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Call for Papers for Special Theme Issue on Vaccines
Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH;
Matthew Davis, MD, MAPP;
Samir S. Shah, MD, MSCE
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2008;162(7):691.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called vaccines one of the "ten great public health achievements" of the 20th century.1 Indeed they are! During the medical career of the most senior of us (F.P.R.), the common occurrence of meningitis due to Hemophilus influenzae type b and the frightening disease of epiglottis has all but disappeared from our hospital wards. Varicella is becoming increasingly uncommon and only the most senior members of our faculty have regularly seen measles or mumps. What was once a simple schedule of vaccination for infants and children has become an almost impossible-to-remember table that requires updating annually, if not more often.
Based on discoveries in the academic and private sectors, the pharmaceutical industry continues to develop new vaccines. In the last 2 years, we have seen new vaccines for human papillomavirus and rotavirus added to the immunization schedule, and immunization for pneumococcal and meningococcal disease with conjugate vaccines that have the potential to induce long-lasting immunity in infants and young children has become routine. We still await broadly effective vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus, whose infections fill our hospital wards each winter, and for diseases that are the major killers of children in low-income countries: malaria, tuberculosis, and human immunodeficiency virus.
With this surge in the number of vaccines and the advent of the Internet as a means of communication has come a variety of concerns. Despite many studies conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a report by the Institute of Medicine,2 many parents still worry that potentially devastating diseases such as autism can be caused by vaccines, especially vaccines given together on the same day. Immunization rates in many US communities are clearly suboptimal, and preventable diseases such as pertussis, measles, varicella, and hepatitis continue to occur. The cost of vaccine development and licensing is enormous, and these costs are passed on to the public when new vaccines are recommended for use. Ethical and public policy issues around vaccines abound. Nevertheless, it is important to constantly return to the fact that vaccines are one of our most successful and cost-effective public health strategies.
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine will devote its April 2009 issue to research on vaccines and immunization. We are interested in original articles, systematic and narrative reviews, and commentaries on a variety of topics related to immunization of infants, children, and adolescents. Topics may include vaccine trials (including early phase trials that would help readers understand what is in the pipeline), whether being conducted here or abroad; postlicensure safety and effectiveness studies on some of the vaccines licensed in the past few years; adverse effects of vaccines; measurement of and surveillance for vaccine-preventable illness (especially illnesses that are the target of recently recommended/implemented pediatric vaccines among infants and adolescents); interventions that increase immunization rates and studies on how physician practice has changed due to recent rapid increase in number of recommended vaccine doses for children and adolescents; measurement of parents' and practitioners' perceptions regarding vaccine effectiveness and safety and related willingness to adopt new/upcoming vaccine recommendations; analysis of economic and other barriers to timely infant, childhood, and adolescent immunization; costs and cost-effectiveness of recently recommended vaccines or vaccines in development; current economics of vaccine research, development, and manufacture and licensing; and the ethical issues related to vaccines, parents, public policy, and global vaccine research.
Manuscripts received by September 15, 2008, will have the best likelihood of being included in this theme issue. For specific guidelines on manuscript preparation and submission, please consult the author instructions on our Web site at http://www.archpediatrics.com.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Correspondence: Dr Rivara, Department of Pediatrics, Child Health Institute, University of Washington, 6700 NE 74th St, Ste 210, Seattle, WA 98115-8160 (archpediatrics{at}jama-archives.org).
Financial Disclosure: None reported.
REFERENCES
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1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten great public health achievements: United States, 1900-1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 1999;48(12):241-243.
PUBMED
2. Institute of Medicine. Immunization Safety Review: Vaccines and Autism. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2004.
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