Effectiveness of 2025 bi-annual COVID-19 vaccination campaigns against hospitalisation in England
- 1UK Health Security Agency
Abstract
BackgroundIn 2025, COVID-19 vaccination programmes in England targeted adults aged [≥]75 years and immunosuppressed individuals, with JN.1-based vaccines offered in spring and KP.2-based vaccines offered in autumn. This study evaluated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 hospitalisation following these campaigns and assessed VE in immunosuppressed populations.
MethodsVE against COVID-19 hospitalisation in adults aged [≥]75 years following the 2025 spring JN.1 and autumn KP.2 vaccination campaigns was estimated using a test-negative case-control design. Logistic regression was used to calculate VE among eligible hospitalised individuals, adjusting for covariates. Manufacturer-specific analyses were performed for the spring 2025 campaign. VE in immunosuppressed and non-immunosuppressed adults aged [≥]75 years was assessed by pooling estimates from the autumn 2024 and spring and autumn 2025 campaigns using fixed-effects meta-analysis.
ResultsSpring 2025 JN.1 vaccines conferred moderate protection, peaking at 55% (95%CI: 45-62%) within 5-9 weeks and declining to 17% (95%CI: -18-42%) from 35 weeks onwards. Autumn 2025 KP.2 VE peaked at 48% (95%CI: 34-59%) at 5-9 weeks, with follow-up needed to assess long-term protection. No significant differences were observed between manufacturers in the spring campaign. VE following autumn KP.2 vaccination was lower among individuals who received a spring JN.1 vaccine. When assessed across three campaigns, there was some evidence that VE was lower in individuals with immunosuppression than those without.
ConclusionThe 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programmes in England provided moderate protection against COVID-19 hospitalisation in adults aged [≥]75 years, with protection waning over time. The findings support the continued benefit of seasonal vaccination in high-risk groups, including immunosuppressed individuals.
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BibTeX
@misc{aziz2026effectiveness,
title = {{Effectiveness of 2025 bi-annual COVID-19 vaccination campaigns against hospitalisation in England}},
author = {N. Abdul Aziz and A. Allen and N. Andrews},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.14.26362989},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.26362989v1},
note = {CC BY-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Effectiveness of 2025 bi-annual COVID-19 vaccination campaigns against hospitalisation in England
AU - N. Abdul Aziz
AU - A. Allen
AU - N. Andrews
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/14
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.14.26362989
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.14.26362989v1
AB - BackgroundIn 2025, COVID-19 vaccination programmes in England targeted adults aged [≥]75 years and immunosuppressed individuals, with JN.1-based vaccines offered in spring and KP.2-based vaccines offered in autumn. This study evaluated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 hospitalisation following these campaigns and assessed VE in immunosuppressed populations. MethodsVE against COVID-19 hospitalisation in adults aged [≥]75 years following the 2025 spring JN.1 and autumn KP.2 vaccination campaigns was estimated using a test-negative case-control design. Logistic regression was used to calculate VE among eligible hospitalised individuals, adjusting for covariates. Manufacturer-specific analyses were performed for the spring 2025 campaign. VE in immunosuppressed and non-immunosuppressed adults aged [≥]75 years was assessed by pooling estimates from the autumn 2024 and spring and autumn 2025 campaigns using fixed-effects meta-analysis. ResultsSpring 2025 JN.1 vaccines conferred moderate protection, peaking at 55% (95%CI: 45-62%) within 5-9 weeks and declining to 17% (95%CI: -18-42%) from 35 weeks onwards. Autumn 2025 KP.2 VE peaked at 48% (95%CI: 34-59%) at 5-9 weeks, with follow-up needed to assess long-term protection. No significant differences were observed between manufacturers in the spring campaign. VE following autumn KP.2 vaccination was lower among individuals who received a spring JN.1 vaccine. When assessed across three campaigns, there was some evidence that VE was lower in individuals with immunosuppression than those without. ConclusionThe 2025 COVID-19 vaccination programmes in England provided moderate protection against COVID-19 hospitalisation in adults aged [≥]75 years, with protection waning over time. The findings support the continued benefit of seasonal vaccination in high-risk groups, including immunosuppressed individuals.
ER -