Immunization News and Research

RSS

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

"Another victim from attacks on U.N.-backed anti-polio teams in Pakistan died on Thursday, bringing the three-day death toll in the wave of assaults on volunteers vaccinating children across the country to nine, officials said," the Associated Press reports (Khan, 12/20). "Four female health workers were killed in Karachi, shot dead by masked men on motorbikes.

21 Dec 2012

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the killing of health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio in a U.N.-backed campaign 'cruel, senseless and inexcusable,'" the Associated Press reports, noting, "Ban said at his year-end news conference on Wednesday that the eight killed were among thousands across Pakistan 'working selflessly to achieve the historic goal of polio eradication.'"

21 Dec 2012

Experts warn banning thimerosal from use in vaccines would harm immunization campaigns in developing world

"A group of prominent doctors and public health experts warns in articles to be published Monday in the journal Pediatrics that banning thimerosal, a mercury compound used as a preservative in vaccines, would devastate public health efforts in developing countries," the New York Times reports.

17 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT to treat seasonal flu

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Virus Vaccine) for the immunisation of children (three years and older) and adults to help prevent disease caused by seasonal influenza (flu) virus subtypes A and type B contained in the vaccine.

17 Dec 2012

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Global lifespans have risen dramatically in the past 40 years, but the increased life expectancy is not benefitting everybody equally, say University of Toronto researchers. In particular, adult males from low- and middle-income countries are losing ground.

17 Dec 2012

Efforts to prevent, treat cervical cancer increasing in Africa

The Guardian's "Poverty Matters Blog" examines efforts to prevent and treat cervical cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, where "cervical cancer kills large numbers of women, many of whom are never diagnosed because local hospitals do not recognize the disease until it is too late."

15 Dec 2012

Continue support of GAVI Alliance and childhood disease prevention

"Last week a global health event took place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to foster greater political will and explore ways to accelerate results, innovation, sustainability, and equity in the field of immunization," Baroness Hollins, emeritus professor of psychiatry of disability at St George's University of London, writes in the BMJ Group Blog about the GAVI Partners Forum.

14 Dec 2012

Viewpoints: Politicians flirting with danger on Medicare eligibility age; Maybe doctors should be paid less

The 2010 health- care law, which imposed immediate and heavy cuts on hospitals, drugmakers and insurers, left doctors relatively untouched. A 1997 law that reduces doctors' Medicare payments is consistently overridden by Congress.

14 Dec 2012

Innovation in immunization programs can mean better learning, sharing of information

In this Guardian "Global Development Professionals Network" blog post, Robert Steinglass, senior immunization adviser at John Snow, Inc., and immunization team leader for the USAID-funded Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program, writes about the importance of innovation to improving childhood immunization programs and health systems.

12 Dec 2012

Text4baby initiative effective service for pregnant women

Following last week's mHealth Summit, the largest event of its kind where leaders focus on how wireless technology can improve health outcomes, text4baby announced results from the first randomized evaluation of its service. The largest mobile health initiative in the U.S., text4baby was found to be an effective service for pregnant women.

11 Dec 2012

Vaccines serve as 'engine for economic growth'

Vaccines "save lives by protecting people against disease," but they "also are an engine for economic growth -- far beyond their health benefits," GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley writes in a CNN opinion piece.

11 Dec 2012

Vodafone partners with GSK, GAVI to use, study mobile technology to improve vaccination rates

"British mobile phone group Vodafone and drug maker GlaxoSmithKline are joining forces on a novel project to increase childhood vaccination rates in Mozambique using text messaging," Reuters reports.

10 Dec 2012

Sanofi Pasteur’s IMOJEV vaccine against Japanese encephalitis is now available in Australia

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today that IMOJEV vaccine against Japanese encephalitis (JE) is now available in Australia.

10 Dec 2012

Health workers face 'severe logistical challenges' to vaccinating Maasai tribes in Tanzania

Chris Endean of the GAVI Alliance writes ahead of the GAVI Partners Forum in a CNN opinion piece about efforts to vaccinate members of the Maasai tribes in Tanzania's Arusha National Park. Noting Maasai tribes are "constantly on the move searching for water and fresh pasture for their cattle," he describes "severe logistical challenges" health workers face when trying to reach their patients and notes."

7 Dec 2012

Strengthen health systems to integrate polio vaccinations into routine childhood immunizations, Save the Children report says

Speaking at the GAVI Partners Forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, David Olayemi, senior program adviser at Save the Children in Abuja, Nigeria, said fewer than half of children in Nigeria are receiving routine immunizations for diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough (DTP), and the rate is dropping, Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley reports in her "Global Health Blog."

7 Dec 2012

Vaccine-derived polio outbreak shows gaps in immunization coverage in Pakistan

Though "Pakistan has made a lot of progress this year in wiping out polio," a "recent outbreak of polio there has health officials concerned about the overall effectiveness of the effort to eliminate polio in that country," NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

6 Dec 2012

MSF expresses concerns regarding global vaccination efforts ahead of GAVI forum

"This week, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) is holding a forum in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley writes in her "Global Health Blog," noting, "Invited are 700 experts from all the organizations and countries GAVI works with, funding immunization programs across the globe and in some of the poorest places on the planet."

6 Dec 2012

Showing progress in the 'decade of vaccines'

In a post on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, Christopher Elias, president of global development at the foundation, discusses progress on "the Decade of Vaccines, a vision and commitment to reach all people with the vaccines they need."

4 Dec 2012

Tdap well tolerated in over-65s

Off-label use of tetanus–diptheria–acellular pertussis vaccine in senior patients results in no more adverse events than the tetanus and diphtheria vaccine, a US study shows.

30 Nov 2012

CSL, PharmaJet partner for needle-free delivery of Afluria influenza vaccine

PharmaJet Inc. has entered into a collaboration with CSL Limited to enable Afluria influenza vaccine to be delivered with the PharmaJet Stratis needle-free jet injector, as soon as the 2013-2014 flu season.

30 Nov 2012

Immunization News and Research

Pakistan reports 9th death in polio worker attacks, resumes vaccination campaign under police escort

International community condemns attacks on polio workers in Pakistan

Experts warn banning thimerosal from use in vaccines would harm immunization campaigns in developing world

GSK receives FDA approval for FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT to treat seasonal flu

Increased life expectancy not benefitting everybody equally: U of T

Efforts to prevent, treat cervical cancer increasing in Africa

Continue support of GAVI Alliance and childhood disease prevention

Viewpoints: Politicians flirting with danger on Medicare eligibility age; Maybe doctors should be paid less

Innovation in immunization programs can mean better learning, sharing of information

Text4baby initiative effective service for pregnant women

Vaccines serve as 'engine for economic growth'

Vodafone partners with GSK, GAVI to use, study mobile technology to improve vaccination rates

Sanofi Pasteur’s IMOJEV vaccine against Japanese encephalitis is now available in Australia

Health workers face 'severe logistical challenges' to vaccinating Maasai tribes in Tanzania

Strengthen health systems to integrate polio vaccinations into routine childhood immunizations, Save the Children report says

Vaccine-derived polio outbreak shows gaps in immunization coverage in Pakistan

MSF expresses concerns regarding global vaccination efforts ahead of GAVI forum

Showing progress in the 'decade of vaccines'

Tdap well tolerated in over-65s

CSL, PharmaJet partner for needle-free delivery of Afluria influenza vaccine

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

Latest News