100 million SEK for follow-up studies of COVID-19 vaccines

“The research environments that we are funding under this call are important for further increasing our knowledge of the safety, effectiveness and optimal areas of use of the COVID-19 vaccines. They will also contribute to building up valuable infrastructure for research,” says Madeleine Durbeej-Hjalt, Secretary General of Medicine and Health at the Swedish Research Council.

Six research environments receive grants

Below is a brief description of the various projects and information on how many regions are participating.

FASTER – National COVID-19 vaccine research platform

A national platform for research into COVID-19 vaccine will be established. Register-based research and clinical trials will form the basis for the evaluation of immune system response, safety and effectiveness of vaccines. The research platform will be a part in the EU collaboration on research into COVID-19 vaccine, VACCELERATE. A national quality register for SARS-CoV-2 will also be established.

Four regions are participating. Pontus Naucler of Karolinska Institutet is the project leader.

Real time evaluation of COVID-19 vaccination in Swedish healthcare regions based on an information platform that supports system modelling and machine learning

Existing population and healthcare data will be linked to data on COVID-19 vaccination, to investigate factors such as vaccination coverage in different socio-economic groups, the duration of protection, and negative effects in relation to age, medication and other individual characteristics. International frontline systems for modelling and machine learning methods will be used.

Five regions are participating. Thomas Schön of Linköping University is the project leader.

COVID-19 vaccination in immuno-suppressed individuals: An interdisciplinary collaboration to obtain clinical and mechanistic insight into lasting immunity against SARS-CoV-2 infection

The study will investigate whether patients with immune system impairment diseases can develop long-term immunity following COVID-19 vaccination, and whether they experience specific side effects. National registers should also be used to examine whether they receive protection against severe covid-19.

Four regions are participating. Soo Aleman of Karolinska Institutet is the project leader.

Register studies and immunological effect studies of COVID-19 vaccination and build-up of infrastructure for pandemic preparedness at national level (RE-VISION)

The effect of COVID-19 vaccination will be investigated using national and regional registers. Any side effects and immune system response in patients with impaired immune system function will be compared to those of healthy control persons. Databases, methods, biobanks and collaboration structures will be built up for continued studies of COVID-19 vaccinations, and to enable better management of any future epidemics.

All 21 regions in Sweden are participating. Magnus Gisslen of the University of Gothenburg is the project leader.

Epidemiological, immunological and genetic mapping of side effects of COVID-19 vaccines

The study will use immunological and genetic analyses to investigate underlying mechanisms and risk factors for serious side effects of the vaccines against COVID-19. The hope is that, in the future, persons at risk of serious side effects from one type of vaccine can be identified, and then instead be offered another vaccine.

Four regions are participating. Mia Wadelius of Uppsala University is the project leader.

COVID-19 Vaccine Effect, Response and Safety (COVERS) Sweden: Clinical and epidemiological studies with particular focus on vulnerable groups

The study will investigate how long COVID-19 vaccination protects against serious illness, death and new infection, using both clinical studies and large-scale epidemiological studies, where the entire population is monitored over time. The risk of side effects, why vaccines sometimes do not work, and people’s attitude towards vaccinations will also be studied. Nine regions are participating, and Clas Ahlm of Umeå University is the project leader.