Latin American Scientific Production on COVID-19 Vaccines

Abstract

Background: Currently, there is a worldwide health crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic; consequently, it is necessary to find effective vaccines in order to immunize the population and prevent the transmission of the disease. Likewise, it is important to know vaccine progress and efficacy research, mainly in Latin American countries where no studies have been conducted yet to know the scientific production on COVID-19. Methods: A retrospective and descriptive study was carried out and COVID-19 vaccine publications in Scopus-indexed journals were considered as a unit of analysis for the period between 2020 and June 2021, with authors affiliated to Latin American institutions. Results: We found 141 published Scopus-indexed COVID-19 vaccine articles with authors affiliated to Latin American institutions. Brazil has the highest scientific production with 33.33%, followed by Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile. Regarding productivity by institution, 137 international institutions have participated in the Latin American COVID-19 vaccine production. The journals with the highest number of published articles are Vaccines and Vaccine. Both journals are located in Q1 of the SJR. The most frequently used descriptor was coronavirus disease 2019. Conclusion: The Latin American scientific production on COVID-19 vaccines included 141 published Scopus-indexed articles. Likewise, Brazil is the Latin American country with the highest scientific production.