Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era
Abstract Background Past immunological events can either enhance or compromise an individual’s future immune protection. This study investigated how different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) natural infection histories before an omicron infection, with or without vaccina...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00974-9 |
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| author | Hiam Chemaitelly Houssein H. Ayoub Niklas Bobrovitz Peter Coyle Patrick Tang Mohammad R. Hasan Hadi M. Yassine Asmaa A. Al Thani Zaina Al-Kanaani Einas Al-Kuwari Andrew Jeremijenko Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal Ali Nizar Latif Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik Hanan F. Abdul-Rahim Gheyath K. Nasrallah Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi Mohamed H. Al-Thani Abdullatif Al-Khal Roberto Bertollini Adeel A. Butt Laith J. Abu-Raddad |
| author_facet | Hiam Chemaitelly Houssein H. Ayoub Niklas Bobrovitz Peter Coyle Patrick Tang Mohammad R. Hasan Hadi M. Yassine Asmaa A. Al Thani Zaina Al-Kanaani Einas Al-Kuwari Andrew Jeremijenko Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal Ali Nizar Latif Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik Hanan F. Abdul-Rahim Gheyath K. Nasrallah Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi Mohamed H. Al-Thani Abdullatif Al-Khal Roberto Bertollini Adeel A. Butt Laith J. Abu-Raddad |
| author_sort | Hiam Chemaitelly |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Past immunological events can either enhance or compromise an individual’s future immune protection. This study investigated how different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) natural infection histories before an omicron infection, with or without vaccination, influence protection against subsequent omicron reinfection. Methods Three national, matched, retrospective cohort studies were conducted in Qatar from February 28, 2020, to August 12, 2024 to compare incidence of omicron reinfection between individuals with two omicron infections (omicron double-infection cohort) and those with one (omicron single-infection cohort); the omicron double-infection cohort with individuals who had a pre-omicron infection followed by an omicron reinfection (pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort); and the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort with the omicron single-infection cohort. Results Here we show that, in the first study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) is 1.27 (95% CI: 1.13–1.43); 0.93 (95% CI: 0.68–1.28) for the unvaccinated and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.18–1.52) for the vaccinated. In the second study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort, the aHR is 1.37 (95% CI: 1.13–1.65); 1.12 (95% CI: 0.63–1.97) for the unvaccinated and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.16–1.74) for the vaccinated. In the third study, comparing the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the aHR is 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92–1.03); 0.75 (95% CI: 0.66–0.85) for the unvaccinated and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.97–1.09) for the vaccinated. Conclusions Immune history shapes protection against omicron reinfection, with pre-omicron-omicron immunity enhancing protection, while repeated similar exposures reduce protection against new variants. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d46f6abcfdff411087339f3ceb7da49d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2730-664X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-d46f6abcfdff411087339f3ceb7da49d2025-08-20T03:45:31ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Medicine2730-664X2025-07-015111010.1038/s43856-025-00974-9Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron eraHiam Chemaitelly0Houssein H. Ayoub1Niklas Bobrovitz2Peter Coyle3Patrick Tang4Mohammad R. Hasan5Hadi M. Yassine6Asmaa A. Al Thani7Zaina Al-Kanaani8Einas Al-Kuwari9Andrew Jeremijenko10Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal11Ali Nizar Latif12Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik13Hanan F. Abdul-Rahim14Gheyath K. Nasrallah15Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari16Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi17Mohamed H. Al-Thani18Abdullatif Al-Khal19Roberto Bertollini20Adeel A. Butt21Laith J. Abu-Raddad22Infectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell UniversityMathematics Program, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar UniversityDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryHamad Medical CorporationDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British ColumbiaDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar UniversityHamad Medical CorporationHamad Medical CorporationHamad Medical CorporationHamad Medical CorporationHamad Medical CorporationHamad Medical CorporationDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar UniversityDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar UniversityPrimary Health Care CorporationMinistry of Public HealthMinistry of Public HealthHamad Medical CorporationMinistry of Public HealthDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell UniversityInfectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Cornell UniversityAbstract Background Past immunological events can either enhance or compromise an individual’s future immune protection. This study investigated how different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) natural infection histories before an omicron infection, with or without vaccination, influence protection against subsequent omicron reinfection. Methods Three national, matched, retrospective cohort studies were conducted in Qatar from February 28, 2020, to August 12, 2024 to compare incidence of omicron reinfection between individuals with two omicron infections (omicron double-infection cohort) and those with one (omicron single-infection cohort); the omicron double-infection cohort with individuals who had a pre-omicron infection followed by an omicron reinfection (pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort); and the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort with the omicron single-infection cohort. Results Here we show that, in the first study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) is 1.27 (95% CI: 1.13–1.43); 0.93 (95% CI: 0.68–1.28) for the unvaccinated and 1.34 (95% CI: 1.18–1.52) for the vaccinated. In the second study, comparing the omicron double-infection cohort to the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort, the aHR is 1.37 (95% CI: 1.13–1.65); 1.12 (95% CI: 0.63–1.97) for the unvaccinated and 1.42 (95% CI: 1.16–1.74) for the vaccinated. In the third study, comparing the pre-omicron-omicron double-infection cohort to the omicron single-infection cohort, the aHR is 0.97 (95% CI: 0.92–1.03); 0.75 (95% CI: 0.66–0.85) for the unvaccinated and 1.03 (95% CI: 0.97–1.09) for the vaccinated. Conclusions Immune history shapes protection against omicron reinfection, with pre-omicron-omicron immunity enhancing protection, while repeated similar exposures reduce protection against new variants.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00974-9 |
| spellingShingle | Hiam Chemaitelly Houssein H. Ayoub Niklas Bobrovitz Peter Coyle Patrick Tang Mohammad R. Hasan Hadi M. Yassine Asmaa A. Al Thani Zaina Al-Kanaani Einas Al-Kuwari Andrew Jeremijenko Anvar Hassan Kaleeckal Ali Nizar Latif Riyazuddin Mohammad Shaik Hanan F. Abdul-Rahim Gheyath K. Nasrallah Mohamed Ghaith Al-Kuwari Hamad Eid Al-Romaihi Mohamed H. Al-Thani Abdullatif Al-Khal Roberto Bertollini Adeel A. Butt Laith J. Abu-Raddad Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era Communications Medicine |
| title | Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| title_full | Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| title_fullStr | Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| title_full_unstemmed | Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| title_short | Immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| title_sort | immune histories and natural infection protection during the omicron era |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43856-025-00974-9 |
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