CDC Finally Publishes Unified Vaccine Access Website

  Recently, the CDC published a much needed website where users can find an appointment to get vaccinated. An issue many people are facing as they become eligible for vaccination is not knowing where to go to get their vaccines. Initially, several websites were put up to tackle this need for local areas and there was confusion about which resources to use. Until a few days ago, there was no central source of information. 

        According to the CDC’s website, the new so-called Vaccine Finder “allows healthcare providers to list their vaccine locations in a centralized, searchable database and to track vaccine availability.” Now that this resource is available, it will be incredibly helpful for people who are looking for a place to get vaccinated. But one question we all might be asking is why did it take so long for the CDC to provide this resource to assist with the vaccine rollout? More broadly, is this a reflection on how the entire vaccine allocation process has been going nationwide? 

Although the first COVID-19 vaccine was licensed for Emergency Use Authorization in early December of 2020, vaccine allocation did not really pick up until mid January, 2021. NPR has been tracking efficiency of vaccine usage in each state by dividing the number of vaccines administered in those states by the number of vaccines distributed to that state. Shockingly, only a handful have passed 80% with most states falling below 75%. A few states are even below 60% efficiency in vaccine usage. With the huge demand for vaccines, there is no reason why usage efficiency should be below 90%. What gives? 

Perhaps the long wait for Vaccine Finder is a clue. It’s no secret that the U.S. was unprepared for the pandemic, and this naivatae has shown itself in many ways such as the flip-flopping of orders to shelter in place and the completely disjointed response to the pandemic. While some of this fault lies on the shoulders of the previous administration, the truth is that a pandemic was just not the first thing on most people's mind, and a well formed pandemic response plan was likely being perpetually pushed down the to-do list in DC. The longer vaccination takes, the more people are becoming sick and dying. Maybe with COVID fresh on our minds, we will do a better job of preparing for inevitable pandemics of the future. 

- Renata

NPR: How Is The COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Going In Your State?, accessed 2/25/2021
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References

CDC: VaccineFinder: COVID-19 Information for Jurisdictions and Healthcare Providers, accessed 2/25/2021

Potential Herpes Simplex Vaccine is Making Noise

  Herpes simplex viruses type 2 is a sexually transmitted disease with a worldwide estimated prevalence of over 535 million people and an annual incidence of 24 million infections. Sexually transmitted herpes is infamous for the genital lesions it gives rise to, however its lesser known transgressions include neonatal herpes which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. It also has a major role in perpetuating the HIV epidemic by causing genital tract inflammation that increases the risk of HIV infection by threefold. 

        Among the ten herpesviruses that can infect humans, Varicella Zoster virus (the etiological agent of Chickenpox) is the only one with an effective licensed vaccine. There has been debate about whether it is possible to develop an effective Herpes simplex virus vaccine with existing scientific technology. The existence of two different types of Varicella Zoster vaccines acts as proof of concept for vaccine development, especially since Varicella Zoster and Herpes simplex are closely related alphaherpesviruses. Also, the highly efficacious Human Papillomavirus vaccine is proof of concept that a vaccine given intramuscularly can successfully develop genital mucosal immunity in the patient. 

        The WHO has been keeping track of potential Herpes simplex vaccines that are in the drug development pipeline. As of their 2014 report, there were 14 candidates in the pipeline, 5 of which were in clinical trials. But truthfully, hope for a herpes vaccine has been fading. Herpesviruses are large, complex viruses that may have multiple ways of getting into host cells. This means that vaccine-induced antibodies specific for one region of the viral surface may not be altogether efficacious in preventing infection. 

        In November 2020, a new candidate, R2, was found to induce protection against HSV-2 and HSV-1 infection in a guinea-pig animal model, and this made waves in biotech media. This vaccine was developed following the failure of several subunit vaccines and is itself a live attenuated vaccine that was engineered to be unable to infect the sensory system. Since HSV-1 and 2 become latent and indetectable by the immune system in neural tissue, in principle, the virus could be eradicated from the body following acute infection from vaccination, leaving behind memory B cells to protect against future infection by wild type virus. 

        The R2 vaccine has only been tested in the guinea pig model of HSV-2, and yet the accomplishment of making a live attenuated HSV vaccine candidate is immensely promising for the future of HSV vaccine development. 

- Renata

References

WHO 2014 Report on HSV Vaccines, accessed 2/9/2021

Bernstein et al., The R2 non-neuroinvasive HSV-1 vaccine affords protection from genital HSV-2 infections in a guinea pig model, npj Vaccines 2020