Correlates of vaccine-induced immunity: Historical perspectives and future challenges

Abstract

Despite the broad diversity of vaccines available for use in humans, the majority of licensed vaccines utilize serum antibody responses as the primary correlate of protection. However, the immunity afforded from such protective thresholds may vary from near absolute defense, to something as weak as a simple surrogate measure with little direct role in preventing disease. Understanding the historical context in which immune correlates have been defined can better inform future vaccines, even as vaccine development begins to explore the computational power of systems biology approaches and next generation vaccine technologies.