Bibliometric Analysis of Trends in Human Vaccine Development, Law, and Ethics
Abstract
Introduction: The global health crisis triggered by COVID-19 in 2020 placed unprecedented emphasis on the rapid creation and worldwide dissemination of vaccines, while also bringing ethical and legal questions to the forefront of public and academic debate.
Methods: Using a bibliometric framework, this study analyzes scholarly publications addressing vaccination in relation to ethics and law over the period 1970–2024, drawing on records indexed in the Scopus database. Research productivity and collaboration patterns were assessed based on publication year, authorship, country of origin, institutional affiliation, and document type. Network visualization performed with VOSviewer revealed five dominant thematic clusters shaping the vaccine research landscape.
Results: The findings demonstrate a pronounced expansion in publication volume, particularly in the post-pandemic period, with the United States emerging as the most influential contributor.
Conclusion: This analysis highlights the critical role of cross-national collaboration and offers evidence-based insights to support the advancement of ethical governance, legal regulation, and public health policy in vaccination research.
Downloads
References
- Gostin LO, Karim SA, Mason Meier B. Facilitating access to a COVID-19 vaccine through global health law. J Law, Med Ethics. 2020;48(3):622–6. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073110520958892
- Puteri AE, Yuliarti E, Maharani NP, Fauzia AA, Wicaksono YS, Tresiana N. Analisis implementasi kebijakan vaksinasi COVID-19 di Indonesia. J Ilmu Adm Media Pengemb Ilmu dan Prakt Adm. 2022;19(1):122–30. https://doi.org/10.31113/jia.v19i1.863
- Wardana IGWW. Kebijakan Pemerintah Kolonial Dalam Penanganan Penyakit Cacar Di Jawa Abad XIX-XX. Soc Stud. 2016;4(1):34–50. https://ojs.mahadewa.ac.id/index.php/socialstudies/article/view/435/341
- Otaigbe I. A narrative review of strategies to improve childhood vaccination coverage in Low-and Middle-Income Countries: Improvement of Childhood Vaccination Coverage. Babcock Univ Med J. 2023;6(2):202–14. https://doi.org/10.38029/babcockunivmedj.v6i2.323
- Sulistyawati F, Widarini NP. Tren Menolak Vaksin. Indones J Heal Sci. 2022;6(2):15–23. DOI: 10.24269/ijhs.v6i2.4716
- Orenstein WA, Ahmed R. Simply put: Vaccination saves lives. Vol. 114, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. National Academy of Sciences; 2017. p. 4031–3. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.17045071
- Mascola JR, Fauci AS. Novel vaccine technologies for the 21st century. Nat Rev Immunol. 2020;20(2):87–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41577-019-0243-3
- Poria R, Kala D, Nagraik R, Dhir Y, Dhir S, Singh B, et al. Vaccine development: Current trends and technologies. Life Sci. 2024;336:122331. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122331
- Makarim FR. Kewajiban Imunisasi Dasar, Manfaat dan Keamanan. J Riptek. 2019;11(2):87–96. https://doi.org/10.35475/riptek.v11i2.30
- DeStefano F, Bodenstab HM, Offit PA. Principal controversies in vaccine safety in the United States. Clin Infect Dis. 2019;69(4):726–31. https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciz135
- Chatterjee A, O’Keefe C. Current controversies in the USA regarding vaccine safety. Expert Rev Vaccines. 2010;9(5):497–502. https://doi.org/10.1586/erv.10.36
- Lucia VC, Kelekar A, Afonso NM. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students. J Public Health (Bangkok). 2021;43(3):445–9. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdaa230
- Troiano G, Nardi A. Vaccine hesitancy in the era of COVID-19. Public Health. 2021;194:245–51. DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2021.02.025
- Karlsson LC, Lewandowsky S, Antfolk J, Salo P, Lindfelt M, Oksanen T, et al. The association between vaccination confidence, vaccination behavior, and willingness to recommend vaccines among Finnish healthcare workers. PLoS One. 2019;14(10):e0224330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224330
- Bangura JB, Xiao S, Qiu D, Ouyang F, Chen L. Barriers to childhood immunization in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1108. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09169-4
- Zewdie A, Letebo M, Mekonnen T. Reasons for defaulting from childhood immunization program: a qualitative study from Hadiya zone, Southern Ethiopia. BMC Public Health. 2016;16(1):1240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3904-1
- Pritchard A. Statistical bibliography or bibliometrics. J Doc. 1969;25:348. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02025969
- Salod Z, Mahomed O. Global research trends in reverse vaccinology from 2000 to 2021: A bibliometric analysis. Informatics Med Unlocked. 2023;41:101313. DOI: 10.1016/j.imu.2023.101313
- Sharma RN. Research And Publication Ethics: A Philosophical Perspective. Res Publ Ethics. 2024;30. https://doi.org/10.1080/01862334.2022.1807460
- Karim A. Analisis Bibliometrik Menggunakan Vosviewer Terhadap Trend Riset Matematika Terapan Di Google Scholar: Analisis Bibliometrik Menggunakan Vosviewer. J Ris Pendidik Mat Jakarta. 2021;3(2):23–33. https://doi.org/10.21009/jrpmj.v3i2.22264
- Visscher MB. Religion and the law. Vaccination. Minn Med. 1970;53(4):368. https://europepmc.org/article/med/5444018
- Besson FL, Fernandez B, Faure S, Mercier O, Seferian A, Mignard X, et al. 18F-FDG PET and DCE kinetic modeling and their correlations in primary NSCLC: first voxel-wise correlative analysis of human simultaneous [18F] FDG PET-MRI data. EJNMMI Res. 2020;10(1):88.
- Slack C, Strode A, Grant C, Milford C. Implications of the ethical-legal framework for adolescent HIV vaccine trials-report of a consultative forum. South African Med J. 2005;95(9):682–4. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC68551
- Brusa M, Barilan YM. Voluntary COVID-19 vaccination of children: a social responsibility. J Med Ethics. 2021;47(8):543–6. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2021-107370
- Caplan AL, Hoke D, Diamond NJ, Karshenboyem V. Free to choose but liable for the consequences: should non-vaccinators be penalized for the harm they do? J Law, Med Ethics. 2012;40(3):606–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-720X.2012.00693.x
- Douglas RG, Samant VB. The vaccine industry. Plotkin’s Vaccines. 2017;41. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-323-35761-6.00004-3
- Attwell K, Navin MC, Lopalco PL, Jestin C, Reiter S, Omer SB. Recent vaccine mandates in the United States, Europe and Australia: a comparative study. Vaccine. 2018;36(48):7377–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.10.019
- Jain J, Saurabh S, Kumar P, Verma MK, Goel AD, Gupta MK, et al. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among medical students in India. Epidemiol Infect. 2021;149:e132. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268821001205
Copyright (c) 2026 Media Publikasi Promosi Kesehatan Indonesia (MPPKI)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.