Immunization is one of the most cost-effective health interventions globally. During the last three decades, several new vaccines have been licensed worldwide with a significant impact on the burden of infectious diseases. Some of the clinical developments of these vaccines have been conducted in Latin America. Vaccine clinical development in Latin America has been very important due to the epidemiology, ethnical diversity, scientific expertise, and research capacity to conduct several clinical trials across the region. Latin America has had a high disease burden for several infectious diseases, including rotavirus, pneumococcal, meningococcal, dengue, influenza, zika, chikungunya, and COVID-19 disease. Developing vaccines against these diseases has been critical to prevent illness and reducing morbidity, mortality, and associated use of resources.

The future of vaccine clinical research in Latin America looks promising. Many countries in the region have a significant number of clinical trial sites and a large pool of potential trial participants with diverse ethnic backgrounds which makes it an attractive location for vaccine research. Additionally, there are several research institutions and universities in the region that are actively involved in vaccine research and development. This Research Topic aims to review the experience, present, and future in the Latin America region to conduct vaccine clinical development for different vaccines by discussing different aspects such as disease epidemiology, population characteristics, feasibility assessment, logistical implementation, social challenges, regulatory aspects, introduction, and impact.

Researchers are encouraged to submit original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, and systematic reviews with a focus on Latin America relevant to this article collection, which will cover topics such as (but not limited to):

- Rotavirus, HPV, and pneumococcal vaccine clinical development

- COVID-19 and H1N1 pandemic: lessons learned from clinical research

- RSV immunization: strategies for protecting all age groups

- Maternal immunization: protecting mothers and infants through vaccination

- Site capacity building for vaccine clinical trials

- Challenges and opportunities in conducting vaccine clinical trials

- Regulatory pathways for vaccine clinical research

- Role of public-private partnerships for vaccine clinical research

- Epidemiologic surveillance: new tools and advances for vaccine-preventable diseases

- Future of vaccine clinical research

- Epidemiology review for future vaccine development

- Mathematical modeling for epidemic preparedness

- Social benefits and acceptability of vaccine clinical research

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Frontiers in Medicine

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