Immunogenicity, Safety, and Coverage of Vaccines in Patients with Autoimmune Diseases

Dear Colleagues,

Patients with autoimmune diseases who are undergoing immunosuppressive therapy are considered vulnerable because they have a higher risk of infections compared to the general population. Serious infections in these patients are more frequent, leading to a higher mortality rate and can trigger disease reactivation. The increased risk of infection is likely due to the dysregulation of the immune system related to the disease itself and the immunodeficiency induced by immunosuppressive therapies. Common vaccinations, such as those against influenza and pneumococcus, have been proven safe and effective in these patients and are strongly recommended. On the other hand, the data supporting other vaccinations, such as VZV, HBV, and HPV, are reassuring but less robust. Additionally, information on the vaccine coverage rate in this patient population is limited. This Special Issue invites original research, systematic review, perspective, opinion, and clinical trial articles focusing on, but not limited to the following:

• Effectiveness and safety of different vaccines in patients with autoimmune diseases;
• Complex relationships between infections, vaccines, and autoimmune diseases;
• Rates of vaccine coverage in patients with autoimmune diseases;
• Impact of immunosuppressive agents on vaccine response;
• Specific T cell response induced by vaccination.

Dr. Andrea Picchianti-Diamanti
Prof. Dr. Delia Goletti
Guest Editors

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.