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The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dynamics of its spread is unprecedented. Therefore, the need for a vaccine against the virus is huge. Researchers worldwide are working around the clock to find a vaccine. Experts estimate that a fast-tracked vaccine development process could speed a successful candidate to market in approximately 12-18 months. The objective of this review was to describe the coronavirus vaccines candidates in development and the important considerations. The review was conducted through a thematic analysis of the literature on COVID-19 vaccines in development. It only included data until the end of June 2020, 6 months after the emergence of the COVID-19. Different approaches are currently used to develop COVID-19 vaccines from traditional live-attenuated, inactivated, subunit vaccines, to more novel technologies such as DNA or mRNA vaccines. The race is on to find both medicines and vaccines for the COVID-19 pandemic. As with drugs, vaccine candidates go through pre-clinical testing first before they go through the three phases of clinical trials in humans. Of the over 130 vaccine candidates, 17 are in clinical trials while others are expected to move to clinical testing after the animal studies.

La vaccination est incontestablement l'une des interventions de santé publique les plus efficaces et les plus rentables qui soient. Les vaccins continuent de révolutionner notre capacité à prévenir les maladies et à améliorer la santé. Avec toutes les avancées technologiques, nous sommes en mesure d'étendre les avantages des vaccins à plus de gens et de fournir une meilleure protection contre les maladies infectieuses mortelles. Toutefois, avec le développement incessant de nouvelles souches microbiennes à travers le monde, la recherche en vaccinologie se doit d'innover continuellement. D'énormes progrès ont été réalisés pour améliorer la couverture vaccinale et introduire de nouveaux vaccins en Afrique. De nouveaux types de vaccins associés à des outils de vectorisation, d'administration et de délivrance spécifiques mais aussi des adjuvants susceptibles de moduler finement la réponse immunitaire sont attendus dans le futur. En Afrique, il est nécessaire de développer une approche régionale afin de répondre efficacement aux nombreux défis. Une meilleure information, la formation des personnels de santé en vaccinologie et des recherches bien ciblées sont les clés des futurs accomplissements dans le domaine.

Since the initial reports of a link between Zika and microcephaly, researchers across the world began working toward understanding the virus. In a short amount of time, Zika has become a household name, prompting worldwide concern. The virus is spread rapidly by mosquito bites. We don't have yet a vaccine for it. But with the recent findings, vaccine companies are mobilizing their resources to expedite efforts to shave years off the typical decade-long process of vaccine development.

Influenza viruses cause annual epidemics of respiratory tract disease that affect all age groups. Many developing countries do not have an influenza surveillance system or adequate laboratory capacity for virus detection. The objective of this study was to describe the influenza surveillance systems in the different countries in the tropics and to identify outstanding research needs. A questionnaire was designed and sent to 52 NICs and MoHs in the different countries in tropical Asia and Africa to gather information on the surveillance systems, sentinel sites, specimen and data collection, and laboratory testing. Replies were received from 32 NICs and MoHs (61.5% response) 17 were located in tropical Asia and 15 in Africa. There are 20 WHO recognized NICs in tropical Asia and 14 in tropical Africa, all with virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing capacity. Of the Asian countries, only Hong Kong and Singapore reported that the patient population from the sites represents the broader community. In tropical Africa, only Senegal has sentinel sites distributed all over the country contributing to the geographic representativeness of the surveillance system. The rest of the countries in Africa have just established their influenza surveillance system in the past decade and are working toward geographic expansion of the ILI and SARI sites. Limited laboratory capacity or infrastructure to perform influenza surveillance makes difficult to justify the importance of influenza vaccine or other influenza control measures as a strategy for improving population health in the tropical region.