Increase Vaccination Rates Research Articles

Modeling the health impact of increasing vaccine coverage and nonpharmaceutical interventions against coronavirus disease 2019 in Ghana

ABSTRACT Seroprevalence studies assessing community exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Ghana concluded that population-level immunity remained low as of February 2021. Thus, it is important to demonstrate how increasing vaccine coverage reduces the economic and public health impacts associated with SARS-CoV-2 transmission. To that end, this study used a Susceptible-Exposed-Presymptomatic-Symptomatic-Asymptomatic-Recovered-Dead-Vaccinated compartmental model to simulate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission and the role of public health interventions in Ghana. The impact of increasing vaccination rates and decline in transmission rates due to nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on cumulative infections and deaths averted was explored under different scenarios. Latin hypercube sampling-partial rank correlation coefficient (LHS-PRCC) was used to investigate the uncertainty and sensitivity of the outcomes to the parameters. Simulation results suggest that increasing the vaccination rate to achieve 50% coverage was associated with almost 60,000 deaths and 25 million infections averted. In comparison, a 50% decrease in the transmission coefficient was associated with the prevention of about 150,000 deaths and 50 million infections. The LHS-PRCC results indicated that in the context of vaccination rate, cumulative infections and deaths averted were most sensitive to vaccination rate, waning immunity rates from vaccination, and waning immunity from natural infection. This study’s findings illustrate the impact of increasing vaccination coverage and/or reducing the transmission rate by NPI adherence in the prevention of COVID-19 infections and deaths in Ghana.

Vaccination acceptance and its associated factors in patients on hemodialysis in Austria: A nationwide survey.

Vaccines are essential in disease prevention among patients on chronic hemodialysis (HD). However, during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there has been an increased rate of vaccination hesitancy. A better understanding of patients' opinions may help identify a more targeted approach to increase vaccination rates. Questionnaires with 43 questions based on the recommendations of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunization Working Group on Vaccine Hesitancy were administered to patients during routine HD sessions at different dialysis centers in Austria. In total, 347 patients participated in this study. Approximately 81% of the patients were aged > 54 years, and 65% were men. Further, 53% of patients were receiving HD from private units. In ~ 72% of patients, the dialysis physicians were the source of vaccination information. Meanwhile, the source of information in 28% of patients was the primary care physician (28%), and 18% of patients obtained vaccination details from the internet. The number of younger (aged < 55 years) patients who were more likely to use online content as the main source of information was significantly higher than that of older patients (32 vs. 15%, p = 0.001). Furthermore, the number of older patients who wanted to receive more information from the dialysis physician was significantly higher than that of younger patients (57 vs. 38%, p = 0.009). Only 65% of patients had a good understanding of the mechanisms of action of vaccines. The younger population (aged 18 - 54 years) had a higher number of individuals with a good understanding of vaccine mechanisms than the older population (78 vs. 62%, p = 0.016). Moreover, 86% of the whole population wanted to complete the recommended vaccinations. However, only 39% of respondents had sufficient information about the vaccination plan in Austrian. Numerous patients receiving HD wanted to obtain more information from their dialysis physicians. Increased awareness among providers and targeted communication might increase vaccination rates.

Modeling the response of an endangered rabbit population to RHDV2 and vaccination

AbstractRabbit hemorrhagic disease virus 2 (RHDV2), recently detected in the western United States, has the potential to cause mass mortality events in wild rabbit and hare populations. Currently, few management strategies exist other than vaccination. We developed a spatially explicit model of RHDV2 for a population of riparian brush rabbits (Sylvilagus bachmani riparius), a subspecies of brush rabbit classified as endangered in the United States, on a subsection of the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. The goal of our model was to provide guidance regarding vaccination strategies for an endangered rabbit species. Our model predicts that increased interactions between rabbits (a proxy for landscape connectivity) and disease transmission rates among susceptible hosts (individual brush rabbits and conspecifics) have the greatest influence on the outcome of a potential vaccination campaign. Our model projects that across a range of parameter estimates (given an RHDV2 incursion), the median estimated population size with a 0%–10% vaccination rate after 1 year is 538 rabbits (95% Confidence Interval [C.I.] 69–1235), approximately 36% of the expected size of the study population of 1470 rabbits without an RHDV2 introduction. With a 10%–20%, 20%–30%, or 30%–40% vaccination rate, the median estimated population size increased to 628 rabbits (95% C.I. 130–1298), 723 rabbits (95% C.I. 198–1317), and 774 rabbits (95% C.I. 228–1410), respectively. These estimates represent 43%, 49%, and 53% of the expected population size without an RHDV2 introduction. Overall, a 1% increase in vaccination rate was associated with a six rabbit (95% C.I. 5–7) increase in total remaining population size. This result is dependent on assumptions regarding environmental transmission, home range size (and contact rates of rabbits). Given the relatively short lifespan of rabbits and the potential need for boosters, vaccination programs are most likely to be successful for small target populations where relatively high vaccination rates can be maintained.

Causes of COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitations and Investigation of Effective Factors in Changing Vaccine Decision Positively

Aim: In recent years, the increasing anti-vaccination with the effect of social media has a negative effect on the mass vaccination campaign, which is the most important step of the pandemic struggle. In our study, it was aimed to determine the rate of those who declared that they would not have COVID-19 vaccine, to determine the reasons for not being vaccinated, to reveal the factors affecting this in individuals who changed their decision positively, and thus to contribute to the efforts to reduce vaccine opposition in the future.&#x0D; Material and Methods: The study was conducted in two stages with a digital questionnaire method on healthcare workers who were included in the first vaccination program. The first stage was carried out 3 days before vaccination and the second stage 1 month after vaccination.&#x0D; Results: 223 healthcare workers were included in the study. The rate of those who said 'I will be vaccinated' in the first survey was 57%. In the second survey, 34 participants who declared that they would not be vaccinated were vaccinated by changing their decision. The most influential factors in the decision not to vaccinate were "I do not think there is sufficient evidence about the vaccine" and "I fear the side effects of the vaccine". The most effective factors for those who positively changed their decision were determined as the influence of the environment and the perception that it was safe. The fear of COVID-19 and the belief that the vaccine will work were found effective in the positive decision to be vaccinated. &#x0D; Conclusion: As a result, it has been concluded that informing activities about the reliability, effectiveness and low side effect rates of vaccines are important in eliminating vaccine hesitancy and increasing vaccination rates.

Vaccination Training for Pharmacy Undergraduates as a Compulsory Part of the Curriculum?-A Multicentric Observation.

In order to increase vaccination rates, the Government of Germany introduced vaccination against influenza and COVID-19 into the regular care administered by pharmacists. However, vaccination training is yet not integrated into the German pharmacy curriculum. Therefore, the Institute for Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapy in Duesseldorf had developed an innovative vaccination course using high-fidelity simulation for students. To investigate the acceptance further, the course was carried out at three different German universities (Bonn, Duesseldorf, Greifswald). Students were asked to give their self-assessment before and after and satisfaction only after the training course. Responses from 33 participants from the University of Bonn, 42 from the University of Duesseldorf and 49 from the University of Greifswald were analyzed. Every participant at the respective universities showed a significant increase in their self-assessment and indicated a high level of satisfaction with the course. The results also did not differ significantly between the respective universities. Consequently, the results lead to the hypothesis that the satisfaction of pharmacy students with this kind of training using high-fidelity simulation is very high and attractive, and can be recommended for other German universities. The integration of such vaccination training into the German pharmacy curriculum might be a future step.

Educational Intervention to Increase COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Rural Patients with Chronic Diseases: Lessons Learned from An Innovative Academic-Community Partnership.

The pandemic has disproportionately impacted rural communities with a higher burden of chronic disease and COVID-19 infection. West Virginia is a rural state with a high rate of diabetes, hypertension, and COPD, which are known risk factors for severe COVID-19 and long COVID. Yet, there is a significant hesitancy regarding COVID-19 vaccination uptake in the state. The purpose of this study was to use an educational intervention to increase vaccine knowledge and vaccine acceptance in rural patients with chronic disease(s) in West Virginia. This project used an academic-community partnership comprised of researchers, practitioners, community organizations, community-engaged partners, and patient stakeholders to increase COVID-19 health literacy and increase vaccine acceptance among rural West Virginians with chronic conditions. A quasi-experimental study design was used to deliver an educational intervention by trained Health Navigators using short videos to increase COVID-19 health literacy and address participants' vaccine concerns. Eligibility included adults (18 years and older) who have at least one chronic condition. A statewide community advisory board (CAB) guided the development of the educational training curriculum and implementation strategies. An adapted version of the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework guided the development of the intervention. Health Navigators (n = 45) delivered the educational intervention in their local communities between November 2022 and October 2023 (project implementation is still ongoing). Intervention fidelity checks, an adaptable script, and a flow chart allowed tailoring of brief videos to address participants' specific COVID-19 questions and vaccine concerns. A validated online survey, monitored by an online Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) database, assessed participants' knowledge, perceived susceptibility, and vaccine intention. Health Navigators delivered the intervention to 1368 West Virginians in 52 counties (59.2% women; 61.8% without a college degree). Participants reported living with an average of 2.1 ± 1.4 chronic conditions. The mean age was 43.5 ± 18.8 years. The majority of participants (81.2%) had received the primary vaccination series, and 63.1% had at least one booster. However, 18% were unvaccinated or did not complete the primary COVID-19 vaccine series. Discussions to improve vaccine literacy focused on how the vaccine was so quickly developed and protects against variants, addressing concerns related to the safety, short- and long-term side effects, and importance of vaccine uptake for immunocompromised individuals. Participants with higher concerns were more likely to be unvaccinated and to have not completed their primary series or boosters (p < 0.001). However, the educational intervention improved the willingness of individuals who were either unvaccinated or did not complete their primary vaccine series to get vaccinated (11.4%). Our findings highlight the importance of vaccine literacy in increasing vaccination rates among rural patients with chronic diseases. Using the EPIS framework allowed us to reflect upon the challenges, ensure resilience during changing local contexts, and plan and implement a promising, cost-effective intervention in rural areas. This study provides insights into the need for tailored educational interventions based on disease status, which has implications for public health and patient care in rural and underserved communities. Academic-community partnerships can be useful for successful knowledge transfer for vaccine acceptance to reduce rural health disparities.

Modeling the effects of vaccine efficacy and rate of vaccination on the transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis

Numerous prevention intervention strategies have been developed to curtail the spread of pulmonary tuberculosis to susceptible populations. However, pulmonary tuberculosis continues to claim many lives worldwide. In this paper, a deterministic mathematical model incorporating an asymptomatic infectious population, considering vaccine efficacy, and vaccination rate, has been formulated. The model includes asymptomatic infectious individuals since they spread infections incessantly to susceptible populations without being noticed, thus contributing to the high transmission rate. Sensitivity and numerical analysis have been conducted to investigate the impact of varying vaccine efficacy and vaccination rates on the transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis infections from the asymptomatic infectious population. The sensitivity and numerical results show that an increase in vaccine efficacy reduces the asymptomatic infectious population and subsequently lowers the transmission rate of infections. Moreover, an increase in vaccine efficacy was shown to reduce the control reproduction number due to asymptomatic infectious individuals, thereby decreasing the transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis to susceptible populations. Further results indicate that an increase in vaccination rate reduces the control reproduction number due to asymptomatic infectious individuals, consequently lowering the rate of infection transmission. These findings emphasize the need to develop a vaccine of higher efficacy to reduce infection transmission to susceptible populations by the asymptomatic infectious individuals. Additionally, the results underscore the importance of increasing vaccination rates to eradicate pulmonary tuberculosis from the population.

Quantitative analysis of a fractional order of the $ SEI_{c}\, I_{\eta} VR $ epidemic model with vaccination strategy

&lt;abstract&gt;&lt;p&gt;This work focused on studying the effect of vaccination rate $ \kappa $ on reducing the outbreak of infectious diseases, especially if the infected individuals do not have any symptoms. We employed the fractional order derivative in this study since it has a high degree of accuracy. Recently, a lot of scientists have been interested in fractional-order models. It is considered a modern direction in the mathematical modeling of epidemiology systems. Therefore, a fractional order of the SEIR epidemic model with two types of infected groups and vaccination strategy was formulated and investigated in this paper. The proposed model includes the following classes: susceptible $ \mathrm{S}(t) $, exposed $ \mathrm{E}(t) $, asymptomatic infected $ \mathrm{I_{c}}(t) $, symptomatic infected $ \mathrm{I_{\eta}}(t) $, vaccinated $ \mathrm{V}(t) $, and recovered $ \mathrm{R}(t) $. We began our study by creating the existence, non-negativity, and boundedness of the solutions of the proposed model. Moreover, we established the basic reproduction number $ \mathcal{R}_{0} $, that was used to examine the existence and stability of the equilibrium points for the presented model. By creating appropriate Lyapunov functions, we proved the global stability of the free-disease equilibrium point and endemic equilibrium point. We concluded that the free-disease equilibrium point is globally asymptotically stable (GAS) when $ \mathcal{R}_{0}\, \leq \, 1 $, while the endemic equilibrium point is GAS if $ \mathcal{R}_{0} &amp;gt; 1 $. Therefore, we indicated the increasing vaccination rate $ \kappa $ leads to reducing $ \mathcal{R}_0 $. These findings confirm the important role of vaccination rate $ \kappa $ in fighting the spread of infectious diseases. Moreover, the numerical simulations were introduced to validate theoretical results that are given in this work by applying the predictor-corrector PECE method of Adams-Bashforth-Moulton. Further more, the impact of the vaccination rate $ \kappa $ was explored numerically and we found that, as $ \kappa $ increases, the $ \mathcal{R}_{0} $ is decreased. This means the vaccine can be useful in reducing the spread of infectious diseases.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/abstract&gt;

Mathematical model of tuberculosis with seasonality, detection, and treatment

In this study, we use a modified SEIR compartmental model to investigate the transmission dynamics of tuberculosis as well as its detection and treatment. The construction of this model is based on the hypothesis that the total population can be divided into seven compartments: susceptible, vaccinated, latently infected, diagnosed infected, undiagnosed infected, treated individuals, delayed treated individuals, and recovered individuals with a nonautonomous system. The effective reproduction number shows that the amplitude of the effective reproduction number decreases with the increasing vaccination rate and increases with the increase in the degree of seasonality of TB. The stability analyses of the model show that the value of the basic reproduction number R0 acts as a threshold between disease-free and endemic equilibrium. The model is found to be locally and globally asymptotically stable at the disease-free equilibrium when R0<1. On the contrary, the model is found to be locally and globally asymptotically at the endemic equilibrium when R0>1. The sensitivity of the parameters of the corresponding autonomous system is examined using the partial rank correlation coefficients (PRCC) analysis, which demonstrates that identification has a positive index and treatment has a negative index. The model is simulated using the RK-45 numerical method, and the parameter values for the model are taken from the available literature. Finally, the model outcome was compared with the real field data and found to be consistent.

A Dynamic Model of Information‐Vaccination‐Disease That Accounts for Emerging Viral Variants: Model Development and a Case Study for COVID‐19 in Iceland

Pathogens mutate as diseases spread, and variants that become epidemic or pandemic strains have higher transmission rates and a greater capacity to escape vaccine protection. Considering different vaccine efficacy and vaccination rates is of great significance for the prevention and control of infectious diseases. The spread of vaccination information and the level of trust in vaccinations determine whether people will choose to be vaccinated. To analyze these factors, we developed mean‐field equations for system dynamics to model the complex system of vaccine information dissemination and vaccination, calculated the basic reproduction rate number, and used the Icelandic COVID‐19 outbreak (Omicron variant) as a case study. We found that in the face of emerging variants, increasing vaccine efficacy is more effective than increasing vaccination rates. If vaccine efficacy increases from 40% to 90%, infections can be decreased by 98.5%. However, even a 100% vaccination rate cannot stop the spread of a mutated virus if vaccine efficacy falls below a certain level. High vaccination rates decrease the virus transmission rate. If the efficacy of the vaccine diminishes, the infection will spread rapidly, leading to a greater number of individuals becoming infected with the infectious disease. Due to the high vaccine efficacy against major illnesses and fatalities, improving vaccination rates can lower deaths. Iceland could decrease deaths by 44.8% by raising the vaccination rate from 75.9% to 95.0%. To combat emerging virus variants, it is therefore necessary to both create more effective vaccines and raise awareness of the benefits of vaccination to increase vaccination rates.

Predictors of performing preventive behaviors against affliction with COVID-19 based on vaccination: An application of the health belief model.

Nowadays, the COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the greatest global threats to human communities. Presently, the most important solution to deal with this pandemic is to fully comply with health protocols along with general vaccination. Given the increased vaccination rate in the community and the change in the thought of some people in the field of durable immunity and changing health behaviors, the present study determined the predictors of preventive behaviors against affliction with COVID-19 in two vaccinated and non-vaccinated groups based on the health belief model in the Iranian population aged 15-65 years. This descriptive-analytical study was conducted cross-sectionally in 2022. A sample size of 500 Yazdi citizens was selected using the convenience non-random sampling method using the contact numbers received from the SIB system of the Iranian health deputy. They were examined online in two vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. The instrument used was Delshad Noghabi et al.'s questionnaire which was based on the health belief model. Due to the adjustment of the questionnaire according to the target group, its validity and reliability were re-checked and confirmed. Data were analyzed with SPSS22 using descriptive and analytical statistics, t-test, and linear regression. Based on the findings of the study, a significant difference was observed between the three variables of income level (P = 0.019), smoking (P <0.001), and employment status (P = 0.025) in two vaccinated and unvaccinated groups at the level of preventive behaviors. Besides, the constructs of perceived sensitivity (P <0.001), perceived benefits (P <0.001), action guide (P <0.001), and self-efficacy (P = 0.018) significantly predict preventive behaviors, so that the predictive value of perceived benefits (β =3.67) was more than other variables. To prevent diseases, it is very important to increase people's awareness and information (self-efficacy) about the use of vaccination and pay attention to individual demographic characteristics in vaccination programs. Also, perceived sensitivity, perceived benefits, action guidelines, and perceived self-efficacy can be considered as important factors in determining people's willingness to be vaccinated. Therefore, education and information programs should be focused on these factors to increase people's willingness to be vaccinated.

Fractional‐Order Model for Evolution of Bovine Tuberculosis with Vaccination and Contaminated Environment

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a zoonotic disease that is commonly transmitted via inhaling aerosols, drinking unpasteurized milk, and eating raw meat. We use a fractional‐order model with the Caputo sense to examine the evolution of bovine tuberculosis transmission in human and animal populations, including a vaccine compartment for humans. We derived and obtained the threshold quantity R0 to ascertain the illness state. We established conditions guaranteeing the asymptotic stability of the equilibria (locally and globally). Sensitivity analysis was conducted to identify the factors that govern the dynamics of tuberculosis. The study demonstrates that the rate of human‐to‐animal transmission of tuberculosis and environmental pollution and the rate of bTB transmission between animals all affect tuberculosis transmission. However, as vaccination rates increase and fewer individuals consume contaminated environment products (such as meat, milk, and other dairy products), the disease becomes less common in humans. To manage bovine TB, it is advised that information programmes be implemented, the environment be monitored, infected persons be treated, contaminated animals be vaccinated, and contaminated animals be quarantined. The usefulness of the discovered theoretical results is demonstrated through numerical experiments.

An Electronic Health Record Alert for Inpatient Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccinations Increases Vaccination Ordering and Uncovers Workflow Inefficiencies.

Despite mortality benefits, only 19.9% of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The inpatient setting is an opportune environment to update vaccinations, and inpatient electronic health record (EHR) alerts have been shown to increase vaccination rates. Our objective was to evaluate whether an EHR alert could increase COVID-19 vaccinations in eligible hospitalized adults by prompting providers to order the vaccine. This was a quasiexperimental pre-post-interventional design study at an academic and community hospital in the western United States between 1 January, 2021 and 31 October, 2021. Inclusion criteria were unvaccinated hospitalized adults. A soft-stop, interruptive EHR alert prompted providers to order COVID-19 vaccines for those with an expected discharge date within 48 hours and interest in vaccination. The outcome measured was the proportion of all eligible patients for whom vaccines were ordered and administered before and after alert implementation. Vaccine ordering rates increased from 4.0 to 13.0% at the academic hospital (odds ratio [OR]: 4.01, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.39-4.74, p < 0.001) and from 7.4 to 11.6% at the community hospital (OR: 1.62, 95% CI: 1.23-2.13, p < 0.001) after alert implementation. Administration increased postalert from 3.6 to 12.7% at the academic hospital (OR: 3.21, 95% CI: 2.70-3.82, p < 0.001) but was unchanged at the community hospital, 6.7 to 6.7% (OR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.73-1.37, p = 0.994). Further analysis revealed infrequent vaccine availability at the community hospital. Vaccine ordering rates improved at both sites after alert implementation. Vaccine administration rates, however, only improved at the academic hospital, likely due in part to vaccine dispensation inefficiency at the community hospital. This study demonstrates the potential impact of complex workflow patterns on new EHR alert success and provides a rationale for subsequent qualitative workflow analysis with alert implementation.

Perioperative Influenza Vaccination: opportunities and strategies to meet the global call to action

Influenza vaccination is a proven strategy vital to the promotion of population health. Global, national, and local healthcare organizations advise broad administration of seasonal influenza vaccination to occur at every opportunity. Despite established benefits of influenza vaccination and the global call to increase vaccination rate, multiple barriers beyond vaccine hesitancy have produced a gap between goal and actual influenza vaccine coverage. Proposed solutions to address these issues include developing context specific strategies that integrate with other healthcare services to target sub-populations of patients. One such strategy is influenza vaccination during the perioperative period, which is the continuum of care during the preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative phases of care. Historical approaches to perioperative vaccination have been two- fold. The first being a conservative approach, prioritizing the need to ‘first do no harm’, that avoids potential risks of misinterpretation of vaccine related adverse events as perioperative complications and immunomodulation impacting efficacy of immunization. The second being a liberal approach, prioritizing the global call to use every opportunity to vaccinate with individual and population health benefits of vaccination outweighing any low and theoretical risks posed by conservative concerns. Modern strategies balance these concerns and target context specific opportunities to apply perioperative influenza vaccination through evidence-based approaches in the preoperative and intraoperative phases of care. Additionally, opportunity to administer flu vaccine in the postoperative phase are also discussed. Global perioperative healthcare providers are called to action and encouraged to utilize and build upon these strategies to meet the global need of increasing influenza vaccination. The patients we serve deserve our advancements in protecting them.

Enhancing Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Rates through Better Knowledge? Insights from a Survey among German Medical Students.

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) significantly reduces the risk for malignant diseases like cervix, anal, or penile cancer. However, although vaccination rates are rising, they are still too low mirroring a lack of disease awareness in the community. This study aims to evaluate knowledge about HPV vaccination as well as the vaccination rate among German medical students. Medical students were surveyed during a German medical students' sports event. The self-designed survey on HPV vaccination consisted of 24 items. The data collection was anonymous. Among 974 participating medical students 64.9% (632) were women, 335 (34.4%) were male and 7 (0.7%) were nonbinary. Mean age was 23.1 ± 2.7 (± standard deviation; range 18-35) years. Respondents had studied mean 6.6 ± 3.3 (1-16) semesters and 39.4% (383) had completed medical education in urology. 613 (64%) respondents reported that HPV had been discussed during their studies. 7.6% (74) had never heard of HPV. In a multivariate model female gender, the knowledge about HPV, and having worked on the topic were significantly associated with being HPV-vaccinated. Older students were vaccinated less likely. Better knowledge and having worked on the topic of HPV were associated with a higher vaccination rate. However, even in this highly selected group the knowledge about HPV vaccination was low. Consequently, more information and awareness campaigns on HPV vaccination are needed in Germany to increase vaccination rates.

Global stability and optimal vaccination control of SVIR models

&lt;abstract&gt; &lt;p&gt;Vaccination is widely acknowledged as an affordable and cost-effective approach to guard against infectious diseases. It is important to take vaccination rate, vaccine effectiveness, and vaccine-induced immune decline into account in epidemic dynamical modeling. In this paper, an epidemic dynamical model of vaccination is developed. This model provides a framework of the infectious disease transmission dynamics model through qualitative and quantitative analysis. The result shows that the system may have multiple equilibria. We used the next-generation operator approach to calculate the maximum spectral radius, that is, basic reproduction number $ {R_{vac}} $. Next, by dividing the model into infected and uninfected subjects, we can prove that the disease-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when $ {R_{vac}} &amp;lt; 1 $, provided certain assumptions are satisfied. When $ {R_{vac}} &amp;gt; 1 $, there exists a unique endemic equilibrium. Using geometric methods, we calculate the second compound matrix and demonstrate the Lozinskii measure $ \bar q \leqslant 0 $, which is equivalent to the unique endemic equilibrium, which is globally asymptotically stable. Then, using center manifold theory, we justify the existence of forward bifurcation. As the vaccination rate decreases, the likelihood of forward bifurcation increases. We also theoretically show the presence of Hopf bifurcation. Then, we performed sensitivity analysis and found that increasing the vaccine effectiveness rate can curb the propagation of disease effectively. To examine the influence of vaccination on disease control, we chose the vaccination rate as the optimal vaccination control parameter, using the Pontryagin maximum principle, and we found that increasing vaccination rates reduces the number of infected individuals. Finally, we ran a numerical simulation to finalize the theoretical results.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;/abstract&gt;

Factors affecting highly pathogenic avian influenza vaccination practices at poultry farms in Tra Vinh, Vietnam.

The increased number of cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as a zoonosis has raised concerns in terms of poultry and human health. Farmers' preventive practices are an effective way of reducing zoonosis. However, this practice may have been affected by many factors, including production behaviors, awareness, and farmers' perceptions of farmers toward zoonosis. This study was conducted on 166 poultry farms in Tra Vinh Province with 14,894 poultry heads to determine the socioeconomic profiles and production characteristics of poultry farms and analyze the effect of these factors on HPAI vaccination practices. Respondents were selected from lists provided by government officers. Descriptive statistics were used to describe all variables, and factors affecting HPAI vaccination practices were analyzed using binary regression analysis. The results showed that most farmers raised poultry with other livestock using the free-range method, which is a semi-intensive system. The primary objectives of poultry farming are meat sales and augmenting household consumption, with farmers primarily raising chicks produced on their farms. The implementation of the vaccine was less than 50% on the surveyed farms, with a small number of farmers administering an HPAI booster dose. However, only 6% of the farmers confirmed that their livestock had been exposed to HPAI. In addition, HPAI vaccination and booster dose practices significantly increased when farmers had 4-6 family members and received HPAI prevention training. Moreover, increased poultry numbers have led to increased vaccination rates and the implementation of booster doses for poultry. The study also reported that the vaccination rate decreased when poultry was used for household consumption. Sociodemographic characteristics and production behaviors can affect the implementation of HPAI vaccination on small poultry farms.

Financial Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccines Help

Cash incentives for COVID-19 vaccination involve offering individuals a financial reward as an encouragement to get vaccinated against the coronavirus. This strategy has been implemented by various governments, organizations, and businesses as part of their efforts to increase vaccination rates. Duch and colleagues randomly assigned about 700 residents of several villages in Ghana to four groups in a cluster-controlled trial. The results show that participants assigned to the cash incentive treatments had an average rate of 81% (1,733 of 2,168) compared to 71% (1,895 of 2,669) for those in the placebo treatment arm. For self-reported vaccinations, the average rate for participants in the cash treatment was 3.5% higher than for participants in the placebo treatment (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.001, 6.9; P = 0.045): 40% (602 of 1,486) versus 36.3% (672 of 1,850). These results suggest that cash incentives help in vaccination uptake but paradoxically, low cash incentives resulted in higher vaccine uptake compared to high cash incentives. We found that cash incentives motivate individuals who may be hesitant or reluctant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Financial rewards can serve as an additional motivator for those who may be on the fence about getting vaccinated. Trial identifier: AEARCTR-0008775. Nat Med. 2023 Nov 27. doi: 10.1038/s41591-023-02670-4.

AĞIR RUH HASTALIĞI OLAN HASTALARDA COVİD-19 AŞILAMA ORANLARI

The pandemic is thought to affect patients with severe mental illness (SMI). There are no data on COVID-19 vaccination in patients with SMI in Turkey. The aim of our study is to determine the vaccination rates and demographic and clinical characteristics that may be associated with vaccination in SMI patients followed in a community mental health center (TRSM). Data including demographic and clinical characteristics of 307 patients followed in TRSM were obtained. The mean age of the patients was 44.17±11.23. There were 199 (64.8%) men, 205 (66.8%) single, 247 (80.5%) unemployed, 288 (95%) living with their families. 242 (78.8%) were diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and 65 (21.2%) were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. 78 (28.9%) of them had a suicide attempt in the past. 118 (38.4%) had chronic co-morbidities. Fifty (16.3%) of the patients had past Covid-19 infection. 257 (83.7%) 1 dose, 246 (80.1%) 2 doses, 173 (56.4%) 3 doses, 61 (19.9%) 4 doses and 9 (2.9%) 5 doses 150 (48.9%) patients were vaccinated. fully vaccinated, 50 (16.3%) unvaccinated and 107 (34.9%) partially vaccinated. In the current study, vaccination rates against covid 19 were lower in SMI patients than in the general population. There was no difference between full or partial/unvaccinated groups in terms of demographic or clinical characteristics except marital status in SMI patients. Organizational changes are needed to increase vaccination rates in SMI patients.

Effect of vaccination status on CORADS and computed tomography severity score in hospitalized COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is continuing. The disease most commonly affects the lungs. Since the beginning of the pandemic thorax computed tomography (CT) has been an indispensable imaging method for diagnosis and follow-up. The disease is tried to be controlled with vaccines. Vaccination reduces the possibility of a severe course of the disease. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the vaccination status of patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 has an effect on the CT severity score (CT-SS) and CORADS score obtained during hospitalization. The files of patients hospitalized between April 1, 2021 and April 1, 2022 due to COVID-19 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 224 patients who were older than 18 years of age, whose vaccination status was accessible, whose severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction result was positive, and who had a Thorax CT scan during hospitalization were included in the study. Among the patients included in the study, 52.2% were female and the mean age was 61.85 years. The patients applied to the hospital on the average 7th day of their complaints. While 63 patients were unvaccinated (Group 1), 20 were vaccinated with a single dose of CoronaVac (Group 2), 24 with a single dose of BioNTech (Group 3), 38 with 2 doses of CoronaVac (Group 4), 40 with 2 doses of BioNTech (Group 5), and 39 with 3 doses of vaccine (2 doses of CoronaVac followed by a single dose of BioNTech, Group 6). CT-SS ranged from 5 to 23, with a mean of 12.17.CT-SS mean of the groups were determined as 14.17, 13.35, 11.58, 10.87, 11.28, 10.85, respectively. Accordingly, as a result of the comparisons between the groups, the CT-SS levels of the unvaccinated patients found to be significantly higher than the other groups. As the vaccination rates increased, the rate of typical COVID-19 findings on CT was found to be significantly lower. Increased vaccination rates in COVID-19 patients reduce the probability of typical COVID-19 symptoms in the lungs. It also reduces the risk of severe disease and decreases CT Severity Scores. This may lead to a loss of importance of Thorax CT in the diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia as the end of the pandemic approaches.