The Economic Value of Childhood Varicella Vaccination in France and Germany

OBJECTIVE: To determine the economic impact of childhood varicella vaccination in France and Germany. METHODS: A common methodology based on the use of a varicella transmission model was used for the two countries. Cost data (2002 per thousand) were derived from two previous studies. The analysis focused on a routine vaccination program for which three different coverage rates (CRs) were considered (90%, 70%, and 45%). Catch-up strategies were also analyzed. A societal perspective including both direct and indirect costs and a third-party payer perspective were considered (Social Security in France and Sickness Funds in Germany). RESULTS: A routine vaccination program has a clear positive impact on varicella-related morbidity in both countries. With a 90% CR, the number of varicella-related deaths was reduced by 87% in Germany and by 84% in France. In addition, with a CR of 90%, routine varicella vaccination induces savings in both countries from both societal (Germany 61%, France 60%) and third-party payer perspectives (Germany 51%, France 6.7%). For lower CRs, routine vaccination remains cost saving from a third-party payer perspective in Germany but not in France, where it is nevertheless cost-effective (cost per life-year gained of 6521 per thousand in the base case with a 45% CR). CONCLUSION: Considering the impact of vaccination on varicella morbidity and costs, a routine varicella vaccination program appears to be cost saving in Germany and France from both a societal and a third-party payer perspective. For France, routine varicella vaccination remains cost-effective in worst cases when a third-party payer perspective is adopted. Catch-up programs provide additional savings.     

新兵甲肝和乙肝疫苗联合免疫效果及安全性的对照研究

目的探讨新兵联合接种甲肝疫苗和乙肝疫苗的免疫效果及安全性。方法200名健康新兵随机均分为4组。A组:于0、6个月接种2剂甲肝减毒活疫苗,B组:于0、1、6个月接种3剂乙肝疫苗,C组:一侧上臂于0、6个月接种2剂甲肝减毒活疫苗,另一侧上臂于0、1、6个月接种3剂乙肝疫苗,D组:于0、6个月接种2剂甲、乙型肝炎联合疫苗。于首针后7个月时测定甲肝和乙肝抗体滴度,观察免疫效果和安全性。结果甲肝和乙肝疫苗双上臂同时接种,抗-HAV和抗-HBs的阳转率分别是100%和91.84%,与各自单独接种的免疫效果无显著性差异;按0、6个月2剂免疫程序接种甲、乙型肝炎联合疫苗,抗-HAV和抗-HBs的阳转率分别是100%和92.5%,与各自单独接种的免疫效果亦无显著性差异。结论新兵同时接种甲肝和乙肝疫苗安全、有效,若经济条件允许则可接种甲、乙型肝炎联合疫苗。     

影响大规模疫苗接种的社会经济因素分析

目的 了解影响成人疫苗接种率的有关社会经济影响因素。方法 选择广西河池市2个城镇，对5～60岁登记在册居民按有对照的组群随机抽样原则进行伤寒Vi疫苗和A群流脑疫苗的大规模接种；比较接种者的人口学和社会经济特征与接种率的关系。结果 应接种对象118071人，实际接种92476人，接种率为78．32％，其中伤寒Vi疫苗76．87％；流脑疫苗79．69％。城市接种率为77．29％，农村接种率为80．58％；5～9岁接种率最高，为89．65％；20～29岁组最低，仅为69．07％；男女接种率分别为79．07％和82．11％；高收入住户人群接种率最高达到90％左右；18～60岁人群中，按受教育程度分析以“小学毕业”人群接种率最高，为78．34％；按居住单元分析，学生的人群接种率最高，达92．01％，私营业主和退休人群接种率最低，分别为69．71％和68．82％；居住未满1年者的人群接种率最低．为62．5％．居住1～2年者接种率最高，为84．47％。结论 受教育程度、经济收入、居住年限以及城乡差别对接种率并无直接影响；流动性大、老年人是影响疫苗接种率的主要因素。     

伤寒Vi多糖菌苗免疫后长期效果观察

目的研究伤寒Vi多糖菌苗免疫后长期效果。方法现场实验流行病学。结果接种后伤寒Vi多糖菌苗1~3年的有一定的保护作用,且在这3年中保护效果无差别。结论接种伤寒Vi多糖菌苗是今后预防伤寒的重要措施之一,但不必要每年均接种。     

Stratégies d’immunothérapie dans les cancers colorectaux

Recent studies have underlined the close link between immune response and prognosis of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). Immune response understanding combined with biotechnology progress of the last years has allowed development of immunotherapy strategies in CRC. Immunotherapy strategies are divided in “active” or “passive” strategies (patients immune system stimulation or not) and considering the activation of antigen specific immune response or not. These immunotherapy strategies are well tolerated and induced cellular and humoral response correlated with clinical response. Many monoclonal antibodies targeting signalisation pathways or angiogenic growth factors have demonstrated their efficacy in CRC. Multiple vaccine strategies, using different tumour associated antigens, have demonstrated a biological efficacy but with poor clinical results. Results are more promising in adjuvant setting but need to be confirmed by randomized trials. Adoptive immunotherapy with transfer of tumour associated antigen specific T cell is probably the most promising strategy. Actually, except monoclonal antibodies, immunotherapy is not used in clinical practice in CRC due to the lack of results and absence of standardisation.     

New-onset crescent IgA nephropathy following the CoronaVac vaccine: A case report

Rationale:Although coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) remains a global threat, administering effective and safe vaccines is currently the most promising strategy to curb the ongoing pandemic and decrease the number of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections. However, there remains some uncertainty regarding the safety of vaccines for patients with kidney disease.Patient concerns:A 58-year-old man presented at our institution with gross hematuria 48 hours after receiving his first dose of the CoronaVac (Sinovac) vaccine.Diagnoses:Analysis of a renal biopsy sample led to the diagnosis of crescentic immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN), which we considered an adverse event of receiving the CoronaVac vaccine in China.Interventions:The patient’s serum creatinine and albumin levels were 1.20 mg/dL and 31.3 g/L, respectively; as such, he was administered a diuretic. His serum creatinine level had risen to 7.45 mg/dL 1 month later, and he developed high blood pressure. The patient then received conventional doses of hormone therapy but developed recurrent fever, which led to the suspicion of active tuberculosis (which he had a history of) and suspension of the hormone therapy.Outcomes:The patient’s renal function deteriorated further, and he ultimately underwent dialysis.Lessons:The patient’s course of events of apparent IgAN exacerbation should prompt nephrologists to closely follow patients with glomerular disease after they receive a COVID-19 vaccine, especially if persistent gross hematuria occurs.     

Vaccination Decreases the Infectious Viral Load of Delta Variant SARS-CoV-2 in Asymptomatic Patients

The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has caused many breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated individuals. While vaccine status did not generally impact the number of viral RNA genome copies in nasopharyngeal swabs of breakthrough patients, as measured by Ct values, it has been previously found to decrease the infectious viral load in symptomatic patients. We quantified the viral RNA, infectious virus, and anti-spike IgA in nasopharyngeal swabs collected from individuals asymptomatically infected with the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination decreased the infectious viral load, but not the amount of viral RNA. Furthermore, vaccinees with asymptomatic infections had significantly higher levels of anti-spike IgA in their nasal secretions compared to unvaccinated individuals with asymptomatic infections. Thus, vaccination may decrease the transmission risk of Delta, and perhaps other variants, despite not affecting the amount of viral RNA measured in nasopharyngeal swabs.     

Indirect Protection from Vaccinating Children against Influenza A Virus Infection in Households

Influenza vaccination is an important intervention to prevent influenza virus infection. Our previous analysis suggested that indirect protection is limited in an influenza B epidemic in Hong Kong. We further analyzed six influenza A epidemics to determine such potential. We applied a statistical model to estimate household transmission dynamics in the 3 influenza A(H3N2) and 3 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) epidemics. Then, we estimated the reduction in infection risk among unvaccinated household members when all children in households are vaccinated, with different assumptions on vaccine efficacy (VE). In the optimal scenario that VE was 70%, the reduction to the total probability of infection was only marginal, with relative probabilities ranged from 0.91–0.94 when all children in households were vaccinated because community was by far the main source of infection during the six epidemics in our study. The proportion of cases attributed to household transmission was 10% (95% CrI: 7%, 13%). Individual influenza vaccination is important even when other household members are vaccinated, given the degree of indirect protection is small.     

Susceptibility to Resurgent COVID-19 Outbreaks Following Vaccine Rollouts: A Modeling Study

Using the recently proposed Susceptible–Asymptomatic–Infected–Vaccinated–Removed (SAIVR) model, we study the impact of key factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine rollout effectiveness and the susceptibility to resurgent epidemics. The SAIVR model expands the widely used Susceptible–Infectious–Removed (SIR) model for describing epidemics by adding compartments to include the asymptomatic infected (A) and the vaccinated (V) populations. We solve the model numerically to make predictions on the susceptibility to resurgent COVID-19 epidemics depending on initial vaccination coverage, importation loads, continuing vaccination, and more contagious SARS-CoV-2 variants, under persistent immunity and immunity waning conditions. The parameters of the model represent reported epidemiological characteristics of the SARS-CoV-2 virus such as the disease spread in countries with high levels of vaccination coverage. Our findings help explain how the combined effects of different vaccination coverage levels and waning immunity lead to distinct patterns of resurgent COVID-19 epidemics (either surges or endemic), which are observed in countries that implemented different COVID-19 health policies and achieved different vaccinated population plateaus after the vaccine rollouts in the first half of 2021.     

Monkeypox: A Comprehensive Review

The 2022 multi-country monkeypox outbreak in humans has brought new public health adversity on top of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The disease has spread to 104 countries throughout six continents of the world, with the highest burden in North America and Europe. The etiologic agent, monkeypox virus (MPXV), has been known since 1959 after isolation from infected monkeys, and virulence among humans has been reported since the 1970s, mainly in endemic countries in West and Central Africa. However, the disease has re-emerged in 2022 at an unprecedented pace, with particular concern on its human-to-human transmissibility and community spread in non-endemic regions. As a mitigation effort, healthcare workers, public health policymakers, and the general public worldwide need to be well-informed on this relatively neglected viral disease. Here, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of monkeypox, including the following aspects: epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis, and management. In addition, the current review discusses the preventive and control measures, the latest vaccine developments, and the future research areas in this re-emerging viral disease that was declared as a public health emergency of international concern.