Vaccine failure after Covid-19 vaccination in older adults
Official title: VAccine failure: natural history and determinants of post-vaccination Covid-19
Funded at Veterans Affairs Med Ctr San Francisco · NIH-11515707 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows vaccinated older adults to understand who among them still gets Covid-19 and what factors make those outcomes worse.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Veterans Affairs Med Ctr San Francisco NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (San Francisco, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01CX002417-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11515707 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Veterans aged 65 and older who have received at least one dose of any SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and have had a primary care visit documented in VA within the past two years.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without a VA encounter in the past two years or who are not aged 65 and older may be less directly impacted by the findings.
What this research studies
The study uses VA health records to track Veterans aged 65 and older who have received at least one Covid-19 vaccine. It aims to observe real-world outcomes after vaccination and identify factors linked to breakthrough infections and severe disease. By linking data from the VA Corporate Data Warehouse and Covid-19 Shared Data Resource, researchers will create a longitudinal cohort to study epidemiology and patterns over time. The goal is to build knowledge that could guide future vaccination strategies and care for older adults. The approach emphasizes observational surveillance rather than experimental interventions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Findings could inform tailored vaccination and clinical care strategies for older adults to reduce breakthrough infections and severe outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Previous large vaccine trials did not have enough cases to study breakthrough infections; this real-world observational effort aims to fill that gap.
Where this research is happening
-
Veterans Affairs Med Ctr San Francisco
San Francisco, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kelly, John Daniel — Veterans Affairs Med Ctr San Francisco
- Study coordinator: Kelly, John Daniel
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.