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Vaccines
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Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023
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Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2024) | Viewed by 4520

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Giuseppe La Torre

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, 00161 Rome, Italy
Interests: epidemiology; public health; occupational medicine; health technology assessment; health management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As Section Editor-in-Chief of Epidemiology, I am pleased to announce the Special Issue "Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023". This issue aims to enhance the impact of the interactions and effects of vaccines (and vaccination programs) on the occurrence of vaccine-preventable diseases.

In this Special Issue, we will collect articles from top researchers describing new approaches or new cutting-edge developments in the fields of infectivity, vaccine efficacy and effectiveness, vaccine failure, herd immunity, herd effect, epidemiological transfer, and disease modeling of various epidemics. Moreover, this issue will also consider the viewpoints of major stakeholders, including decision makers, immunization program managers, public health experts, pediatricians, family doctors, and other experts/individuals involved in the provision of immunization services and those who conduct research on awareness and behaviors surrounding vaccine epidemiology, as well as in other relevant scientific fields. We welcome the submission of manuscripts from Editorial Board Members and from outstanding scholars invited by the Editorial Board and the Editorial Office.

You are welcome to send short proposals for submissions of Feature Papers to our Editorial Office (vaccines@mdpi.com) for evaluation.

Dr. Giuseppe La Torre
Guest Editor

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

  • epidemiology
  • public health
  • vaccine
  • vaccine hesitancy
  • vaccination

Related Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 3496 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Economic Burden of COVID-19 on the Workers of a Teaching Hospital in the Centre of Italy: Changes in Productivity Loss and Healthcare Costs Pre and Post Vaccination Campaign
by Sara Di Fabio and Giuseppe La Torre
Vaccines 2023, 11(12), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11121791 - 30 Nov 2023
Viewed by 778
Abstract
Introduction: Following the concerning levels of spread and severity of the infection, on 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In response to the pandemic, governments adopted several mitigation strategies. The pandemic posed a great threat to [...] Read more.
Introduction: Following the concerning levels of spread and severity of the infection, on 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. In response to the pandemic, governments adopted several mitigation strategies. The pandemic posed a great threat to the Italian healthcare workforce (HW), with Italy being one of the hardest-hit countries. The aim of this study is to estimate the economic burden of COVID-19 on the workforce of a teaching hospital in Central Italy. Two periods are compared: 1 March 2020–9 February 2021 vs. 10 February 2021–31 March 2022. Methods: This study is conducted from a societal perspective. The database (n = 3298) of COVID-19-confirmed cases among the HW was obtained from the occupational health office of the hospital. The first entry on the database refers to 1 March 2020. Cost data were used to assess the economic burden of COVID-19 on the hospital workforce. They include two main groups: hourly salaries and medical expenses. The cost of productivity loss, hospital admission, at-home treatments, and contact tracing and screening tests were computed for the first and second periods of the analysis. Results: The total economic burden during the first period is estimated to be around EUR 3.8 million and in the second period EUR 4 million. However, the average cost per person is smaller in the second period (EUR 1561.78) compared to the first one (EUR 5906). In both periods, the cost of productivity loss is the largest component of the economic burden (55% and 57%). The cost of hospital admission decreased by more than 60% in the second period. Conclusion: Outcomes of the analysis suggest that the economic burden of COVID-19 on the HW is higher in the first period of analysis compared to the second period. The main reason could be identified in the shift from more severe and critical confirmed cases to more asymptomatic, mild, and moderate cases. The causes of this shift are not easily detectable. Vaccination, variants of the virus, and an individual’s determinants of health could all be causes of the decrease in the economic burden of COVID-19 on the HW. COVID-19 can generate a high economic burden on healthcare workers and, more generally, on HWs. However, a comprehensive estimate of the economic burden of the pandemic needs to integrate the mental health repercussions and the long-term COVID-19 that will become evident in the coming years. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023)
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20 pages, 2099 KiB  
Article
Comparative Epidemiological Assessment of Monkeypox Infections on a Global and Continental Scale Using Logistic and Gompertz Mathematical Models
by Obert Marín-Sánchez, Pedro Pesantes-Grados, Luis Pérez-Timaná, Olegario Marín-Machuca, Christian J. Sánchez-Llatas and Ruy D. Chacón
Vaccines 2023, 11(12), 1765; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11121765 - 27 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 868
Abstract
The monkeypox virus (MPXV) has caused an unusual epidemiological scenario—an epidemic within a pandemic (COVID-19). Despite the inherent evolutionary and adaptive capacity of poxviruses, one of the potential triggers for the emergence of this epidemic was the change in the status of orthopoxvirus [...] Read more.
The monkeypox virus (MPXV) has caused an unusual epidemiological scenario—an epidemic within a pandemic (COVID-19). Despite the inherent evolutionary and adaptive capacity of poxviruses, one of the potential triggers for the emergence of this epidemic was the change in the status of orthopoxvirus vaccination and eradication programs. This epidemic outbreak of HMPX spread worldwide, with a notable frequency in Europe, North America, and South America. Due to these particularities, the objective of the present study was to assess and compare cases of HMPX in these geographical regions through logistic and Gompertz mathematical modeling over one year since its inception. We estimated the highest contagion rates (people per day) of 690, 230, 278, and 206 for the world, Europe, North America, and South America, respectively, in the logistic model. The equivalent values for the Gompertz model were 696, 268, 308, and 202 for the highest contagion rates. The Kruskal–Wallis Test indicated different means among the geographical regions affected by HMPX regarding case velocity, and the Wilcoxon pairwise test indicated the absence of significant differences between the case velocity means between Europe and South America. The coefficient of determination (R2) values in the logistic model varied from 0.8720 to 0.9023, and in the Gompertz model, they ranged from 0.9881 to 0.9988, indicating a better fit to the actual data when using the Gompertz model. The estimated basic reproduction numbers (R0) were more consistent in the logistic model, varying from 1.71 to 1.94 in the graphical method and from 1.75 to 1.95 in the analytical method. The comparative assessment of these mathematical modeling approaches permitted the establishment of the Gompertz model as the better-fitting model for the data and the logistic model for the R0. However, both models successfully represented the actual HMPX case data. The present study estimated relevant epidemiological data to understand better the geographic similarities and differences in the dynamics of HMPX. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023)
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12 pages, 896 KiB  
Article
Factors Associated with Pneumonia in Patients Hospitalized with COVID-19 and the Role of Vaccination
by Antonella Zizza, Raffaella Sedile, Francesco Bagordo, Alessandra Panico, Marcello Guido, Tiziana Grassi, Federico Banchelli and Pierfrancesco Grima
Vaccines 2023, 11(8), 1342; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11081342 - 08 Aug 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1281
Abstract
Patients with COVID-19 can develop different forms of the illness with more or less severe symptoms. A 2-year retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with the development of pneumonia in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020 to February [...] Read more.
Patients with COVID-19 can develop different forms of the illness with more or less severe symptoms. A 2-year retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the factors associated with the development of pneumonia in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 2020 to February 2022. A total of 385 patients (59.0% males) with a mean age of 69.0 ± 16.0 years were included. At hospital admission, 318 patients (82.6%) reported one or more comorbidities, namely 201 (52.2%) subjects were affected by hypertension, 98 (25.5%) type 2 diabetes, 84 (21.8%) obesity, 36 (9.4%) cancer, and 14 (3.6%) suffered from kidney disease and were being treated with dialysis, and 76 (19.7%) resulted in being vaccinated with a higher prevalence of BNT162b2 vaccine (15.0%). Pneumonia was diagnosed in 276 (71.7%) patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that pneumonia in COVID-19 patients was positively associated with type 2 diabetes (OR 1.81; 95% CI 1.00–3.27), obesity (OR 2.52; 95% CI 1.27–4.98), and negatively with hypertension (OR 0.58; 95% CI 0.35–0.96). Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 resulted in a strongly protective factor against the development of pneumonia in COVID-19 patients (OR 0.49; 95% CI 0.28–0.85). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023)
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10 pages, 255 KiB  
Article
Synergistic Effect between SARS-CoV-2 Wave and COVID-19 Vaccination on the Occurrence of Mild Symptoms in Healthcare Workers
by Valentin Imeshtari, Francesca Vezza, Vanessa India Barletta, Andrea Bongiovanni, Corrado Colaprico, David Shaholli, Eleonora Ricci, Giovanna Carluccio, Luca Moretti, Maria Vittoria Manai, Marta Chiappetta, Riccardo Paolini, Mattia Marte, Carlo Maria Previte, Lavinia Camilla Barone, Augusto Faticoni, Vittoria Cammalleri, Roberta Noemi Pocino, Filippo Picchioni, Shizuka Kibi, Gloria Deriu, Pasquale Serruto, Barbara Dorelli, Elena Mazzalai, Monica Giffi, Daniela Marotta, Mattia Manzi, Valentina Marasca, Rosario Andrea Cocchiara, Federica Ciccone, Patrizia Pasculli, Paola Massetti, Guido Antonelli, Claudio Maria Mastroianni and Giuseppe La Torreadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Vaccines 2023, 11(5), 882; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11050882 - 22 Apr 2023
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Abstract
Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, five variants of epidemiological interest have been identified, each of them with its pattern of symptomology and disease severity. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of vaccination status in modulating the pattern [...] Read more.
Background: Since the beginning of the pandemic, five variants of epidemiological interest have been identified, each of them with its pattern of symptomology and disease severity. The aim of this study is to analyze the role of vaccination status in modulating the pattern of symptomatology associated with COVID-19 infection during four waves. Methods: Data from the surveillance activity of healthcare workers were used to carry out descriptive analysis, association analyses and multivariable analysis. A synergism analysis between vaccination status and symptomatology during the waves was performed. Results: Females were found at a higher risk of developing symptoms. Four SARS-CoV-2 waves were identified. Pharyngitis and rhinitis were more frequent during the fourth wave and among vaccinated subjects while cough, fever, flu syndrome, headache, anosmia, ageusia, arthralgia/arthritis and myalgia were more frequent during the first three waves and among unvaccinated subjects. A correlation was found between vaccination and the different waves in terms of developing pharyngitis and rhinitis. Conclusion: Vaccination status and viruses’ mutations had a synergic effect in the mitigation of the symptomatology caused by SARS-CoV-2 in healthcare workers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Epidemiology and Vaccines 2023)
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