HighlightsThe first field use of MenAfriVac's new label allowed the vaccine to be kept at up to 40 °C for up to 4 days.155,000 people were vaccinated using the CTC approach in the Meningitis A campaign in northern Benin in 2012.98.7% of supervisors and 100% of vaccinators would prefer to conduct their next campaign using CTC.They saw CTC benefits as: more people vaccinated, no need to return to health centre every night, reduced logistic burden.Taking advantage of the flexibility offered by CTC opens the door for the implementation of new immunization strategies.
In 2013, the World Health Assembly endorsed a plan that calls for the ultimate withdrawal of oral polio vaccines (OPV) from all immunization programs globally. The withdrawal would begin in a phased manner with removal of the type 2 component of OPV in 2016 through a global switch from trivalent OPV to bivalent OPV (containing only types 1 and 3). To mitigate risks associated with immunity gaps after OPV type 2 withdrawal, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts has recommended that all 126 OPV-only using countries introduce at least one dose of inactivated polio vaccine into routine immunization programs by end-2015, before the trivalent OPV-bivalent OPV switch. The introduction of inactivated polio vaccine would reduce risks of reintroduction of type 2 poliovirus by providing some level of seroprotection, facilitating interruption of transmission if outbreaks occur, and accelerating eradication by boosting immunity to types 1 and 3 polioviruses.
Despite evidence showing their benefits, routine adolescent immunization programmes are still lacking across Africa. In 2008 we conducted a qualitative study of adolescents' knowledge and attitudes towards immunization in a peri-urban community in South Africa. Results show that while vaccination as a concept is acceptable amongst adolescents, low levels of knowledge about vaccines, the process of being vaccinated, as well as unfamiliarity with the concept of preventative medicine in general will likely hinder achieving high and equitable routine adolescent immunization coverage. Effective educational programs and integrated adolescent healthcare strategies will be critical to delivering successful immunization services to this group.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.