Immunization News and Research

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Addressing barriers to successful immunization programs important while vaccine development progresses

Immunizations can be a cost-effective means of disease prevention, but "[t]o reach the fully realized stage of cost-effectiveness, ... it is vital to acknowledge -- and more importantly, address -- the barriers that often prevent them from either being as cheap or as widely used as needed," Forbes contributor Sarika Bansal writes in a Forbes opinion piece.

27 Oct 2011

Routine HPV vaccine for boys advised by health advisory panel

A government advisory panel on Tuesday decided that the vaccine against cervical cancer causing virus – HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) should also be given to boys, in part to help prevent the cancer-causing virus through sex. The HPV virus has been recommended for girls aged 9 to 26 since 2006.

26 Oct 2011

The unvaccinated population contributing to the measles outbreak

As the US faces its largest outbreak of measles in 15 years - affecting 214 children so far – new research suggests too many unvaccinated U.S. children could be the reason. Experts speculate that unfounded fears regarding safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine leading to many children bring missed out could have led to this situation.

24 Oct 2011

Viewpoints: Health law curbs savings from OTC meds; Calif. wrestles with managing medical marijuana

[Over-the-counter] medicines play an important role in our nation's health care system, with almost 90 percent of physicians recommending patients try to address many ailments with self-care interventions, including the use of OTC medication, before seeking professional care.

24 Oct 2011

India polio free for 9 months, raising hopes of eradication, health experts say

"India has not had a case of polio in nine months, raising hopes the country is on the verge of defeating the disease, health officials said Monday," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011

DNA synbodies, a new class of affinity reagents, gets major NIH boost

An ongoing Arizona State University effort to develop a revolutionary class of reagents that holds great promise for the future of medicine has received a major boost with a three-year, $4 million award from the National Institutes of Health.

24 Oct 2011

SafeMinds praises UNEP's draft treaty ban on use of mercury in pharma products

SafeMinds applauds UNEP's draft treaty language which does not exempt the use of mercury in pharmaceutical products, including vaccines, from the global ban. Governmental regulators, public health officials and pharmaceutical companies have recognized that the toxicity of mercury in pharmaceutical and personal care products, to which people are directly exposed, justifies a preventive approach to minimize all exposures.

24 Oct 2011

Pivotal pediatric clinical study comparing Q/LAIV to FluMist meets primary endpoint

The pivotal pediatric clinical study compared Q/LAIV to two trivalent formulations of MedImmune's licensed seasonal influenza vaccine, FluMist (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) and met its primary endpoint.

22 Oct 2011

Pfizer's Prevnar 13: Additional data from adult clinical studies presented at 49th IDSA

Pfizer Inc. announced today that additional data from several clinical studies of Prevnar 13 (Pneumococcal 13-valent Conjugate Vaccine) conducted in adults 50 years and older will be presented during the 49th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, which is being held Oct. 20-23, 2011, in Boston, Mass.

22 Oct 2011

India must stay the course in efforts to eradicate polio

"Clearly, there is no room for complacency" in India's efforts to eradicate polio, defined by the WHO as no recorded case of the disease for three years, because "the goal of complete eradication is within reach," Deepak Gupta, a senior U.N. professional in Strategic Health/Development Communication, writes in an Asia Sentinel opinion piece.

21 Oct 2011

Vaccines among most successful, cost-effective health investments in history

"Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective health investments in history," Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog. Because vaccines have saved millions of lives, "donors, the global health community and developing countries themselves [must] stay focused on immunization," he writes.

21 Oct 2011

Aid groups, health ministry plan to administer oral cholera vaccine to 100,000 Haitians

Working in conjunction with the Haitian Ministry of Health and the Haitian aid group GHESKIO, Boston-based Partners In Health (PIH) will begin an immunization campaign in January aimed at providing two doses of the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol "to 100,000 Haitians living in two vulnerable communities: a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, where potable water and latrines are luxuries, and to an isolated rural village in the lower Artibonite Valley region," the Miami Herald reports.

21 Oct 2011

Young docs not so keen on immunizations: Survey

A cross-sectional survey of 551 healthcare providers and noted that more recent graduates were less likely to think that vaccines were efficacious said Saad Omer, assistant professor of Emory University in Atlanta. They were also more likely to have doubts about the safety of some vaccines, Omer told reporters at the 49th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

20 Oct 2011

Winter health and safety tips

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets, and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults. "Something as simple as a fall can be devastating for older men and women," says Dr. Evelyn Granieri, director of the Division of Geriatrics at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/The Allen Hospital. "Before the cold weather arrives, it is important to prepare."

20 Oct 2011

China vaccinates 4.5M children, young adults against polio after outbreak

"China vaccinated 4.5 million children and young adults over the last five weeks in the western region of Xinjiang in a fight against polio after the disease paralyzed 17 people and killed one of them, the World Health Organization said," according to Reuters.

19 Oct 2011

American Academy of Pediatrics expands guidelines on safe sleep for babies

Since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended all babies should be placed on their backs to sleep in 1992, deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome have declined dramatically. But sleep-related deaths from other causes, including suffocation, entrapment and asphyxia, have increased.

19 Oct 2011

RTS,S vaccine reduces risk of severe malaria in African children

First results from a large-scale Phase III trial of RTS,S, published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), show the malaria vaccine candidate to provide young African children with significant protection against clinical and severe malaria with an acceptable safety and tolerability profile.

19 Oct 2011

First results from phase 3 malaria vaccine candidate trial

18 Oct 2011

VEC and AMA release updated information guide, 'Vaccines and Teens'

This week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Vaccine Education Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (VEC) and the American Medical Association released an updated information guide called Vaccines and Teens for parents and physicians, detailing the most current recommendations and information about critical immunizations for older children.

18 Oct 2011

AAP President to outline efforts to advance agenda for children

O. Marion Burton, MD, FAAP, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will address attendees at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday,Oct. 15, 2011, at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition in Boston.

15 Oct 2011