SARS-CoV-2 Specific Antibody Responses and Impact for COVID-19 Disease in Health Care Worker and Community Members From Ethiopian Related to Natural SARS CoV-2 Infection and COVID-19 Vaccination
In this study we aim to characterize SARS CoV-2 strain specific immune response (SARS-CoV-2 Spike IgG) in health care workers and general populations at the Jimma Medical Center and the St. Paul Hospital in Addis Ababa in association to clinical immune protection and Covid-19 disease. Participants, stratified by SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination status, will be followed at 3-month intervals for a maximum of 2 years. Prevalence, incidence, and dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies as well as clinical assessments especially related to COVID-19 breakthrough disease in previously exposed/vaccinated participants will be performed. From a subset of selected participant blood sample, more in depth immunological analysis will be performed that include virus culture-based neutralization assays, antibody avidity assays, SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody epitope recognition using peptide arrays, and T-cell immunity assays (IGRA). We also plan to analyze and model cost-effectiveness considerations related to adapted COVID-19 vaccine strategies, specifically if SARS-CoV-2 the costs for routine sero-diagnosis in high SARS-CoV-2 prevalent population prior to vaccination will impact the decision to vaccinate (no vaccination for low-risk populations or reduced vaccine dosing) and is cost-efficient. The study is largely exploratory, providing deeper insights in SARS-CoV-2 specific immune responses and interaction with SARS-CoV-2 viral variants.
• Adults, 18 years of above
• Provision of oral as well as written informed consent
• Available estimation of the period or the time-point when SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred (e.g. confirmed or highly suspected COVID-19 disease, SARS-CoV-2 anti-nucleocapsid seroconversion) (only applicable for participants included in group 1 and 2).
• Employed/working in hospital (medical doctors, nurses/midwives, students, auxiliary personnel such as cleaner, runner, social worker) for HCW
• Willingness to provide blood samples by venipuncture for serology and immunological characterization
• Willingness to provide health information, report medical events and to performed SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics (swabs for PCR) in the case of suspected COVID-19 disease