Frontiers in immunology
-
Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2021
ReviewAddressing Parental Vaccine Hesitancy and Other Barriers to Childhood/Adolescent Vaccination Uptake During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic.
Routine childhood immunizations are proven to be one of the most effective public health interventions at controlling numerous deadly diseases. Therefore, the CDC recommends routine immunizations for children and adolescent populations against vaccine-preventable diseases e.g., tetanus, pertussis, diphtheria, etc. This current review sought to examine barriers to pediatric vaccine uptake behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ Healthcare providers are uniquely positioned to offer effective recommendations with presumptive languaging to increase vaccination rates, as well as, address parental vaccine hesitancy. Best practices that incorporate healthcare providers' quality improvement coaching, vaccination reminder recall systems, adherence to standardized safety protocols (physical distancing, hand hygiene practices, etc.), as well as, offer telehealth and outdoor/drive-through/curbside vaccination services, etc. are warranted. Additionally, a concerted effort should be made to utilize public health surveillance systems to collect, analyze, and interpret data, thereby, ensuring the dissemination of timely, accurate health information for effective health policy decision-making e.g., vaccine distribution, etc.
-
Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2021
ReviewPerspectives for the Use of CAR-T Cells for the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma.
During recent years considerable progress has been made in the treatment of multiple myeloma. However, despite the current improvements in the prognosis of this malignancy, it always ends with relapse, and therefore new therapy approaches for destroying resistant cancer cells are needed. Presently, there is great hope being placed in the use of immunotherapy against refractory/relapsed multiple myeloma which is unresponsive to any other currently known drugs. ⋯ Serious adverse events such as cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity should also be considered as possible side effects of CAR-T cell therapy. Here, we discuss the results of CAR-T cell therapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma, where we describe its main advantages and disadvantages. Additionally, we also describe the current results that have been obtained on using combinations of CAR-T cell therapies with other drugs for the treatment of multiple myeloma.
-
Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2021
Multicenter Study Observational StudyPre-Treatment Neutrophil Count as a Predictor of Antituberculosis Therapy Outcomes: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.
Neutrophils have been associated with lung tissue damage in many diseases, including tuberculosis (TB). Whether neutrophil count can serve as a predictor of adverse treatment outcomes is unknown. ⋯ Increased neutrophil count prior to anti-TB treatment initiation was associated with unfavorable treatment outcomes, particularly among HIV-seronegative patients. Further prospective studies evaluating neutrophil count in response to drug treatment and association with TB treatment outcomes are warranted.
-
Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2021
Observational StudyInduction of High Levels of Specific Humoral and Cellular Responses to SARS-CoV-2 After the Administration of Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines Requires Several Days.
In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fast development of vaccines with efficacy of around 95% preventing Covid-19 illness provides a unique opportunity to reduce the mortality associated with the pandemic. However, in the absence of efficacious prophylactic medications and few treatments for this infection, the induction of a fast and robust protective immunity is required for effective disease control, not only to prevent the disease but also the infection and shedding/transmission. The objective of our study was to analyze the level of specific humoral and cellular T-cell responses against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 induced by two mRNA-based vaccines (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273), but also how long it takes after vaccination to induce these protective humoral and cellular immune responses. ⋯ This refractory period in the induction of specific immunity observed after completing the vaccination could constitute a window of higher infection risk, which could explain some emerging cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in vaccinated people.
-
Frontiers in immunology · Jan 2021
The mRNA-1273 Vaccine Induces Cross-Variant Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2 With Distinct Profiles in Individuals With or Without Pre-Existing Immunity.
mRNA-based vaccines effectively induce protective neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of COVID-19. Yet, the kinetics and compositional patterns of vaccine-induced antibody responses to the original strain and emerging variants of concern remain largely unknown. Here we characterized serum antibody classes and subclasses targeting the spike receptor-binding domain of SARS-CoV-2 wild type and α, β, γ and δ variants in a longitudinal cohort of SARS-CoV-2 naïve and COVID-19 recovered individuals receiving the mRNA-1273 vaccine. ⋯ In these individuals, secondary immunization resulted in a slight reduction of IgG1 against the receptor-binding domain of β and γ variants. Despite the lack of recall humoral response, vaccinees with pre-existing immunity still showed higher titers of IgG1 and IgA to all variants analyzed compared to fully vaccinated naïve individuals. Our findings indicate that mRNA-1273 vaccine triggered cross-variant antibody responses with distinct profiles in vaccinees with or without pre-existing immunity and suggest that individuals with prior history of SARS-CoV-2 infection may not benefit from the second mRNA vaccine dose with the current standard regimen.