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Review
. 2022 Apr 12;10(4):591.
doi: 10.3390/vaccines10040591.

The Importance of Vaccination in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Brief Update Regarding the Use of Vaccines

Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado  1 , Katharine Valéria Saraiva Hodel  1 , Larissa Moraes Dos Santos Fonseca  1 , Vinícius Couto Pires  1 , Luis Alberto Brêda Mascarenhas  1 , Leone Peter Correia da Silva Andrade  1 , Marcelo Albano Moret  1   2 , Roberto Badaró  1
Affiliations
Review

The Importance of Vaccination in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Brief Update Regarding the Use of Vaccines

Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado et al. Vaccines (Basel). .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led the world to undertake the largest vaccination campaign in human history. In record time, unprecedented scientific and governmental efforts have resulted in the acquisition of immunizers utilizing different technologies (nucleotide acids, viral vectors, inactivated and protein-based vaccines). Currently, 33 vaccines have already been approved by regulatory agencies in different countries, and more than 10 billion doses have been administered worldwide. Despite the undeniable impact of vaccination on the control of the pandemic, the recurrent emergence of new variants of interest has raised new challenges. The recent viral mutations precede new outbreaks that rapidly spread at global proportions. In addition, reducing protective efficacy rates have been observed among the main authorized vaccines. Besides these issues, several other crucial issues for the appropriate combatting of the pandemic remain uncertain or under investigation. Particularly noteworthy issues include the use of vaccine-boosting strategies to increase protection; concerns related to the long-term safety of vaccines, child immunization reliability and uncommon adverse events; the persistence of the virus in society; and the transition from a pandemic to an endemic state. In this review, we describe the updated scenario regarding SARS-CoV-2 variants and COVID-19 vaccines. In addition, we outline current discussions covering COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy, and the future pandemic perspectives.

Keywords: COV; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; pandemic; vaccines.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the major technology platforms used for COVID-19 vaccine development, the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and their respective spike protein mutations, and the factors that may influence the effectiveness of available vaccines. Adapted from Tregoning et al. [44] and Mistry et al. [94]. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 17 February 2022).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overview about infantile vaccination for COVID-19. Adapted from Zimmerman et al. [203]. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 5 March 2022).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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