The path to eradication of rubella.

Since 1969, rubella and its harmful effect on fetuses infected in utero can be prevented by rubella vaccine, usually given in combination with measles vaccine. The rubella vaccine is highly protective both in children and in adults including women intending to become pregnant. Owing to the use of combined measles and rubella vaccines, congenital rubella infection has been eliminated from the Western Hemisphere and nearly all of Europe. Such combined vaccination is now being applied throughout the world, posing the possibility of eventual rubella eradication. The existence of viruses of animals related to rubella does not appear to be a barrier to eradication of the human virus. However, persistent rubella virus in infants infected in utero and of immunosuppressed patients with granulomas may pose a problem for eradication. Nevertheless, this review posits that eradication of rubella is now feasible if routine vaccination of infants and surveillance for chronic infection are correctly applied.

Historical Advances in Structural and Molecular Biology and How They Impacted Vaccine Development.

Vaccines are among the greatest tools for prevention and control of disease. They have eliminated smallpox from the planet, decreased morbidity and mortality for major infectious diseases like polio, measles, mumps, and rubella, significantly blunted the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prevented viral induced cancers such as cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus. Recent technological advances, in genomics, structural biology, and human immunology have transformed vaccine development, enabling new technologies such as mRNA vaccines to greatly accelerate development of new and improved vaccines. In this review, we briefly highlight the history of vaccine development, and provide examples of where advances in genomics and structural biology, paved the way for development of vaccines for bacterial and viral diseases.

Can We Prevent Congenital Infection by Cytomegalovirus?

Cytomegalovirus is now the most common cause of congenital infections, leading to numerous abnormalities. After 50 years of failed attempts to develop a licensed vaccine to be given to women before pregnancy, modern platforms for vaccine construction allow hope for an effective prophylactic.

Correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease.

Antibodies against epitopes in S1 give the most accurate CoP against infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. Measurement of those antibodies by neutralization or binding assays both have predictive value, with binding antibody titers giving the highest statistical correlation. However, the protective functions of antibodies are multiple. Antibodies with multiple functions other than neutralization influence efficacy. The role of cellular responses can be discerned with respect to CD4+ T cells and their augmentation of antibodies, and with respect to CD8+ cells with regard to control of viral replication, particularly in the presence of insufficient antibody. More information is needed on mucosal responses.

The scourge of vaccine falsification.

Fake vaccines trafficking is a recent but growing phenomenon, which represents a severe threat to public health. During the Covid-19 pandemic, anti-Covid vaccines have been a prime target for traffickers, but all types of vaccines are falsified by profit-hungry criminals. The consequences of falsification on global health are serious: decline in vaccination coverage, loss of control of epidemics which will claim yet more victims, and resurgence of diseases that were under control. Fake vaccines also fuel the mistrust of populations towards science and authorities. In order to tackle this scourge, a general and coordinated mobilization of all actors concerned is urgently needed: health professionals, political decision-makers, police and customs forces, judges and prosecutors, without forgetting the crucial awareness-raising of public opinion.

Recent updates on correlates of vaccine-induced protection.

Correlates of protection are key for vaccine development against any pathogen. In this paper we summarize recent information about correlates for vaccines against dengue, Ebola, influenza, pneumococcal, respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus, shigella, tuberculosis and Zika virus.

Rubella Eradication: Not Yet Accomplished, but Entirely Feasible.

Rubella virus is the most teratogenic virus known to science and is capable of causing large epidemics. The RA 27/3 rubella vaccine, usually combined with measles vaccine, has eliminated rubella and congenital rubella syndrome from much of the world, notably from the Western Hemisphere. Except in immunosuppressed individuals, it is remarkably safe. Together with rubella vaccine strains used in China and Japan, eradication of the rubella virus is possible, indeed more feasible than eradication of measles or mumps.

What have we learned from the COVID-19 plague?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating, but it enables us to learn from it and prepare for the next pandemic disease.

Evidence for antibody as a protective correlate for COVID-19 vaccines.

A correlate of protection (CoP) is urgently needed to expedite development of additional COVID-19 vaccines to meet unprecedented global demand. To assess whether antibody titers may reasonably predict efficacy and serve as the basis of a CoP, we evaluated the relationship between efficacy and in vitro neutralizing and binding antibodies of 7 vaccines for which sufficient data have been generated. Once calibrated to titers of human convalescent sera reported in each study, a robust correlation was seen between neutralizing titer and efficacy (ρ = 0.79) and binding antibody titer and efficacy (ρ = 0.93), despite geographically diverse study populations subject to different forces of infection and circulating variants, and use of different endpoints, assays, convalescent sera panels and manufacturing platforms. Together with evidence from natural history studies and animal models, these results support the use of post-immunization antibody titers as the basis for establishing a correlate of protection for COVID-19 vaccines.

The Facts About Vaccine Safety.

The Vaccine Compensation System evaluates true and false associations between vaccination and adverse events. The data from the system enable the calculation of the risk of serious adverse events per million doses given of each vaccine.