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GAVI Alliance launches pneumonia vaccine project in Nicaragua

"A new vaccine against the most deadly forms of pneumonia, one of the world's biggest killers of children, [was] launched in Nicaragua [on Sunday] as part of an effort to prevent 700,000 deaths in poorer countries by 2015," Reuters reports (Kelland, 12/10).

14 Dec 2010

Intercell to stop further development of Travelers' Diarrhea Vaccine Patch

Intercell AG announced today preliminary clinical results on its investigational Travelers' Diarrhea (TD) Vaccine Patch program and the decision not to pursue further the development of this vaccine candidate. The decision was made following the receipt of results of its randomized and placebo-controlled Phase III study (ELT301) with 2036 travelers from Europe to Mexico and Guatemala as well as the pilot efficacy Phase II trial (ELT209) with 723 travelers from Europe to India.

13 Dec 2010

Prevenar 13 launched in first childhood immunization program for PD in Nicaragua

Pfizer Inc. announced that Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]) was introduced into the first childhood immunization program for pneumococcal disease (PD) in the developing world under the auspices of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) when Nicaragua launched its program today. The AMC is an innovative program which involves private-public partnerships to help make newer vaccines available on a sustainable, affordable and accelerated basis to the least developed countries.

13 Dec 2010

News outlets report on polio outbreaks in Central, East Africa

"Bad immunisation strategy has been blamed for an outbreak of polio, which has killed nearly 200 and is believed to have caused paralysis in more than 2,000 others across Angola, Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo," the Mail & Guardian writes in a story examining the emergence of the disease in the three countries and efforts to control it.

10 Dec 2010

New software predicts key information about nasal insulin treatment regimens in type 1 diabetes

A La Jolla Institute team, led by leading type 1 diabetes researcher Matthias von Herrath, M.D., has demonstrated the effectiveness of a recently developed computer model in predicting key information about nasal insulin treatment regimens in type 1 (juvenile) diabetes. Development of the software, the Type 1 Diabetes PhysioLab- Platform, was funded through the peer-reviewed grant program of the American Diabetes Association.

9 Dec 2010

Annual survey ranks states on health, health care

An annual survey ranks state's overall health and gives snap shots of specific measures including crime, air pollution and smoking rates.

9 Dec 2010

Campaign to inoculate millions across Africa against meningitis kicks off in Burkina Faso

On Monday, a campaign started in Burkina Faso to "inoculate tens of millions of West Africans with a new vaccine in what scientists hope will be the beginning of the end of ravaging meningitis epidemics" across the continent, the New York Times reports.

7 Dec 2010

Guardian examines difficulty of delivering polio vaccines in war-torn parts of Africa, like DRC

UNICEF is calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) so that polio vaccinators can access millions of children in an effort to beat back the re-emergence of the disease in several African nations, the Guardian reports. "We are calling on all parties to the conflict to respect the vaccination days and cease fighting," said Pierrette Vu Thi, UNICEF's representative in the DRC. "All children have the same right to health," Vu Thi said.

7 Dec 2010

FDA accepts for review Bristol-Myers Squibb's ORENCIA sBLA for severe RA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA® (abatacept), a treatment for adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) administered through an injection into the skin. Bristol-Myers Squibb submitted the sBLA to the FDA for the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA and received confirmation of its receipt on October 4, 2010.

7 Dec 2010

One shot, cheap meningitis vaccine now available in Africa

As a boon to millions of children who die of meningitis, a cheap new vaccine for bacterial meningitis debuted today with the launching of an immunization drive in the West African country of Burkina Faso, in the first stage of an effort that could rid sub-Saharan Africa of the primary cause of meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.

6 Dec 2010

UNICEF spearheads polio immunization campaign across Abkhazia

UNICEF, the Abkhaz authorities and the European Union have left no stone unturned in their efforts to keep the region polio-free. In the first round of the polio immunization campaign that began here in November, 98 percent of all children up to 17 years of age were vaccinated.

4 Dec 2010

Wide-scale study of flu vaccine's effectiveness in European children needed

A wide-scale study of the effectiveness of flu vaccine in children is needed in Europe to fully assess the benefits, not only in keeping the kids from getting sick, but limiting the spread of flu to adults.

4 Dec 2010

NFID supports CDC's National Influenza Vaccination Week

The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's annual observance of National Influenza Vaccination Week to communicate the importance and availability of influenza vaccination into the winter months and beyond. It is critical that physicians and patients, especially parents of pediatric patients, remain vigilant about flu protection this and every year.

4 Dec 2010

Health experts discuss how to prepare for future dengue immunization programs

AsiaOne examines how groups are working to prepare policy makers for the availability of a dengue vaccine in the future, following a three-day meeting on the virus held in Singapore this week (Chan, 12/3).

4 Dec 2010

Minnpost examines foreign aid prospects in new Congress

The MinnPost examines the new Congress' possible approach to foreign aid and international spending.

3 Dec 2010

Whooping cough on the move

The Sequoyah County has seen an increase of whooping cough cases this year while the state of Oklahoma has seen a decrease in cases according to health officials. Health officials in DuPage County also say there has been increase in whooping cough cases in recent weeks.

2 Dec 2010

Booster dose needed to protect preterm infants against invasive pneumococcal disease

A new study suggests that preterm infants may not be fully protected against invasitve pneumococcal disease under the current United Kingdom immunization schedule. The findings are reported in the November issue of the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.

2 Dec 2010

Gavi Alliance elects new chair to continue global immunisation efforts

Former Norwegian Minister of Health and current member of parliament Dagfinn Høybråten was unanimously elected by the GAVI Alliance Board as its new Chair, GAVI announced on the first day of its board meeting taking place in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

30 Nov 2010

Canadians at increased risk for flu complications not aware of all the facts

It starts with a headache, chills or that all-over-achy feeling. It comes on quickly, yet too many Canadians ignore the rapid onset of flu symptoms. But for the millions of Canadians at increased risk for developing serious complications from the flu, including people 65 and older, pregnant women and those with chronic medical conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, heart disease and diabetes, this 'laissez faire' attitude could be putting their health in jeopardy.

30 Nov 2010

Whooping cough outbreak in Oklahoma

Oklahoma is witnessing an outbreak of whooping cough with more people falling ill. Health authorities are urging all people over 7 years of age to get vaccinated against the disease.

28 Nov 2010