WHO supported networks measuring COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness

Project description

Epiconcept provides technical support on implementation of a COVID-19 and influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) networks for the WHO European Region, WHO Regional Office for Africa, and WHO Regional Office for the Eeastern Mediterranean Region including collection, collation and analysis of country level health care worker (HCW) VE and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) VE studies; and support to WHO Europe in the meta-analysis and pooling of SARI and HCW VE studies for the WHO Region

Context situation

Following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, it was key to monitor their effectiveness in different settings, including low and middle income countries. Vaccine effectiveness results are essential to guide vaccination policies.

Project activities

Development of generic vaccine effectiveness protocols.

Epiconcept developed two generic protocols to measure the effectiveness of vaccines 1/ at preventing SARS-CoV-2-associated hospitalisation (test-negative design) 2/ SARS-CoV-2 symptomatic infections among health care workers (cohort study)

Technical support to countries conducting vaccine effectiveness studies

Technical support to collect, collate and analysis of country level health care worker (HCW) vaccine effectiveness studies and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) vaccine effectiveness studies

Pooling and aggregation of data at regional level

Support the three WHO Regional Offices in the meta-analysis and pooling of SARI and HCW VE studies

Capacity building for vaccine effectiveness studies

Organise technical workshops, trainings, develop scripts for data management, data checking and data analysis for countries conducting vaccine effectiveness studies



    Scientific publications

    Systematic review of seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and appraisal of evidence, prior to the widespread introduction of vaccine programmes in the WHO European Region, January-December 2020

    Vaughan A, Duffell E, Freidl GS, Lemos DS, Nardone A, Valenciano M, Subissi L, Bergeri I, K Broberg E, Penttinen P, Pebody R, Keramarou M.

    BMJ Open. 2023 Nov 6;13(11):e064240. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064240. PMID: 37931969; PMCID: PMC10632881.

    Available here

    The effectiveness of primary series CoronaVac vaccine in preventing COVID-19 illness: A prospective cohort study among healthcare workers in Azerbaijan, May–November 2021

    Mark A. Katz, Madelyn Yiseth Rojas Castro, Nabil Seyidov, M. Trent Herdman, Samir Mehdiyev, C. Jason McKnight, Alina Guseinova, Radu Cojocaru, Jason Doran, Barbara Mühlemann, Christian Drosten, Javahir Suleymanova, Richard Pebody, Esther Kissling, Gahraman Hagverdiyev

    03 October 2023

    Available here

    COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness estimation using the screening method Operational tool for countries.

    lead by Céline Gurry, Marta Valenciano, Sandra Cohuet

    Protocol. World Health Organisation; July 07, 2022.

    Available here

    Influenza Other Respir Viruses

    Doran J, Seyidov N, Mehdiyev S, Gon G, Kissling E, Herdman T, Suleymanova J, Rehse APC, Pebody R, Katz MA, Hagverdiyev G. Factors associated with early uptake of COVID-19 vaccination among healthcare workers in Azerbaijan, 2021

    2022 Jul;16(4):626-631. doi: 10.1111/irv.12978. Epub 2022 Mar 22. PMID: 35318799; PMCID: PMC9111775

    COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among healthcare workers in Albania (COVE-AL): protocol for a prospective cohort study and cohort baseline data

    Sridhar S, Fico A, Preza I, Hatibi I, Sulo J, Kissling E, Daja R, Ibrahim R, Lemos D, Rubin-Smith J, Schmid A, Vasili A, Valenciano M, Jorgensen P, Pebody R, Lafond KE, Katz MA, Bino S.

    BMJ Open. 2022 Mar 23;12(3):e057741. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-057741. PMID: 35321895; PMCID: PMC8943479.

    Cohort study to measure COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among health workers in the WHO European Region: guidance document

    World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. 2021

    Available here

    Estimating COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against severe acute respiratory infections (‎SARI)‎ hospitalisations associated with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2: an evaluation using the test-negative design: guidance document

    World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe. 2021

    Available here

    Evaluation of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness

    World Health Organization

    interim guidance, 17 March 2021

    Available here

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