The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will lead a consortium
of academic partners receiving £1.5 million in funding from the
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to understand why some
people become infected after vaccination or prior infection while
others do not.
The Public Health England (PHE) landmark SARS-CoV-2 immunity
and reinfection evaluation (SIREN)
study, together with a number of other research cohorts and
partners including the Protective Immunity from T-Cells in
Healthcare workers (PITCH)
study, the Humoral Immune Correlates of COVID-19 (HICC), the
Genotype to Phenotype (G2P) Consortium, GenOMICC and the
Francis Crick Institute will assess participants’ detailed immune
system response to COVID-19 infections and vaccinations.
The research will seek to answer a number of key questions,
including why some people get reinfections or infections after
vaccination while others do not. It will also assess how long
immunity from vaccinations lasts, how the timeline differs
between the different vaccines and how changes in the SARS-CoV-2
virus’ genetic make-up might evade the immune response.
Nearly 50,000 healthcare professionals enrolled in the existing
SIREN and
PITCH
studies are given PCR tests every 2 weeks as
well as regular antibody blood tests. The antibody results of
those individuals who test positive for COVID-19, despite having
had 2 doses of the vaccine or a previous confirmed infection,
will be analysed by further specialised clinical interviews and
tests to determine whether there are aspects of their immune
response that differ from individuals who do not contract
COVID-19. This could help to identify factors that increase the
risk of ‘breakthrough’ infections – where someone catches
COVID-19 despite being vaccinated.
Participants may also be asked if they would like to participate
in analysis of their genetic code, to see if there are particular
mutations in their DNA that might predict a poor response to
vaccination.
Dr Susan Hopkins, COVID-19 Strategic Response Director at
PHE said:
Understanding the immune response is essential, not only to
determine who is most at risk of infections after vaccination,
but also for vaccine developers who can target key components of
the immune response effectively for future booster vaccines.
We are pleased that this funding will allow us to better
understand immunity and are very grateful to the nearly 50,000
participants who have given up their time to take part in the
study.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Alongside the recent launch of a new UK-wide antibody testing
programme, this new study will help us gain valuable insights
into the immune response following vaccination or natural
infection.
Our historic vaccination programme continues to prevent millions
of infections and save over 95,000 lives in England alone. I
encourage everyone to get both jabs so they can protect
themselves and those around them.
Dr Rupert Beale, head of the Crick’s Cell Biology of Infection
Laboratory, said:
Understanding immunity is crucial to the pandemic response. We
are teaming up with PHE and partners across the UK to
get the best measurements of the body’s immune response after
vaccination.
We would like to understand which aspects of the immune response
are the best predictors of vaccine efficacy. This will let us
target additional doses of vaccine to people who might need them,
and will inform the design of next generation vaccines to get
better protection against emerging viral variants.
