Relative Vaccine Effectiveness of the Third Dose of CoronaVac or BNT162b2 Following a Two-Dose CoronaVac Regimen: A Prospective Observational Cohort Study from an Adult Vaccine Center in Turkey

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to pose a threat to public health with the potential for the emergence of new variants. Vaccines are the milestones to control and slow down the damage of the pandemic. As of January 2021, a two-dose regimen with CoronaVac was authorized in Turkey. Due to the waning seroprevalence rate of SARS-CoV-2 over time, BNT162b2 or CoronaVac has been administered as the third dose following a two-dose CoronaVac regimen as a national vaccination policy. As of 14 January 2021, 5243 volunteers who received two doses of the CoronaVac vaccine at Hacettepe University Adult Vaccine Center were followed prospectively. In our study, relative vaccine effectiveness (VEff) for the third dose of the CoronaVac was 58.24% and 87.27% for BNT162b2 in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases. There were no hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, or deaths in third-dose booster groups with either BNT162b2 or CoronaVac, yielding 100% effectiveness. Both homologous or heterologous third-dose boosters provided further protection against severe COVID-19 and should be prioritized as an effective strategy to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.