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Vaccines
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Vaccine Epidemiology
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Vaccine Epidemiology

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Epidemiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 4383

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Muhammad Hammad Butt

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Guest Editor
Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Uppsala University, 75123 Uppsala, Sweden
Interests: infectious diseases; epidemiology; vaccination; pharmaceutical care; clinical pharmacy; pharmacovigilance; pharmacoepidemiology; public health
Dr. Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia
Interests: infectious diseases, dengue; Zika; influenza; Congo virus; vaccination; pharmaceutical care; clinical pharmacy; renal care; pharmacovigilance; pharmacoepidemiology; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yusra Habib Khan

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Jouf University, Sakaka 72341, Saudi Arabia
Interests: infectious diseases; vaccination; pharmaceutical care; clinical pharmacy; renal care; pharmacovigilance; pharmacoepidemiology; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Immunization against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) is a significant medical breakthrough. Vaccines are currently used to prevent 20 life-threatening diseases and reduce the number of deaths caused by diphtheria, pertussis, influenza, tetanus, and measles. Currently, the global impact of vaccines on the severity and mortality linked with COVID-19 has been widely observed. The eradication of smallpox as a result of remarkable vaccine coverage cannot be disregarded. Vaccine epidemiology is the study of the interactions and effects of vaccines and vaccination programs on the epidemiology of VPDs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), immunization saves lives, preserves people’s health, increases countries’ productivity and resilience, and contributes to a safer and healthier global community.

Understanding vaccine epidemiology has the potential to save more lives and improve global health. Vaccine epidemiology is essential for a number of reasons, such as expanding vaccination advantages to new populations and identifying vaccine target groups. The effect of immunization on VPDs was recently demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many researchers and healthcare professionals converged their efforts during the pandemic to curb the growing encumbrance of SARS-CoV-2. We believe that this model could be successfully replicated for many infectious diseases. We underline the need of the multidisciplinary and strategic joint effort to deal with VPDs.

The impact of vaccination on the epidemiology of VPDs gained valuable importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is still a dearth of investigations determining how vaccines affect the progress of VPDs. It has been demonstrated that vaccination modifies the incidence or prevalence of a disease (prevaccine and postvaccine); severity/mortality (measured as case fatality ratio, hospitalization, and disease sequelae); disability (measured as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs)); economics (measured by cost-effectiveness, cost benefit, and cost utility); and social aspects (measured as societal disruption, economic disruption, and household impact). The aim of this Special Issue is to provide readers with current knowledge about vaccine epidemiology through high-quality research papers and reviews.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. Epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs);
  2. Immune responses to vaccines;
  3. Evaluation of vaccine efficacy and safety (pharmacovigilance);
  4. Comparison of disease burden before and after vaccination;
  5. Barriers associated with vaccination campaigns (vaccine hesitancy, vaccine inequity);
  6. Technical, pathogen-related, host-related, vaccine-related, environmental, management, and climatic factors of vaccine effectiveness.

Both original research articles and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Muhammad Hammad Butt
Dr. Tauqeer Hussain Mallhi
Dr. Yusra Habib Khan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • vaccination
  • COVID-19
  • epidemiology
  • vaccine-preventable diseases
  • VPDs
  • disease burden
  • vaccine efficacy
  • vaccine safety
  • immunization

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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35 pages, 9468 KiB  
Article
Has COVID-19 Affected DTP3 Vaccination in the Americas?
by Ines Aguinaga-Ontoso, Sara Guillén-Aguinaga, Laura Guillén-Aguinaga, Rosa Alas-Brun, Enrique Aguinaga-Ontoso, Esperanza Rayón-Valpuesta and Francisco Guillén-Grima
Vaccines 2024, 12(3), 238; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines12030238 - 25 Feb 2024
Viewed by 709
Abstract
Background: In the Americas, deaths by diseases avoidable with vaccines are a significant contributor to child mortality. An essential means of reducing this is through broad vaccine coverage. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a potential disruption to vaccine coverage due to its effects [...] Read more.
Background: In the Americas, deaths by diseases avoidable with vaccines are a significant contributor to child mortality. An essential means of reducing this is through broad vaccine coverage. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a potential disruption to vaccine coverage due to its effects on the healthcare system. Objectives: this study aims to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DTP3 vaccination coverage in the Americas, investigating trends from 2012 to 2022 to identify significant changes, regional disparities, and the overall effect of the pandemic on progress towards global immunization targets. Methods: This study used the coverage data for the third dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine (DTP3) pulled from UNICEF databases spanning 2012 to 2022. We conducted a Joinpoint regression to identify points of significant trend changes. The annual percentage change (APC) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated for America and its regions. We also used segmented regression analysis. Using the Chi-square test, we compared DTP3 vaccination coverage for each country between 2019 and 2022. Results: Overall, America saw a decrease in vaccine coverage during this period, with an APC of −1.4 (95% CI −1.8; −1.0). This trend varied across regions. In North America, the decrease was negligible (−0.1% APC). South America showed the steepest decrease, with an APC of −2.5%. Central America also declined, with an APC of −1.3%. Our findings suggest a concerning trend of declining DTP-vaccination rates in the Americas, exacerbated in certain regions, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The absolute decrease in vaccine coverage in the Americas was −4% between 2019 and 2022, with the most important drop being in Central America (−7%). However, six countries reported increased vaccination rates post-COVID-19, led by Brazil, with a 7% increase. Conversely, twenty-two countries registered a decline in DTP3 vaccine coverage, with the average decrease being −7.37%. This decline poses an important challenge to achieving the WHO’s target of 90% coverage for the third dose of DTP by 2030, as evidenced by the reduction in the number of countries meeting this target from 2019 to 2022. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted vaccine coverage in America, leading to a decrease, especially across Central America. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Epidemiology)
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12 pages, 443 KiB  
Article
Impact of Influenza Vaccination on the Burden of Severe Influenza in the Elderly: Spain, 2017–2020
by Clara Mazagatos, Concepción Delgado-Sanz, Ana Milagro, María Liébana-Rodríguez and Amparo Larrauri
Vaccines 2023, 11(6), 1110; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11061110 - 17 Jun 2023
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Abstract
Annual influenza vaccination is the main strategy to reduce the burden of seasonal influenza epidemics and is recommended for the elderly in most countries with influenza vaccination strategies, with the main objective of preventing hospitalizations and mortality associated with seasonal influenza in this [...] Read more.
Annual influenza vaccination is the main strategy to reduce the burden of seasonal influenza epidemics and is recommended for the elderly in most countries with influenza vaccination strategies, with the main objective of preventing hospitalizations and mortality associated with seasonal influenza in this age group. Studies from different countries have estimated the benefits of seasonal influenza vaccination programs in the elderly, preventing a considerable number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths every year. A study measured the number of medically attended confirmed influenza cases in primary care that are prevented annually by vaccination in the population aged 65 and older in Spain, the Netherlands and Portugal, but estimates of the impact of the national influenza vaccination program in the prevention of severe disease in Spain are lacking. The two objectives of this study were to estimate the burden of severe influenza disease in the Spanish population and to measure the impact of influenza vaccination in the prevention of these outcomes in the population aged 65 years and older. Using influenza surveillance systems put in place before the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a retrospective observational study to estimate the burden of hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Spain between 2017–18 and 2019–20, by season and age group. Burden estimates for the 65+ group, combined with vaccine effectiveness (VE) and vaccination coverage (VC) data, were used as input data in an ecological, observational study to estimate the impact of the influenza vaccination program on the elderly. We found a higher burden of severe influenza disease in seasons 2017–18 and 2018–19, with A(H3N2) circulation, and in the youngest and oldest age groups. In those aged 65 and older, we estimated an average of 9900 influenza hospitalizations and 1541 ICU admissions averted by vaccination each year. Seasonal influenza vaccination was able to prevent between 11 and 26% influenza hospitalizations and around 40% ICU admissions in the elderly in the three pre-pandemic seasons. In conclusion, our study complements previous analyses in the primary care setting in Spain and demonstrates the benefits of the annual influenza vaccination program in the prevention of severe influenza disease in the elderly, even in seasons with moderate VE. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Epidemiology)
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16 pages, 833 KiB  
Systematic Review
Vaccine Hesitancy of COVID-19 among Parents for Their Children in Middle Eastern Countries—A Systematic Review
by Muhammad Shahid Iqbal, Salah-Ud-Din Khan, Shafqat Qamer and Saeed Vohra
Vaccines 2023, 11(10), 1556; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11101556 - 01 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1033
Abstract
The current systematic review presents COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among parents for their children in Middle Eastern countries. Moreover, the vaccine acceptance rate of parents from the Middle East and the factors effecting the acceptance rate were reviewed and summarized. For this systematic review, [...] Read more.
The current systematic review presents COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among parents for their children in Middle Eastern countries. Moreover, the vaccine acceptance rate of parents from the Middle East and the factors effecting the acceptance rate were reviewed and summarized. For this systematic review, basic electronic academic databases (Scopus, Science Direct, ProQuest, Web of Science and PubMed) were used for the search, along with a manual search on Google Scholar. This systematic review was conducted by following the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)” guidelines. Moreover, utilizing the framework of the PECO-S (Population Exposure Comparison Outcome Study design), various observational studies were recruited for this review. Out of 2123 studies, 25 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included in the current review. All of the included studies were about parental vaccine hesitancy for COVID-19 in Middle Eastern countries and published during 2020–2022. Overall, 25 research papers comprising 10 different Middle Eastern countries with 33,558 parents were included. The average age of parents was 39.13 (range: 18–70) years, while the mean age of children was 7.95 (range: 0–18) years. The overall hesitancy rate was 44.2% with a SD of ± 19.7. The included studies presented enhanced COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among parents in Middle Eastern countries. The lower vaccine acceptance rate among parents was mainly because of a fear of the potential side effects. Furthermore, the lack of information regarding vaccine safety and efficacy, the fear of unreported side effects and concerns about the authenticity of vaccine development and preparation were the predictors of parental COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Middle Eastern countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Vaccine Epidemiology)
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