Dear reader,
This issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics starts with a Profile of Intravacc Biotech (Veerman, p 1490) and a Portrait of Dr. Hazel M. Dockrell of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (p 1492).
Next, the Licensed Vaccines section presents seven research articles: economic evaluation of Herpes zoster vaccination in Switzerland (Blank, p 1495), safety and immunogenicity assessment of two formulations of hexavalent DTP-based vaccines (Vesikari, p 1505), analysis of antibody persistence following MMR vaccination at 12-15 months of age (Berry, p 1516), Phase 3 trial of a freeze-dried, live MMR vaccine with a novel mumps strain (Sood, p 1523), Phase 4 immunogenicity and safety study of a purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine (Sampath, p 1531), survey of contraindications to routine vaccinations in Chinese children (Liu, p 1539), and a report on measles cases among adolescents in southern Pakistan (Shakoor, p 1544).
Five articles on Immunotherapy include two reviews on CAR T design in treatment of solid tumors (Xu, p 1548) and tumor-promoting activity of macrophages (Wang, p 1556), a study on the role of IgG in allergy development (Sgnotto, p 1563), a report on Epstein-Barr virus in colorectal cancers (Al-Antary, p 1573), and a commentary discussing immuno-editing driven by antigenic competition (Hanna, p 1579).
The Novel Vaccines section features preclinical evaluation of recombinant DNA vaccine candidates against RSV (Farrag, p 1586), introduction of mutant Clostridium perfringens vaccine strain with reduced toxicity (Kang, p 1598), preclinical evaluation of Staphylococcus aureus capsular polysaccharides as vaccines (Cheng, p 1609), analysis of optimal dosage and immunization interval of MERS-CoV receptor-binding domain-based vaccines (Wang, p 1615), and a commentary on CD8+ T-cell mediated protection induced by malaria vaccines (Zhou, p 1625).
Four articles on Influenza include a report on deep phenotyping of immune responses to vaccination in the elderly (Akmatov, p 1630), a review of quadrivalent vaccines and their contribution to disease control (Ray, p 1640), immunogenicity and safety phase 3 study of a cell culture-derived inactivated quadrivalent vaccine (Choi, p 1653), and analysis of the link between vaccine responses, vitamin D levels and body mass indices (Lin, p 1661).
Two Technology articles present the use of vial stoppers in vaccine dose-cutting (Jarrahian, p 1666) and new approaches for characterization of genetic stability of vaccine cell lines (Ng, p 1669). Two research articles on Pneumococcal vaccines analyze the burden of community-acquired pneumonia in adults (Kosar, p 1673) and in Chinese children (Li, p 1681).
The Acceptance section reports on knowledge and attitudes towards influenza among Chinese medical students (Tuohetamu, p 1688) and on vaccine arguments among Italian YouTubers (Covolo, p 1693). The HPV section presents findings on differences in cervical cancer risk depending on birth year in Japan (Yagi, p 1700) and lack of evidence for an association between optic neuritis and vaccination (Sridhar, p 1705).
Finally, we introduce a report on the Public Health impact of a vaccination campaign among victims of earthquake (Pérez-Martín, p 1714), and commentaries on Rotavirus vaccination in Israel (Muhsen, p 1722) and novel Meningococcal vaccine formulations (Zughaier, p 1728).
Our monthly News, Policy and Profiles (NP&P) track offers a selection of the latest news in the field of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. In this section we also regularly publish opinion pieces on timely, interesting and controversial topics related to vaccines and immunotherapeutics, profiles of companies and organizations, as well as portraits of distinguished scientists in our field. Please contact Acquisitions Editor Adam Weiss ( [email protected]) with your ideas for commentaries, opinion pieces, profiles and portraits. Your suggestions for and contributions to our N&P&P track are always welcome!
Sincerely,
Ronald Ellis, PhD
Editor-in-Chief
Adam Weiss, PhD
Acquisitions Editor