A single dose of the Biontech/Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine protected elderly residents from severe COVID ‐19 during a SARS‐coronavirus‐2 outbreak in a senior citizen home in Germany
Conclusions: In summary, our data show that partial vaccination prevented severe COVID-19 among the residents during this local SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, suggesting a high effectiveness of even a single vaccine dose, but also emphasize that asymptomatic individuals might still be carriers/spreaders. AbstractBackground: A total of 62/66 (93.9%) residents in a senior citizen home in Bremen, Germany, received the first dose of the Biontech/Pfizer vaccine BNT162b2 on December 27th 2020. After routine severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antigen tests showed positive results on January 5th, all residents and staff were tested by RT-PCR.Results: Nine staff members and 23 residents had a positive result. PCR positive staff members reported mild to severe COVID-19 symptoms, one was hospitalized. None of them had been vaccinated. In contrast, the vaccinated residents reported no or only mild symptoms. Sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 genomes of infected individuals revealed a monophyletic origin of the outbreak within the PANGO lineage B.1.177.86.Conclusions: In summary, our data show that partial vaccination prevented severe COVID-19 among the residents during this local SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, suggesting a high effectiveness of even a single vaccine dose, but also emphasize that asymptomatic individuals might still be carriers/spreaders.
Source: Immunity, Inflammation and Disease - Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Rolf Schwarzer,
Sabine D. Freys,
Nick Neuwinger,
Nina Beikert,
Bettina Ebersp ächer,
Anke Edelmann,
Marta Zuchowski,
Inga Slothouwer,
Angela Stein,
Kathrin Theil,
Peter Menzel,
Jörg Hofmann Tags: SHORT REPORT Source Type: research
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