POPULATION BIOLOGY, EVOLUTION, AND IMMUNOLOGY OF VACCINATION AND VACCINATION PROGRAMS

The purpose of prophylactic vaccination is to reduce morbidity and mor tality in a population. Many questions related to the design of vaccin es and vaccination programs require a population standpoint for their sharp formulation and laboratory and field studies to understand their immunologic background. Practical suggestions of the workshop include d increased studies of age-specific immunity, better immunoepidemiolog ic surveillance, better design of efficacy studies, and more systemati c sampling of parasite strains to study the evolutionary pressure exer ted by vaccines. Theoretical immunology has much to contribute. One of the realizations of the workshop was the value of a strong interdisci plinary approach in vaccine development, utilizing relevant contributi ons from immunology, population biology, mathematical modeling, epidem iology, molecular biology, and virology.