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As public health agencies strategize about how to distribute COVID-19 vaccines after they are developed, I believe that research on cholera vaccination strategies may be able to provide insight into how to make the best use of limited vaccine supplies. Many known factors about cholera (for example, duration of immunity and seasonality) are still unknown for COVID-19. Furthermore, the progression of both diseases, their modes of transmission, and their dynamics are different. Nevertheless, I believe that principles from cholera vaccination campaigns can be applied to COVID-19 control for two key reasons. First, many strategies for controlling cholera account for limited vaccine supplies and these approaches may be applicable immediately after COVID-19 vaccines are developed. And second, because both diseases can spread rapidly throughout the population, the timing of vaccination will be essential.
Cholera outbreaks can quickly lead to a public health crisis through their rapid ...
