Vaccines — Open Access Journal
(Accessed 18 July 2015)
http://www.mdpi.com/journal/vaccines

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Article:
Addressing the Vaccine Hesitancy Continuum: An Audience Segmentation Analysis of American Adults Who Did Not Receive the 2009 H1N1 Vaccine
by Shoba Ramanadhan, Ezequiel Galarce, Ziming Xuan, Jaclyn Alexander-Molloy and Kasisomayajula Viswanath
Vaccines 2015, 3(3), 556-578; doi:10.3390/vaccines3030556 – published 15 July 2015
Abstract:
Understanding the heterogeneity of groups along the vaccine hesitancy continuum presents an opportunity to tailor and increase the impact of public engagement efforts with these groups. Audience segmentation can support these goals, as demonstrated here in the context of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine. In March 2010, we surveyed 1569 respondents, drawn from a nationally representative sample of American adults, with oversampling of racial/ethnic minorities and persons living below the United States Federal Poverty Level. Guided by the Structural Influence Model, we assessed knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to H1N1; communication outcomes; and social determinants. Among those who did not receive the vaccine (n = 1166), cluster analysis identified three vaccine-hesitant subgroups. Disengaged Skeptics (67%) were furthest from vaccine acceptance, with low levels of concern and engagement. The Informed Unconvinced (19%) were sophisticated consumers of media and health information who may not have been reached with information to motivate vaccination. The Open to Persuasion cluster (14%) had the highest levels of concern and motivation and may have required engagement about vaccination broadly. There were significant sociodemographic differences between groups. This analysis highlights the potential to use segmentation techniques to identify subgroups on the vaccine hesitancy continuum and tailor public engagement efforts accordingly.

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Review
Systems Biology Approach for Cancer Vaccine Development and Evaluation
by Luisa Circelli, Annacarmen Petrizzo, Maria Tagliamonte, Maria Lina Tornesello, Franco M. Buonaguro and Luigi Buonaguro
Vaccines 2015, 3(3), 544-555; doi:10.3390/vaccines3030544 – published 14 July 2015
Abstract:
Therapeutic cancer vaccines do not hold promise yet as an effective anti-cancer treatment. Lack of efficacy or poor clinical outcomes are due to several antigenic and immunological aspects that need to be addressed in order to reverse such trends and significantly improve cancer vaccines’ efficacy. The newly developed high throughput technologies and computational tools are instrumental to this aim allowing the identification of more specific antigens and the comprehensive analysis of the innate and adaptive immunities. Here, we review the potentiality of systems biology in providing novel insights in the mechanisms of the action of vaccines to improve their design and effectiveness.