Search
Understanding immunity in humans to Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) is critical for the development of successful vaccines to prevent the morbidity and mortality attributed to Strep A infections. Despite decades of effort, no licensed vaccine against Strep A exists and immune correlates of protection are lacking; a major impediment to vaccine development.
Children with chronic medical conditions are at higher risk of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), but little is known about the effectiveness of the primary course of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in these children.
Many governments and institutions mandated COVID-19 vaccines. In late 2021, we sought to ascertain the perspectives of staff and students from The University of Western Australia about the State or the University mandating COVID-19 vaccines.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) groups within high-income countries are at risk of being left behind by the COVID-19 vaccination rollout. They face both access and attitudinal barriers, including low trust in government and health authorities.
Since 1955, the recommended strategy for rheumatic heart disease secondary prophylaxis has been benzathine penicillin G injections administered intramuscularly every 4 weeks. Due to dosing frequency, pain, and programmatic challenges, adherence is suboptimal. It has previously been demonstrated that BPG delivered subcutaneously at a standard dose is safe and tolerable and has favorable pharmacokinetics, setting the scene for improved regimens with less frequent administration.
The changing phenotype of coronarvirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may quickly render guideline-recommended interventions obsolete. We developed a 40-question clinician survey in consultation with the Australasian COVID-19 Trial site investigators. The survey was designed to assess clinician perceptions of the current treatment strategies and future research priorities in the management of non-critically ill patients admitted to hospital with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The eradication of smallpox is considered one of the greatest achievements of humankind, thanks to vaccination. The widespread availability of childhood vaccines has substantially reduced childhood morbidity and mortality. Devastating infections, such as polio, have almost disappeared due to vaccination. In 2021, it was estimated that vaccination against ten selected pathogens will have averted 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030. Increases in vaccine coverage and introduction of additional vaccines should reduce lifetime mortality by 72% in the 2019 birth cohort. However, access to vaccines that prevent life-threatening and disabling infectious diseases remains unequal.
Concerns regarding adverse events following immunisation are a barrier to vaccine uptake. Health professionals use vaccine safety surveillance systems (VSSSs) to monitor vaccines and inform the public of safety data. With little known about public attitudes, perceptions, and experiences with VSSS, we examined them in the context of COVID-19 vaccinations in Western Australia.
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) prevents pneumococcal disease and pneumonia, but indirect effects are poorly understood in low-coverage, high-burden settings like Papua New Guinea (PNG). PNG introduced 13-valent PCV (PCV13) in 2014. We aimed to assess direct and indirect effectiveness of PCV13 against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage among children with pneumonia or suspected meningitis in PNG
The estimated effectiveness of SMS (short message service) reminders for improving childhood vaccine coverage and timeliness has varied in previous studies. The observed heterogeneity in effectiveness may be explained in part by variation in reminder content or timing of the reminder relative to the vaccine schedule date. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a range of SMS reminders of varied content and timing for improving on-time childhood vaccination.