The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic that started in 2020 due to an emerged coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been a vivid reminder of the devastating impact pandemics have on modern civilization. The Covid-19 pandemic has served as a warning for the scientific, medical, and public health communities to prepare effectively for the next influenza virus pandemic. Since the catastrophic pandemic of 1918 caused by influenza A virus subtype H1N1, there have been three additional influenza pandemics in the last century caused by multiple influenza A virus subtypes, i.e., H2N2 (1957), H3N2 (1968), and H1N1 (2009). Since 2004, influenza A virus subtypes H5N1 and H7N9 have caused sporadic outbreaks with high fatality rates in humans and, despite no apparent sustained human-to-human transmission to date, these subtypes have high potential to cause the next influenza pandemic. Vaccines are important interventions in pandemic preparedness strategies, and considerable attention has been invested in the design and testing of investigational pandemic influenza vaccines.
In this Research Topic, we propose to cover the current status and future directions of pandemic influenza vaccine approaches. We aim to present the most recent research on vaccine components: envelope proteins for optimal humoral immune responses and viral internal proteins for optimal cellular immune responses. We also wish to highlight innovative technology platforms under active investigation for producing and delivering pandemic influenza vaccine antigens: viral vectors, nanoparticles, and self-amplifying or nonamplifying mRNA. In addition to the traditional but limiting egg-based method of growing influenza vaccine viruses, we aim to present research and development of novel systems of vaccine virus propagation, e.g., cell culture. Finally, we aim to present the latest findings for different influenza A virus subtype vaccines in various stages of preclinical and clinical development and evaluation.
We welcome the submission of Original Research articles, Clinical Trial articles, Methods articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Perspectives covering, but not limited to, the following Pandemic Influenza Vaccine sub-topics:
- Antigens and adjuvants
- Composition and formulation
- Production methods
- Technology platforms
- Animal models for evaluating efficacy
- Correlates of protection/mechanisms of protection
- Preclinical and clinical e valuation of vaccines for immunogenicity, safety, and efficacy
- Regulatory considerations
- Specific target populations
- The utility of rapid response approaches versus stockpiling approaches
Topic Editor Dr. Corey Patrick Mallett is an employee of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies. The other Topic Editors declare no conflict of interest with regards to the Research Topic theme.