Letter from the editor

Abstract

Dear reader, In this issue of Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, we are delighted to present a Special Focus on HPV vaccination The 20 research articles address three main themes. Epidemiology & vaccine research A bibliometric study summarizes the history of publication on HPV vaccines in the past 20 years (Bruel, p 934), interim analysis presents 8-year effectiveness data for the 9-valent vaccine (Kjaer, p 943), a retrospective study looks at the impact of vaccination on cervical dysplasia in young Japanese women (Tozawa-Ono, p 950), a Phase 2/3 trial investigates the protective effect of HPV 16/18 vaccine in women infected with other strains (Hu, p 955), genotype-profiling analysis estimates risks of cervical intra-epithelial lesions following an immunization-induced change in HPV epidemiology (Nygård, p 972), and an examination of breast cancer samples highlights frequent co-presence of HPV and EBV in high-grade tumors (Gupta, p 982). Acceptance This section introduces a longitudinal study on ethnic differences in the parental impact on vaccine uptake in teenage girls (Jongen, p 990), an association of experiences with HPV infection in mothers and vaccination status of their daughters (Biederman, p 1000), the results of a brainstorming session by public health workers aiming to identify factors affecting acceptance (Ryan, p 1006), characterization of sociodemographic determinants of the impact that social media have on vaccine awareness (Lama, p 1014), a report on vaccine acceptability in Chinese adolescents (Zhang, p 1025), and two surveys among US college students on vaccination initiation and completion rates (McLendon, p 1033) and intentions, attitudes and behaviors (Koskan, p 1044). Communication & interventions Articles in the final section of the Special Focus explore the impact of a multi-component cancer educational program on vaccine uptake by adolescents in New York (Suryadevara, p 1052), association of uptake with healthcare provider recommendations (Caldwell, p 1059), the increased knowledge and rate of cervical screening in Japanese girls whose vaccine was due during a period of government recommendation (Miyoshi, p 1068), potential impact and cost-effectiveness of a combined vaccine and cervical screening campaign in China (Ma, p 1073), the reception of provider recommendations among Hispanic and Latin American groups in the US (Reiter, p 1083), and the quality and understandability of vaccinerelated online messaging in China (Wang, p 1089). The remaining topics in this issue include the Coronavirus with a prediction analysis of T-cell epitopes in the novel virus (Cun, p 1097), a proposal for clinical indicators of infection for efficient testing (Zimmerman, p 1109), a mini-review of the most important virological and epidemiological characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 (Siddique, p 1113), a commentary on the specifics of vaccine development during a pandemic (Rele, p 1122), and a Letter to the Editor on criteria for tocilizumab use (Al-Qaaneh, p 1128). The Licensed Vaccines segment presents a case report on infant infection with a varicella vaccine strain (Swed-Tobia, p 1129), a survey of vaccination status in childhood survivors of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Toret, p 1132), and a retrospective analysis of pertussis hospitalizations in Italian infants (Fiasca, p 1136). Two articles on Acceptance include a review of vaccine attitudes in young Asian adults (Wang, p 1142), and a report on the implications of vaccine refusal in the neonatal period for the implementation of infant vaccine schedule (Więckowska, p 1156). Three Pneumococcal studies investigate the costeffectiveness of PCV-10 to −13 transition in Brazilian infants (Perdrizet, p 1162), trends in pneumonia and otitis media in children following PCV introduction in Colombia (Carrasquilla, p 1173), and the impact of pharmacist-led educational intervention in Jordan (Abu-rish, p 1181). The Hepatitis B section features an 8-year antibody persistence study following vaccination in Chinese adults (Ren, p 1190) and cost-effectiveness analysis of vaccinating newborns in Beijing (Guo, p 1196). Two research studies on Influenza discuss enhanced vaccine safety surveillance in Denmark and Finland (Serradell, p 1205) and awareness of maternal vaccination in India (Giduthuri, p 1211). Finally, we present a product review of the Rotavirus vaccines Rotasiil, Rotavac, and Rotavin-M1 (Skansberg, p 1223), a study of palivizumab for Passive Immunization against RSV in children with Down’s syndrome (Takeuchi, p 1235), and a report on serostatus and adverse events following Meningococcal polysaccharide vaccination in China (Che, p 1239). 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 ([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! Sincerely, Ronald Ellis, PhD Editor-in-Chief Adam Weiss, PhD Acquisitions Editor HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS 2021, VOL. 17, NO. 4, 931 https://doi.org/10.1080/21645515.2021.1897444