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Since 2007, the number of HIV diagnoses in Turkey has increased more than 600% and the AIDS-related deaths have more than doubled. Despite trans community being severely impacted by the growing epidemic, there exists a conspicuous absence of epidemiological data regarding the HIV burden of trans people. This paper examines the medical experiences of HIV-positive trans women who engage in sex work and the harmful violence they encounter at the hands of health providers. The paper emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive interventions to address the intersecting issues of HIV risk, structural violence, and discrimination faced by HIV-positive trans sex workers, one of the most marginalized communities worldwide. To interpret better how transphobia and HIVphobia become deeply entangled in Turkish medical settings, the paper draws from the concepts of iatrogenesis , necropolitics, and immunity. By bringing together these conceptual tools with long-term ethnographic data and in-depth interviews, this paper demonstrates that trans women are treated by healthcare providers as though they are always-already infectious. The paper contends that aggressive immunitarian boundaries, erected between healthcare personnel and individuals deemed "contagious others," are central to doctors' denial of medical care and reluctance to touch, examine, or even admit trans patients, particularly when they are HIV-positive. • Social immunization lies at the core of doctors' refusal of care for trans patients. • Social immunization is central to the operation of necropolitics and iatrogenesis. • Doctors establish violent boundaries in an attempt to "protect" themselves. • Trans women are assumed to be inherently contagious by healthcare providers. • Trans communities are slowly debilitated through denial of healthcare services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Comprehensive review of recent literature on zero- or missed-dose children in Nigeria. • Risk factors are well-known and widely studied. • Literature on interventions was scattered, and focussed on campaigns and polio. • Gaps exist in investigating how to deliver sustainable immunization programs. • Further work is needed to operationalise findings of this review. 'Zero-dose' refers to a person who does not receive a single dose of any vaccine in the routine national immunization schedule, while 'missed dose' refers to a person who does not complete the schedule. These people remain vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases, and are often already disadvantaged due to poverty, conflict, and lack of access to basic health services. Globally, more 22.7 million children are estimated to be zero- or missed-dose, of which an estimated 3.1 million (∼14 %) reside in Nigeria. We conducted a scoping review to synthesize recent literature on risk factors and interventions for zero- and missed-dose children in Nigeria. Our search identified 127 papers, including research into risk factors only (n = 66); interventions only (n = 34); both risk factors and interventions (n = 18); and publications that made recommendations only (n = 9). The most frequently reported factors influencing childhood vaccine uptake were maternal factors (n = 77), particularly maternal education (n = 22) and access to ante- and perinatal care (n = 19); heterogeneity between different types of communities – including location, region, wealth, religion, population composition, and other challenges (n = 50); access to vaccination, i.e., proximity of facilities with vaccines and vaccinators (n = 37); and awareness about immunization – including safety, efficacy, importance, and schedules (n = 18). Literature assessing implementation of interventions was more scattered, and heavily skewed towards vaccination campaigns and polio eradication efforts. Major evidence gaps exist in how to deliver effective and sustainable routine childhood immunization. Overall, further work is needed to operationalise the learnings from these studies, e.g. through applying findings to Nigeria's next review of vaccination plans, and using this summary as a basis for further investigation and specific recommendations on effective interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Delivering vaccination services during the second year of life (2YL) 1 Abbreviations: 2YL, denotes Second Year of Life or 2nd Year of Life. 1 provides countries with an opportunity to achieve greater coverage, to provide booster doses and vaccines missed during the first year of life, as well as contribute towards disease control and elimination goals. Methods Using data from demographic health surveys (DHSs) conducted during 2010 to 2016, this paper explores the proportion of missed opportunities for vaccinations generally provided during routine immunization among children in their 2YL. Results DHS data in 46 countries surveyed 478,737 children, from which 169,259 children were 12–23 months old and had vaccination/health cards viewed by surveyors. From this group, 69,489 children aged 12–23 months had contact with health services in their 2YL. Three scenarios for a missed opportunity for vaccinations were analysed: (1) a child received one vaccine in the immunization schedule and was eligible for another vaccine, but did not receive any further vaccination, (2) a child received a vitamin A supplementation (VAS) and was due for a vaccine, but did not receive vaccines that were due, and (3) a child was taken to a health facility for a sick visit and was due (and eligible) for a vaccine, but did not receive the vaccine. A total of 16,409 (24%) children had one or more missed opportunities for vaccinations. Conclusion This analysis highlights the magnitude of the problem of missed opportunities in the 2YL. The global community needs to provide better streamlined guidance, policies and strategies to promote vaccination screenings at well-child and sick child visits in the 2YL. Where they do not exist, well-child visits in the 2YL should be established and strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new stylized fact about the relationship between income and childhood vaccination. It shows vaccination rates first rise but then fall as income increases. This pattern is observed in WHO country-level panel data, and in US county-level panel and individual-level repeated cross-section data. This data pattern suggests that both low and high-income parents are less likely to follow the standard vaccination schedule, and that such behavior is reflected in the vaccination rate at the population level. I provide several alternative explanations as to why we observe this data pattern, including avoidance measures, medical care, and social segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite extensive scientific evidence on the safety of standard vaccinations, some parents express skeptical attitudes towards the safety of childhood immunisations. This paper uses data from the 2013/14 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS) survey ( N = 16,642) to explore the distribution, and demographic and personality correlates of New Zealanders’ attitudes towards the safety of childhood vaccinations. Around two thirds (68.5%) of New Zealanders strongly agreed/were confident that “it is safe to vaccinate children following the standard New Zealand immunisation schedule,” 26% were skeptical and 5.5% were strongly opposed. Multiple regression analysis indicated that people lower on Conscientiousness and Agreeableness but higher on Openness to Experience expressed lower confidence about vaccine safety. Having higher subjective health satisfaction, living rurally, being Māori, single, employed and not a parent were all associated with lower confidence, while a higher income and educational attainment were associated with greater confidence. Our findings suggest that the majority of New Zealand adults trust in the safety of scheduled childhood vaccinations, but about one third do express some degree of concern. This finding highlights the importance of improving public education about the safety and necessity of vaccinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health inequities are the unjust differences in health among different social groups. Unfortunately, inequities are the norm, both in terms of health status and access to, and use of, health services. Childhood immunizations reduce the incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases and represent a cost-effective way to foster health equity. This paper reflects a 2015 review of data from surveys conducted in developing countries from 2005 to 2011 that show significant inequities in immunization coverage and discusses several initiatives currently underway (including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance) that are directed at increasing childhood immunizations or reducing or abolishing overall health inequities. These initiatives have already had a significant impact on disease burden and childhood mortality and give rise to optimism that health disparities may further be reduced and health equity achieved as a result of investments made in immunization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]