Game Changers: 5 Global Vaccine Innovations on the Horizon

 The world fell behind on immunizations during COVID. Now it’s time to play catch-up and, with some new breakthroughs, really move the needle on preventing disease and deaths.

“The Big Catch-Up,” the theme of this year’s World Immunization Week (April 24-30), is both a reference to the state of global immunizations following the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and a call to action.

 

The annual observance “comes at a critical time” said William J. Moss, MD, MPH, moderator of a recent panel on potentially game-changing vaccine developments in honor of WIW. Because of COVID-19, “[immunization] levels decreased in more than 100 countries with millions of children missing out on lifesaving protection … It’s critical that we restore immunization services.”

 

The pandemic also made possible the potential for real innovation in terms of the technology, evaluation, and speed with which vaccines come to the market, Moss pointed out.

 

It’s a good time to take stock. In the webinar, five public health experts presented exciting advances in the world of vaccines—some of which could help facilitate “The Big Catch-Up,” and perhaps even leapfrog the field beyond the previous status quo. These include microarray patches and new advances in much-needed vaccines for malaria, RSV, tuberculosis, and Shigella. There’s also interplay between these advances: As we learned with COVID, breakthroughs in vaccines for one disease can lend knowledge and problem solving to others.

To learn more about the related topics being discussed at the Vaccine Congress 2024, you can join the conference.

For info: https://vaccines.annualcongress.com/