Influenza Virus Vaccines Commons^™

The Impact Of Age, Health, And Education On Public Attitudes Towards Covid-19 Vaccines In Ireland, Kate Buckley, Aisling Burke, Chloe Holland, Clodagh O'Flynn

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Abstract:

Introduction: Studies have revealed that age, health status and 3^rd level education influence public attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that influence the public’s attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccine two years post-pandemic.

Methods: Ethical approval was obtained for the study. A total of 241 participants who provided informed consent were surveyed anonymously using closed-ended, open-ended and Likert Scale questions. Associations between specific demographics and vaccination attitudes were established using SPSS software.

Results: A higher percentage of 25–34-year-olds and 35–44-year-olds regretted receiving COVID-19 vaccines (46.6% and 37.5% …

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal Of Health Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 1, July 2026

International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences

Full Issue: The International Undergraduate Journal of Health Sciences, Volume 6, Issue 1, July 2026.

What Covid-19 Taught Extension: Experiences Of Extension County Engagement Specialists Promoting Vaccinations In Meat Processing Plants In Rural Missouri., Wilson Majee, Ifeolu David, Lynelle Phillips, Rachel Buenemann, Kassandra Maturino

Journal of Extension

Extension played a significant role, in collaboration with other key community organizations, by disseminating information that debunked COVID-19 myths, and promoting vaccinations at the community level. In this article we present insights from the experiences of Extension faculty at the University of Missouri who were engaged in promoting COVID-19 vaccinations for meat processing plant workers. Findings from this quality improvement project highlight opportunities for leveraging Extension field faculty, and challenges to consider in future public health promotion efforts.

The Importance Of Public Health In College Populations: Why Vaccines Are Important, Kashish Poore

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

This paper examines the importance of vaccines in college populations, where high-density living environments create unique vulnerabilities to infectious disease outbreaks. Despite vaccine mandates at most institutions, research indicates that many college students possess incomplete understanding of vaccine mechanisms and importance. The paper addresses three interconnected aspects: the biological foundations of vaccine-induced immunity, the significance of vaccination in collegiate settings, and the current state of vaccine literacy among students. Historical outbreaks on campuses, including meningitis at Princeton and mumps across several institutions, highlight the consequences of undervaccination. Social media misinformation has contributed significantly to vaccine hesitancy, particularly since COVID-19. The …

Covid-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Black Women In The Us, Brittany C Slatton, Farrah G Cambrice, Serwaa S Omowale

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

IMPORTANCE: COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black women is a critical public health concern, potentially exacerbating existing health disparities and impacting community-wide vaccination efforts.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among Black women in the US and identify the specific concerns and experiences shaping hesitant attitudes toward vaccination.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative study using in-depth, semistructured interviews conducted virtually between June and November 2021. Thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from the interview data. Participants were recruited through social media platforms and word-of-mouth referrals from various regions of the US. Interviews were conducted remotely …

Bcg-Induced Dna Methylation Changes Improve Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Immunity Without Decreasing The Risk For Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection, Santiago Carrero Longlax, Kent J Koster, Ashish M Kamat, Marisa Lozano, Seth P Lerner, Rebecca Hannigan, Tomoki Nishiguchi, Abhimanyu, Daanish Sheikh, Malik Ladki, Alexandra Portillo, Amrit Koirala, Tajhal D Patel, Zoe Spieler, Aaron B Benjamin, Maxim Lebedev, Theresa U Ofili, Robert W Hutchison, George Udeani, Lynne A Opperman, Gabriel Neal, Anna M Mandalakas, Mihai G Netea, Moshe Arditi, Pablo Avalos, Sandra L Grimm, Cristian Coarfa, Jeffrey D Cirillo, Andrew R Dinardo

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: The BCG vaccine induces trained immunity, an epigenetic-mediated increase in innate immune responsiveness. Therefore, this clinical trial evaluated if BCG-induced trained immunity could decrease coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related frequency or severity.

METHODS: A double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of healthcare workers randomized participants to vaccination with BCG TICE or placebo (saline). Enrollment included 529 healthcare workers randomized to receive BCG or placebo. Primary analysis evaluated COVID-19 disease frequency, while secondary analysis evaluated coronavirus immunity in a subset of participants. Study enrollment ceased early in December 2020 following introduction of COVID-19-specific vaccines.

RESULTS: Study enrollment was halted early, prior to reaching …

Protective Effects Of Psychiatric Medications Against Covid-19 Mortality Before Vaccines, Rodrigo Machado-Vieira, Trudy M Krause, Gregory Jones, Antonio L Teixeira, Lokesh R Shahani, Scott D Lane, Jair C Soares, Chau N Truong

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The coronavirus disease pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which emerged in the United States in late 2019 to early 2020 and quickly escalated into a national public health crisis. Research has identified psychiatric conditions as possible risk factors associated with COVID-19 infection and symptom severity. This study aims to determine whether specific classes of psychiatric medications could reduce the likelihood of infection and alleviate the severity of the disease. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between neuropsychiatric medication usage and COVID-19 outcomes before the widespread utilization of COVID-19 vaccines. This cross-sectional study used Optum's de-identified …

Effectiveness Of Original Monovalent And Bivalent Covid-19 Vaccines Against Covid-19-Associated Hospitalization And Severe In-Hospital Outcomes Among Adults In The United States, September 2022-August 2023, Jennifer Decuir, Diya Surie, Yuwei Zhu, Adam S Lauring, Manjusha Gaglani, Tresa Mcneal, Shekhar Ghamande, Ithan D Peltan, Samuel M Brown, Adit A Ginde, Aimee Steinwand, Nicholas M Mohr, Kevin W Gibbs, David N Hager, Harith Ali, Anne Frosch, Michelle N Gong, Amira Mohamed, Nicholas J Johnson, Vasisht Srinivasan, Jay S Steingrub, Akram Khan, Laurence W Busse, Abhijit Duggal, Jennifer G Wilson, Nida Qadir, Steven Y Chang, Christopher Mallow, Jennie H Kwon, Matthew C Exline, Nathan I Shapiro, Cristie Columbus, Ivana A Vaughn, Mayur Ramesh, Basmah Safdar, Jarrod M Mosier, Jonathan D Casey, H Keipp Talbot, Todd W Rice, Natasha Halasa, James D Chappell, Carlos G Grijalva, Adrienne Baughman, Kelsey N Womack, Jillian P Rhoads, Sydney A Swan, Cassandra Johnson, Nathaniel Lewis, Sascha Ellington, Fatimah S Dawood, Meredith Mcmorrow, Wesley H Self, Investigating Respiratory Viruses In The Acutely Ill (Ivy) Network

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Assessments of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness are needed to monitor the protection provided by updated vaccines against severe COVID-19. We evaluated the effectiveness of original monovalent and bivalent (ancestral strain and Omicron BA.4/5) COVID-19 vaccination against COVID-19-associated hospitalization and severe in-hospital outcomes.

METHODS: During September 8, 2022 to August 31, 2023, adults aged ≥ 18 years hospitalized with COVID-19-like illness were enrolled at 26 hospitals in 20 US states. Using a test-negative case-control design, we estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) with multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, admission date, and geographic region.

RESULTS: Among 7028 patients, 2924 (41.6%) were …

What Is The Economic Benefit Of Annual Covid-19 Vaccination From The Adult Individual Perspective?, Sarah M Bartsch, Kelly J O'Shea, Colleen Weatherwax, Ulrich Strych, Kavya Velmurugan, Danielle C John, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Mustafa Hussein, Marie F Martinez, Kevin L Chin, Allan Ciciriello, Jessie Heneghan, Alexis Dibbs, Sheryl A Scannell, Peter J Hotez, Bruce Y Lee

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy Staff Publications

Background: With coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination no longer mandated by many businesses/organizations, it is now up to individuals to decide whether to get any new boosters/updated vaccines going forward.

Methods: We developed a Markov model representing the potential clinical/economic outcomes from an individual perspective in the United States of getting versus not getting an annual COVID-19 vaccine.

Results: For an 18-49 year old, getting vaccinated at its current price ($60) can save the individual on average $30-$603 if the individual is uninsured and $4-$437 if the individual has private insurance, as long as the starting vaccine efficacy against severe …

Multi-Antigen Intranasal Vaccine Protects Against Challenge With Sarbecoviruses And Prevents Transmission In Hamsters, Ankita Leekha, Arash Saeedi, K M Samiur Rahman Sefat, Monish Kumar, Melisa Martinez-Paniagua, Adrian Damian, Rohan Kulkarni, Kate Reichel, Ali Rezvan, Shalaleh Masoumi, Xinli Liu, Laurence J N Cooper, Manu Sebastian, Courtney M Sands, Vallabh E Das, Nimesh B Patel, Brett Hurst, Navin Varadarajan

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Immunization programs against SARS-CoV-2 with commercial intramuscular vaccines prevent disease but are less efficient in preventing infections. Mucosal vaccines can provide improved protection against transmission, ideally for different variants of concern (VOCs) and related sarbecoviruses. Here, we report a multi-antigen, intranasal vaccine, NanoSTING-SN (NanoSTING-Spike-Nucleocapsid), eliminates virus replication in both the lungs and the nostrils upon challenge with the pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 Delta VOC. We further demonstrate that NanoSTING-SN prevents transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC (BA.5) to vaccine-naïve hamsters. To evaluate protection against other sarbecoviruses, we immunized mice with NanoSTING-SN. We showed that immunization affords protection against SARS-CoV, leading to protection …

Vaccine Uptake And Intentions: Insights From A Texas Survey On Factors Influencing Covid-19 Vaccination Decisions, Yordanos M Tiruneh, Paula M Cuccaro, Kimberly S Elliott, Jing Xie, Journey Martinez, Mark Owens, Christian R Alvarado, Jose-Miguel Yamal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines depends on widespread vaccine uptake. Employing a telephone-administered weighted survey with 19,502 participants, we examined the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among adults in Texas. We used multiple regression analysis with LASSO-selected variables to identify factors associated with COVID-19 vaccine uptake and intentions to receive the vaccine among the unvaccinated. The prevalence of unvaccinated individuals (22%) was higher among those aged 18-39, males, White respondents, English speakers, uninsured individuals, those facing financial challenges, and individuals expressing no concern about contracting the illness. In a fully adjusted regression model, higher odds of being unvaccinated were observed …

Parental Factors Associated With Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake For Children Over 5 Years Of Age In Texas, Paula M Cuccaro, Jihye Choi, Yordanos M Tiruneh, Journey Martinez, Jing Xie, Michelle Crum, Mark Owens, Jose-Miguel Yamal

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

The COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective for children, yet parental hesitancy towards vaccinating children against the virus persists. We conducted a telephone-administered weighted survey in Texas to examine parents' sociodemographic factors and medical conditions associated with COVID-19 vaccination intention for parents with unvaccinated children ages 5-17 years. We collected responses from 19,502 participants, of which 4879 were parents of children ages 5-17 years. We conducted multiple logistic regression with Lasso-selected variables to identify factors associated with children's vaccination status and parents' intention to vaccinate their children. From the unweighted sample, less than half of the parents (46.8%) had at …

Development, Implementation, And Evaluation Of Three Outreach Events To Improve Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Racial And Ethnic Minority Communities In Houston, Texas, 2022, Carmin Munoz-Lavanderos, Abiodun Oluyomi, Omar Rosales, Norvin Hernandez, Nana Mensah-Bonsu, Hoda Badr

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

OBJECTIVES: Lack of access to timely, accurate, and linguistically appropriate COVID-19 information has complicated the dissemination of evidence-based information and contributed to vaccine hesitancy among racial and ethnic minority groups in the United States. We developed community events that provided outreach, education, and access to COVID-19 vaccination to overcome vaccine hesitancy in these communities.

METHODS: Using spatial analysis techniques, we identified 3 communities with low vaccine uptake in Houston, Texas, in fall 2021; engaged 20 stakeholders from these communities via 4 focus groups to understand barriers to vaccination; and developed and implemented 3 COVID-19 vaccine education and outreach events tailored …

Influenza Viral Infection Is A Risk Factor For Severe Illness In Covid-19 Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study, Jeong-Hwan Hwang, Yeon Seok You, Sang Woo Yeom, Min Gyu Lee, Jong-Hwan Lee, Min Gul Kim, Jong Seung Kim

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In order to prepare for the twindemic of influenza and SARS-CoV-2 infection, we investigated the association between influenza infection and subsequent severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection. A population-based nationwide cohort study was performed using data from the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) in the Republic of Korea. This study included 274,126 individuals who underwent SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing between 20 January 2020 and 1 October 2020. Among these patients, 28,338 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and 4,003 of these individuals had a history of influenza. The control group was selected through 1:1 propensity score matching. In the group of 4,003 COVID-19-positive individuals with …

Comparison Between Viral Vector And Mrna Based Covid-19 Vaccination In Prevalence And Severity Of Regional Immune Reactions, And 18f-Fdg Pet/Ct Features, Narjess Ayati, Scott Evans, S Rasoul Zakavi, Simon M Gruenewald

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Objective(s):

The coronavirus pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 commenced in late 2019, and global wide vaccination appears to be the only reasonable solution to fight this dreadful virus. There are two main types of COVID-19 immunization using viral vector and mRNA-based vaccines. However, the impact of each of type on 18F-FDG PET/CT needs to be accurately assessed. This study aimed to compare the 18F-FDG PET/CT features of these two types of COVID-19 vaccines.

Methods:

A total of 188 patients referred for 18F-FDG PET/CT with a recent history of either BioNTech/Pfizer or AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination, and a control group of 40 patients …

Time To Establish An International Vaccine Candidate Pool For Potential Highly Infectious Respiratory Disease: A Community’S View, Lan Yao, Hiam Chemaitelly, Emanuel Goldman, Esayas Kebede Gudina, Asma Khalil, Rahaman Ahmed, Ayorinde Babatunde James, Anna Roca, Mosoka Papa Fallah, Andrew Macnab, William C Cho, John Eikelboom, Farah Naz Qamar, Peter Kremsner, Miquel Oliu-Barton, Ivan Sisa, Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse, Florian Marks, Lishi Wang, Jerome H Kim, Xia Meng, Yongjun Wang, Alyce D Fly, Cong-Yi Wang, Sara W Day, Scott C Howard, J Carolyn Graff, Marcello Maida, Kunal Ray, Carlos Franco-Paredes, Tapfumanei Mashe, Ngashi Ngongo, Jean Kaseya, Nicaise Ndembi, Yu Hu, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Ken J Ishii, Gang Wang, Dianjun Sun, Lotfi Aleya, Weikuan Gu

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

In counteracting highly infectious and disruptive respiratory diseases such as COVID-19, vaccination remains the primary and safest way to prevent disease, reduce the severity of illness, and save lives. Unfortunately, vaccination is often not the first intervention deployed for a new pandemic, as it takes time to develop and test vaccines, and confirmation of safety requires a period of observation after vaccination to detect potential late-onset vaccine-associated adverse events. In the meantime, nonpharmacologic public health interventions such as mask-wearing and social distancing can provide some degree of protection. As climate change, with its environmental impacts on pathogen evolution and international …

A Recombinant Protein Xbb15 Rbd/Alum/Cpg Vaccine Elicits High Neutralizing Antibody Titers Against Omicron Subvariants Of Sars-Cov-2, Syamala Rani Thimmiraju, Rakesh Adhikari, Maria Jose Villar, Jungsoon Lee, Zhuyun Liu, Rakhi Kundu, Yi-Lin Chen, Suman Sharma, Karm Ghei, Brian Keegan, Leroy Versteeg, Portia M Gillespie, Allan Ciciriello, Nelufa Y Islam, Cristina Poveda, Nestor Uzcategui, Wen-Hsiang Chen, Jason T Kimata, Bin Zhan, Ulrich Strych, Maria Elena Bottazzi, Peter J Hotez, Jeroen Pollet

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

(1) Background: We previously reported the development of a recombinant protein SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, consisting of the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, adjuvanted with aluminum hydroxide (alum) and CpG oligonucleotides. In mice and non-human primates, our wild-type (WT) RBD vaccine induced high neutralizing antibody titers against the WT isolate of the virus, and, with partners in India and Indonesia, it was later developed into two closely resembling human vaccines, Corbevax and Indovac. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a next-generation vaccine adapted to the recently emerging XBB variants of SARS-CoV-2. (2) Methods: We conducted preclinical studies …

Comparison Of Bivalent And Monovalent Sars-Cov-2 Variant Vaccines: The Phase 2 Randomized Open-Label Covail Trial, Angela R Branche, Nadine G Rouphael, David J Diemert, Ann R Falsey, Cecilia Losada, Lindsey R Baden, Sharon E Frey, Jennifer A Whitaker, Susan J Little, Evan J Anderson, Emmanuel B Walter, Richard M Novak, Richard Rupp, Lisa A Jackson, Tara M Babu, Angelica C Kottkamp, Anne F Luetkemeyer, Lilly C Immergluck, Rachel M Presti, Martín Bäcker, Patricia L Winokur, Siham M Mahgoub, Paul A Goepfert, Dahlene N Fusco, Elissa Malkin, Jeffrey M Bethony, Edward E Walsh, Daniel S Graciaa, Hady Samaha, Amy C Sherman, Stephen R Walsh, Getahun Abate, Zacharoula Oikonomopoulou, Hana M El Sahly, Thomas C S Martin, Satoshi Kamidani, Michael J Smith, Benjamin G Ladner, Laura Porterfield, Maya Dunstan, Anna Wald, Tamia Davis, Robert L Atmar, Mark J Mulligan, Kirsten E Lyke, Christine M Posavad, Megan A Meagher, David S Stephens, Kathleen M Neuzil, Kuleni Abebe, Heather Hill, Jim Albert, Kalyani Telu, Jinjian Mu, Teri C Lewis, Lisa A Giebeig, Amanda Eaton, Antonia Netzl, Samuel H Wilks, Sina Türeli, Mamodikoe Makhene, Sonja Crandon, David C Montefiori, Mat Makowski, Derek J Smith, Seema U Nayak, Paul C Roberts, John H Beigel, Covail Study Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Vaccine protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection wanes over time, requiring updated boosters. In a phase 2, open-label, randomized clinical trial with sequentially enrolled stages at 22 US sites, we assessed safety and immunogenicity of a second boost with monovalent or bivalent variant vaccines from mRNA and protein-based platforms targeting wild-type, Beta, Delta and Omicron BA.1 spike antigens. The primary outcome was pseudovirus neutralization titers at 50% inhibitory dilution (ID50 titers) with 95% confidence intervals against different SARS-CoV-2 strains. The secondary outcome assessed safety by solicited local and systemic adverse events (AEs), unsolicited AEs, serious AEs …

Factors, Enablers And Challenges For Covid-19 Vaccine Development, Jean-Louis Excler, Melanie Saville, Lois Privor-Dumm, Sarah Gilbert, Peter J Hotez, Didi Thompson, Salim Abdool-Karim, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a sense of vulnerability and urgency that led to concerted actions by governments, funders, regulators and industry to overcome traditional challenges for the development of vaccine candidates and to reach authorisation. Unprecedented financial investments, massive demand, accelerated clinical development and regulatory reviews were among the key factors that contributed to accelerating the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines. The rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines benefited of previous scientific innovations such as mRNA and recombinant vectors and proteins. This has created a new era of vaccinology, with powerful platform technologies and a new model for vaccine development. …

Vaccine Access, Equity And Justice: Covid-19 Vaccines And Vaccination, Lois Privor-Dumm, Jean-Louis Excler, Sarah Gilbert, Salim S Abdool Karim, Peter J Hotez, Didi Thompson, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Although significant progress has been made in achieving goals for COVID-19 vaccine access, the quest for equity and justice remains an unfinished agenda. Vaccine nationalism has prompted calls for new approaches to achieve equitable access and justice not only for vaccines but also for vaccination. This includes ensuring country and community participation in global discussions and that local needs to strengthen health systems, address issues related to social determinants of health, build trust and leverage acceptance to vaccines, are addressed. Regional vaccine technology and manufacturing hubs are promising approaches to address access challenges and must be integrated with efforts to …

Covid-19 Vaccines And The Pandemic: Lessons Learnt For Other Neglected Diseases And Future Threats, Peter J Hotez, Sarah Gilbert, Melanie Saville, Lois Privor-Dumm, Salim Abdool-Karim, Didi Thompson, Jean-Louis Excler, Jerome H Kim

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Through the experiences gained by accelerating new vaccines for both Ebola virus infection and COVID-19 in a public health emergency, vaccine development has benefited from a 'multiple shots on goal' approach to new vaccine targets. This approach embraces simultaneous development of candidates with differing technologies, including, when feasible, vesicular stomatitis virus or adenovirus vectors, messenger RNA (mRNA), whole inactivated virus, nanoparticle and recombinant protein technologies, which led to multiple effective COVID-19 vaccines. The challenge of COVID-19 vaccine inequity, as COVID-19 spread globally, created a situation where cutting-edge mRNA technologies were preferentially supplied by multinational pharmaceutical companies to high-income countries while …

Higher Risk Of Short Term Covid-19 Vaccine Adverse Events In Myositis Patients With Autoimmune Comorbidities: Results From The Covad Study, Mrinalini Dey, Naveen R, Elena Nikiphorou, Parikshit Sen, Sreoshy Saha, James B Lilleker, Vishwesh Agarwal, Sinan Kardes, Jessica Day, Marcin Milchert, Mrudula Joshi, Tamer Gheita, Babur Salim, Tsvetelina Velikova, Abraham Edgar Gracia-Ramos, Ioannis Parodis, Albert Selva O'Callaghan, Minchul Kim, Tulika Chatterjee, Ai Lyn Tan, Ashima Makol, Arvind Nune, Lorenzo Cavagna, Miguel A Saavedra, Samuel Katsuyuki Shinjo, Nelly Ziade, Johannes Knitza, Masataka Kuwana, Oliver Distler, Bhupen Barman, Yogesh Preet Singh, Rajiv Ranjan, Avinash Jain, Sapan C Pandya, Rakesh Kumar Pilania, Aman Sharma, Manesh M Manoj, Vikas Gupta, Chengappa G Kavadichanda, Pradeepta Sekhar Patro, Sajal Ajmani, Sanat Phatak, Rudra Prosad Goswami, Abhra Chandra Chowdhury, Ashish Jacob Mathew, Padnamabha Shenoy, Ajay Asranna, Keerthi Talari Bommakanti, Anuj Shukla, Arunkumar R Pande, Kunal Chandwar, John D Pauling, Chris Wincup, Döndü Üsküdar Cansu, Erick Adrian Zamora Tehozol, Jorge Rojas Serrano, Ignacio García-De La Torre, Nicoletta Del Papa, Gianluca Sambataro, Atzeni Fabiola, Marcello Govoni, Simone Parisi, Elena Bartoloni Bocci, Gian Domenico Sebastiani, Enrico Fusaro, Marco Sebastiani, Luca Quartuccio, Franco Franceschini, Pier Paolo Sainaghi, Giovanni Orsolini, Rossella De Angelis, Maria Giovanna Danielli, Vincenzo Venerito, Lisa S Traboco, Leonardo Santos Hoff, Suryo Anggoro Kusumo Wibowo, Stylianos Tomaras, Daman Langguth, Vidya Limaye, Merrilee Needham, Nilesh Srivastav, Akira Yoshida, Ran Nakashima, Shinji Sato, Naoki Kimura, Yuko Kaneko, Jesús Loarce-Martos, Sergio Prieto-González, Albert Gil-Vila, Raquel Arànega Gonzalez, Hector Chinoy, Vikas Agarwal, Rohit Aggarwal, Latika Gupta

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

No abstract provided.

Shedding Light On Mechanisms Of Myocarditis With Covid-19 Mrna Vaccines, Biykem Bozkurt

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

No abstract provided.

Sars-Cov-2 Variants Offer A Second Chance To Fix Vaccine Inequities, Peter J Hotez

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Global COVID-19 vaccine equity remains aspirational for much of the world. But the emergence of rapidly evolving SARS-CoV-2 variants provides new opportunities to correct past public policies, support local vaccine production and combat rising anti-vaccine aggression.

Evaluation Of Bnt162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine In Children Younger Than 5 Years Of Age, Flor M Muñoz, Lawrence D Sher, Charu Sabharwal, Alejandra Gurtman, Xia Xu, Nicholas Kitchin, Stephen Lockhart, Robert Riesenberg, Joanna M Sexter, Hanna Czajka, Grant C Paulsen, Yvonne Maldonado, Emmanuel B Walter, Kawsar R Talaat, Janet A Englund, Uzma N Sarwar, Caitlin Hansen, Martha Iwamoto, Chris Webber, Luke Cunliffe, Benita Ukkonen, Silvina N Martínez, Barbara A Pahud, Iona Munjal, Joseph B Domachowske, Kena A Swanson, Hua Ma, Kenneth Koury, Susan Mather, Claire Lu, Jing Zou, Xuping Xie, Pei-Yong Shi, David Cooper, Özlem Türeci, Uğur Şahin, Kathrin U Jansen, William C Gruber

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Safe and effective vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are urgently needed in young children.

METHODS: We conducted a phase 1 dose-finding study and are conducting an ongoing phase 2-3 safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy trial of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy children 6 months to 11 years of age. We present results for children 6 months to less than 2 years of age and those 2 to 4 years of age through the data-cutoff dates (April 29, 2022, for safety and immunogenicity and June 17, 2022, for efficacy). In the phase 2-3 trial, participants were randomly assigned (in a …

Evaluation Of Bnt162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine In Children Younger Than 5 Years Of Age, Flor M Muñoz, Lawrence D Sher, Charu Sabharwal, Alejandra Gurtman, Xia Xu, Nicholas Kitchin, Stephen Lockhart, Robert Riesenberg, Joanna M Sexter, Hanna Czajka, Grant C Paulsen, Yvonne Maldonado, Emmanuel B Walter, Kawsar R Talaat, Janet A Englund, Uzma N Sarwar, Caitlin Hansen, Martha Iwamoto, Chris Webber, Luke Cunliffe, Benita Ukkonen, Silvina N Martínez, Barbara A Pahud, Iona Munjal, Joseph B Domachowske, Kena A Swanson, Hua Ma, Kenneth Koury, Susan Mather, Claire Lu, Jing Zou, Xuping Xie, Pei-Yong Shi, David Cooper, Özlem Türeci, Uğur Şahin, Kathrin U Jansen, William C Gruber, C4591007 Clinical Trial Group

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

BACKGROUND: Safe and effective vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are urgently needed in young children.

METHODS: We conducted a phase 1 dose-finding study and are conducting an ongoing phase 2-3 safety, immunogenicity, and efficacy trial of the BNT162b2 vaccine in healthy children 6 months to 11 years of age. We present results for children 6 months to less than 2 years of age and those 2 to 4 years of age through the data-cutoff dates (April 29, 2022, for safety and immunogenicity and June 17, 2022, for efficacy). In the phase 2-3 trial, participants were randomly assigned (in a …

Optimized Workplace Risk Mitigation Measures For Sars-Cov-2 In 2022, Rowland Pettit, Bo Peng, Patrick Yu, Peter G Matos, Alexander L Greninger, Julie Mccashin, Christopher Ian Amos

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

596 million SARS-CoV-2 cases have been reported and over 12 billion vaccine doses have been administered. As vaccination rates increase, a gap in knowledge exists regarding appropriate thresholds for escalation and de-escalation of workplace COVID-19 preventative measures. We conducted 133,056 simulation experiments, evaluating the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus in hypothesized working environments subject to COVID-19 infections from the community. We tested the rates of workplace-acquired infections based on applied isolation strategies, community infection rates, methods and scales of testing, non-pharmaceutical interventions, variant predominance, vaccination coverages, and vaccination efficacies. When 75% of a workforce is vaccinated with a 70% efficacious vaccine …

A Longitudinal Seroepidemiology Study To Evaluate Antibody Response To Sars-Cov-2 Virus Infection And Vaccination In Children In Calgary, Canada From July 2020 To April 2022: Alberta Covid-19 Childhood Cohort (Ab3c) Study, Emily J Doucette, Joslyn Gray, Kevin Fonseca, Carmen Charlton, Jamil N Kanji, Graham Tipples, Susan Kuhn, Jessica Dunn, Payton Sayers, Nicola Symonds, Guosong Wu, Stephen B Freedman, James D Kellner

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

BACKGROUND: Measurement of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seropositivity is important to accurately understand exposure to infection and/or vaccination in specific populations. This study aimed to estimate the serologic response to SARS-CoV-2 virus infection and vaccination in children in Calgary, Alberta over a two-year period.

METHODS: Children with or without prior SARS-CoV-2 infections, were enrolled in Calgary, Canada in 2020. Venous blood was sampled 4 times from July 2020 to April 2022 for SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and spike antibodies. Demographic and clinical information was obtained including SARS-CoV-2 testing results and vaccination records.

RESULTS: 1035 children were enrolled and 88.9% completed all 4 visits; median …

From Concept To Delivery: A Yeast-Expressed Recombinant Protein-Based Covid-19 Vaccine Technology Suitable For Global Access, Peter J Hotez, Rakesh Adhikari, Wen-Hsiang Chen, Yi-Lin Chen, Portia Gillespie, Nelufa Y Islam, Brian Keegan, Rakhi Tyagi Kundu, Jungsoon Lee, Zhuyun Liu, Jason T Kimata, Numan Oezguen, Jeroen Pollet, Cristina Poveda, Kay Razavi, Shannon E Ronca, Ulrich Strych, Syamala R Thimmiraju, Leroy Versteeg, Maria Jose Villar-Mondragon, Junfei Wei, Bin Zhan, Maria Elena Bottazzi

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Introduction: The development of a yeast-expressed recombinant protein-based vaccine technology co-developed with LMIC vaccine producers and suitable as a COVID-19 vaccine for global access is described. The proof-of-concept for developing a SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor-binding domain (RBD) antigen as a yeast-derived recombinant protein vaccine technology is described.

Areas covered: Genetic Engineering: The strategy is presented for the design and genetic modification used during cloning and expression in the yeast system. Process and Assay Development: A summary is presented of how a scalable, reproducible, and robust production process for the recombinant protein COVID-19 vaccine antigen was developed. Formulation and Pre-clinical Strategy: …

Understanding The Implications Of Under-Reporting, Vaccine Efficiency And Social Behavior On The Post-Pandemic Spread Using Physics Informed Neural Networks: A Case Study Of China, Samiran Ghosh, Alonso Ogueda-Oliva, Aditi Ghosh, Malay Banerjee, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

In late 2019, the emergence of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, led to the implementation of stringent measures forming the zero-COVID policy aimed at eliminating transmission. Zero-COVID policy basically aimed at completely eliminating the transmission of COVID-19. However, the relaxation of this policy in late 2022 reportedly resulted in a rapid surge of COVID-19 cases. The aim of this work is to investigate the factors contributing to this outbreak using a new SEIR-type epidemic model with time-dependent level of immunity. Our model incorporates a time-dependent level of immunity considering vaccine doses administered and time-post-vaccination dependent vaccine efficacy. We find that vaccine …