COVID-19 vaccine

Overview

The COVID-19 vaccine is a pharmaceutical intervention designed to elicit an immune response against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. These vaccines utilize various platforms, including mRNA technology, viral vectors, and inactivated virus approaches, to stimulate the body's immune system to recognize and combat the virus. By inducing the production of neutralizing antibodies and activating T-cell responses, COVID-19 vaccines play a critical role in reducing the incidence of symptomatic infection, severe disease, hospitalization, and mortality associated with COVID-19.

The biological significance of COVID-19 vaccines extends beyond individual protection; they contribute to community immunity, thereby reducing virus transmission and the overall burden on healthcare systems. Recent studies have investigated the safety and efficacy of these vaccines in diverse populations, including those with underlying health conditions, such as individuals receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy or those with autoimmune diseases.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent research has focused on various aspects of COVID-19 vaccination, including safety, efficacy, and public perception. A study from the Canadian National Vaccine Safety (CANVAS) network assessed the safety of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in children and adolescents with immunocompromised or autoimmune conditions, finding that participants reported new or worsening health events post-vaccination, which were monitored closely (PMID: 42053343). Another study highlighted the safety of COVID-19 vaccines for individuals undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, suggesting that these vaccines do not pose additional risks of immune-related adverse events beyond those associated with the therapy itself (PMID: 41661551).

Efficacy studies have also been significant, such as an investigation into the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on mortality among multi-ethnic long-term care residents in New Zealand during the Delta-Omicron wave, which underscored the importance of vaccination in reducing COVID-19-related deaths (PMID: 41964395). Additionally, research on parental attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination for toddlers in Japan revealed factors influencing vaccine uptake, indicating a need for targeted communication strategies (PMID: 41997485).

Public sentiment and social media responses to COVID-19 vaccination have been explored, revealing geographic and partisan variations in emotional responses, which complicate public health messaging (PMID: 42223941). Furthermore, studies have examined the oral microbiome's resilience during SARS-CoV-2 infection and the shifts observed post-vaccination, indicating potential impacts on microbial ecology (PMID: 42092264).

Research methodologies have included multivariable logistic regression to analyze vaccine uptake among diverse populations, including those living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and various ethnic groups in Israel, highlighting disparities in vaccination rates (PMID: 41664867, PMID: 42071245). The effectiveness of booster doses during the Omicron variant surge has also been evaluated, emphasizing the need for ongoing vaccination efforts (PMID: 42048780).

Key Publications

Jun Prevalence and correlates of COVID-19 vaccine uptake among sexual and gender minority adolescents in the southern United States. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 42105394): "Overall, 76.6% of enrolled adolescents had received the COVID-19 vaccination."
Jun Dysphagia after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Report of Two Cases. (Internal medicine (Tokyo, Japan), 2025, PMID 41224265): "Various adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccination have been reported; however, no case reports have focused on dysphagia."
Jun Language and racial disparities in COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy and lactation. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 42068907): "No published study to date has reported on the association between preferred language and COVID-19 vaccine uptake during pregnancy, and even less is known about COVID-19 vaccine disparities during lactation."
Jun Partisan and Geographic Variation in Emotional Responses to COVID-19 Vaccination on Social Media. (JAMA network open, 2026, PMID 42223941): "Public acceptance of the first COVID-19 vaccine administration was not uniform, yet the nature and county-level characteristics of heterogeneous emotional responses remain poorly characterized."
Jun The Efficacy of COVID-19 Vaccination in Mortality Among Multi-Ethnic Long-Term Care Residents in New Zealand. (Australasian journal on ageing, 2026, PMID 41964395): "This study investigated the impact of COVID-19 vaccination on COVID-19-related mortality among the main ethnic groups in long-term care during the Delta-Omicron wave in New Zealand."
Jun Parental attitudes and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination for toddlers in Japan: a questionnaire survey in Toyonaka city. (Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy, 2026, PMID 41997485): "We aimed to examine parental perceptions and factors associated with COVID-19 vaccination in toddlers."
Jun Oral Microbiome Resilience During SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Diversity Shifts After COVID-19 Vaccination in a Hispanic Population. (MicrobiologyOpen, 2026, PMID 42092264): "In contrast, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with short-term increases in diversity and compositional shifts, highlighting its influence on oral microbial ecology."
May Online Information Behavior Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination and Its Association With Vaccination Behavior Based on Cluster Analysis of User Groups: Cross-Sectional Study. (JMIR infodemiology, 2026, PMID 42214069): "Varied attitudes toward COVID-19 vaccination and an overwhelming amount of online information complicated communication and pandemic management."
May BNT162b2 LP.8.1 early vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 emergency department, urgent care, and outpatient visits. (Nature communications, 2026, PMID 42203789): "These findings inform shared decision-making in clinical practice and support the continued importance of COVID-19 vaccination in populations for whom it is recommended."
May Between racism and rumors: understanding vaccine mistrust among older racially diverse adults in Canada. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 42048737): "COVID-19 vaccination plays a crucial role in reducing infection, hospitalization, and mortality."

Show 11 more publications

May Immunogenicity and safety of a third and subsequent COVID-19 vaccine doses in patients with plasma cell dyscrasias. (Blood advances, 2026, PMID 41592280): "to evaluate humoral immunity to COVID-19 vaccination in participants with hematologic malignancies."
May COVID-19 in Villages of the Peruvian Amazon: A Survey of Local Public Health Beliefs and Behaviors. (The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene, 2026, PMID 41855572): "97% of those surveyed had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine."
May Trends in socio-demographic disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake by vaccine dose and time after the introduction of COVID-19 vaccination in Israel: epidemiological and policy analysis study. (Israel journal of health policy research, 2026, PMID 42071245): "We examined disparities in COVID-19 vaccine uptake among the Arab, ultraorthodox Jewish, and general Jewish populations in Israel (January 2021-August 2022), focusing on vaccine dose, community characteristics, and policy analysis."
May COVID-19 vaccine uptake, barriers and facilitators among key populations living with HIV/AIDS in Rivers State, Nigeria: a cross-sectional quantitative study. (Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, 2026, PMID 41664867): "The study evaluated COVID-19 vaccine uptake and the barriers and facilitators influencing COVID-19 vaccine uptake among key populations living with HIV/AIDS in Rivers State, Nigeria."
May Test-Negative Designs With Multiple Testing Sources. (Statistics in medicine, 2026, PMID 42059366): "Recently, they have also been widely used to evaluate the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines in preventing symptomatic disease for different variants."
Apr Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccine booster doses in adults aged 50 years and over during the Omicron period in Victoria, Australia. (Communicable diseases intelligence (2018), 2026, PMID 42048780): "Country-specific estimates of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine effectiveness (VE) are important for policy making, but analyses of COVID-19 VE in Australia have been limited to date."
Apr Surveillance of adverse events following immunisation in Australia, 2023. (Communicable diseases intelligence (2018), 2026, PMID 42048781): "The most commonly reported adverse events for new vaccines introduced in 2023 were medication errors and headache for COVID-19 vaccines;"
Apr Safety of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines in children and adolescents with immunocompromised or autoimmune conditions: Findings from the Canadian National Vaccine Safety (CANVAS) network. (Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2026, PMID 42053343): "Participants were vaccinated with COVID-19 only, seasonal influenza vaccine only, or had both vaccines co-administered and reported new or worsening health events within 7 d post-vaccination; unvaccinated participants reported new or worsening events in the prior week."
Apr Strengthening access to and confidence in COVID-19 vaccines among equity-deserving populations across Canada: An exploratory qualitative study. (PloS one, 2026, PMID 42044194): "...the extent to which they considered equity-deserving populations, as lessons from the rollout can inform future emergency responses and foster trust in public health."
Apr Immunisation against vaccine-preventable diseases in individuals receiving immunosuppressive targeted therapies. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 41780104): "Vaccine immunogenicity data were predominantly restricted to COVID-19, influenza, and pneumococcal vaccines, with fewer studies on herpes zoster and hepatitis B vaccines."
Apr Vaccine safety for individuals receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy: A narrative review of current literature and recommendations for future research. (Human vaccines & immunotherapeutics, 2026, PMID 41661551): "The existing evidence suggests that influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are safe for individuals receiving ICIs and do not pose additional risks of irAEs beyond baseline risks associated with ICI therapy."