VACCINATION IN THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

In 2019, the World Health Organization listed vaccine hesitancy as one among ten threats to global health. In the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccine sentiment and concerns related to newly developed COVID-19 vaccines have quickly escalated by traditional and social media, and unverified and incomplete information, rumors and memes about COVID-19 vaccines are reaching many people faster than complex scientific information. While new vaccines may be raising hopes of returning to pre-COVID-19 normality, they also raise questions about unknown effects, and speculation about potential compulsory vaccination. At the same time, the pandemic itself has posed new challenges to existing vaccination programs. Various factors related to the pandemic have caused suspensions of vaccination programs or delays in routine medical care, leading to a drop in vaccination rates and new outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
As new vaccines against COVID-19 become available, limited supplies and logistical challenges about vaccine production, storage, and distribution pose questions about the ethics of distribution both within and between countries. Between countries, questions about how to ensure that vaccines are both available and affordable for middle and low-income countries are paramount. Within countries, authorities must deal with thorny ethical questions about which groups should have priority access to vaccination and how to ration limited vaccine supplies.

We welcome Original Articles, Systematic Reviews and other Review formats based on comprehensive systematic literature search.

Potential contributions to the special issue include but are not limited to:
• Vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic , both towards routine vaccination and COVID-19 vaccines
• Public perception of COVID-19 vaccination policies
• The ethics of access to COVID-19 vaccines
• The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on other vaccination programs

Call for Papers: abstract and manuscript submissions are now closed.
For more details, please see the call announcement here

Contact: Christopher Woodrow, Managing Editor PHR, christopher.woodrow@swisstph.ch

Keywords: COVID-19, Vaccination, Pandemic, Vaccine hesitancy, COVID-19 pandemic