EurekAlert! In the Spotlight

This September, we're exploring the science behind vaccines. From how they train our immune systems to fight disease to the research shaping their future, vaccines offer an opportunity to discover the science helping protect individuals and communities around the world.

2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and major adverse cardiovascular events among US veterans

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this cohort study, receipt of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine was associated with reduced risk of COVID-19–associated major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE), with reductions most prominent in those 75 years or older and those with comorbidities. While the reduction in COVID-19–associated MACE was modest, the substantially larger reduction in all-cause MACE suggests that the vaccine’s protective association extends to the hidden burden of undetected SARS-CoV-2 and its sequelae.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

15-Jun-2026

Estimated effectiveness of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines in adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In this test-negative case-control study, 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccination was associated with reduced likelihood of medically attended COVID-19–associated outcomes among immunocompetent and immunocompromised adults, highlighting the importance of adults receiving recommended COVID-19 vaccinations.

Journal: JAMA Internal Medicine

15-Jun-2026

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among older adults

JAMA Network
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Vaccines administered in autumn and winter 2025 to 2026 showed approximately 55% effectiveness against symptomatic disease among older adults within 2 months of vaccination. The low uptake of vaccines, which showed substantial short-term effectiveness, suggests missed opportunities for preventing symptomatic COVID-19 among unvaccinated vulnerable groups.

Journal: JAMA Network Open

9-Jun-2026

NIH-funded researchers share early results of lassa fever vaccine in phase 1 clinical trial

Thomas Jefferson University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The interim analysis shows that the vaccine was safe, well-tolerated and induced robust immune responses against both the rabies virus and Lassa fever vaccine (LASV) in healthy adults.

Journal: Nature Medicine
Funder: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

9-Jun-2026

First-in-human clinical trial shows promising results for new Lassa fever vaccine

University of Maryland School of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD) reported encouraging results from an early clinical trial that tested a new dual vaccine against Lassa fever and rabies. The study, published today in the journal Nature Medicine, found that the vaccine was safe and induced immune responses against both viruses. There are currently no vaccines against Lassa fever on the market.

Journal: Nature Medicine

8-Jun-2026

Testing AI against public health’s existing tools

University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science
Peer-Reviewed Publication

As health systems explore AI tools for vaccine communication, a new Penn-led randomized controlled trial offers a cautionary finding: Brief chatbot conversations can make vaccine-hesitant parents more willing to vaccinate their children against HPV, but they did not outperform standard public health materials. The effects of the written materials also persisted, while those of the chatbots faded. The researchers say the next step is to test AI as part of broader support systems that help families move from intention to action.

Journal: JAMA Network Open
Funder: Penn Medical Communications Research Institute, Penn Global Research and Engagement Fund

8-Jun-2026

Accelerating chikungunya vaccine development in Africa: Launch of the ACT-CHIK Project

Institut Pasteur
Business Announcement

Funded by the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking, a new €15.3 million project coordinated by Institut Pasteur brings together seven partners across four continents to advance clinical trials and prepare for the manufacturing of a chikungunya vaccine in Africa.

Institut Pasteur is launching ACT-CHIK (Accelerating Clinical Trials for CHIKungunya Vaccine in Africa), a major four-year research project funded by the Global Health EDCTP3 Joint Undertaking under the European Union's Horizon Europe program. With €15.3 million in EU funding, ACT-CHIK will advance the clinical development of MV-CHIK — a measles-virus-based chikungunya vaccine originally developed at Institut Pasteur — through a large-scale Phase Ib/III clinical trial in four African countries, while preparing for technology transfer to an African vaccine manufacturer.

Funder: Institut Pasteur, University of Rwanda, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Fiocruz, IRRUA, KEMRI, International Vaccine Institute

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

Latest News Releases

2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and major adverse cardiovascular events among US veterans

Estimated effectiveness of 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines in adults

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among older adults

NIH-funded researchers share early results of lassa fever vaccine in phase 1 clinical trial

First-in-human clinical trial shows promising results for new Lassa fever vaccine

Testing AI against public health’s existing tools

Accelerating chikungunya vaccine development in Africa: Launch of the ACT-CHIK Project

Maternal RSV vaccine cuts infant hospitalizations by 70%