The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (YJBM) June 2022 issue on vaccines has been published on PubMed Central. This YJBM focus issue features articles on vaccines and vaccinations from authors across the world. We present articles ranging from original contributions on COVID-19 to perspectives pieces on the economic impact of vaccines.
Highlights of the issue include a review by Esmail Rayatdoost et al., Jahrom University of Medical Sciences, Jahrom, Iran, which examines vaccination timing and how it could enhance immune response. They found that vaccinations given in the morning and sufficient sleep the night before appeared to enhance immune response in vaccinated individuals for COVID-19 and other diseases.
A mini-review by Alexander C. Ortiz et al., Yale School of Medicine, explores vaccine hesitancy and the diversity of Latinx communities. This community is not a monolith and Ortiz et al. showcase some studies that could assist public health officials in improved vaccine messaging aimed at marginalized minority groups.
We also present a perspectives piece from Paige M. Farrenkopf, Yale School of Public Health. Farrenkopf analyzes the economic impact of COVID-19 vaccine refusal on the U.S. health care system. Based on reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation, it is estimated that preventable hospitalizations among unvaccinated individuals cost over $13.8 billion in just a 6-month period in 2021—more than the estimated cost of eradicating polio and measles worldwide.
Lastly, we present an important perspectives piece by Nancy Jecker, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA. Jecker offers an ethical argument and practical framework for an international pandemic treaty—a modern moral imperative for equitable access to vaccines. As of early March 2022, only about 10% of people in low-income countries had completed initial COVID-19 vaccination, compared to nearly 75% of people in high-income countries.
Read the entire YJBM archive for free on PubMed Central. The YJBM is open-access for all.
Deputy Editors of this issue: Ngozi Damilola Akingbesote (Yale School of Public Health) and Elaine M. Louden (Yale School of Medicine).