MIT researchers modified the injectable polio vaccine to promote a mucosal immune response, using an adjuvant delivered by lipid nanoparticles. This vaccine could help to achieve polio eradication while avoiding the risks of the oral polio vaccine.

Persistently low rates of COVID-19 vaccination in Black and Hispanic children suggest that parents in these communities tend to be hesitant about the vaccine for their kids, even when they have received it themselves. Through interviews with parents of school-aged children, a new study sheds light on the factors influencing decisions about vaccination. Findings were published in the June issue of the Vaccine: X journal.

A phase 1 clinical trial testing the safety of a leishmaniasis vaccine is set to begin in the coming months – the first vaccine created to protect against the disfiguring skin disease common in tropical regions of the world and gaining ground in the United States. The researcher who led development of the vaccine is the senior author of a New England Journal of Medicine review article published last week describing the difficulties of treating most forms of the disease and reporting that the live vaccine, found to be safe in animals, is expected to be tested in humans later this year.

Pediatric flu vaccines significantly reduce the number of childhood cases of influenza, new research from Harvard Medical School confirms. The findings, published on June 1 in JAMA Pediatrics, show that for every 100 children vaccinated, between nine and 14 fewer children catch the flu.