Interdisciplinary symposium on challenges and opportunities for vaccines: A comprehensive approach of current and future vaccine strategies to improve vaccine effectiveness in complex chronic infectious contexts

Siebner AS, Habib M, Osmani V, Adegnika AA, Bogdan C, Breloer M, Elliott A, Fathi A, Hendrickx G, Nono JK, Lang R, Mayer JU, Mordmüller B, Ndungo E, Protzer U, Yazdanbakhsh M, Klug SJ, da Costa CP, Esen M (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Vaccine: X Elsevier

Article Number: 100615

DOI: 10.1016/j.jvacx.2025.100615

Abstract

Vaccination is a key public health intervention, but vaccine immunogenicity, efficacy, and effectiveness vary geographically. These variations are not yet fully understood but are likely influenced by factors such as chronic infections, environmental and genetic differences, social and behavioral factors, and operational challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To address these issues, the “International Symposium on Global Challenges and Opportunities for Vaccines” was held in Kloster Bernried, Germany, bringing together international scientists and stakeholders. Key discussions included: (1) Compromised vaccine immunogenicity due to helminth infections, (2) new vaccine approaches in vaccine development, (3) new frontiers in therapeutic vaccination, (4) challenges of vaccine trials, especially in low-resource settings, and (5) conceptualizing vaccine confidence in low and high resource contexts. The symposium highlighted the challenges of conducting vaccine trials in LMICs, such as participant follow-up, logistics, resources, and building trust. The main recommendation was to improve future vaccine trial designs through a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach, including tools to evaluate vaccine immunogenicity, efficacy, and effectiveness.

Authors with CRIS profile

Christian Bogdan Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie und Infektionsimmunologie Roland Lang Professur für Angeborene Immunität und Pathogenerkennung

Involved external institutions

Universitätsklinikum Tübingen DE Germany (DE) Technische Universität München (TUM) DE Germany (DE) Bernhard-Nocht-Institut für Tropenmedizin (BNITM) / Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine DE Germany (DE) London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine GB United Kingdom (GB) Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) DE Germany (DE) University of Antwerp / Universiteit Antwerpen BE Belgium (BE) Institut de Recherches Médicales et d’Etudes des Plantes Médicinales CM Cameroon (CM) Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz DE Germany (DE) University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) US United States (USA) (US) Leiden University Medical Center NL Netherlands (NL)

How to cite

APA:

Siebner, A.S., Habib, M., Osmani, V., Adegnika, A.A., Bogdan, C., Breloer, M.,... Esen, M. (2025). Interdisciplinary symposium on challenges and opportunities for vaccines: A comprehensive approach of current and future vaccine strategies to improve vaccine effectiveness in complex chronic infectious contexts. Vaccine: X. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvacx.2025.100615

MLA:

Siebner, Alex S., et al. "Interdisciplinary symposium on challenges and opportunities for vaccines: A comprehensive approach of current and future vaccine strategies to improve vaccine effectiveness in complex chronic infectious contexts." Vaccine: X (2025).

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