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Awareness weeks

Health Awareness Week

World Immunization Week

24 to 30 April 2023

World Immunization Week, celebrated in the last week of April, aims to highlight the collective action needed and to promote the use of vaccines to protect people of all ages against disease. Through its convening power, WHO works with countries across the globe to raise awareness of the value of vaccines and immunization and ensures that governments obtain the necessary guidance and technical support to implement high quality immunization programmes. The ultimate goal of World Immunization Week is for more people – and their communities – to be protected from vaccine-preventable diseases. World Health Organisation

The Australian Immunisation Handbook provides clinical advice for health professionals on the safest and most effective use of vaccines in their practice.

UpToDate

Articles

Adults

Paediatrics

Vaccine hesitancy

Research

E-books

E-journals

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Articles

Adults

Timing and sequence of vaccination against COVID-19 and influenza (TACTIC): a single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial
Concurrent administration of both vaccines is safe, but the quantitative and functional antibody responses were marginally lower compared to booster vaccination alone. Lower protection against COVID-19 with concurrent administration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination cannot be excluded, although additional larger studies would be required to confirm this. The Lancet regional health -Europe 11 April 2023

Human papillomavirus vaccination and cervical cancer risk
Persistent human papillomavirus infection is the central cause of cervical cancer, the leading cause of cancer death among women worldwide. Clear evidence from both randomized trials and population based studies shows that vaccination against human papillomavirus reduces the incidence of cervical pre-cancer. These data suggest that the vaccine reduces the incidence of cervical cancer. However, human papillomavirus vaccine coverage is inadequate in all countries, especially in low and middle income countries where disease burden is highest. Supply side strategies to improve coverage include increasing the availability of low cost vaccines, school located delivery, single dose vaccine schedules, and development of vaccines that do not need refrigeration. Demand side strategies include enhancing provider recommendations, correcting misinformation, and public awareness campaigns. The near elimination of cervical cancer is achievable through increased uptake of human papillomavirus vaccination and efforts to increase screening for cervical cancer, especially when enacted to reduce disparities in across the world. BMJ 15 December 2022

A review of factors influencing vaccination policies and programs for older adults globally
Policies and programs to increase vaccine coverage rates among adults 50 years of age or older are limited and vaccine uptake is often suboptimal. This review evaluated evidence on the effectiveness and success of adult-targeted vaccination interventions and identified literature gaps. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 19 January 2023

Human papillomavirus vaccine coverage in male-male partnerships attending a sexual health clinic in Melbourne, Australia
The authors analyzed male-male partnerships attending the Melbourne Sexual Health Center between 2018 and 2019. Data on self-reported HPV vaccination status were collected. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 17 June 2023

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Paediatrics

Mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for children: Attitudes of Western Australian parents
Australian governments have used vaccine mandates to drive high uptake of routine childhood vaccines and adult Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza vaccines. We sought to understand the attitudes of Western Australian parents regarding mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children, interviewing 44 parents of children aged up to 18 years between May and December 2021. Australian journal of social issues 28 March 2023

SMS reminders increase on-time vaccination in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants
Timely immunisation is important to protect children from communicable diseases. However, immunisation uptake in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children under the age of two years is often lower than in non-Indigenous children. This contributes to the gap in health outcomes between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and non-Indigenous children. The authors tested the effectiveness of short message service (SMS) reminders in improving timeliness of childhood immunisation in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander infants in regional Queensland, Australia. Reminders were sent to parents of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, at five immunisation age milestones: six weeks, four months, six months, 12 months, and 18 months. Communicable diseases intelligence 23 March 2023

Pandemic’s influence on parents’ attitudes and behaviors toward meningococcal vaccination
Invasive meningococcal disease is a life-threatening infection preventable through vaccination. Pediatric vaccination rates have declined during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This survey aimed to understand how parents’ attitudes and behaviors have changed during the pandemic with regard to immunization and, more specifically, meningococcal vaccination. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 8 March 2023

Model-based estimation of the impact on rotavirus disease of RV3-BB vaccine administered in a neonatal or infant schedule
Rotavirus infection is a common cause of severe diarrheal disease and a major cause of deaths and hospitalizations among young children. Incidence of rotavirus has declined globally with increasing vaccine coverage. However, it remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income countries where vaccine access is limited and efficacy is lower. The oral human neonatal vaccine RV3-BB can be safely administered earlier than other vaccines, and recent trials in Indonesia have demonstrated high efficacy. In this study, the authors use a stochastic individual-based model of rotavirus transmission and disease to estimate the anticipated population-level impact of RV3-BB following delivery according to either an infant (2, 4, 6 months) and neonatal (0, 2, 4 months) schedule. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 21 November 2022

Factors affecting childhood immunization: Thematic analysis of parents and healthcare workers’ perceptions
Immunization against common childhood diseases is an important strategy as it is critical for reducing the global child morbidity and mortality. This review explores the perceptions of parents and HCWs toward childhood immunization. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 3 November 2022

Preventing invasive meningococcal disease in early infancy
This review considers the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and epidemiology of invasive meningococcal disease in infants, to examine and critique meningococcal disease prevention in this population through vaccination. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 28 April 2022

Penta- and hexavalent vaccination of extremely and very-to-moderate preterm infants born at less than 34 weeks and/or under 1500 g: A systematic literature review
The authors report the findings of a systematic literature search that aimed to present data on the immunogenicity, efficacy, effectiveness, safety, impact, compliance and completion of penta- and hexavalent vaccination in high-risk infants, including premature newborns. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 19 April 2023

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Vaccine hesitancy

Vaccine intention and hesitancy among Australian women who are currently pregnant or have recently given birth: the Birth in the Time of COVID-19 (BITTOC) national online survey
Around 1 in 10 pregnant women and just over 1 in 13 postnatal women reported vaccine hesitancy in this Australian survey, and hesitancy was higher in the latter 3-month period. Tailored messages to younger mothers and those from lower-middle socioeconomic groups, alongside advice from midwives and obstetricians, could help to reduce hesitancy among pregnant and postnatal women. Financial incentives may help to facilitate COVID-19 vaccine uptake. A real-time surveillance system and additional pregnancy fields added to the Australian immunisation register would support the safety monitoring of multiple vaccines in pregnancy and may build confidence. BMJ open 13 April 2023

‘I’m provax’: Pro-vaccination personal histories and socialities of older Australians in the COVID-19 pandemic
Vaccination scholarship often explores how social networks foster vaccine refusal and delay, revealing how social and institutional relations produce refusing or delaying parents and un- or under-vaccinated children. It is likewise critical to understand the development of pro-vaccination orientations by researching those who want to be vaccinated since such attitudes and associated practices underpin successful vaccination programmes. This article explores pro-vaccination sociality, personal histories and self-understandings during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. Sociology of health and illness 7 April 2023

Vaccine hesitancy: an interview with Stanley Plotkin, rubella vaccine developer
The US vaccine expert talks to Elisabeth Mahase about the threats posed by vaccine hesitancy worldwide and the best ways to tackle it. BMJ 23 December 2019

Vaccine hesitancy within the Muslim community: Islamic faith and public health perspectives
In this review article, the authors summarize the literature on religious factors linked to vaccine hesitancy among Muslims, thoroughly discuss the Islamic law (sharia) viewpoint on vaccination and offer recommendations to address vaccine hesitancy in Muslim communities. Halal content/labeling and the influence of religious leaders were identified as major determinants of vaccination choices among Muslims. The core concepts of sharia, such as “preservation of life,” “necessities permit prohibitions,” and “empowering social responsibility for the greater public benefit” promote vaccination. Engaging religious leaders in immunization programs is crucial to enhance the uptake of vaccines among Muslims. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 13 March 2023

Protecting pregnant people & infants against influenza: A landscape review of influenza vaccine hesitancy during pregnancy and strategies for vaccine promotion
In response to immunization during pregnancy, maternal antibodies offer protection against potentially life-threatening disease in both pregnant people and their infants up to six months of age. Despite this, influenza vaccine hesitancy is common, with few countries reporting immunization rates in pregnant people above 50%. In this review, the authors highlight individual, institutional, and social factors associated with influenza vaccine hesitancy during pregnancy. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 19 December 2022

When good messages go wrong: Perspectives on COVID-19 vaccines and vaccine communication from generally vaccine accepting individuals in Canada
Vaccines are one of the most important and successful public health interventions to reduce the spread of infectious diseases. However, unlike childhood diseases and routine vaccines, COVID-19 is a novel threat, and COVID-19 vaccines may elicit specific anxieties. Through focus groups, the authors  examine the concerns and attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccine expressed by individuals who accept routine vaccinations in Canada. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 30 November 2022

COVID-19 vaccine willingness prior to and during the COVID-19 vaccination rollout in Australia
This study aimed to assess vaccine willingness, and the reasons why respondents were not likely to receive COVID-19 vaccine prior to and during the COVID-19 vaccine rollout. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 8 June 2022

Maternal vaccination—current status, challenges, and opportunities
Current coverage for maternal vaccination is still low globally mainly because of vaccine hesitancy among pregnant women. The government, drug-regulatory authorities, and healthcare professionals must educate pregnant women about the effectiveness and safety of maternal vaccines and encourage vaccination when the benefits outweigh the risks. Journal of obstetrics and gynaecological research 28 November 2022

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Research

Public attitudes on social media toward vaccination before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
With the success of COVID-19 vaccines in clinical trials, vaccination programs are being administered for the population with the hopes of herd immunity. However, the success of any vaccination program depends on the percentage of people willing to get vaccination which is influenced by social, economic, demographic, and vaccine-specific factors. Thus, it is important to understand public attitudes and perceptions toward vaccination. This study aims to measure public attitude toward vaccines and vaccinations before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, using public data from Twitter. Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics 3 August 2022

Using World Cafés to engage an Australian culturally and linguistically diverse community around human papillomavirus vaccination
This study demonstrates how research partnerships and participatory methods can be applied in CALD community settings to research engagement with school and HPV vaccination. Our World Café dialogues highlight a positive narrative about vaccines, where community vaccination behaviours were built on multilayer trust relationships despite low vaccine knowledge. Our findings further knowledge around ‘public trust’ in school vaccination, highlighting the importance of existing (or missing) trust relationships when tailoring vaccine communication to local CALD communities. Health expectations 13 February 2023

Estimating the excess burden of pertussis disease in Australia within the first year of life, that might have been prevented through timely vaccination
The authors provide robust evidence that improved DTP vaccine timeliness, especially for the first dose, substantially reduces the burden of infant pertussis. Their methodology, using a potential outcomes framework, is applicable to other settings. International journal of epidemiology 13 September 2022

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E-books

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E-Journals

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Previous Awareness Weeks

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