A Global Immunological Observatory to meet a time of pandemics

  1. Michael J Mina  Is a corresponding author
  2. C Jessica E Metcalf  Is a corresponding author
  3. Adrian B McDermott
  4. Daniel C Douek
  5. Jeremy Farrar
  6. Bryan T Grenfell
  1. Harvard School of Public Health, United States
  2. Princeton University, United States
  3. National Institutes of Health, United States
  4. The Wellcome Trust, United Kingdom

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 presents an unprecedented international challenge, but it will not be the last such threat. Here, we argue that the world needs to be much better prepared to rapidly detect, define and defeat future pandemics. We propose that a Global Immunological Observatory (GIO) and associated developments in systems immunology, therapeutics and vaccine design should be at the heart of this enterprise.

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Author details

  1. Michael J Mina

    Center for Communicable Disease Dynamics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, United States
    For correspondence
    mmina@hsph.harvard.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-0674-5762
  2. C Jessica E Metcalf

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
    For correspondence
    cmetcalf@princeton.edu
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-3166-7521
  3. Adrian B McDermott

    Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-0616-9117
  4. Daniel C Douek

    Vaccine Research Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  5. Jeremy Farrar

    The Wellcome Trust, London, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
  6. Bryan T Grenfell

    Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0003-3227-5909

Funding

The authors declare that there was no funding for this work.

Copyright

This is an open-access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

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  1. Michael J Mina
  2. C Jessica E Metcalf
  3. Adrian B McDermott
  4. Daniel C Douek
  5. Jeremy Farrar
  6. Bryan T Grenfell
(2020)
A Global Immunological Observatory to meet a time of pandemics
eLife 9:e58989.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.58989

Further reading

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    In many settings, a large fraction of the population has both been vaccinated against and infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Hence, quantifying the protection provided by post-infection vaccination has become critical for policy. We aimed to estimate the protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 reinfection of an additional vaccine dose after an initial Omicron variant infection.

    Methods:

    We report a retrospective, population-based cohort study performed in Shanghai, China, using electronic databases with information on SARS-CoV-2 infections and vaccination history. We compared reinfection incidence by post-infection vaccination status in individuals initially infected during the April–May 2022 Omicron variant surge in Shanghai and who had been vaccinated before that period. Cox models were fit to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs).

    Results:

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    Conclusions:

    In previously vaccinated and infected individuals, an additional vaccine dose provided protection against Omicron variant reinfection. These observations will inform future policy decisions on COVID-19 vaccination in China and other countries.

    Funding:

    This study was funded the Key Discipline Program of Pudong New Area Health System (PWZxk2022-25), the Development and Application of Intelligent Epidemic Surveillance and AI Analysis System (21002411400), the Shanghai Public Health System Construction (GWVI-11.2-XD08), the Shanghai Health Commission Key Disciplines (GWVI-11.1-02), the Shanghai Health Commission Clinical Research Program (20214Y0020), the Shanghai Natural Science Foundation (22ZR1414600), and the Shanghai Young Health Talents Program (2022YQ076).

    1. Epidemiology and Global Health
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    Background:

    The role of circulating metabolites on child development is understudied. We investigated associations between children’s serum metabolome and early childhood development (ECD).

    Methods:

    Untargeted metabolomics was performed on serum samples of 5004 children aged 6–59 months, a subset of participants from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019). ECD was assessed using the Survey of Well-being of Young Children’s milestones questionnaire. The graded response model was used to estimate developmental age. Developmental quotient (DQ) was calculated as the developmental age divided by chronological age. Partial least square regression selected metabolites with a variable importance projection ≥1. The interaction between significant metabolites and the child’s age was tested.

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    Serum biomarkers, including dietary and microbial-derived metabolites involved in the gut-brain axis, may potentially be used to track children at risk for developmental delays.

    Funding:

    Supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the Brazilian National Research Council.