Submit to Vaccines Review for Vaccines Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Vaccines and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 41675

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pedro Plans-Rubió

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

1. Public Health Agency of Catalonia, Department of Health of Catalonia, 08005 Barcelona, Spain
2. Ciber of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), 28028 Madrid, Spain
Interests: vaccination programs; preventive interventions; epidemiology of vaccine-preventable diseases; seroepidemiology; cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccines and health programs; metabolic risk factors of chronic diseases; health policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vaccines are effective and cost-effective preventive interventions against infectious diseases occurring in children and adults. The importance of vaccines is emphasized by economic studies reporting that vaccines for children and adults are associated with low cost-effectiveness ratios and societal savings. Nevertheless, the percentages of vaccination coverage registered in developed and undeveloped countries in the target vaccination populations (children, adults, high-risk individuals, specific population groups) remain below the recommended levels. Vaccine hesitance, defined as a “delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services”, is one of the factors explaining suboptimal percentages of vaccination coverage. Vaccine hesitancy depends on the perceived risk of disease, accessibility of vaccines, and vaccine confidence. High confidence in vaccination programs is necessary to achieve high percentages of vaccination coverage. This Special Issue focuses on the strategies and practical solutions to increase the percentages of vaccination coverage by means of increasing vaccine confidence.

Dr. Pedro Plans-Rubió
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Vaccines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Vaccination coverage
Interventions to increase vaccination coverage
Vaccine confidence
Vaccine hesitance

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (11 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Editorial

Jump to: Research, Other

3 pages, 213 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Strategies to Increase the Percentages of Vaccination Coverage

by Pedro Plans-Rubió

Vaccines 2022, 10(12), 2103; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10122103 - 8 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1476

Abstract

In 2012, the WHO proposed the Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP) 2011–2020 to promote essential or routine vaccines among all children of the world [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Other

13 pages, 620 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness and Absence of Increased Influenza-like-Illness Epidemic Activity in the 2021–2022 Influenza Season in Catalonia (Spain) Based on Surveillance Data Collected by Sentinel Pharmacies

by Pedro Plans Rubió, Anna M. Jambrina, Pilar Rius, Gloria Carmona, Manel Rabanal and Montse Gironès

Vaccines 2022, 10(12), 2140; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10122140 - 14 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2302

Abstract

Influenza surveillance and influenza vaccination are the key activities for preventing and controlling influenza epidemics. The study assessed the influenza surveillance and influenza vaccination data obtained from sentinel pharmacies of Catalonia, Spain, in the 2021–2022 influenza season. The sentinel pharmacies were selected from all community pharmacies to report all influenza-like illness (ILI) cases detected during the 2021–2022 influenza season and collect influenza surveillance and influenza vaccination data. The ILI cases were identified based on European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) criteria. The moving epidemic method (MEM) was used to assess the ILI epidemic activity. The screening method was used to assess influenza vaccination effectiveness in patients aged 65-or-more years old. The sentinel pharmacies reported 212 ILI cases with a negative COVID-19 test and a total number of 402 ILI cases. An absence of increased ILI epidemic activity was observed in the 2021–2022 influenza season based on two criteria: (1) Number of ILI cases reported per week in the 2021–2022 influenza season significantly lower than the MEM-based epidemic threshold. (2) Mean number of ILI cases reported per week in the 2021–2022 influenza season significantly lower than during the ILI/influenza epidemic periods detected from 2017 to 2020 using the same methodology. Influenza vaccination was effective in preventing ILI among patients aged 65-or-more-years old. The absence of the influenza epidemic during the 2021–2022 influenza season could be explained by influenza vaccination and COVID-19 prevention measures (wearing face masks, social distancing). The sentinel pharmacies provided influenza surveillance data not provided by traditional influenza surveillance systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 278 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vaccination Status and Attitudes towards Vaccines in a Cohort of Patients with Celiac Disease

by Andrea Costantino, Marco Michelon, Leda Roncoroni, Luisa Doneda, Vincenza Lombardo, Claudio Costantino, Maurizio Vecchi and Luca Elli

Vaccines 2022, 10(8), 1199; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10081199 - 27 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1928

Abstract

(1) Background: The identification of vaccination status and attitudes towards vaccines among celiac disease (CD) patients is of great importance, but it has not yet been investigated. The aim of this study was to investigate coverage against vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs), attitudes towards vaccinations, and its determinants among CD patients. (2) Methods: An anonymous web-based validated questionnaire was sent to a mailing list of CD adult patients. Patients were asked to self-report their previous vaccinations and attitudes towards vaccinations, which were defined as positive, negative, and partially positive/negative. The influencing factors towards vaccinations were investigated, and crude and adjusted odds ratios (AdjORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. (3) Results: The questionnaire was sent to 412 patients, with a response rate of 31.6% (130 patients, 105 women, median age 40 years, interquartile range 36–51). Patients self-reported vaccination against the following diseases: 73.8% tetanus, 42.3% flu, 20% measles, mumps and rubella, 19.2% meningitis, and 16.2% pneumococcus. Thirty-two people (24.6%) did not remember all of their previous vaccinations. In total, 104 (80%) respondents had a positive attitude towards vaccines, 25 (19.2%) a partially positive/negative one, and 1 a negative one. The determinants significantly influencing the positive attitude were being a graduate (AdjORs 7.49) and a belief in the possible return of VPDs with declining vaccination coverage rates (AdjORs 7.42), while the use of complementary and alternative medicines (AdjORs 0.11) and past negative experience (AdjORs 0.16) were associated with a negative attitude. (4) Conclusions: Despite four out of five CD patients showing a strong positive attitude towards vaccinations, one out of five had a partially negative one. Only a minority (16–20%) reported being vaccinated against some VPDs potentially harmful to their CD because of hyposplenism, such as meningitis and pneumococcus. The low vaccination rate against some VPDs, in spite of the 80% of CD patients stating a positive attitude towards vaccination, may be explained in part by patients’ vaccine hesitancy and in part by a possible role of physicians in under-prescribing vaccinations to these patients. These results may be a starting point for developing specific vaccination campaigns to increase vaccination rates against VPDs in CD patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

14 pages, 1368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19 Passport as a Factor Determining the Success of National Vaccination Campaigns: Does It Work? The Case of Lithuania vs. Poland

by Marcin Piotr Walkowiak, Justyna B. Walkowiak and Dariusz Walkowiak

Vaccines 2021, 9(12), 1498; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9121498 - 18 Dec 2021

Cited by 41 | Viewed by 5825

Abstract

As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic poses a global threat, it is of utmost importance that governments should find effective means of combating vaccine hesitancy and encouraging their citizens to vaccinate. In our article, we compare the vaccination outcomes in the past months in two neighbouring post-communist EU states, Lithuania and Poland. Both introduced COVID-19 certificates, but only the former followed with gradual limitations for those who failed to get vaccinated, beginning with restricted access to restaurants, sports facilities and indoor events, and finally banning residents without a certificate from entering supermarkets or larger shops and using most services. By contrast, in Poland, the certificate remained a tool for international travel only. We show using statistical data that Lithuania’s strict policy, regardless of its social implications, led to markedly higher vaccination outcomes in all age groups than those in Poland at the time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 5098 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Pope Francis’ Religious Authority and Media Coverage on Twitter User’s Attitudes toward COVID-19 Vaccination

by Arkadiusz Gaweł, Marzena Mańdziuk, Marek Żmudziński, Małgorzata Gosek, Marlena Krawczyk-Suszek, Mariusz Pisarski, Andrzej Adamski and Weronika Cyganik

Vaccines 2021, 9(12), 1487; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9121487 - 16 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4048

Abstract

This paper is interdisciplinary and combines the research perspective of medical studies with that of media and social communication studies and theological studies. The main goal of this article is to determine [from arguments on all sides of the issue] whether, and to what extent, statements issued by a religious authority can be used as an argument in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The authors also want to find answers to the questions of how the pope’s comments affect public opinion when they concern the sphere of secular and everyday life, including issues related to health care. The main method used in this study is desktop research and the analysis of the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on vaccination and on the types and significance of the pope’s statements on various topics. The auxiliary methods are sentiment analysis and network analysis made in the open source software Gephi. The authors are strongly interested in the communication and media aspect of the analyzed situation. Pope Francis’ voice on the COVID-19 vaccination has certainly been noticed and registered worldwide, but the effectiveness of his message and direct impact on Catholics’ decisions to accept or refuse the COVID-19 vaccination is quite questionable and would require further precise research. Comparing this to the regularities known from political marketing, one would think that the pope’s statement would not convince the firm opponents of vaccination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 8075 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Motivating Seasonal Influenza Vaccination and Cross-Promoting COVID-19 Vaccination: An Audience Segmentation Study among University Students

by Daisy Lee, Sharyn Rundle-Thiele and Gabriel Li

Vaccines 2021, 9(12), 1397; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9121397 - 25 Nov 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4538

Abstract

In the response to the coronavirus pandemic, much attention has been invested in promoting COVID-19 vaccination. However, the impact of seasonal influenza should not be neglected, particularly during the winter influenza surge. Currently, most influenza vaccination campaigns target at healthcare workers or high-risk population groups, while COVID-19 vaccination programmes are targeting the whole population as a single homogeneous group. There is limited research on the promotion of influenza vaccination for university students who study, live, and socialise in close contact with a large variety of people on campus, resulting in a low vaccination rate among this underserved group. Thus, a vaccination programme tailored for university students should be developed to increase protection against influenza-like illnesses and complications, and to help achieve herd immunity across populations who spread viruses. WHO has advocated the potential value of social marketing in vaccination campaigns and highlighted the need for audience segmentation as a major prerequisite component of intervention design. This study aims to identify distinct and homogeneous groups of university students based on sociodemographic, psychographic, and behavioural attributes to inform interventions. Two-step cluster analysis was applied in a sample size of 530 university students and revealed four segments that demonstrate statistically significant differences in their attitudes, behaviours, intentions, and responses to promotion messages about seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccination. The findings provide a detailed understanding of segment characteristics among university students that can be applied to develop an effective social marketing campaign that can motivate influenza vaccination and cross-promote uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Changes in Attitudes and Beliefs Concerning Vaccination and Influenza Vaccines between the First and Second COVID-19 Pandemic Waves: A Longitudinal Study

by Alexander Domnich, Riccardo Grassi, Elettra Fallani, Alida Spurio, Bianca Bruzzone, Donatella Panatto, Barbara Marozzi, Maura Cambiaggi, Alessandro Vasco, Andrea Orsi and Giancarlo Icardi

Vaccines 2021, 9(9), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9091016 - 13 Sep 2021

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4943

Abstract

Perceptions of the risks of vaccine-preventable diseases and preventive behaviors change over time. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic may have modified laypeople’s attitudes towards routine vaccinations. In this longitudinal study, we aimed to assess changes in attitudes and beliefs concerning (influenza) vaccines between the first and second COVID-19 pandemic waves. A total of 1979 participants completed both 2020 and 2021 surveys. After one year, more interviewees agreed that vaccines were fundamental and should be mandatory (77.3% vs. 75.0%). Analogously, willingness to undergo influenza vaccination increased (p < 0.001) from 44.1% to 48.6%. This increase was seen in subjects aged ≥35 years. Previous influenza vaccinations, receipt of a COVID-19 vaccine, positive attitudes towards (influenza) vaccination, male sex, and older age were the main correlates of willingness to receive the 2021/22 influenza vaccine. Totals of 12.6% and 11.8% had no intention to receive the next seasonal influenza and COVID-19 vaccines, respectively. Most respondents favored a hypothetical combined influenza/COVID-19 vaccine (73.7%) or influenza and COVID-19 vaccine co-administration (67.5%). In Italy, influenza and COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy and refusal are common. Effective public health strategies to pursue higher uptake of both vaccines are urgently needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 18519 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Using Household Surveys to Assess Missed Opportunities for Simultaneous Vaccination: Longitudinal Examples from Colombia and Nigeria

by Dale A. Rhoda, Mary L. Prier, Caitlin B. Clary, Mary Kay Trimner, Martha Velandia-Gonzalez, M. Carolina Danovaro-Holliday and Felicity T. Cutts

Vaccines 2021, 9(7), 795; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9070795 - 16 Jul 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3669

Abstract

One important strategy to increase vaccination coverage is to minimize missed opportunities for vaccination. Missed opportunities for simultaneous vaccination (MOSV) occur when a child receives one or more vaccines but not all those for which they are eligible at a given visit. Household surveys that record children’s vaccination dates can be used to quantify occurrence of MOSVs and their impact on achievable vaccination coverage. We recently automated some MOSV analyses in the World Health Organization’s freely available software: Vaccination Coverage Quality Indicators (VCQI) making it straightforward to study MOSVs for any Demographic & Health Survey (DHS), Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), or Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) survey. This paper uses VCQI to analyze MOSVs for basic vaccine doses among children aged 12–23 months in four rounds of DHS in Colombia (1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010) and five rounds of DHS in Nigeria (1999, 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018). Outcomes include percent of vaccination visits MOSVs occurred, percent of children who experienced MOSVs, percent of MOSVs that remained uncorrected (that is, the missed vaccine had still not been received at the time of the survey), and the distribution of time-to-correction for children who received the MOSV dose at a later visit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

10 pages, 296 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Attitude towards Vaccination among Health Science Students before the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Pérez-Rivas Francisco Javier, Del Gallego-Lastra Ramón, Esteban-Garcimartín Ana, Marques-Vieira Cristina Maria Alves and Ajejas Bazán María Julia

Vaccines 2021, 9(6), 644; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9060644 - 12 Jun 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3099

Abstract

Health science students are tomorrow’s health professionals, the duties of whom could include vaccination. This work examines the general attitude towards vaccination in students attending the Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Chiropody at a university in Madrid, Spain, using the ‘Attitudes and Behaviour With Regard To Vaccination Among Health Science Students Questionnaire’. The results were subjected to multivariate analysis to identify the influence of sex, the degree being pursued, and ‘course year’. The number of students vaccinated against influenza in the campaign preceding the present study was also recorded, as were the factors that influenced decision-making in this regard. A total of 934 students completed the questionnaire. Their beliefs regarding vaccination were positive (mean score 3.23 points out of 4), as was their behaviour (3.35/4). Their general attitude (all variables taken together) was therefore also good (3.27/4). Only 26.8% of the students had been vaccinated against influenza. Beliefs scores among the students of nursing in their more senior course years were significantly better than those recorded for all other groups. These students also showed the best general attitude towards vaccination and formed the largest group vaccinated against influenza. The results obtained are encouraging since nursing students are the most likely of future healthcare professionals to be involved in vaccination programmes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

Other

Jump to: Editorial, Research

10 pages, 1154 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Scientific Misinformation and Mistrust of COVID-19 Preventive Measures among the UK Population: A Pilot Study

by Alessandro Siani and Imogen Green

Vaccines 2023, 11(2), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11020301 - 30 Jan 2023

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4095

Abstract

The popularisation of complex biomedical concepts brought about by COVID-19 has led to the rapid proliferation and diffusion of scientific misinformation, particularly among individuals with inadequate levels of scientific and digital literacy. A cross-sectional online survey of a UK population sample was conducted to address three key aims: to verify whether there is a correlation between participants’ belief in false information around COVID-19 and adherence to preventive measures; to investigate whether participants’ scientific misinformation and preventive behaviour are associated with their demographic characteristics; and to evaluate whether participants’ scientific misinformation and preventive behaviour can predict their likelihood of having contracted COVID-19. Non-parametric data analysis highlighted a strong negative correlation between participants’ belief in misinformation and their trust in preventive measures. Both variables were significantly associated with participants’ education levels, but not with their religious beliefs. Remarkably, neither science misinformation levels nor the trust in preventive measures were statistically associated with the likelihood of having contracted COVID-19. Taken together, these findings reinforce the urgency of ensuring that the population is equipped with adequate scientific literacy to enable them to evaluate the reliability of scientific information and recognise the importance of individual preventive behaviours to minimise community spread of infectious diseases. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 573 KiB

Open AccessSystematic Review

Organisational and Structural Drivers of Childhood Immunisation in the European Region: A Systematic Review

by Ronan Lemwel Valdecantos, Raffaele Palladino, Andrea Lo Vecchio, Emma Montella, Maria Triassi and Antonio Nardone

Vaccines 2022, 10(9), 1390; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10091390 - 25 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3687

Abstract

Despite the implementation of widespread vaccination programs, the European Health Systems continue to experience care challenges attributable to organizational and structural issues. This study aimed to review the available data on aspects within the organizational and structural domains that might impact vaccination coverage. We searched a comprehensive range of databases from 1 January 2007 to 6 July 2021 for studies that reported quantitative or qualitative research on interventions to raise childhood vaccine coverage. Outcome assessments comprised organizational and structural factors that contribute to vaccine concern among pediatric parents, as well as data reported influencing the willingness to vaccinate. To analyze the risk of bias, the Ottawa, JBI’s (Joanna Briggs Institute) critical appraisal tool, and Amstar quality assessment were used accordingly. The inclusion criteria were met by 205 studies across 21 articles. The majority of the studies were conducted in the United Kingdom (6), the European Union (3), and Italy (3). A range of interventions studied in primary healthcare settings has been revealed to improve vaccination coverage rates including parental engagement and personalization, mandatory vaccination policies, program redesign, supply chain design, administering multiple/combination vaccines, improved vaccination timing and intervals, parental education and reminders, surveillance tools and Supplemental Immunisation Activity (SIA), and information model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Strategies to Increase Vaccination Coverage and Vaccine Confidence 2.0

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (11 papers)

Editorial

Research

Other

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI