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Vaccines
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Population Immunity and Persistence to SARS-CoV-2 Induced by Infection and...
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Population Immunity and Persistence to SARS-CoV-2 Induced by Infection and Vaccination, Protection Against New Infections and Implication for Further Vaccination: 2nd Edition

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "COVID-19 Vaccines and Vaccination".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1281

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Juan Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Interests: infectious diseases; vaccine; disease burden; vaccine efficacy/effectiveness/impact; health economic evaluation; vaccination policy; seroepidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Wei Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Interests: transmission dynamics; epidemiological parameters; evaluation of interventions for emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases; public health

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

After the World Health Organization declared the end to COVID-19’s emergency phase, SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve. Having a good knowledge of population immunity landscape and dynamics, understanding its protection against infections of variants and severity after infections, is critical for policy-making on actions that countries should take in the future. However, global, regional and national population immunity and their dynamic changes remain unknown, since it is complex and varied due to disparity of infections history and vaccination coverage across the world. The Special Issue aims to collect the latest research results on the sero-epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccination. With this in mind, we are pleased to invite the submission of original research articles and reviews investigating the infection incidence and its severity, population immunity landscape and the kinetics of antibodies following prior infections (with any variant), vaccination (particularly post-licensure) or both (hybrid immunity), protection (and cross-protection) against new variants infections, and providing new ideas for the COVID-19 vaccination strategy in the future, etc.

Looking forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Juan Yang
Dr. Wei Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • SARS-CoV-2
  • COVID-19
  • serology
  • population immunity
  • hybrid immunity
  • vaccination
  • antibody kinetics
  • cross-protection

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1871 KiB  
Article
Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 IgG in Nursing Home Residents in Belgium Throughout Three BNT162b2 Vaccination Rounds: 19-Month Follow-Up
by Eline Meyers, Liselore De Rop, Claudia Gioveni, Fien Engels, Anja Coen, Tine De Burghgraeve, Marina Digregorio, Pauline Van Ngoc, Nele De Clercq, Laëtitia Buret, Samuel Coenen, Elizaveta Padalko, Els Duysburgh, Beatrice Scholtes, Jan Y. Verbakel, Stefan Heytens and Piet Cools
Vaccines 2025, 13(4), 409; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13040409 - 15 Apr 2025
Viewed by 412
Abstract
Background/Objectives: This study mapped antibody dynamics across three COVID-19 vaccination rounds (primary course, first, and second booster with BNT162b2) in Belgian nursing home residents (NHRs). Methods: Within a national SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance study (February 2021–September 2022) across Belgian nursing homes, dried blood spots were [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: This study mapped antibody dynamics across three COVID-19 vaccination rounds (primary course, first, and second booster with BNT162b2) in Belgian nursing home residents (NHRs). Methods: Within a national SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance study (February 2021–September 2022) across Belgian nursing homes, dried blood spots were collected, on which anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were quantified by ELISA in international units/mL (IU/mL). Sociodemographic data were collected at the study start and infection history and vaccination data at each sampling round. Results: Infection-naïve NHRs had low antibody levels after primary course vaccination (geometric mean concentration (GMC) 292 IU/mL, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 197–432), but increased tenfold after first booster (GMC 2168 IU/mL, 95% CI: 1554–3027). While antibodies among NHRs significantly declined within six months after primary vaccination (p < 0.0001), they remained stable for nine months post-booster (p > 0.05). Among primary vaccine non-responders, 92% (95% CI: 82–97%) developed antibodies after the first booster (GMC 594 IU/mL, 95% CI: 416–849), though tenfold lower than initial responders (GMC 4642 IU/mL, 95% CI: 3577–6022). Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that NHRs require tailored vaccination, prioritizing repeated immunization to improve serological outcomes in poor responders such as infection-naive NHRs. Regular immune monitoring could aid in implementing evidence-based vaccine strategies, ensuring optimal protection for vulnerable populations against SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious threats. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Immunity and Persistence to SARS-CoV-2 Induced by Infection and Vaccination, Protection Against New Infections and Implication for Further Vaccination: 2nd Edition)
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14 pages, 3042 KiB  
Article
Geographical Differences in SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Response Dynamics and Neutralisation Profiles to Mild COVID-19: Lessons from a UK–Uganda Comparison
by Laban Kato, Jackson Sembera, Gerald Kevin Oluka, Joseph Ssebwana Katende, Juliana Bemanzi, Violet Ankunda, Peter Ejou, Ashwini Kurshan, Carl Graham, Jeffrey Seow, Katie J. Doores, Michael H. Malim, Julie M. Fox, Pontiano Kaleebu and Jennifer Serwanga
Vaccines 2025, 13(4), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13040336 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 400
Abstract
Background: The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic revealed stark variability in clinical outcomes across populations, underscoring the need for region-tailored vaccination strategies. To inform standardised global immunisation efforts, this study compared longitudinal binding antibody responses and neutralisation capacities in mild COVID-19 cases from Uganda [...] Read more.
Background: The global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic revealed stark variability in clinical outcomes across populations, underscoring the need for region-tailored vaccination strategies. To inform standardised global immunisation efforts, this study compared longitudinal binding antibody responses and neutralisation capacities in mild COVID-19 cases from Uganda and the United Kingdom (UK). Methods: IgG responses to spike (S) and nucleocapsid (N) proteins, along with IgM responses to S and receptor-binding domain (RBD) proteins, were assessed in 29 Ugandan and 14 UK participants over 84 and 82 days, respectively. Antibody levels were quantified using a validated enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), alongside pseudovirus neutralisation assays targeting the D614G variant. Results: Ugandan participants exhibited higher early IgG and IgM levels, particularly against spike and RBD, with a rapid onset of responses that waned quickly. UK participants showed a slower but sustained increase in IgG and IgM levels. Neutralisation titres revealed elevated responses in 16.4% of Ugandan participants (>2000) compared to 4.5% of UK participants, suggesting a greater sensitivity to viral neutralisation. Conversely, 31.8% of UK participants exhibited low titres (<25) compared to 14.8% of Ugandan participants, indicating differences in resistance mechanisms. Neutralisation correlated strongly with spike and receptor-binding domain IgG in the UK cohort but showed weaker correlations in Ugandan participants. Conclusions: These findings highlight distinct population-level immune responses, suggesting that geographic factors shaped the quality and durability of SARS-CoV-2 immunity. Tailored vaccination strategies are essential to optimise immunity across diverse populations and improve global epidemic preparedness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Population Immunity and Persistence to SARS-CoV-2 Induced by Infection and Vaccination, Protection Against New Infections and Implication for Further Vaccination: 2nd Edition)
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