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VK is funded by an NHS Research Scotland Senior Clinical Fellowship (SCAF/15/02), the UK Medical Research Council (MC_UU_00022/2), and the Scottish Government Chief Scientist Office (SPHSU17). MB-N and VdAO are funded by the Fazer o Bem Faz Bem programme from JBS SA. MB-N is also funded by CNPQ and FAPESB (PNX0008/2014). EPS is funded by the Wellcome Trust (213589/Z/18/Z). For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any author accepted manuscript version arising from this submission. Background Little is known about vaccine effectiveness over time among adolescents, especially against the SARS-CoV-2 omicron (B.1.1.529) variant. This study assessed the associations between time since two-dose vaccination with BNT162b2 and the occurrence of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19 among adolescents in Brazil and Scotland. Methods We did test-negative, case-control studies in adolescents aged 12–17 years with COVID-19-related symptoms in Brazil and Scotland. We linked records of SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and antigen tests to national vaccination and clinical records. We excluded tests from individuals who did not have symptoms, were vaccinated before the start of the national vaccination programme, received vaccines other than BNT162b2 or a SARS-CoV-2 booster dose of any kind, or had an interval between their first and second dose of fewer than 21 days. Additionally, we excluded negative SARS-CoV-2 tests recorded within 14 days of a previous negative test, negative tests recorded within 7 days after a positive test, any test done within 90 days after a positive test, and tests with missing sex and location information. Cases (SARS-CoV-2 test-positive adolescents) and controls (test-negative adolescents) were drawn from a sample of individuals in whom tests were collected within 10 days of symptom onset. We estimated the adjusted odds ratio and vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 for both countries and against severe COVID-19 (hospitalisation or death) for Brazil across fortnightly periods. Findings We analysed 503 776 tests from 2 948 538 adolescents in Brazil between Sept 2, 2021, and April 19, 2022, and 127 168 tests from 404 673 adolescents in Scotland between Aug 6, 2021, and April 19, 2022. Vaccine effectiveness peaked at 14–27 days after the second dose in both countries during both waves, and was significantly lower against symptomatic infection during the omicron-dominant period in Brazil (64·7% [95% CI 63·0–66·3]) and in Scotland (82·6% [80·6–84·5]), than it was in the delta-dominant period (80·7% [95% CI 77·8–83·3] in Brazil and 92·8% [85·7–96·4] in Scotland). Vaccine efficacy started to decline from 27 days after the second dose for both countries, reducing to 5·9% (95% CI 2·2–9·4) in Brazil and 50·6% (42·7–57·4) in Scotland at 98 days or more during the omicron-dominant period. In Brazil, protection against severe disease remained above 80% from 28 days after the second dose and was 82·7% (95% CI 68·8–90·4) at 98 days or more after receiving the second dose. Interpretation We found waning vaccine protection of BNT162b2 against symptomatic COVID-19 infection among adolescents in Brazil and Scotland from 27 days after the second dose. However, protection against severe COVID-19 outcomes remained high at 98 days or more after the second dose in the omicron-dominant period. Booster doses for adolescents need to be considered. Publisher PDF

Hybrid immunity (infection plus vaccination) provided high protection against infection and severe disease in the periods of delta and gamma variants of concern. However, the protection of hybrid immunity in the Omicron era remains unknown. We performed a test-negative study using Brazilian national databases between January 01 and March 22, 2022, a period of predominant circulation of the Omicron variant in Brazil. Hybrid immunity offered low protection against infection, with rapid waning, compared to unvaccinated with or without previous infection. For severe illness (hospitalisation or death), the protection, although already high for unvaccinated pre-infected increased regardless of the type of vaccine (Ad26.COV2.S, BNT162b2, ChAdOx-1 or CoronaVac).In conclusion, during the Omicron-dominant period in Brazil, hybrid immunity offered high protection against severe illness and low protection against infection.

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 vaccines have proven highly effective among individuals without a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, but their effectiveness in preventing symptomatic infection and severe outcomes among individuals with previous infection is less clear. We aimed to estimate the effectiveness of four COVID-19 vaccines against symptomatic infection, hospitalisation, and death for individuals with laboratory-confirmed previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. METHODS: Using national COVID-19 notification, hospitalisation, and vaccination datasets from Brazil, we did a test-negative, case-control study to assess the effectiveness of four vaccines (CoronaVac [Sinovac], ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 [AstraZeneca], Ad26.COV2.S [Janssen], and BNT162b2 [Pfizer-BioNtech]) for individuals with laboratory-confirmed previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. We matched cases with RT-PCR positive, symptomatic COVID-19 with up to ten controls with negative RT-PCR tests who presented with symptomatic illnesses, restricting both groups to tests done at least 90 days after an initial infection. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression to compare the odds of test positivity and the odds of hospitalisation or death due to COVID-19, according to vaccination status and time since first or second dose of vaccines. FINDINGS: Between Feb 24, 2020, and Nov 11, 2021, we identified 213 457 individuals who had a subsequent, symptomatic illness with RT-PCR testing done at least 90 days after their initial SARS-CoV-2 infection and after the vaccination programme started. Among these, 30 910 (14·5%) had a positive RT-PCR test consistent with reinfection, and we matched 22 566 of these cases with 145 055 negative RT-PCR tests from 68 426 individuals as controls. Among individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection 14 or more days from vaccine series completion was 39·4% (95% CI 36·1-42·6) for CoronaVac, 56·0% (51·4-60·2) for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, 44·0% (31·5-54·2) for Ad26.COV2.S, and 64·8% (54·9-72·4) for BNT162b2. For the two-dose vaccine series (CoronaVac, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, and BNT162b2), effectiveness against symptomatic infection was significantly greater after the second dose than after the first dose. Effectiveness against hospitalisation or death 14 or more days from vaccine series completion was 81·3% (75·3-85·8) for CoronaVac, 89·9% (83·5-93·8) for ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, 57·7% (-2·6 to 82·5) for Ad26.COV2.S, and 89·7% (54·3-97·7) for BNT162b2. INTERPRETATION: All four vaccines conferred additional protection against symptomatic infections and severe outcomes among individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The provision of a full vaccine series to individuals after recovery from COVID-19 might reduce morbidity and mortality. FUNDING: Brazilian National Research Council, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, JBS, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, and Generalitat de Catalunya.

Background Brazil and Scotland have used mRNA boosters in their respective populations since September 2021, with Omicron’s emergence accelerating their booster program. Despite this, both countries have reported substantial recent increases in Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. The duration of the protection conferred by the booster dose against symptomatic Omicron cases and severe outcomes is unclear. Methods and findings Using a test-negative design, we analyzed national databases to estimate the vaccine effectiveness (VE) of a primary series (with ChAdOx1 or BNT162b2) plus an mRNA vaccine booster (with BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273) against symptomatic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes (hospitalization or death) during the period of Omicron dominance in Brazil and Scotland compared to unvaccinated individuals. Additional analyses included stratification by age group (18 to 49, 50 to 64, ≥65). All individuals aged 18 years or older who reported acute respiratory illness symptoms and tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection between January 1, 2022, and April 23, 2022, in Brazil and Scotland were eligible for the study. At 14 to 29 days after the mRNA booster, the VE against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection of ChAdOx1 plus BNT162b2 booster was 51.6%, (95% confidence interval (CI): [51.0, 52.2], p < 0.001) in Brazil and 67.1% (95% CI [65.5, 68.5], p < 0.001) in Scotland. At ≥4 months, protection against symptomatic infection waned to 4.2% (95% CI [0.7, 7.6], p = 0.02) in Brazil and 37.4% (95% CI [33.8, 40.9], p < 0.001) in Scotland. VE against severe outcomes in Brazil was 93.5% (95% CI [93.0, 94.0], p < 0.001) at 14 to 29 days post-booster, decreasing to 82.3% (95% CI [79.7, 84.7], p < 0.001) and 98.3% (95% CI [87.3, 99.8], p < 0.001) to 77.8% (95% CI [51.4, 89.9], p < 0.001) in Scotland for the same periods. Similar results were obtained with the primary series of BNT162b2 plus homologous booster. Potential limitations of this study were that we assumed that all cases included in the analysis were due to the Omicron variant based on the period of dominance and the limited follow-up time since the booster dose. Conclusions We observed that mRNA boosters after a primary vaccination course with either mRNA or viral-vector vaccines provided modest, short-lived protection against symptomatic infection with Omicron but substantial and more sustained protection against severe COVID-19 outcomes for at least 3 months.

BackgroundCOVID-19 vaccines have proven highly effective among SARS-CoV-2 naive individuals, but their effectiveness in preventing symptomatic infection and severe outcomes among individuals with prior infection is less clear.MethodsUtilizing national COVID-19 notification, hospitalization, and vaccination datasets from Brazil, we performed a case-control study using a test-negative design to assess the effectiveness of four vaccines (CoronaVac, ChAdOx1, Ad26.COV2.S and BNT162b2) among individuals with laboratory-confirmed prior SARS-CoV-2 infection. We matched RT-PCR positive, symptomatic COVID-19 cases with RT-PCR-negative controls presenting with symptomatic illnesses, restricting both groups to tests performed at least 90 days after an initial infection. We used multivariable conditional logistic regression to compare the odds of test positivity, and the odds of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19, according to vaccination status and time since first or second dose of vaccines.FindingsAmong individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic infection ≥ 14 days from vaccine series completion was 39.4% (95% CI 36.1-42.6) for CoronaVac, 56.0% (95% CI 51.4-60.2) for ChAdOx1, 44.0% (95% CI 31.5-54.2) for Ad26.COV2.S, and 64.8% (95% CI 54.9-72.4) for BNT162b2. For the two-dose vaccine series (CoronaVac, ChAdOx1, and BNT162b2), effectiveness against symptomatic infection was significantly greater after the second dose compared with the first dose. Effectiveness against hospitalization or death ≥ 14 days from vaccine series completion was 81.3% (95% CI 75.3-85.8) for CoronaVac, 89.9% (95% CI 83.5-93.8) for ChAdOx1, 57.7% (95% CI −2.6-82.5) for Ad26.COV2.S, and 89.7% (95% CI 54.3-97.7) for BNT162b2.InterpretationAll four vaccines conferred additional protection against symptomatic infections and severe outcomes among individuals with previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Provision of a full vaccine series to individuals following recovery from COVID-19 may reduce morbidity and mortality.FundingBrazilian National Research Council, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, JBS S.A., Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Generalitat de Catalunya.RESEARCH IN CONTEXTEvidence before this studyWe searched PubMed, medRxiv, and SSRN for articles published from January 1, 2020 until December 15, 2021, with no language restrictions, using the search terms “vaccine effectiveness” AND “previous*” AND (“SARS-CoV-2” OR “COVID-19”). We found several studies evaluating ChAdOx1 and BNT162b2, and one additionally reporting on mRNA-1273 and Ad26.COV2.S, which found that previously infected individuals who were vaccinated had lower risk of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection. One study found that risk of hospitalization was lower for previously infected individuals after a full series of BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273. Limited evidence is available comparing effectiveness of one versus two doses among individuals with prior infection. No studies reported effectiveness of inactivated vaccines among previously infected individuals.Added value of this studyWe used national databases of COVID-19 case surveillance, laboratory testing, and vaccination from Brazil to investigate effectiveness of CoronaVac, ChAdOx1, Ad26.COV2.S and BNT162b2 among individuals with a prior, laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. We matched >22,000 RT-PCR-confirmed re-infections with >145,000 RT-PCR-negative controls using a test-negative design. All four vaccines were effective against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections, with effectiveness from 14 days after series completion ranging from 39-65%. For vaccines with two-dose regimens, the second dose provided significantly increased effectiveness compared with one dose. Effectiveness against COVID-19-associated hospitalization or death from 14 days after series completion was >80% for CoronaVac, ChAdOx1and BNT162b2.Implications of all the available evidenceWe find evidence that four vaccines, using three different platforms, all provide protection to previously infected individuals against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe outcomes, with a second dose conferring significant additional benefits. These results support the provision of a full vaccine series among individuals with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection.

There is considerable interest in the waning of effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and vaccine effectiveness (VE) of booster doses. Using linked national Brazilian databases, we undertook a test-negative design study involving almost 14 million people (~16 million tests) to estimate VE of CoronaVac over time and VE of BNT162b2 booster vaccination against RT–PCR-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes (hospitalization or death). Compared with unvaccinated individuals, CoronaVac VE at 14–30 d after the second dose was 55.0% (95% confidence interval (CI): 54.3–55.7) against confirmed infection and 82.1% (95% CI: 81.4–82.8) against severe outcomes. VE decreased to 34.7% (95% CI: 33.1–36.2) against infection and 72.5% (95% CI: 70.9–74.0) against severe outcomes over 180 d after the second dose. A BNT162b2 booster, 6 months after the second dose of CoronaVac, improved VE against infection to 92.7% (95% CI: 91.0−94.0) and VE against severe outcomes to 97.3% (95% CI: 96.1−98.1) 14–30 d after the booster. Compared with younger age groups, individuals 80 years of age or older had lower protection after the second dose but similar protection after the booster. Our findings support a BNT162b2 booster vaccine dose after two doses of CoronaVac, particularly for the elderly.

Only six countries did not meet the leprosy elimination target during 2005, amongst them Brazil. In 2006, the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced a reduction of the detection rate of 24% or 10 900 cases from 2004 to 2005. A negative binomial parabolic regression model was adjusted to the detection rate historical series from 1980 to 2004, in order to predict the 2005 detection rate and its 95% confidence interval. This analysis showed that the number of new leprosy cases for 2005 could not be predicted from the previous behaviour of the data what calls for an epidemiological or operational explanation hypothesis. The hypothesis that this drop in detected case number is due to operational change, as a reduction in diagnosis or a modification in the reporting routine, is more likely. Recent change in prevalence case definition turned the prevalence ratio a function of only one variable, the detection rate, as the duration of the diagnosed disease became fixed. In the early nineties, based on epidemiological data evaluation, the BMoH recognized the impossibility of reaching the elimination goal, but it committed to seek leprosy control. This position changed after some years. Leprosy Elimination is a strategy supported by the national and international public opinion. As a one for all recipe, it may cause unwanted effects for it is not flexible enough to deal with different epidemiological behaviours and public health traditions.