Your new experience awaits. Try the new design now and help us make it even better

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Vaccines and Molecular Therapeutics

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1626057

Insufficient immune protection in preterm infants due to delayed and incomplete hexavalent vaccination

Provisionally accepted
Elisabeth  KaiserElisabeth Kaiser1Regine  WeberRegine Weber1Michelle  BousMichelle Bous1Mats Ingmar  FortmannMats Ingmar Fortmann2Marie-Theres  DammannMarie-Theres Dammann2Janina  MarißenJanina Marißen3Dorothee  ViemannDorothee Viemann3Christoph  DerouetChristoph Derouet1Steve  HeinSteve Hein1Nasenien  Nourkami-TutdibiNasenien Nourkami-Tutdibi1Erol  TutdibiErol Tutdibi1Mara  WuhrmannMara Wuhrmann1Muriel  Charlotte HansMuriel Charlotte Hans1Christian  GilleChristian Gille4Stephan  GehringStephan Gehring5Philipp  HennekePhilipp Henneke6Christoph  HärtelChristoph Härtel3Sybelle  Goedicke-FritzSybelle Goedicke-Fritz1Michael  ZemlinMichael Zemlin1*
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany
  • 2University Hospital Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
  • 3University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
  • 4University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
  • 5University Hospital Mainz, Mainz, Germany
  • 6University Hospital Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Abstract Introduction: For preterm infants, a 3+1 schedule is recommended for hexavalent vaccinations during the first year. The aim of this study was to analyze completion and timeliness of vaccinations in preterm infants of 28+0 – 32+6 weeks of gestation as part of the PRIMAL study (PRiming of IMmunity At the beginning of Life) and the antibody responses to vaccination antigens. Methods: Plasma antibody-concentrations against poliomyelitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), diphtheria and tetanus were determined using ELISA and evaluated with respect to their protectiveness. Results: Among 82 patients that were recruited, paired plasma samples on admission and at the one year follow up visit were available in 41 infants. In 17 infants, plasma samples were also collected at two months, prior to the first vaccination. Transplacental antibody transfer yielded protective antibody concentrations against the vaccine antigens in 66% (Hib) to 93% (tetanus) of the infants on admission and in 24% (Polio) to 50% (diphtheria) at 2 months. At the one-year follow-up, all infants who received their vaccinations on time had complete immune protection. However, after one year, hexavalent vaccination was incomplete in 30 of 41 infants (73%). Among incompletely vaccinated infants, the proportion lacking protective antibody concentrations ranged from 12% for diphtheria to 27% for polio. Conclusions: Due to insufficient adherence to vaccination recommendations, 42% of highly vulnerable preterm neonates were insufficiently protected against one or more vaccine-preventable diseases after one year. Efforts should be increased to improve adherence to the recommended 3+1 vaccination schedule in preterm infants.

Keywords: Preterm neonate, Probiotics, microbiota, Vaccination, randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial, antibody response, Tetanus, Diphtheria

Received: 09 May 2025; Accepted: 29 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Kaiser, Weber, Bous, Fortmann, Dammann, Marißen, Viemann, Derouet, Hein, Nourkami-Tutdibi, Tutdibi, Wuhrmann, Hans, Gille, Gehring, Henneke, Härtel, Goedicke-Fritz and Zemlin. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Michael Zemlin, michael.zemlin@uks.eu

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.