Individual variation in vaccine immune response can produce bimodal distributions of protection

The ability for vaccines to protect against infectious diseases varies among individuals, but computational models employed to inform policy typically do not account for this variation. Here we examine this issue: we implement a model of vaccine efficacy developed in the context of SARS-CoV-2 in order to evaluate the general implications of modelling correlates of protection on the individual level.

Citation:
Zachreson C, Tobin R, Szanyi J, ……. Shearer FM, Conway E, Ryan G, Cheng A, et al. Individual variation in vaccine immune response can produce bimodal distributions of protection. Vaccine. 2023

Keywords:
Correlates of protection; Immunogenicity; Leaky vaccines; Models of vaccine efficacy; Vaccine efficacy; Waning immunity

Abstract:
The ability for vaccines to protect against infectious diseases varies among individuals, but computational models employed to inform policy typically do not account for this variation. Here we examine this issue: we implement a model of vaccine efficacy developed in the context of SARS-CoV-2 in order to evaluate the general implications of modelling correlates of protection on the individual level.