Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41175106›Full record

ArticleEuropean journal of public health2026

The impact of risk prioritization in COVID-19 vaccination in Belgium on hospital and intensive care unit admissions.

Elias Vermeiren, Toon Braeye, Veerle Stouten, Jan De Maeseneer, Charlotte Scheerens, John Crombez, Joris A F van Loenhout

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in European journal of public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

7 authors.

Elias VermeirenDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.ORCID 0009-0006-6865-6251
Toon BraeyeDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Veerle StoutenDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.
Jan De MaeseneerDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Charlotte ScheerensDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
John CrombezDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Joris A F van LoenhoutDepartment of Epidemiology and Public Health, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium.

Funding

FOD/SPF Public Health and the Belgian federated entities
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Belgium prioritized primary COVID-19 vaccination of persons aged 18-64 years with underlying health conditions over their same-aged peers, leading to an accelerated administration of a first dose of 35 days. We assessed this strategy's impact on hospital admissions, in comparison to alternative scenarios, using generalized causal inference techniques with a hierarchical Bayesian model. A solely age-based scenario showed a significant increase in hospital admissions of 254, while random-allocation and no-vaccination scenarios showed even higher increases (604 and 1998, respectively). These results emphasize the importance of prioritization strategies in a pandemic context and the benefits of COVID-19 vaccines in general.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesHealth PrioritiesHospitalizationIntensive Care UnitsVaccinationAdolescentAdultBayes TheoremBelgiumFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsYoung AdultCOVID-19 Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID41175106
PMCPMC13230501

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.