Project description
Vaccination effectiveness in the elderly
Vaccination is one of the key strategies to protect individuals against infectious diseases. However, the natural advancement of age is associated with immune system deterioration, impeding the effectiveness of vaccines. The EU-funded VITAL project will investigate the factors responsible for immunological unresponsiveness and develop novel strategies to address the problem. Using a multidisciplinary approach, researchers will associate the immune profiles of elderly individuals with vaccine responses, offering unprecedented evidence-based knowledge on the effectiveness of existing vaccines. Importantly, the project will deliver a framework designed especially for the immunisation of the elderly with the goal of promoting healthy ageing.
Objective
Today’s major challenge is to improve efficacy of vaccines to protect the growing ageing population against infectious diseases (ID). The VITAL project aims to address this challenge by assessing the ID burden and mechanisms of immunosenescence to provide evidence-based knowledge on vaccination strategies to establish healthy ageing. Links with existing projects containing data sources combined with novel data acquired through our extensive network
of data registries across Europe will result in a database of epidemiology, risk factors and burden of disease of both vaccine-preventable (VP) and potential vaccine-preventable ID. Crucial knowledge on factors that hamper immune responsiveness and in-depth analyses of immune compartments involved in inducing effective immune responses to different vaccines in the ageing host will be gathered. We will identify novel predictive, potentially universal immune profiles of vaccine responses using novel technologies, unique experimental models and (infection) cohorts of elderly subjects in which (bio)markers of frailty have already been identified. Novel strategies to address the problem of immunosenescence will be tested, in particular whether vaccination of middle-aged individuals can maintain proper memory immune responses in the elderly, to improve memory immunity before reaching old age. Using data on epidemiology of VPID and immune responsiveness, novel agent-based models will be developed to build a user- friendly tool to be used by health care professionals for optimal implementation of vaccination strategies for older people and to develop dissemination protocols for the obtained knowledge for the healthcare field. Finally, we will deliver a framework that forms the basis for designing, implementing and regularly updating vaccination schemes for the ageing population. Thereby, VITAL will initiate an important impetus to a more targeted immunization program for the elderly in Europe that will enhance healthy aging.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdatabases
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineimmunologyimmunisation
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencespublic healthepidemiology
- medical and health scienceshealth sciencesinfectious diseases
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicinepharmacology and pharmacypharmaceutical drugsvaccines
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
3584 CX Utrecht
Netherlands
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Participants (24)
3721 MA Bilthoven
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3001 Leuven
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9713 GZ Groningen
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0456 Oslo
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75654 Paris
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2300 Kobenhavn S
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6020 Innsbruck
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Participation ended
WC1E 6BT London
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Participation ended
SW7 2AZ LONDON
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75794 Paris
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00161 Roma
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46010 Valencia
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1142 Budapest
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
44121 Ferrara
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42023 Saint Etienne
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1330 Rixensart
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CT13 9NJ Sandwich
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69007 Lyon
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08889 Whitehouse Station Nj
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2333 CN Leiden
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69280 Marcy l'Etoile
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1050 Bruxelles / Brussel
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3584 BA Utrecht
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.