Innovations in Vaccines for Poorly Responding Populations

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2027 | Viewed by 2033

Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27101, USA
Interests: influenza vaccines for newborns; maternal antibody; newborn immunity

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Guest Editor
Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, USA
Interests: vaccines in older adults

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Infectious diseases remains a major public health concern, particularly for populations that exhibit a suboptimal response to vaccines. These include infants, older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and those with chronic health conditions. These groups continue to experience disproportionately high rates of infection-related complications, hospitalizations, and mortality.

Recent advances in immunology, vaccine technology, and delivery systems offer opportunities to enhance the effiacy of vaccines in these vulnerable populations. This Special Issue aims to highlight innovative strategies and translational research that addresses the unique immunological and clinical challenges faced by these groups of people.

Original research articles and reviews are welcome. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:

  • Vaccine strategies for the pediatric, elderly, and immunocompromised populations;
  • Impact of route of delivery in driving protective response;
  • mRNA and other next-generation platforms tailored for low responders;
  • Immunological mechanisms underlying poor vaccine responses;
  • Biomarkers and correlates of protection in vulnerable groups;
  • Personalized or precision vaccination approaches;
  • Real-world effectiveness and safety data in high-risk populations. 

We aim compile at least 10 high-quality contributions that collectively advance research in the field. We look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Prof. Dr. Martha Alexander-Miller
Prof. Dr. Kenneth E. Schmader
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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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.

Keywords

  • vaccines
  • infants
  • newborns
  • elderly
  • immunocompromised
  • high-risk populations
  • adjuvants
  • novel vacine platforms
  • correlates of protection
  • vaccine effectiveness

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

20 pages, 3253 KB  
Review
Vaccine Responses in Early Age
by Swetha Parvathaneni, Jiro Sakai, Lunhua Liu and Mustafa Akkoyunlu
Vaccines 2026, 14(7), 629; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines14070629 - 18 Jul 2026
Viewed by 1276
Abstract
Neonates and infants exhibit fundamentally distinct immune responses compared to adults, resulting in increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and reduced vaccine efficacy. These age-specific responses are characterized by developmental constraints affecting both adaptive and innate immunity. T cell-independent (TI) responses to polysaccharide vaccines [...] Read more.
Neonates and infants exhibit fundamentally distinct immune responses compared to adults, resulting in increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and reduced vaccine efficacy. These age-specific responses are characterized by developmental constraints affecting both adaptive and innate immunity. T cell-independent (TI) responses to polysaccharide vaccines are severely impaired due to reduced transmembrane activator and calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand interactor (TACI) expression on neonatal B cells, while T cell-dependent (TD) responses are compromised by Th2 bias in the CD4+ T cell compartment, and by restricted T follicular helper (Tfh) cell development. Emerging data suggest that cytokines such as IL-6 have completely opposite effects on Tfh cell development between adults and neonates. Germinal center (GC) B cell responses are further constrained by delayed follicular dendritic cell (FDC) maturation, impaired B cell receptor (BCR) signaling, and elevated frequencies of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells. The overall immunosuppressive phenotype associated with early age extends to the neonatal innate immune system as exhibited by altered dendritic cell (DC) subset distribution, decreased IL-12p70 production, lower expression of MHC class II and co-stimulatory molecules, and increased IL-10 secretion. To overcome these immune constraints, various adjuvants that are shown to enhance immune response to vaccines in adults are considered for early age vaccines. Although some of these adjuvants show promising results in animal experiments, mechanistic studies need to be conducted in detail since adult and neonatal in vivo environments may dictate different outcomes between the two age groups, especially because early-life adjuvant exposure may have long-lasting effects on immune system programming. Elucidation of age-specific immune responses to vaccines and adjuvants will help develop age-tailored strategies to develop safe and effective pediatric vaccines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Innovations in Vaccines for Poorly Responding Populations)
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