hospital Pedro de Elizalde, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 4 Hospital Posadas, Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 5 Clínica del Niño de Quilmes, Quilmes, Argentina
  • 6 Hospital Juan Pablo II, Corrientes, Corrientes, Argentina
  • 7 National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background. Most children in Argentina received only the initial COVID-19 vaccine series, with presumed hybrid immunity after multiple Omicron waves. However, the durability of immune memory, particularly in immunocompromised (IC) children, remains poorly studied.Methods. A cohort of IC (n=45) and healthy children (HC, n=79) was assessed between 13 to 17 months after receiving two or three doses of BBIBP-CorV and/or BNT162b2.Plasma anti-spike IgG, neutralizing activity and antigen-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cells against Wuhan and Omicron BA.5 variants were assessed.Results. Most children remained seropositive after two vaccine doses, but compared with HC, IC exhibited lower neutralizing titers against both Wuhan and Omicron BA.5, particularly those vaccinated with BBIBP-CorV. Even after three vaccine doses, IC showed weaker neutralizing antibody response, CD8+ T cell responses and lower IFN-γ production compared with HC. Integrated analysis of neutralizing antibodies, memory CD4⁺, and CD8⁺ T cells revealed a weak immune memory among IC with an important compromise in memory CD8⁺ T cell responses.Conclusions. Immunity can last up to 17 months, but reduced effectiveness against new variants highlights the need for updated COVID-19 vaccines, especially for IC children.

    Keywords: Children, SARS-CoV-2, variants, Vaccines, antibodies, T cells

    Received: 13 Nov 2024; Accepted: 21 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Russo, Otero, Uranga, Seery, Raiden, Algieri, De Carli, Borda, Albistur, Heinitz, Marcó Del Pont, Pardini, Budano, Alvarez, Simaz, Merhar, Quintana, Garbini, Portela, Pereira, Ferrero, Geffner and Arruvito. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lourdes Arruvito, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.