Immunogenicity and safety of an inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine in people living with HIV: A cross‐sectional study

Abstract We aimed to analyze the efficacy and safety of an inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2 vaccine in people living with HIV (PLWH). A total of 143 PLWH and 50 healthy individuals were included in this study. A commercially available magnetic chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay kit was used to detect serum IgG and IgM antibodies against SARS‐CoV‐2. Serum levels of SARS‐CoV‐2‐specific IgG were significantly higher in the control group than in the PLWH group ( p = 0.001). Overall, 76% of individuals in the control group were detected with seropositivity IgG against SARS‐CoV‐2 compared to 58% in the PLWH group ( p = 0.024). In PLWH with IgG seropositivity, CD4+ T‐cell counts before antiretroviral therapy (ART) was higher ( p = 0.015). Multivariable analysis indicated that CD4+ T cells at IgG detection (odds ratio [OR] = 1.004, p = 0.006) and time after vaccination (OR = 0.977, p = 0.014) were independently associated with seropositivity IgG against SARS‐CoV‐2 in PLWH. Neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers in PLWH against wild‐type SARS‐CoV‐2 were similar to those in the control group ( p = 0.160). The proportion of seropositive nAbs against wild‐type SARS‐CoV‐2 was also similar (95% in the control group vs. 97% in the PLWH group, p = 0.665). Similar results were obtained when nAb was detected against the delta variants with similar titers ( p = 0.355) and a similar proportion of seropositive nAbs were observed ( p = 0.588). All the side effects observed in our study were mild and self‐limiting. The inactivated COVID‐19 vaccine appears to be safe with good immunogenicity in Chinese PLWH.