Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.

Vaccination against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) generates an antibody response that shows large inter-individual variability. This variability complicates the use of antibody levels as a correlate of protection and the evaluation of population- and individual-lev...

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Main Authors: Julia Deichmann, Noam Barda, Michal Canetti, Yovel Peretz, Yael Weiss-Ottolenghi, Yaniv Lustig, Gili Regev-Yochay, Marc Lipsitch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-06-01
Series:PLoS Computational Biology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013192
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author Julia Deichmann
Noam Barda
Michal Canetti
Yovel Peretz
Yael Weiss-Ottolenghi
Yaniv Lustig
Gili Regev-Yochay
Marc Lipsitch
author_facet Julia Deichmann
Noam Barda
Michal Canetti
Yovel Peretz
Yael Weiss-Ottolenghi
Yaniv Lustig
Gili Regev-Yochay
Marc Lipsitch
author_sort Julia Deichmann
collection DOAJ
description Vaccination against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) generates an antibody response that shows large inter-individual variability. This variability complicates the use of antibody levels as a correlate of protection and the evaluation of population- and individual-level infection risk without access to broad serological testing. Here, we applied a mathematical model of antibody kinetics to capture individual anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody trajectories and to identify factors driving the humoral immune response. Subsequently, we evaluated model predictions and inferred the corresponding duration of protection for new individuals based on a single antibody measurement, assuming sparse access to serological testing. We observe a reduced antibody response in older and in male individuals, and in individuals with autoimmune diseases, diabetes and immunosuppression, using data from a longitudinal cohort study conducted in healthcare workers at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, following primary vaccination with the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. Our results further suggest that model predictions of an individual's antibody response to vaccination can be used to predict the duration of protection when serological data is limited, highlighting the potential of our approach to estimate infection risk over time on both the population and individual level to support public health decision-making in future pandemics.
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spelling doaj-art-bdf3db826a6f4f0fab3a09acc90feeb62025-08-20T02:38:21ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582025-06-01216e101319210.1371/journal.pcbi.1013192Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.Julia DeichmannNoam BardaMichal CanettiYovel PeretzYael Weiss-OttolenghiYaniv LustigGili Regev-YochayMarc LipsitchVaccination against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) generates an antibody response that shows large inter-individual variability. This variability complicates the use of antibody levels as a correlate of protection and the evaluation of population- and individual-level infection risk without access to broad serological testing. Here, we applied a mathematical model of antibody kinetics to capture individual anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody trajectories and to identify factors driving the humoral immune response. Subsequently, we evaluated model predictions and inferred the corresponding duration of protection for new individuals based on a single antibody measurement, assuming sparse access to serological testing. We observe a reduced antibody response in older and in male individuals, and in individuals with autoimmune diseases, diabetes and immunosuppression, using data from a longitudinal cohort study conducted in healthcare workers at Sheba Medical Center, Israel, following primary vaccination with the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine. Our results further suggest that model predictions of an individual's antibody response to vaccination can be used to predict the duration of protection when serological data is limited, highlighting the potential of our approach to estimate infection risk over time on both the population and individual level to support public health decision-making in future pandemics.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013192
spellingShingle Julia Deichmann
Noam Barda
Michal Canetti
Yovel Peretz
Yael Weiss-Ottolenghi
Yaniv Lustig
Gili Regev-Yochay
Marc Lipsitch
Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
PLoS Computational Biology
title Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
title_full Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
title_fullStr Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
title_full_unstemmed Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
title_short Predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against SARS-CoV-2 following vaccination from sparse serological data.
title_sort predicting antibody kinetics and duration of protection against sars cov 2 following vaccination from sparse serological data
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013192
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