• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.300-311
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing on influenza vaccination among socio-demographic characteristics and health behaviors. Data of 18,299 adults of age between 19 and 65 years who answered to the survey on National Health and Nutrition and influenza vaccination from 2007 to 2010 was used and analyzed. Overall influenza vaccination rate was 21.7%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that factors influencing on influenza vaccination were an increasing age, a residence in rural area, a high personal income, a low educational level, jobless women, experience of hospital visits, and morbidity of chronic illnesses. In conclusion, influenza vaccination rate in Korea is low and influenced by multiple socio-demographic factors and health behaviors. It is needed to seek a strategy to develop a vaccination program in consideration of factors associated with influenza vaccination.

• Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.366-372
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• 2018

Background: An inactivated Hantaan virus vaccine (iHV) has been broadly used as a preventive strategy for hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) by the South Korean Army. After the vaccination program was initiated, the overall incidence of HFRS cases was reduced in the military population. While there are about 400 HFRS cases annually, few studies have demonstrated the efficacy of the iHV in field settings. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the iHV efficacy on HFRS severity. Methods: From 2009 to 2017, HFRS cases were collected in South Korean Army hospitals along with patients' vaccination history. HFRS patients were classified retrospectively into two groups according to vaccination records: no history of iHV vaccination and valid vaccination. Vaccine efficacy on the severity of acute kidney injury (AKI) stage and dialysis events were investigated. Results: The effects of the iHV on renal injury severity in between 18 valid vaccinated and 110 non-vaccinated patients were respectively evaluated. In the valid vaccination group, six of the 18 HFRS patients (33.3%) had stage 3 AKI, compared to 60 of the 110 (54.5%) patients in the non-vaccination group. The iHV efficacy against disease progression ($VE_p$) was 58.1% (95% confidence interval, 31.3% to 88.0%). Conclusion: The iHV efficacy against the progression of HFRS failed to demonstrate statistically significant protection. However, different severity profiles were observed between the iHV and non-vaccination groups. Additional studies with larger populations are needed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the iHV in patients with HFRS.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.28.1-28.14
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• 2021

Lung-resident memory T cells (T_RM) play an essential role in protecting against pulmonary virus infection. Parenteral administration of DNA vaccine is generally not sufficient to induce lung CD8 T_RM cells. This study investigates whether intramuscularly administered DNA vaccine expressing the nucleoprotein (NP) induces lung T_RM cells and protects against the influenza B virus. The results show that DNA vaccination poorly generates lung T_RM cells and massive secondary effector CD8 T cells entering the lungs after challenge infection do not offer sufficient protection. Nonetheless, intranasal administration of non-replicating adenovirus vector expressing no Ag following priming DNA vaccination deploys NP-specific CD8 T_RM cells in the lungs, which subsequently offers complete protection. This novel 'prime and deploy' strategy could be a promising regimen for a universal influenza vaccine targeting the conserved NP Ag.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9361-9365
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• 2014

Background: To estimate the pre-vaccination distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) types among women from urban Tunis. Materials and Methods: A total of 611 women aged 18-69 years were enrolled in three local gynaecological outpatient departments. All underwent a gynaecological examination with Pap test and dry swab for HPV detection and typing performed by linear array genotyping test (Roche). Cytological examination was conducted on conventional Pap smears. Results: HPV DNA was found in 6.5% of the women; the most frequent HPV types were HPV 16 and HPV 11 at 3.27% and 1.96%, respectively. The second most frequent high risk (HR) HPV type was HPV 58 (0.82%) followed by HPV 18, HPV 31 and HPV 33 found in only 0.33% of women. Single infections with HPV types, targeted by the quadrivalent vaccine (6, 11, 16, and 18), were detected in 3.6 % of the study patients (55% of positive women). HPV infection was found in 3.83% of women with normal cytology and in 47.4% of women with cytological abnormalities. No statistically significant trend in prevalence by age group emerged for any HPV type or for high or low risk types. Conclusions: These data show a relatively low prevalence of HPV infection in women from urban Tunis with a high proportion of HPV16 and HPV58. This should be considered in the upcoming screening programs and vaccination strategy.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.32.1-32.15
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• 2023

Most influenza vaccines currently in use target the highly variable hemagglutinin protein to induce neutralizing antibodies and therefore require yearly reformulation. T cell-based universal influenza vaccines focus on eliciting broadly cross-reactive T-cell responses, especially the tissue-resident memory T cell (T_RM) population in the respiratory tract, providing superior protection to circulating memory T cells. This study demonstrated that intramuscular (i.m.) administration of the adenovirus-based vaccine expressing influenza virus nucleoprotein (rAd/NP) elicited weak CD8 T_RM responses in the lungs and airways, and yielded poor protection against lethal influenza virus challenge. However, a novel "prime-and-deploy" strategy that combines i.m. vaccination of rAd/NP with subsequent intranasal administration of an empty adenovector induced strong NP-specific CD8⁺ T_RM cells and provided complete protection against influenza virus challenge. Overall, our results demonstrate that this "prime-and-deploy" vaccination strategy is potentially applicable to the development of universal influenza vaccines.

• Annals of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
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• v.34
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• pp.3.1-3.12
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• 2022

Background: Influenza illness causes several disruptions to the workforce. The absenteeism that often ensues has economic implications for employers. This study aimed to estimate the cost-benefit of influenza vaccination in a healthcare setting from the employer's perspective. Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in a private hospital in 2018-2019 comparing voluntary vaccinated with non-vaccinated employees with influenza vaccine. The analyses were made based on self-reporting on absenteeism and presenteeism from Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs). The costs incurred, both direct and indirect costs, were included in the study. A cost-benefit analysis was performed by measuring the cost of the vaccination program. The costs of absenteeism and reduced productivity were calculated using 3 hypothesised levels of effectiveness in the following percentage of productivity of 30%, 50%, and 70%. The costs were also calculated based on four scenarios: with and without operating income and with and without replacement. The benefits of the influenza vaccination from the employer's perspective were analysed. The benefit to cost ratio was determined. Results: A total of four hundred and twenty-one respondents participated. The influenza vaccination rate was 63.0%. The rate of ILI of 38.1% was significantly lower among vaccinated. The ILI-related absenteeism reported was also significantly lower amongst vaccinated employees at 30% compared to 70% non-vaccinated. Employers could save up to USD 18.95 per vaccinated employee when only labour cost was included or 54.0% of cost savings. The cost-saving rose to USD 155.56 when the operating income per employee was also included. The benefit to cost ratio confirmed that the net cost-benefit gained from the vaccination was more than the net cost of vaccination. Conclusions: Influenza vaccination for working adults was cost-saving and cost-beneficial when translated into financial investments for the employer. A workplace vaccination demonstrates a significant cost-benefit strategy to be applied in any institutional setting.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.7708-7717
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of cervical cancer knowledge, HPV knowledge, and health beliefs on HPV vaccination. The survey was conducted to undergraduate students of the university in Chungbuk province. Total 271 copies were used in the final analysis. The mean score of cervical cancer and HPV knowledge level was very low(5.34/26). The health beliefs about HPV, the perceived benefit(2.58), perceived barrier(2.52), perceived seriousness(2.49) were generally low level. Especially the perceived susceptibility(1.77) was very low. HPV vaccination rate should be rise 1.229 times(p<.01) and 1.567 times(p<.05), if the cervical cancer knowledge and perceived benefit of HPV vaccination would be that each rise 1unit. In conclusion, The educational strategy would be needed to strengthen the perceived benefit and as well as to increase the cervical cancer knowledge and perceived susceptibility about HPV.

• The Journal of Korean Academic Society of Nursing Education
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.292-301
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• 2023

Purpose: This study attempted to present a strategy to increase behavioral vaccination intention by identifying factors affecting parents' intention to have their children vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by applying the modified theory of planned behavior. Methods: An online survey was conducted with 146 parents of children aged 5 to 17 from August 1 to 30, 2022, and, as a result, 146 data were analyzed. The moderating effect of perceived behavioral control in the relationship between parents' attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral intention for children's COVID-19 vaccination was analyzed using the Process Macro (10,000 bootstrapping, 95% confidence interval), and a simple slope analysis was performed to identify differences by group. Results: The moderating effect of perceived behavioral control was statistically significant in the relationship between parent's attitude and subjective norms for COVID-19 vaccination and behavioral intention. In the simple slope analysis, the reinforcement effect was greatest when the level of perceived behavioral control was high. Conclusion: Since vaccination is most likely when recommended by healthcare providers, it is necessary to ensure that health education through community health experts or mass media can be effectively conducted. In particular, objective information on the effectiveness and safety of COVID-19 vaccinations for children, including monitoring of potential side-effects, should be actively reported.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.55-63
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• 2024

Purpose: A 2-dose varicella vaccination strategy has been introduced in many countries worldwide, aiming to increase vaccine effectiveness (VE) against varicella infection. In this network meta-analysis, we aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation and an overall estimated effect of varicella vaccination strategies, via a Bayesian model. Methods: For each eligible study, we collected trial characteristics, such as: 1-dose vs. 2-dose, demographic characteristics, and outcomes of interest. For studies involving different doses, we aggregated the data for the same number of doses delivered into one arm. The preventive effect of 1-dose vs. 2-dose of varicella vaccine were evaluated in terms of the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding equal-tailed 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: A total of 903 studies were retrieved during our literature search, and 25 interventional or observational studies were selected for the Bayesian network meta-analysis. A total of 49,265 observed individuals were included in this network meta-analysis. Compared to the 0-dose control group, the OR of all varicella infections were 0.087 (95% CI, 0.046-0.164) and 0.310 (95% CI, 0.198-0.484) for 2-doses and one-dose, respectively, which corresponded to VE of 69.0% (95% CI, 51.6-81.2) and VE of 91.3% (95% CI, 83.6-95.4) for 1- and 2-doses, respectively. Conclusions: A 2-dose vaccine strategy was able to significantly reduce varicella burden. The effectiveness of 2-dose vaccination on reducing the risk of infection was demonstrated by sound statistical evidence, which highlights the public health need for a 2-dose vaccine recommendation.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.7
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• pp.690-695
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• 2008

The age-specific anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence rates in South Korea have changed markedly since the last 2030 years with an improvement in the socio-economic, housing, and environmental-sanitation conditions. These changes are characterized by very low anti-HAV seropositive rates among individuals less than 30 years of age; however, nowadays, most adolescents and young adults at an increased risk of developing symptomatic HAV infections. The Korea Center for Disease Control Sentinel Surveillance System has recently revealed an increase in the incidence of hepatitis A infection since 2001 and has revealed a potential endemic nature of the hepatitis A infection. Hepatitis A vaccines that were introduced in 1997 in Korea have made the current anti-HAV IgG positive rates in children (less than 10 years of age) approximately 50% of the rates observed in Seoul in 2006. However, in the same year, a few children were diagnosed as having anti-HAV IgG antibodies in Busan. This suggests the presence of some difference in the vaccination policy among doctors practicing in Seoul and Busan. Thus, the current recommendation of vaccinating 12-year-old child with HAV vaccination should be emphasized and a new strategy should be developed for the vaccination program to cater to the adolescents and young adults who are not immune, as well as for persons who are at a high risk for hepatitis A viral infection such as military personnel and hospital and day care center employees. Further, urgent hepatitis A vaccinations are also needed in patients with chronic liver diseases.