ArticleCell reports. Medicine2023
Deep immunological imprinting due to the ancestral spike in the current bivalent COVID-19 vaccine.
Article in Cell reports. Medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 56 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
56 citing papers in PubMed, 74 citations in OpenAlex.
- Immunogenicity, Tolerability, and Safety of BA.1-Adapted BNT162b2 Vaccine in 18- to 55-Year-Olds Previously Vaccinated with BNT162b2 or Who Were COVID-19 Vaccine-Naive.Infectious diseases and therapy · 2026Article
- Immunological imprinting shapes the cross-reactive antibody responses to the KP.2 and LP.8.1 vaccine doses.Journal of virology · 2026Article
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- Hybrid immunity following SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination is associated with more sustained antibody levels, and lower reinfection risk.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Longitudinal Antibody Dynamics Following SARS-CoV-2 Viral-Vectored and mRNA Booster Vaccination in Ghanaian Adults.Vaccines · 2026Article
- Repeated COVID-19 vaccine boosters elicit variant-specific memory B cells in humans.Cell reports · 2026Article
- Reconstructing the incidence rate and immune fraction of the population via a single snapshot survey: A case study of COVID-19 in Japan.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Heterologous mucosal vaccine boosting enhances mucosal and systemic immunity by distinct mechanisms.The Journal of experimental medicine · 2026Article
- Differential functional immune recall across homologous and heterologous COVID-19 vaccination regimens.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Novel HIV-1 fusion peptide immunogens using glycan-engineered alphavirus-like particles.NPJ vaccines · 2025Article
- A public health perspective of SARS-CoV-2 evolution and surveillance strategies in Germany from 2020 to 2023.Communications medicine · 2025Review
- Repeated COVID-19 vaccine boosters elicit variant-specific memory B cells in humans.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Germinal center-mediated broadening of B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 booster immunization.Science immunology · 2025Article
- Intranasal measles virus- and mumps virus-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Article
- Immune imprinting and vaccine interval determine antibody responses to monovalent XBB.1.5 COVID-19 vaccination.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Review
- Long-term immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.4/5 mRNA booster in people living with HIV.Communications medicine · 2025Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
To combat the evolving SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants, bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, encoding both ancestral and Omicron BA.5 spikes, have replaced monovalent vaccines in numerous countries. However, fourth doses of either vaccine result in similar neutralizing antibody titers against Omicron subvariants, raising the possibility of immunological imprinting. To address this, we investigate antibody responses in 72 participants given three doses of a monovalent mRNA vaccine, followed by a bivalent or monovalent booster, or those with breakthrough infections with BA.5 or BQ. Bivalent boosters do not show notably higher binding or virus-neutralizing titers against various SARS-CoV-2 variants compared to monovalent ones. However, breakthrough infections lead to significantly better neutralization of Omicron subvariants. Multiple analyses, including antigenic mapping, suggest that the ancestral spike in bivalent vaccines is causing deep immunological imprinting, preventing broadening of antibodies to the BA.5 component, thereby defeating its intended goal. Its removal from future vaccine compositions is therefore strongly recommended.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.