Costantini et al.
Predicted long-term antibody persistence for a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine: results from a modeling study beyond 10 years after a booster dose following different primary vaccination schedules
Hum. Vaccin. Immunother. 2019, in press, doi.org/1080/21645515.2019.1700712
Regular TBE booster immunizations are recommended for people living in or traveling to TBE endemic areas. Long-term clinical studies have shown that the TBE vaccine Encepur (GSK, now Bavarian Nordic) confers neutralizing antibodies up to 10 years after the first booster dose in ≥90% of vaccinees independent of the vaccination schedule used for primary immunization.
The authors have used several power-law models based on antibody levels measured in two extension studies in participants followed 5- and 10-years post-booster dose to predict the development of antibody levels beyond the time period covered by clinical trials. Enough protection against TBE is predicted for at least 20 years after booster vaccination with the TBE vaccine, when any of the licensed primary three-dose schedules are completed and a booster dose is administered at 1 or 3 years post-primary vaccination (depending on the primary schedule). The model suggests that the interval between booster doses may be increased without compromising the expected protection.