Six months after the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Germany, half of the population has received at least one vaccination dose. According to the Federal Ministry of Health, 37.9% of them have already been fully vaccinated (as of 02.07.2021).
Currently there are four different COVID-19 vaccines available in Germany, which differ slightly in their design and functionality, but all induce an immune response against the viral spike protein and the included immunologically relevant receptor binding domain (RBD). In divers studies it has been shown that all vaccines applied in Germany protect against a severe disease course.
Checking the immune response after vaccination by means of antibody detection can be particularly important for elderly people, people with reduced immune competence and nursing staff who have contact with these risk patients.
One option to assess the immune status is measuring the concentration of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, whose production is induced through vaccination or during the course of an infection. For example, the EUROIMMUN Anti-SARS-CoV-2 QuantiVac ELISA (IgG) can be applied to determine the concentration of IgG antibodies against the S1 domain of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (incl. RBD) after vaccination or infection.
If you want to learn more about how the immune system reacts after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination, we recommend the article of our US colleagues: