Immunosenescence — the decline of immune system function with age — means that vaccines are not as effective in older adults, the demographic most susceptible to many diseases, including COVID-19.
A researcher wearing a face mask and gloves as a preventive measure inside a laboratory.
Chaiwat Subprasom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Vaccine development usually spans a number of decades. This is because there’s a need to understand the mechanisms of protection against the pathogen, and to minimise adverse reactions.
Caricature of vaccination scene at the Smallpox and Inoculation Hospital at St. Pancras Hospital in London, by James Giray, 1802.
Library of Congress
The success of the smallpox vaccine was far from guaranteed when Edward Jenner first published his treatise in late 18th century. A curator of the book talks about what we can learn from it today.
Today smallpox can only be found in deep freeze inside a few highly secured laboratories, like this one at the CDC in 1980.
CDC
The smallpox virus appears to have been with humanity for millennia before a global vaccination drive wiped it out. Current genome research suggests how smallpox spread and where it came from.
If your immunisation record is incomplete, you might repeat a vaccination unnecessarily, or miss out on government support, child care, or work. So it pays to check.
The World Health Organization estimates that 117 million people worldwide may have missed a vaccination during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Children may have fallen behind on their vaccination schedules during the pandemic, increasing the risk that COVID-19 may be followed by outbreaks of once-eradicated diseases.
The widespread fear of needles is a public health problem, particularly in the time of COVID-19.
Getty Images / Sean Gallup
The UK is investing heavily in preparation for mass manufacturing of a working COVID-19 vaccine.
Strategies to ease pain and fear during injections are recommended by health organizations such as the Canadian Paediatric Society.
(Heather Hazzan, SELF Magazine/flickr)
These strategies for easing needle pain and fear make vaccinations and other injections easier for parents and children. They are simple and helpful for all ages, from infants to adults.
Some vaccine sceptics have changed their tune.
Tasos Katopodis/Shutterstock
Kylie Quinn, RMIT University et Damian Purcell, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity
Several potential COVID-19 vaccines are in the pipeline, and Australian scientists are among those contributing to the research efforts. Here’s a look at where the research is at.
Globally, billions of dollars in public funds have been committed for COVID-19 vaccine development. It’s crucial that the resulting vaccine be accessible to all.
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Canada is investing millions to develop COVID-19 treatments, but there are no safeguards to ensure that those vaccines and medications will be affordable and accessible to the people who need them.
Films that dissolve rapidly when placed under the tongue or high in the cheek will make vaccines cheaper and more reliable.
Stephen C. Schafer
Inspired by amber and hard candy, researchers figured out a new, needle-free, shelf-stable way to preserve vaccines, making them easier to ship and administer around the world.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom at an Ebola treatment centre in Itipo.
Getty images/ Junior D. Kannah
Coronavirus has necessitated a global public health response. But what does ‘public health’ actually mean? Three key examples give us an idea of what public health looks like in action.
Bill Chen at San Francisco International Airport after arriving on a flight from Shanghai. Chen said his temperature was screened at the Shanghai airport before he departed.
AP Photo/Terry Chea
Air transportation unquestionably spreads disease. Should airlines be more proactive by requiring proof of vaccination? Two experts reflect on the current and former crises.
Dean Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of Vaccinology at University of the Witwatersrand; and Director of the SAMRC Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand