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Pacheco-García U, Serafín-López J. Indirect Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 Live-Attenuated Vaccine and Its Contribution to Herd Immunity. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:655. [PMID: 36992239 PMCID: PMC10055900 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11030655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
It has been 34 months since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic, which causes the COVID-19 disease. In several countries, immunization has reached a proportion near what is required to reach herd immunity. Nevertheless, infections and re-infections have been observed even in vaccinated persons. That is because protection conferred by vaccines is not entirely effective against new virus variants. It is unknown how often booster vaccines will be necessary to maintain a good level of protective immunity. Furthermore, many individuals refuse vaccination, and in developing countries, a large proportion of the population has not yet been vaccinated. Some live-attenuated vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are being developed. Here, we analyze the indirect dispersion of a live-attenuated virus from vaccinated individuals to their contacts and the contribution that this phenomenon could have to reaching Herd Immunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ursino Pacheco-García
- Department of Cardio-Renal Pathophysiology, Instituto Nacional de Cardiología “Ignacio Chávez”, Mexico City 14080, Mexico
| | - Jeanet Serafín-López
- Department of Immunology, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico City 11340, Mexico
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Zenone M, Snyder J, Marcon A, Caulfield T. Analyzing natural herd immunity media discourse in the United Kingdom and the United States. PLOS GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 2:e0000078. [PMID: 36962077 PMCID: PMC10021579 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgph.0000078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Natural herd immunity, where community-acquired infections in low-risk populations are used to protect high risk populations from infection-has seen high profile support in some quarters, including through the Great Barrington Declaration. However, this approach has been widely criticized as ineffective and misinformed. In this study, we examine media discourse around natural herd immunity in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) to better understand how this approach was promoted. Country-specific news media publications between March 11, 2020 and January 31, 2021 were searched for references to herd immunity. News articles focused on herd immunity and including a stakeholder quote about herd immunity were collected, resulting in 400 UK and 144 US articles. Stakeholder comments were then coded by name, organization, organization type, and concept agreement or disagreement. Government figures and a small but vocal coalition of academics played a central role in promoting natural herd immunity in the news media whereas critics were largely drawn from academia and public health. These groups clashed on whether: natural herd immunity is an appropriate and effective pandemic response; the consequences of a lockdown are worse than those of promoting herd immunity; high-risk populations could be adequately protected; and if healthcare resources would be adequate under a herd immunity strategy. False balance in news media coverage of natural herd immunity as a pandemic response legitimized this approach and potentially undermined more widely accepted mitigation approaches. The ability to protect high risk populations while building herd immunity was a central but poorly supported pillar of this approach. The presentation of herd immunity in news media underscores the need for greater appreciation of potential harm of media representations that contain false balance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Zenone
- Faculty of Public Health & Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jeremy Snyder
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Alessandro Marcon
- Health Law Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Timothy Caulfield
- Health Law Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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Doraiswamy S, Mamtani R, Cheema S. An in-depth analysis of 10 epidemiological terminologies used in the context of COVID-19. Scand J Public Health 2021; 50:819-826. [PMID: 34903120 PMCID: PMC9361413 DOI: 10.1177/14034948211057736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
AIM In this paper, we explore the contextual use of 10 epidemiological terminologies, their significance, and interpretation/misinterpretation in explaining various aspects of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS AND RESULTS We first establish the different purposes of the terms 'pandemic' and 'Public Health Emergency of International Concern.' We then discuss the confusion caused by using the 'case fatality rate' as opposed to 'infection fatality rate' during the pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the limited usefulness of identifying someone as 'pre-symptomatic.' We highlight the ambiguity in the 'positivity rate' and the need to be able to generate data on 'excess mortality' during public health emergencies. We discuss the relevance of 'association and causation' in the context of the facemask controversy that existed at the start of the pandemic. We point out how the accepted epidemiological practice of discussing 'herd immunity' in the context of vaccines has been twisted to suit the political motive of a public health approach. Given that a high proportion of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic, we go on to show how COVID-19 has blurred the lines between 'screening/diagnosis' and 'quarantine/isolation,' while giving birth to the new terminology of 'community quarantine.' CONCLUSIONS Applying the lessons learned from COVID-19 to better understand the above terminologies will help health professionals communicate effectively, strengthen the scientific agenda of epidemiology and public health, and support and manage future outbreaks efficiently.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ravinder Mamtani
- Institute for Population Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar
| | - Sohaila Cheema
- Institute for Population Health, Weill Cornell Medicine, Doha, Qatar
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Sellner J, M Jenkins T, J von Oertzen T, Bassetti CL, Beghi E, Bereczki D, Bodini B, Cavallieri F, Di Liberto G, Helbok R, Macerollo A, Maia LF, Oreja-Guevara C, Özturk S, Rakusa M, Sauerbier A, Soffietti R, Taba P, Pisani A, Priori A, Zedde M, Crean M, Burlica A, Twardzik A, Moro E. Primary prevention of COVID-19: Advocacy for vaccination from a neurological perspective. Eur J Neurol 2021; 28:3226-3229. [PMID: 33386655 DOI: 10.1111/ene.14713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Johann Sellner
- Department of Neurology, Landesklinikum Mistelbach-Gänserndorf, Mistelbach, Austria.,Department of Neurology, Christian Doppler Medical Center, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.,Department of Neurology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - Thomas M Jenkins
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK
| | - Tim J von Oertzen
- Faculty of Medicine, Johannes-Kepler Universität, Linz, Austria.,Department of Neurology 1, Kepler Universitätsklinikum, Linz, Austria
| | - Claudio L Bassetti
- Department of Neurology, University of Bern, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Ettore Beghi
- Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, IRCCS, Milan, Italy
| | - Daniel Bereczki
- Department of Neurology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Benedetta Bodini
- Department of Neurology, Sorbonne University, Saint-Antoine Hospital, APHP, Paris, France
| | - Francesco Cavallieri
- Neurology Unit, Neuromotor and Rehabilitation Department, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Giovanni Di Liberto
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Raimund Helbok
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Antonella Macerollo
- Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK.,School of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Luis F Maia
- Department of Neurology, Hospital Santo António, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,i3S-Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Celia Oreja-Guevara
- Department of Neurology, Hospital Clinico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Medicina, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Madrid, Spain.,IdISSC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Serefnur Özturk
- Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey
| | - Martin Rakusa
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
| | - Anna Sauerbier
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.,National Parkinson Foundation International Centre of Excellence, King's College Hospital, London, UK
| | - Riccardo Soffietti
- Department of Neuroscience, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Pille Taba
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Antonio Pisani
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alberto Priori
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neurology, 'Aldo Ravelli' Research Center, University of Milan and ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Marialuisa Zedde
- Neurology Unit, Neuromotor and Rehabilitation Department, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Michael Crean
- European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Headoffice, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anja Burlica
- European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Headoffice, Vienna, Austria
| | - Alex Twardzik
- European Academy of Neurology (EAN) Headoffice, Vienna, Austria
| | - Elena Moro
- Division of Neurology, CHU of Grenoble, Grenoble Alpes University, Grenoble Institute of Neurosciences, Grenoble, France
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