Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41812294›Full record

ReviewEBioMedicine2026

Lack of harmonisation in immunological data: challenges in synthesising data during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicole Shaver, Caroline Colijn, Jane Heffernan, Gideon Darko Asamoah, Thomas Piggott, Curtis Cooper, Salman Bagheri, Angela M Crawley, Benjamin M Kagina, Dawn M E Bowdish and 2 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in EBioMedicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Improving public health laboratory preparedness at European Union level: learning points from experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin · 2026
    Article
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

12 authors.

Nicole ShaverKnowledge Synthesis and Application Unit, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: Nicole.shaver@uottawa.ca.
Caroline ColijnFaculty of Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. Electronic address: ccolijn@sfu.ca.
Jane HeffernanCentre for Disease Modelling, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jmheffer@yorku.ca.
Gideon Darko AsamoahInstitute of Clinical Trials and Methodology, University College London, UK. Electronic address: gideon.asamoah.23@ucl.ac.uk.
Thomas PiggottDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; Peterborough Public Health, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Department of Family Medicine, Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: piggott@mcmaster.ca.
Curtis CooperFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: ccooper@toh.ca.
Salman BagheriOttawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: sbagheri@ohri.ca.
Angela M CrawleyFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Inflammation and Chronic Disease Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Canadian Biobank Alliance, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: acrawley@ohri.ca.
Benjamin M KaginaVaccines for Africa Initiative and NITAGs Support Hub (NISH), School of Public Health, University of Cape Town, South Africa. Electronic address: benjamin.kagina@uct.ac.za.
Dawn M E BowdishFaculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: bowdish@mcmaster.ca.
Marc-André LangloisFaculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: langlois@uottawa.ca.
Julian LittleKnowledge Synthesis and Application Unit, School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jlittle@uottawa.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic drove the rapid development of assays to ascertain immune responses, and laboratories were required to adapt to difficult and quickly changing circumstances. While flexibility and innovation were essential, they also introduced heterogeneity in methods, reagents, and reporting practices between labs. This lack of harmonisation made it difficult to compare findings across studies, slowing evidence synthesis, and limiting the usefulness of data for modelling efforts and policy guidance. Drawing on our team's experience synthesising and modelling vaccine immunogenicity data during the pandemic, we discuss the long-term challenges of standardising human immunology research that were highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue that vaccine immunogenicity studies require standardised reporting and quality assessment tools. We propose practical solutions to support comparability of laboratory-based practices, while preserving methodological diversity. By implementing changes before the next public health crisis, future research can avoid waste, strengthen certainty, and maximise policy and practice impact.

Indexed as

COVID-19PandemicsCOVID-19 VaccinesHumansImmunogenicity, VaccineSARS-CoV-2COVID-19 VaccinesAssaysCovid-19HarmonisationImmunogenicityStandardisationVaccine effectiveness

Identifiers

PMID41812294
PMCPMC12993212

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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 Socratic graph.