01. “Efficacy, Immunogenicity, and Safety of the Bivalent RSV Prefusion F (RSVpreF) Vaccine in Older Adults Over 2 RSV Seasons”
Published: Clinical Infectious Diseases, ciaf061, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaf061
Editorial Comment: In this analysis of the global phase 3 RENOIR efficacy study, a single dose of the bivalent RSVpreF vaccine administered to ≥60-year-olds maintains high efficacy against RSV-LRTI with a consistent favorable safety profile through 2 complete RSV seasons in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. RSVpreF also elicited robust neutralizing responses postvaccination that remained well above baseline prevaccination neutralizing titers before the start of the second RSV season through 8−20 months post vaccination. RSVpreF-elicited immune responses were generally consistent when stratified by RSV subgroup, age group, and presence of prespecified high-risk conditions.
02. “Effectiveness of MenB-4C Vaccine Against Gonorrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis”
Published: J Infect Dis . 2025 Feb 4;231(1):61-70. doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiae383
Editorial Comment: Bexsero vaccine is moderately effective against gonorrhea in various populations. Prospective clinical trials that assess the efficacy of this vaccinee against gonorrhea, gonorrhea/chlamydia coinfection, and duration of protection are warranted to strengthen this evidence.
03. “Advancing local manufacturing capacities for vaccines within Africa – Opportunities, priorities and challenges”
Published: Vaccine . 2025 Feb 5:50:126829. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126829
Editorial Comment: African vaccine manufacturers and all stakeholders should focus taking forward the portfolio of activities required for continental vaccine manufacturing, including regulatory strengthening capacities, training and workforce development, rather than only focus on efforts that benefit a particular manufacturer or country.
04. “Characterization of Clinical and Biologic Manifestations of Chikungunya Among Children in an Urban Area, Thailand: A Retrospective Cohort Study”
Published: Pediatr Infect Dis J. 2025 Feb 1;44(2):e60-e62. https://doi.org/10.1097/INF.0000000000004542
Editorial comment: This retrospective review of pediatric CHIKV cases in Thailand found that children frequently presented with high-grade fever, rash, arthralgia, and lymphopenia. Notably, neurological manifestations or shock occurred in 20% of hospitalized cases. These findings highlight the importance of heightened clinical awareness for CHIKV, alongside dengue, in travelers from Southeast Asia with suspected mosquito-borne viral infections.
05. “First clinical experiences with the tetravalent live vaccine against dengue (Qdenga®) in travellers: a multicentric TravelMedVac study in Germany”
Published: J Travel Med. 2025 Feb 2:taaf004. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaf004
Editorial comment: In this retrospective, questionnaire-based study, 1,176 adults who received the Dengue vaccine (Qdenga®) were evaluated. The results indicated that the first dose was associated with increased reactogenicity, primarily fever, especially among Dengue-naïve individuals. Additionally, coadministration with other vaccines was a common practice and did not significantly increase the incidence of side effects. This study offers valuable insights into the reactogenicity profile of Qdenga® and could inform strategies to enhance vaccination approaches in Dengue-naïve populations.
06. “Rising mpox trends in DR Congo: the neglected spread of an epidemic”
Published: Lancet. 2025 Feb 1; 405: 358-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(25)00137-0
Editorial comment: This editorial comment highlights significant shortcomings in managing the mpox epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including:
Inconsistent Case Definitions: There is a lack of standardized criteria for identifying mpox cases, which complicates diagnosis and tracking.
Variable Application of Protocols: There is considerable variability in how standard operating procedures for investigating suspected cases are implemented across different regions.
Inefficient Sample Transport: The system for transporting samples to diagnostic labs is not effective, leading to delays in testing and response.
Centralized Testing Facilities: The reliance on only two main laboratories, the INRB in Kinshasa and Goma, for all testing creates bottlenecks in the diagnostic process, hindering timely and widespread management of the outbreak.
07. “Attitudes and beliefs about vaccination among adults in the United States: A real-world, cross-sectional, web-based survey study”
Published: Vaccine 2025 March; 50: 126807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126807
Editorial comment: In this retrospective, cross sectional survey in 1,875 adults in the US, even though respondents generally disagreed that vaccines are dangerous and were neutral to claiming religious exemptions from vaccination, when comparing parents with other adults, parents followed advice from friends, family, and colleagues more than other adults (p < 0.001) and parents felt they understood vaccine information better than other adults (p < 0.001). Parents were also more comfortable researching vaccine information than were other adults (p = 0.005).
08. “Progress and Challenges in HIV-1 Vaccine Research: A Comprehensive Overview”
Published: Vaccines 2025 January 31; 13(2): 48. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines13020148
Editorial comment: This comprehensive review begins with a historical overview of all vaccine attempts for HIV, examines the current landscape of vaccine platforms, and explores potential future directions in HIV vaccine research.
09. “Vaccines and AMR: An analysis of the funding landscape for human bacterial vaccines in low-and middle-income countries”
Published: Vaccine; Volume 49, 7 March 2025, 126771 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2025.126771
Editorial Comment: First comprehensive analysis of human bacterial vaccine funding to date. Funding is disproportionally allocated with global south receiving <20 % of total. Most of the funding towards TBC and S. pneumoniae.
10. “Dengue in patients with kidney transplant: a systematic review”
Published: Infez Med 2025; 1: 1-14. Doi not yet available.
Editorial comment: In this systematic review of kidney transplant recipient patients (KTR) with dengue, of 309 articles found, seven full-text studies were identified for analysis. 4337 KTRs with 214 dengue cases were evaluated. The incidence of dengue was 4.93%, varying between geographic regions. The average age was 41.50 years, and 61.21% were men. A mortality of 7.01% was reported. Dysfunction is a prevalent event in KTRs with dengue infection, so correct screening should be done for donors and transplant candidates.
11. “Immunogenicity, Safety, and Efficacy of a Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine in Children and Adolescents: An Analysis by Age Group”
Published: Clin Infect Dis 2025; 80: 199–206. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciae369
Editorial comment: This exploratory analysis demonstrates that TAK-003 is effective in preventing dengue across various age groups among children and adolescents aged 4–16 years in dengue-endemic regions. However, the vaccine efficacy (VE) appears lower in children aged 4–5 years. This discrepancy might be influenced by factors such as the distribution of causative dengue serotypes, a smaller sample size in this subgroup, and variations in VE by serotype. These elements should be carefully considered when evaluating the benefit-risk profile for this particular age group.
12. “Assessing the Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Immunization Schedule Change From 3+0 to 2+1 in Australian Children: A Retrospective Observational Study”
Published: Clin Infect Dis 2025; 80:207–214. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciae377
Editorial comment: In mid-2018, the Australian childhood 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedule changed from 3+0 to 2+1, moving the third dose to 12 months of age, to address increasing breakthrough cases of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), predominantly in children aged >12 months. This study assessed the impact of this change using national IPD surveillance data. In cohorts eligible for 2+1 versus 3+0 schedules, rate of breakthrough cases was lower for all vaccine serotypes, except type 3 (incidence rate ratio, 0.50 [95% confidence interval, .28–.84] and 1.12 [0.71–1.76], respectively). Observed compared to expected IPD was 51.7% lower (95% confidence interval, −60.9 to −40.7%) for vaccine serotypes, but the change for nonvaccine types was not significant 12% (−9.6 to 39.7). The 2+1 schedule is likely superior to 3+0 for overall IPD.
