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Coronavirus: gut bacteria can help boost antibody response to Covid-19 vaccines, Hong Kong study shows

  • Findings by Chinese University and University of Hong Kong show a type of probiotic bacteria in the gut can help enhance efficacy of Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines
  • Researchers report that low antibody response corresponded to inadequate levels of the bacteria

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Professor Francis Chan, dean of Chinese University’s medical school. Photo: K. Y. Cheng
A type of probiotic bacteria in the gut has the potential to improve a person’s antibody response to Covid-19 vaccines, researchers at two Hong Kong universities have found.
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The joint study by Chinese University (CUHK) and the University of Hong Kong (HKU) discovered that the efficacy of the Sinovac and BioNTech Covid-19 vaccines correlated with the amount of Bifidobacterium adolescentis people had in their gut, meaning that low antibody response corresponded to inadequate levels of that bacteria.

Based on the findings released on Thursday, the researchers said that specific bacteria could serve as a potential therapeutic option to enhance the protection offered by both vaccines.

People queue up for the Sinovac vaccine at a community vaccination centre in Jordan. Photo: Dickson Lee
People queue up for the Sinovac vaccine at a community vaccination centre in Jordan. Photo: Dickson Lee
“This is the first proof in humans that Bifidobacterium adolescentis plays an important role in modulating the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines,” said Professor Ng Siew Chien, associate director of CUHK’s Centre for Gut Microbiota Research.

“The inactivated vaccine [developed by Sinovac] is known to have fewer side effects but suffers from relatively lower antibody response. Our study offers a potential solution to enhance [its] efficacy.”

The researchers collected blood and stool samples from 138 people aged between 18 and 67 to measure their antibody levels in relation to their gut bacterial composition. The samples were taken before vaccination and one month after their second dose between April and August this year.

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About 57 per cent of the participants who took the Sinovac shot and had suboptimal antibody response had inadequate Bifidobacterium adolescentis levels. Among the BioNTech recipients, the 25 per cent with the lowest antibody level also lacked the bacteria, the study showed.

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