Debates over vaccine mandates raise intense emotions, as reflected in the current controversy over whether to mandate the vaccine against human papilloma virus (HPV), the virus that can cause cervical cancer. Public health ethics so far has failed to facilitate meaningful dialogue between the opposing sides. When stripped of its emotional charge, the debate can be framed as a contest between co...

BACKGROUND This study aims to summarise and describe the evolution of published economic evaluations of vaccines in Canada, thereby outlining the current state of this expanding and meaningful research. METHODS Using Arksey and O'Malley's scoping review framework we assembled relevant research from both academic and grey literature. Following abstract and full-text review we identified 60 art...

BACKGROUND Continued parental acceptance of childhood vaccination is essential for the maintenance of herd immunity and disease prevention. As such, understanding parents' decision-making in relation to their children's vaccinations is vitally important. OBJECTIVE This qualitative study sought to develop an understanding of the general process parents go through when making decisions about th...

This study compares the persistence of measles IgG antibody in 239 children vaccinated at 6-8 months of age with 76 children vaccinated after 8 months of age. Among the children vaccinated prior to 9 months, 49 per cent of the children between 16 and 44 months and 33 per cent of children over 54 months had levels of measles IgG antibody conventionally considered protective. Among the children o...

A survey was conducted in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia to investigate the presence of Rift Valley fever (RVF) in sheep and goats, by clinical identification of suspected herds and detection of immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies to RVF virus. The level of herd immunity was identified by detecting immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. Rift Valley fever was diagnosed in six out of eight districts ...

The problem of achieving widespread immunity to infectious diseases by voluntary vaccination is often presented as a public-goods dilemma, as an individual's vaccination contributes to herd immunity, protecting those who forgo vaccination. The temptation to free-ride brings the equilibrium vaccination level below the social optimum. Here, we present an evolutionary game-theoretic approach to th...

The United Kingdom introduced meningococcal serogroup C conjugate (MCC) vaccines in 1999, resulting in substantial declines in serogroup C disease and carriage. Here, we measured the age-specific prevalence of serum bactericidal antibodies (SBA) to Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C and immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations to serogroups A, C, W-135, and Y in 2,673 serum samples collected in En...

Vaccination can provide an immune response that is similar in duration to that following a natural infection. In general, adaptive immunity to viruses develops earliest and is highly effective. Such anti-viral immune responses often result in the development of sterile immunity and the duration of immunity (DOI) is often lifelong. In contrast, adaptive immunity to bacteria, fungi or parasites d...

The United States is on the verge of a public health crisis. For decades, all 50 states have required that parents vaccinate their children against various diseases, including polio and measles, as a prerequisite to enrolling them in public schools [1]. While virtually all states have tailored their immunization statutes to exempt those with religious (and sometimes philosophical) objections to...

OBJECTIVES The effectiveness of vaccines in populations must consider both direct and indirect protection. This study reanalyses data from a large individually randomized oral cholera vaccine trial that was conducted in rural Bangladesh from 1985 to 1990. A recent analysis of the results of that trial showed that the proportion of people in household clusters who received the vaccine was invers...