Pneumococcal Vaccines: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions
A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccines against Tropical and other Infectious Diseases".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 8
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) further complicates this issue, leading to a significant increase in treatment failures. In this context, vaccination becomes a critical tool to combat AMR and reduce disease, particularly among vulnerable groups like children and the elderly. While approved pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have proven highly effective, their success has been hindered by serotype replacement—a consequence of the selective pressure exerted by the vaccine on a diverse pool of existing serotypes. This phenomenon necessitates frequent updates to the vaccine to include additional serotypes. However, implementing these updated formulations in low-resource settings is often challenging, resulting in uneven vaccine distribution and contributing to the ongoing spread of disease. To address these limitations, significant research is underway to develop serotype-independent vaccines, including formulations based on well-characterized conserved protein antigens and novel candidates. This Special Issue will explore the leading candidates under investigation and provide critical analyses of preclinical and clinical findings. Key topics will encompass the following:
- Vaccine development from early-stage discovery to Phase 3 clinical trials;
- The application and limitations of various animal models;
- The crucial role of novel adjuvants and delivery systems.
This collection aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the field and inform future decisions regarding the development of next-generation pneumococcal vaccines and public health strategies.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Michelle Darrieux
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Streptococcus pneumoniae
- antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
- vaccination
- pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs)
- serotype replacement
- serotype-independent vaccines
- protein antigens
- reverse vaccinology
- clinical trials
- vaccine adjuvants
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