Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41062635›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2025

Effectiveness and durability of a fourth dose of ancestral-strain mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection: a nationwide matched cohort study in Qatar.

Layan Sukik, Hiam Chemaitelly, Houssein H Ayoub, Peter Coyle, Patrick Tang, Mohammad R Hasan, Hadi M Yassine, Asmaa A Al Thani, Zaina Al-Kanaani, Einas Al-Kuwari and 12 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Layan SukikInfectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7618-9688
Hiam ChemaitellyInfectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8756-6968
Houssein H AyoubMathematics Program, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2512-6657
Peter CoyleDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Patrick TangDepartment of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Mohammad R HasanDepartment of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
Hadi M YassineDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Asmaa A Al ThaniDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Zaina Al-KanaaniHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Einas Al-KuwariHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Andrew JeremijenkoHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Anvar Hassan KaleeckalHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Ali Nizar LatifHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Riyazuddin Mohammad ShaikHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Hanan F Abdul-RahimDepartment of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Gheyath K NasrallahDepartment of Biomedical Science, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
Mohamed Ghaith Al-KuwariPrimary Health Care Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Adeel A ButtDepartment of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, New York, NY, USA.
Hamad Eid Al-RomaihiMinistry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Mohamed H Al-ThaniMinistry of Public Health, Doha, Qatar.
Abdullatif Al-KhalHamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
Laith J Abu-RaddadInfectious Disease Epidemiology Group, Weill Cornell Medicine - Qatar, Cornell University, Doha, Qatar. lja2002@qatar-med.cornell.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0790-0506

Funding

Qatar Research Development and Innovation Council ARG02-0402-240119
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Concerns about waning immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and the emergence of new variants underscore the need for booster doses. Using a matched cohort design, this study evaluated the relative effectiveness and durability of a fourth dose of ancestral-strain mRNA vaccines (BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, compared to three doses, between February 10, 2021 and May 13, 2024 in Qatar. The fourth dose conferred modest additional protection against infection, with an adjusted hazard ratio for infection of 0.91 (95% CI: 0.81-1.02), corresponding to a relative vaccine effectiveness of 9.2% (95% CI: - 1.7 to 18.9%). Protection peaked within the first three months of vaccination at 35.0% (95% CI: 20.6-46.8%) but waned rapidly thereafter, becoming negligible beyond that period. These findings highlight the modest and short-term protection of ancestral-strain vaccines against omicron subvariants and support the need for next-generation vaccines offering more durable immunity.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesSARS-CoV-2Vaccine Efficacy2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273AdolescentAdultAgedAntibodies, ViralBNT162 VaccineCohort StudiesFemaleHumansImmunization, SecondaryMaleMiddle Aged2019-nCoV Vaccine mRNA-1273Antibodies, ViralBNT162 VaccineCOVID-19 VaccinesBoosterCOVID-19Epidemiologic studyImmunityPandemic

Identifiers

PMID41062635
PMCPMC12508077

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.