Invasive Haemophilus influenza Type b in an Infant During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Return of Diseases We Hoped Never to See Again…

The Promising Potential of Reverse Vaccinology-Based Next-Generation Vaccine Development over Conventional Vaccines against Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

The clinical use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, leading to the current antibiotic resistance crisis. To address this issue, next-generation vaccines are being developed to prevent antimicrobial resistance caused by MDR bacteria. Traditional vaccine platforms, such as inactivated vaccines (IVs) and live attenuated vaccines (LAVs), were effective in preventing bacterial infections. However, they have shown reduced efficacy against emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including MDR M. tuberculosis. Additionally, the large-scale production of LAVs and IVs requires the growth of live pathogenic microorganisms. A more promising approach for the accelerated development of vaccines against antibiotic-resistant bacteria involves the use of in silico immunoinformatics techniques and reverse vaccinology. The bioinformatics approach can identify highly conserved antigenic targets capable of providing broader protection against emerging drug-resistant bacteria. Multi-epitope vaccines, such as recombinant protein-, DNA-, or mRNA-based vaccines, which incorporate several antigenic targets, offer the potential for accelerated development timelines. This review evaluates the potential of next-generation vaccine development based on the reverse vaccinology approach and highlights the development of safe and immunogenic vaccines through relevant examples from successful preclinical and clinical studies.

Emergence of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases: The Perfect Storm of Hesitancy, Refusal, a Pandemic, and War

The landscape of pediatric vaccination has changed dramatically due to changing attitudes toward immunizations and recent world events. The rise of vaccine hesitancy and refusal related to the concurrent rise of social media and anti-vaccination messages with misinformation campaigns have led to populations of children being unimmunized or under-immunized. These populations have been left vulnerable to the rapid spread of vaccine-preventable infection. Additionally, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and the clinical syndrome known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) resulted in the emergence of a worldwide pandemic. Control measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 resulted in numerous reports of children missing routine vaccines along with the stopping of many public health immunization programs. Finally, armed conflicts and war have led to large family migrations from their homelands to various countries and regions leading to increased risk for missed maternal and child immunization as well as difficulty in keeping vaccination records. [Pediatr Ann. 2022;51(11):e426-e430.].