​

Why it matters

Vaccines are one of the most impactful medical interventions in history, but structured, neutral information about them is surprisingly hard to find in one place. Parents checking schedules, travelers preparing for trips, and researchers studying immunization programs all need the same core data — what does this vaccine protect against, how effective is it, when should it be given, and who makes it. A structured catalog in Geo connects vaccines to the diseases they prevent, the populations they serve, and the companies behind them.

What to publish

  • Create Vaccine entities for every major vaccine in use globally

  • For each vaccine, publish:

    • Name — brand name and generic/scientific name (e.g. "Gardasil 9" / "HPV 9-valent vaccine")

    • Disease(s) it prevents — link to Disease entities

    • Vaccine type (mRNA, inactivated, live-attenuated, viral vector, subunit, toxoid, conjugate)

    • Mechanism — how it works in plain language

    • Recommended schedule (age, number of doses, intervals)

    • Efficacy rate

    • Common side effects

    • Serious adverse reactions (rare)

    • Manufacturer — link to Company entity

    • FDA/EMA/WHO approval status and year

    • Storage requirements (cold chain)

    • Whether it's on the WHO Essential Medicines List

    • Recommended populations (children, adults, travelers, immunocompromised)

  • Create relations to:

    • Diseases prevented — link to Disease entities

    • Manufacturer — link to Company entities

    • Related vaccines (e.g. different COVID vaccines, different flu strains)

    • Key researchers who developed the vaccine — link to Person entities

    • Relevant Topics (e.g. immunology, public health, mRNA technology)

Scope

All major vaccines currently in use — likely 50–80 covering:

  • Childhood schedule (MMR, DTaP, polio, Hep B, Hib, rotavirus, varicella, PCV13)

  • Adolescent (HPV, meningococcal, Tdap)

  • Adult and annual (influenza, COVID-19, shingles, pneumococcal)

  • Travel (yellow fever, typhoid, Japanese encephalitis, rabies, cholera)

  • Pandemic-relevant (COVID-19 variants — Pfizer, Moderna, J&J, AstraZeneca, Novavax)

  • Historic significance (smallpox, BCG for tuberculosis)

Potential sources

CDC immunization schedules, WHO vaccine position papers, FDA vaccine approvals, EMA product information, Immunization Action Coalition, PubMed vaccine efficacy studies, manufacturer prescribing information.