From Google Scholar & other sources: Selected Journal Articles, Newsletters, Dissertations, Theses, Commentary

University of South Carolina
Scholar Commons – Senior Theses. 344
Vaccine Confidence, Coverage, and Hesitancy Worldwide: A Literature Analysis of Vaccine Hesitancy and Potential Causes Worldwide
J Hammond
Thesis Summary
Vaccines are one of the world’s most impactful medical therapies. They are cost-effective, successfully proven, and one of the quickest treatment options available today (Clark et al., 2016). They save millions of lives every year and have eliminated certain diseases on a national and international level. However, millions of people worldwide still remain unvaccinated. In developed nations, mainly The United States (U.S.) and the European countries, many of the unvaccinated are a result of rising vaccine hesitancy of parents in conjunction with the anti-vaccination movement. Vaccine hesitancy is defined as “a delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability” (Macdonald, 2015, p. 34). After a thorough literature review, evidence reveals that there is a gap between perceived vaccine importance and perceived vaccine safety in developed nations as many survey respondents believe in the efficacy and importance of vaccines but lack confidence in the safety of vaccines. This gap is seemingly connected to overall health literacy. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, Article V, defines health literacy as a patient’s ability to “obtain, communicate, and process” health services and information needed to make health decisions (Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], 2010). However, more direct and detailed projects must be conducted before a direct connection can be made.

Am J Respir Crit Care Med
2020;201:A2146
A59 CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS, PREDICTION AND OUTCOMES OF LUNG INFECTIONS / Thematic Poster Session This abstract is funded by: WHO (2018/825465)
Which Countries Have Adult Vaccine Programs? A Global Review of National Adult Influenza and Pneumococcal Vaccine Policies
SR Williams, HM LeBuhn, AJ Driscoll, KM Neuzil… – A59. CLINICAL DIAGNOSIS …, 2020
Rationale:
Adults have the highest mortality from vaccine-preventable respiratory infections, yet
vaccine programs historically have targeted only young children. Little is known about which
countries recommend adult immunization.
Methods:
We undertook a study to determine national adult immunization policies for influenza, pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPSV), and
pneumococcal conjugate (PCV) vaccines globally. We accessed the World Health Organization
(WHO)/UNICEF Joint Reporting Form (JRF) on Immunization for 2017. The JRF is a publicly
available monitoring and evaluation tool that collects national reports of immunization
information, including coverage and indicators of immunization system performance. We merged JRF data with country economic information from the World Bank. We conducted a descriptive analysis of national adult immunization policies and program performance, and we used bivariate analyses to identify factors associated with having such policies.
Results:
Of 194 WHO Member States in 2017, 114 countries (59%) reported having an adult influenza vaccine program, while 50 countries (26%) reported having any adult pneumococcal vaccine program. Among countries reporting adult pneumococcal vaccine programs, 34 countries (68%)
recommend PPSV alone, while 7 countries (14%) recommend PCV alone, and 9 countries (18%) recommend both PPSV and PCV for adults. Of 77 low- and lower-middle-income countries, 15 (19%) reported adult influenza programs and two (3%) reported adult pneumococcal programs. Compared to countries without adult influenza vaccine policies, countries with such policies were significantly more likely to have introduced human papillomavirus vaccine (p<0.0001), to have achieved global goals (≥95%) for routine pediatric coverage of third dose diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP3) vaccines (p<0.0001), to have strong enough routine immunization programs to have eliminated maternal-neonatal tetanus (p<0.0001), and to have national independent, expert vaccine advisory groups (national immunization technical advisory groups; NITAGs) (p=0.0035). Compared to countries without adult pneumococcal vaccine policies, countries with such policies are more likely to have introduced human papillomavirus vaccine (p<0.0001) and childhood PCV (p<0.0001), to have achieved global goals for DTP3 vaccine coverage (p=0.0001), to have eliminated maternal-neonatal tetanus (p=0.039), and to have a NITAG (p=0.008).
Conclusions:
Our review of the 2017 JRF permits an assessment of national adult influenza and
pneumococcal immunization policies. Adult immunization is under-utilized globally, particularly
in low resource countries. Recently published data demonstrating efficacy and safety of a
tuberculosis vaccine candidate in adults highlights the need for global adult vaccine platforms.
Countries with weaker immunization infrastructure may require increased resources and system
strengthening to achieve parity with wealthy countries.