Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the weakness of the vaccine supply chain, and the lack of thermostable formulations is one of its major limitations. This study presents evidence from peer-reviewed literature on the development of thermostable vaccines for veterinary use. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to evaluate the immunogenicity and/or the efficacy/effectiveness of thermostable vaccines against infectious diseases. The selected studies (n = 78) assessed the vaccine’s heat stability under different temperature conditions and over different periods. Only one study assessed the exposure of the vaccine to freezing temperatures. Two field studies provided robust evidence on the immunogenicity of commercial vaccines stored at temperatures far in excess of the manufacturer’s recommended cold-chain conditions. The drying process was the most-used method to improve the vaccine’s thermostability, along with the use of different stabilizers. The pooled vaccine efficacy was estimated to be high (VE = 69%), highlighting the importance of vaccination in reducing the economic losses due to the disease impact. These findings provide evidence on the needs and benefits of developing a portfolio of heat- and freeze-stable veterinary vaccines to unleash the true potential of immunization as an essential component of improved animal health and welfare, reduce the burden of certain zoonotic events and thus contribute to economic resilience worldwide.
Highlights
Global vaccine availability and equity is a goal advocated by global leaders and by170 Nobel Laureates [1]
The inclusion criteria are: (1) the clinical and field trials evaluating the immunogenicity and/or the efficacy/effectiveness of thermostable vaccine formulations developed against animal infectious diseases; (2) studies testing thermostable vaccines in natural hosts; (3) articles published in peer-reviewed journals after 1990; and (4) an English language full text
In this study we identified dried formulations for vaccines against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) (e.g., [52]), bovine ephemeral fever virus (BEFV) [74], classical swine fever virus (CSFV) [85], rabies [77], and PPR [47], highlighting that the drying process is a useful technique to improve the thermostability of vaccines against diverse diseases in several species
Summary
Global vaccine availability and equity is a goal advocated by global leaders and by170 Nobel Laureates [1]. Global vaccine availability and equity is a goal advocated by global leaders and by. The current COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that the global vaccine coverage is highly inequitable and skewed, with a high vaccine uptake concentrated in selected countries, predominantly the G7 and European ones [2]. The G20 Summit has underlined the urgent need to intensify efforts to enhance timely, global, and equitable access to safe, effective, and affordable COVID-19 vaccines [3]. Logistical and supply chain system failures have slowed the vaccine availability and have hampered the global efforts to up-scale COVID-19 vaccination coverage. The race to develop efficacious SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has resulted in the first available commercial vaccine products to have storage and delivery requirements of temperatures between +2 ◦ C and −70 ◦ C, depending on the product [5–8]
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