Effectiveness of Bivalent mRNA Vaccines in Preventing Symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 Infection — Increasing Community Access to Testing Program, United States, September–November 2022

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Personal Author:
  Link-Gelles, Ruth ; Ciesla, Allison Avrich ; Fleming-Dutra, Katherine E. ; Smith, Zachary R. ; Britton, Amadea ; Wiegand, Ryan E. ; Miller, Joseph D. ; Accorsi, Emma K. ; Schrag, Stephanie J. ; Verani, Jennifer R. ; Shang, Nong ; Derado, Gordana ; Pilishvili, Tamara
• Description:
  On September 1, 2022, bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, composed of components from the SARS-CoV-2 ancestral and Omicron BA.4/BA.5 strains, were recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to address reduced effectiveness of COVID-19 monovalent vaccines during SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant predominance (1). Initial recommendations included persons aged ≥12 years (Pfizer-BioNTech) and ≥18 years (Moderna) who had completed at least a primary series of any Food and Drug Administration-authorized or -approved monovalent vaccine ≥2 months earlier (1). On October 12, 2022, the recommendation was expanded to include children aged 5-11 years. At the time of recommendation, immunogenicity data were available from clinical trials of bivalent vaccines composed of ancestral and Omicron BA.1 strains; however, no clinical efficacy data were available. In this study, effectiveness of the bivalent (Omicron BA.4/BA.5-containing) booster formulation against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection was examined using data from the Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) national SARS-CoV-2 testing program.* During September 14-November 11, 2022, a total of 360,626 nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) performed at 9,995 retail pharmacies for adults aged ≥18 years, who reported symptoms consistent with COVID-19 at the time of testing and no immunocompromising conditions, were included in the analysis. Relative vaccine effectiveness (rVE) of a bivalent booster dose compared with that of ≥2 monovalent vaccine doses among persons for whom 2-3 months and ≥8 months had elapsed since last monovalent dose was 30% and 56% among persons aged 18-49 years, 31% and 48% among persons aged 50-64 years, and 28% and 43% among persons aged ≥65 years, respectively. Bivalent mRNA booster doses provide additional protection against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 in immunocompetent persons who previously received monovalent vaccine only, with relative benefits increasing with time since receipt of the most recent monovalent vaccine dose. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination, including getting a bivalent booster dose when eligible, is critical to maximizing protection against COVID-19 (1).
• Subjects:
  Adolescent Adult Child COVID-19 COVID-19 Testing COVID-19 Vaccines Humans MRNA Vaccines RNA, Messenger SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines, Combined

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• Source:
  MMWR Morbidity Mortal Weekly Rep. 71(48):1526-1530
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7148e1
• ISSN:
  0149-2195 (print) ; 1545-861X (digital)
• Pubmed ID:
  36454688
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9721148
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Pages in Document:
  5 pdf pages
• Volume:
  71
• Issue:
  48
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:63a2ec7080a1c8b2627e90fa5f3dcd263dde6ac8beebdbf457ff92b69dd8d37b7fdb17e6fe5818d2918eb118118a542dd5c49e2c68611a4719088003d0a6a9a5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/123162/cdc_123162_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 351.90 KB ]