Claims about shortages of vaccines and campaigns continue from different jurisdictions. The Government admits the delays and attributes them to logistical difficulties of the Pan American Health Organization due to the war. All under the same management that last year enabled an anti-vaccine meeting in the National Congress, and while there is a request for an audience with Minister Mario Lugones from that same group: they want him to make room for their desire to eliminate the mandatory nature of the National Calendar. Scientific denialism and the anti-vaccine movement are advancing, but so is science.
Looking ahead to Vaccination Week in the Americas, which will take place between April 25 and May 2, experts in the field of medicine celebrate “the future of prevention: more than 900 vaccines under investigation”. Many of those that are in process will allow us to face diseases that today do not have specific prevention methods.
“There are more than 900 vaccines under investigation in the world, of which About half are for diseases that until now do not have tools for their prevention. Just to mention a few notable examples, vaccines are being studied for diseases such as HIV, Lyme disease, tuberculosis and malaria, gonorrhea, chlamydia and Streptococcus A (pharyngitis), herpes, hepatitis C, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and norovirus (diarrhea) and cytomegalovirus (important in pregnancy due to genetic malformations),” listed the Argentine Chamber of Medicinal Specialties (CAEMe).
Paradigm shift
The entity highlights a “paradigm shift in vaccine development: the transition from traditional technologies – especially from attenuated or inactivated viruses – towards innovative technologies that allow faster, more precise and adaptable responses to known and emerging diseases.
“Once a platform is designed and approved for a vaccine, the development of new vaccines is accelerated and the costs of producing at scale are reduced. An example is vaccines based on messenger RNA, a technology consolidated in recent years, which – in addition to addressing infectious diseases – can be used for complex pathologies such as cancer, opening a new era in preventive and therapeutic medicine,” explained Rosana Felice, medical advisor at CAEMe.
The advances also have to do with the search for universal vaccinesdesigned to “protect against multiple variants of the same virus, such as influenza, which could reduce the need for frequent updates.”
Meanwhile, the advances in nanotechnology “have revolutionized delivery systems,” since nanoparticles protect the genetic material and ensure its arrival to the appropriate cells, increasing effectiveness and reducing adverse effects.
“We are facing a huge Transformative Potential of Next Generation Vaccine Technologiesmany of which are increasingly closer to completing the research stages and being a response to major public health challenges,” Felice noted.
The application, another challenge
The development and acquisition of vaccines constitute an incomplete health policy if their arrival to the target population is not guaranteed. For this reason, specialists point out about putting the photo in the application experience.
“Innovation also reaches the forms of application. Currently, intranasal and oral vaccines are being investigatedcapable of generating a barrier at the level of the mucous membranes to prevent pathogens from entering the body, which could improve protection against respiratory diseases,” stated the Chamber’s statement.
The artificial intelligence In this sense, it contributes from the faster identification of antigens to a better design of molecules and the more specific prediction of the immune response.
“This set of advances shapes a future in which we will have more and better vaccines. The challenge remains that among the different actors involved we contribute so that each vaccine reaches those who need it.“, raising awareness in the community about the value of getting vaccinated and ensuring that there are vaccines in every corner of the country,” said Felice, in a context where the lack of timely distribution and the insufficiency of public campaigns with a clear message are pointed out by medicine and epidemiology leaders as alarm signals, in the midst of a drop in coverage that has already translated into the resurgence of diseases that were controlled.
