One of the to research concerns: ‘COVID-19 breakthrough infections and correlates of protection’. For the vulnerable, breakthrough infections pose a risk and can also lead to long-term complaints (post-COVID). The cellular defense may play an important role against breakthrough infections with virus variants. Researchers will study which parts of the immune system offer protection against this.
The researchers aim to identify three to five key markers from more than 40 cellular immune markers that are predictive of protection against breakthrough infections. On this basis, the research results will make an important contribution to estimating the risks of breakthrough infections in the Dutch population. These results are also important in order to arrive at an optimal design of the vaccination policy.
Knowledge gaps around vaccinations
The second study: Electronic health records as an innovative addition to knowledge gaps in vaccine safety surveillance during pandemics. Suspected side effects are reported by patients and healthcare providers to the Lareb reporting and knowledge centre. Lareb gains new knowledge about side effects by analyzing these reports.
Lareb is collaborating with the Leiden University Medical Center and the Haga hospital in this research. Electronic patient records (EHRs) are used by the hospitals to store information about the patients. This also applies to the information about possible side effects that patients experience after COVID-19 vaccination. In this study, a software tool is used to search EPDs for possible side effects of vaccination.
Lareb is analyzing this information and the reports received and is investigating whether searching in EPDs is a way to find even more possible side effects of vaccinations, in addition to the reports that Lareb receives. This makes it possible to innovate and improve the safety monitoring of medicines and vaccines, which can also be used in possible subsequent pandemics.
Defense system against respiratory infections
The third study: Nasal And Systemic Immunity following COvid VACcination (NASI-COVAC). The immune system against respiratory infections is often studied in the blood, even though viruses such as corona enter our body through the nose. The aim of this study is therefore to gain insight into the immune system in the nose after corona infection and/or repeat vaccinations.
To this end, a small amount of immune cells is removed from the mucous membrane of the patient using a new method and antibodies are collected from the nose and measured. It will be investigated whether protection is built up in the nose after corona infection and/or repeat vaccinations. In addition, the effectiveness of the built-up defense against new variants of the virus is being examined, and which immune cells are needed at which location for protection against infection after vaccination is being investigated using animal models.
UMC Utrecht supports the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in registering the side effects of the coronavirus vaccine in special groups and the booster vaccinations.
More information: Corona and COVID-19 at ZonMw