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Vaccines
Special Issues
Emerging Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Access for Vulnerable Populations
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Emerging Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Access for Vulnerable Populations

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 8521

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Donald J. Alcendor

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Physiology, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN 37208, USA
Interests: Zika virus pathobiology; cytomegalovirus pathobiology and vaccines; COVID-19 vaccines and health disparities; monkeypox; emerging pathogens
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Newly emerging viral pathogens such as the SARS-COV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 and the most recent Orthopox virus that causes Monkeypox have led to global infections that can be life-threatening, particularly in medically underserved and vulnerable individuals with underlying comorbidities. Approved vaccines are now available for some of these emerging pathogens; however, vaccine hesitancy and resistance have been particularly high among ethnic populations and rural communities due to a history and legacy of racial injustices, social inequities, and negative experiences within a long-standing, culturally insensitive healthcare system. Communities with poor vaccination rates are especially vulnerable, and continual community spread of the emerging pathogen can result in genetic changes that can allow these viral pathogens to be more contagious, cause more severe disease, and evade immune response produced by vaccinations. Therefore, it is essential to provide all communities with education, awareness, and access to safe and effective vaccines. In this Special Issue, we aim to target vaccine research, development, implementation, and education for emerging viral pathogens that cause morbidity and mortality in the general population. Both original research and review articles are welcome.

Dr. Donald J. Alcendor
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

  • emerging pathogens
  • viral
  • vaccines
  • community
  • research
  • hesitancy
  • Monkeypox
  • COVID-19
  • disparities
  • vaccine access

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 4864 KiB  
Article
COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Uptake among Minority Populations in Tennessee
by Donald J. Alcendor, Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Neely Williams, Derek Wilus, Mohammad Tabatabai, Esarrah Hopkins, Kirstyn George, Ashley H. Leon, Rafael Santiago, Arthur Lee, Duane Smoot, James E. K. Hildreth and Paul D. Juarez
Vaccines 2023, 11(6), 1073; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11061073 - 7 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2192
Abstract
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among Southern states in the US has been problematic throughout the pandemic. To characterize COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among medically underserved communities in Tennessee. We surveyed 1482 individuals targeting minority communities in Tennessee from 2 October 2021 [...] Read more.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among Southern states in the US has been problematic throughout the pandemic. To characterize COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and uptake among medically underserved communities in Tennessee. We surveyed 1482 individuals targeting minority communities in Tennessee from 2 October 2021 to 22 June 2022. Participants who indicated that they did not plan to receive or were unsure whether to receive the COVID-19 vaccine were considered vaccine-hesitant. Among participants, 79% had been vaccinated, with roughly 5.4% not likely at all to be vaccinated in the next three months from the date that the survey was conducted. When focusing particularly on Black/AA people and white people, our survey results revealed a significant association between race (Black/AA, white, or people of mixed Black/white ancestry) and vaccination status (vaccinated or unvaccinated) (p-value = 0.013). Approximately 79.1% of all participants received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals who were concerned with personal/family/community safety and/or wanted a return to normalcy were less likely to be hesitant. The study found that the major reasons cited for refusing the COVID-19 vaccines were distrust in vaccine safety, concerns about side effects, fear of needles, and vaccine efficacy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Access for Vulnerable Populations)
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Review

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12 pages, 3120 KiB  
Review
Vaccine Confidence and Uptake of the Omicron Bivalent Booster in Tennessee: Implications for Vulnerable Populations
by Donald J. Alcendor, Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Duane Smoot, Alexis Edwards, James E. K. Hildreth and Paul D. Juarez
Vaccines 2023, 11(5), 906; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11050906 - 27 Apr 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2348
Abstract
The COVID-19 Omicron variant and its subvariants are now the dominant variants circulating in the US. Therefore, the original COVID-19 vaccine cannot offer full protection. Instead, vaccines that target the spike proteins of the Omicron variants are warranted. Hence, the FDA recommended the [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 Omicron variant and its subvariants are now the dominant variants circulating in the US. Therefore, the original COVID-19 vaccine cannot offer full protection. Instead, vaccines that target the spike proteins of the Omicron variants are warranted. Hence, the FDA recommended the development of a bivalent booster. Unfortunately, despite the safety and immunogenicity of the Omicron bivalent boosters from Pfizer and Moderna, uptake in the US has been poor. At this time, only 15.8% of individuals in the US aged five and older have received the Omicron bivalent booster (OBB). The rate is 18% for those aged 18 and older. Poor vaccine confidence and booster uptake are often fueled by misinformation and vaccine fatigue. These result in more problems associated with vaccine hesitancy, which are particular prevalent in Southern states in the US. In Tennessee, the OBB vaccination rate for eligible recipients is only 5.88% at time of writing (16 February 2023). In this review, we discuss (1) the rationale for developing the OBBs; (2) the efficacy and safety of the bivalent boosters; (3) the adverse events associated with these boosters; (4) vaccine hesitancy associated with the OBBs uptake in Tennessee; (5) implications for vulnerable populations, disparities in uptake of OBBs in Tennessee, and strategies to improve vaccine confidence and OBB uptake. In support of public health, it is essential that we continue to provide education, awareness, and vaccine access to the vulnerable and medically underserved populations in Tennessee. Receiving the OBBs is the most effective method to date of protecting the public against severe COVID disease, hospitalization, and death. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Access for Vulnerable Populations)
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17 pages, 1496 KiB  
Review
The COVID-19 Vaccine and Pregnant Minority Women in the US: Implications for Improving Vaccine Confidence and Uptake
by Donald J. Alcendor, Patricia Matthews-Juarez, Duane Smoot, James E. K. Hildreth, Mohammad Tabatabai, Derek Wilus, Katherine Y. Brown and Paul D. Juarez
Vaccines 2022, 10(12), 2122; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10122122 - 12 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3137
Abstract
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOG) recommends the FDA-approved Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for all eligible pregnant women in the US. However, COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among pregnant minority women have been poor. While the underlying [...] Read more.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AGOG) recommends the FDA-approved Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and boosters for all eligible pregnant women in the US. However, COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among pregnant minority women have been poor. While the underlying reasons are unclear, they are likely to be associated with myths and misinformation about the vaccines. Direct and indirect factors that deter minority mothers in the US from receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines require further investigation. Here, we examine the historical perspectives on vaccinations during pregnancy. We will examine the following aspects: (1) the influenza and tetanus toxoid, reduced diphtheria toxoid, and acellular pertussis (Tdap) vaccinations during pregnancy; (2) the exclusion of pregnant and lactating women from COVID-19 vaccine trials; (3) COVID-19 vaccine safety during pregnancy, obstetric complications associated with symptomatic COVID-19 during pregnancy, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant minority women, and racial disparities experienced by pregnant minority women due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as their potential impact on pregnancy care; and (4) strategies to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake among pregnant minority women in the US. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among minority mothers can be mitigated by community engagement efforts that focus on COVID-19 vaccine education, awareness campaigns by trusted entities, and COVID-19-appropriate perinatal counseling aimed to improve COVID-19 vaccine confidence and uptake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Emerging Viral Pathogens and Vaccine Access for Vulnerable Populations)
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