Vaccines in public health

Vaccines are one of the major triumphs of public health. What may sound like simple common sense has been reiterated in various articles in this Supplement of CSP. At this special moment of mobilization in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the world is placing high expectations on the development of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, with many groups working tirelessly to shorten the typically long time in the clinical trial phases for vaccines ¹.

Vaccines’ effects involve both the vaccinated individual and herd immunity as their externality. Vaccines’ effectiveness as a tool for prevention thus depends on a complex range of factors, from the individual to the collective. The challenges for their success are thus technological, ethical, psychological, and sociocultural. This Supplement of CSP aims to promote a dialogue between the various fields and sectors of society working with vaccines, through a combination of articles, essays, perspectives, and interviews. The edition revisited the history of vaccinology in Brazil and the world, its successes and failures, and in this context offers a view towards the future. Such a future depends on the technological progress for a fourth generation, an understanding of the role of new communications media in health, and knowledge of the local and specific contexts of each immunobiological product.

Despite the vast base of scientific evidence backing immunization programs, some dissonant voices have challenged the idea that vaccination has played a key role in the control of diseases ², and requires extra effort to expand the visibility of the public health strides resulting from vaccination. While the regular editions of CSP were already publishing articles on vaccines and immunization programs, the Editors thought it was timely to have a Supplement dedicated to the theme, concentrating induced production of papers via the Editors’ invitation to collaborators with expertise in academic research and health services. This Supplement thus intends to communicate not only with the “academic community”, but also with professionals working in various areas related to vaccination. The articles’ topics and authors represent the best feasible approach to this mix. We believe the Supplement convenes a group of collaborators that represents excellence in work with vaccines in public health. Featured in the edition is an interview with Dr. Reinaldo de Menezes Martins (1936-2019) ³, who left us a valuable contribution through his decades of dedication to vaccines in public health.

Finally, we wish to acknowledge the support of the Institute of Technology in Immunobiologicals (Bio-Manguinhos), Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), in funding the additional cost of the Supplement. This support was unconditional, with no interference in the editorial process.

• ¹
  Kommenda N, Hulley-Jones F. Coronavirus vaccine tracker: how close are we to a vaccine? The Guardian 2002; 30 jul. https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/jul/29/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-close-are-we-to-a-vaccine
  » https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2020/jul/29/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker-how-close-are-we-to-a-vaccine
• ²
  Camargo Jr. KR. Lá vamos nós outra vez: a reemergência do ativismo antivacina na Internet. Cad Saúde Pública 2020; 36 Suppl 2:e00037620.
• ³
  Camacho LAB, Carvalho MS, Martins RM. Dr. Reinaldo M. Martins: seis décadas dedicadas à vacinação. Cad Saúde Pública 2020; 36 Suppl 2:e00200720.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  31 Aug 2020
• Date of issue
  2020