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Association between COVID-19 Vaccine Immunogenicity and Protection in Clinically Vulnerable Populations

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers at Imperial College London have conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the association between measured vaccine immunogenicity and vaccine effectiveness in clinically vulnerable populations. The study, published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection, analyzed data from 45 observational studies and found that negative antibody response following COVID-19 vaccination was associated with higher risks of breakthrough infection, hospitalization, and death.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study included 3305 articles, of which 45 observational studies were included in the review.
  • The Newcastle-Ottawa quality assessment scale was used to assess risk of bias, and a random-effects meta-analysis model was used to pool relative risks of COVID-19 breakthrough infection, hospitalization, and death.
  • Negative antibody response following COVID-19 vaccination was associated with higher risks of breakthrough infection (RR 1.82, 1.45-2.29), hospitalization (RR 1.63, 1.15-2.32), and death (RR 1.88, 1.35-2.62).
  • The study's findings highlight the importance of monitoring immune response in clinically vulnerable populations to inform vaccine booster schedules.
  • Dr. Rute Cardoso De Aguiar and colleagues from Imperial College London conducted the research.

Statistics:

  • 3305 articles were identified, and 45 observational studies were included in the review (1.37% of total articles).
  • 45 studies reported data on COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and subsequent infection outcomes.
  • 1.82 (1.45-2.29) RR of breakthrough infection associated with negative antibody response.
  • 1.63 (1.15-2.32) RR of hospitalization associated with negative antibody response.
  • 1.88 (1.35-2.62) RR of death associated with negative antibody response.

Sources:

  • Researchers from Imperial College London. (2025). Association between COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and protection against infection and severe disease in clinically vulnerable patient populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Clinical Microbiology and Infection, 2025.
  • NewsRx. (2025, October 15). Researchers from Imperial College London Describe Findings in COVID-19 (Association between COVID-19 vaccine immunogenicity and protection against infection and severe disease in clinically vulnerable patient populations: a systematic review ...). Vaccine Weekly, p 178.

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