Letter from the editor

Abstract

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics starts 2021 with six Immunotherapy articles: reviews on efficacy of checkpoint inhibitors in various types of melanoma (Rossi, p 4) and on viral delivery vectors for immune-targeting therapy (de Haan, p 14), research studies on DNA and peptide vaccine combination in a mouse model of triple-negative breast cancer (Safavi, p 22) and on angiogenesis-inhibiting dendritic-cell vaccine for treatment of lung cancer (Zhao, p 35), and commentaries on epigenetic modulation of immune factors in the tumor microenvironment for improved immunotherapy (Kommalapati, p 51) and on concomitant administration of cancer immunotherapeutics and other types of therapy (Hussain, p 55). The Coronavirus section features a review of the known coronaviruses and the development of vaccines for coronavirus diseases, and three commentaries on cross-neutralization of SARSCoV-2 by human seasonal coronavirus antibodies (Cohen, p 84), on the use of BCG to fight COVID-19 (Vashishtha, p 88), and on immunotherapy by antibody targeting to viral and host cell factors (Sheikhi, p 92). Five research articles on Influenza investigate immune responses to vaccination in asthma patients (VelascoMedina, p 98), vaccine intentions and uptake in diabetic subjects in China (Ye, p 106), seasonal vaccine effectiveness in healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia (Al Qahtani, p 119), immune responses in HIV patients (Xia, p 124), and effect of aging on efficacy of inactivated vaccines (Boukhvalova, p 133). The Pneumococcal segment presents serotype profiling of S. pneumoniae in subjects with invasive disease in China (Li, p 146), analysis of PPV23 coverage and safety in China (Liu, p 157), assessment of uptake in a high-risk population in France (Kopp, p 162), and a letter to the editor on an intervention to promote vaccination in patients with chronic kidney diseases (HernandezGarcia, p 170) with a response letter (Buchwald, p 173). Seven articles on Licensed Vaccines include a review of DTPa-HBV-IPV/Hib vaccination in Australia (Bayliss, p 176), safety and immunogenicity study of liquid DTaP5-HBV-IPVHib vaccine in premature infants (Wilck, p 191), a report on increased female:male mortality ratio associated with the use of DTP-HepB-Hib vaccine in Bangladesh (Hanifi, p 197), a review of mumps epidemiology and vaccination in Japan (Kitano, p 205), evaluation of varicella vaccine (Xu, p 211) and of foot-andmouth disease vaccine (Du, p 217) effectiveness in China, and a case report on vaccine-associated rubella (Ong, p 224). Three Public Health-related research articles report on using patient data to improve vaccination programs (Musa, p 228), a midwife-led, hospital-based vaccination service for pregnant women (Skirrow, p 237), and determinants of incomplete vaccination in South African children (Ndwandwe, p 247). Two Acceptance studies highlight vaccine education preferences among low-income pregnant women (Fuchs, p 255) and vaccine knowledge and attitudes in an Italian province. The Rotavirus section presents a retrospective study of the association of gastroenteritis and intussusception (Willame, p 269) and a commentary on the link between vaccination and intussusception (Vetter, p 278). Two papers on Novel Vaccines introduces an assay for characterization of anti-FimH antibodies following vaccination for urinary tract infections (Starks, p 283) and a commentary on staphylococcal antigens related to biofilm formation (Mirzaei, p 293). This issue concludes with a report on Chinese mothers’ intention to vaccinate their daughters against HPV (Lin, p 304), and a Technology review on the progress of vaccine delivery by microneedle (Nguyen, p 316). Our monthly News, Policy and Profiles (NP&P) track offers a selection of the latest news in the field of vaccines and immunotherapeutics. In this section we also regularly publish opinion pieces on timely, interesting and controversial topics related to vaccines and immunotherapeutics, profiles of companies and organizations, as well as portraits of distinguished scientists in our field. Please contact Acquisitions Editor Adam Weiss (adam. [email protected]) with your ideas for commentaries, opinion pieces, profiles and portraits. Your suggestions for and contributions to our N&P&P track are always welcome!