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Incremental effectiveness of 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine against pneumonia hospitalisation among Australian Indigenous children: A record linkage study

The impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on pneumonia in children is well-documented but data on 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23) are lacking. Between 2001 and 2011, Indigenous children in Western Australia (WA) were recommended to receive PPV23 at 18-24 months of age following 3 doses of 7-valent PCV. We evaluated the incremental effectiveness of PPV23 against pneumonia hospitalisation.

Performance characteristics and potential public health impact of improved pre-erythrocytic malaria vaccines targeting childhood burden

New malaria vaccine development builds on groundbreaking recommendations and roll-out of two approved pre-erythrocytic vaccines (PEVs); RTS,S/AS01 and R21/Matrix-M. Whilst these vaccines are effective in reducing childhood malaria within yearly routine immunization programs or seasonal vaccination, there is little evidence on how different PEV efficacies, durations of protection, and spacing between doses influence the potential to avert uncomplicated and severe childhood malaria. 

Streptococcus pyogenes pharyngitis elicits diverse antibody responses to key vaccine antigens influenced by the imprint of past infections

Knowledge gaps regarding human immunity to Streptococcus pyogenes have impeded vaccine development. To address these gaps and evaluate vaccine candidates, we established a human challenge model of S. pyogenes pharyngitis. Here, we analyse antibody responses in serum and saliva against 19 antigens to identify characteristics distinguishing 19 participants who developed pharyngitis and 6 who did not.

Spatial co-distribution of tuberculosis prevalence and low BCG vaccination coverage in Ethiopia

While bacille-calmette-guerin (BCG) vaccination is one of the recommended strategies for preventing tuberculosis, its coverage is low in several countries, including Ethiopia. This study investigated the spatial co-distribution and drivers of TB prevalence and low BCG coverage in Ethiopia.

‘I leave most of the decisions up to her:’ Gendered parenting, un/equal decision work, and responsibility for COVID-19 vaccination

Vaccination scholarship focuses on how privilege, individualized choice and ‘intensive’ and ‘natural’ parenthood – often motherhood – lead people to delay or not vaccinate their children. Recently, examining parents’ vaccination responsibilities – and the inequalities in paid employment and unpaid care work underpinning them – has become important to understand COVID-19.

4CMenB Breadth of Immune Response, Immunogenicity, and Safety: Results from a Phase 3 Randomized, Controlled, Observer Blind Study in Adolescents and Young Adults

Meningococcal serogroup B (MenB) strains are highly diverse. Breadth of immune response for the MenB vaccine, 4CMenB, administered at 0-2, 0-6, or 0-2-6 months, was demonstrated by endogenous complement-human serum bactericidal antibody (enc-hSBA) assay against an epidemiologically relevant panel of 110 MenB strains.

Widening the lens for pandemic preparedness: children must be seen and heard

The Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) calls for urgent consideration of the needs and voices of children in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in planning for future pandemics.

Phase 1 trial of an investigational Tdap booster vaccine with CpG 1018 adjuvant compared with Boostrix in healthy adults and adolescents

This phase 1 trial assessed the safety and immunogenicity of an investigational tetanus/diphtheria/acellular pertussis vaccine combined with CpG 1018 adjuvant 1500 μg (Tdap-1018 1500 μg) or 3000 μg (Tdap-1018 3000 μg) in adults and adolescents.

“Our kids are our future”: Barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake and timeliness among Aboriginal children younger than five years in Boorloo (Perth), Western Australia

Rates of several vaccine preventable diseases, and associated hospitalisation, are higher among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children than non-Indigenous children. Western Australia has among the lowest childhood vaccine coverage in Australia, particularly among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. Delayed vaccination is also more common in this population. This project aimed to understand the barriers and facilitators to vaccine uptake and timeliness among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children aged under five years in Boorloo (Perth). 

Estimating the impact of Western Australia's first respiratory syncytial virus immunisation program for all infants: A mathematical modelling study

The Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration approved the use of nirsevimab, a long-acting monoclonal antibody for the prevention of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), in November 2023. Western Australia (WA) implemented a combination of nirsevimab administration strategies designed to protect all infants starting in April 2024, before the epidemic season. We developed a dynamic transmission model to predict the impact of WA's RSV immunisation program on infant hospitalisations.