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AP examines anticipated changes to U.S. National Security Strategy, use of health diplomacy

The Associated Press looks at some anticipated changes to the "National Security Strategy, a document that previously outlined the Bush Doctrine of preventive war." The article focuses on the prospective strategy changes, but notes that the "revisions are part of a larger effort about which the White House talks openly, one that seeks to change not just how the U.S. talks to Muslim nations, but also what it talks to them about, from health care and science to business startups and education."

8 Apr 2010

L.A. Care Health Plan receives $15.6M federal grant to establish HITEC-LA

L.A. Care Health Plan, the nation’s largest public health plan, announced today that the organization has received a $15.6 million federal grant to establish the Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center, called HITEC-LA, that will help doctors in L.A. County adopt and use Electronic Health Records in a meaningful way.

8 Apr 2010

UCSF, SEEK Development launch international partnership to improve global health

UCSF and SEEK Development, a global health and development consulting group based in Berlin, Germany, have launched an international partnership that aims to improve global health by helping to turn scientific evidence into policy and action. The Evidence-to-Policy Initiative, or E2Pi, officially launches this week in San Francisco and Berlin, Germany.

7 Apr 2010

Ontario invests millions of dollars in universal flu vaccine campaign

The millions of dollars invested by the province of Ontario in its universal flu vaccine campaign saves lives and is a sensible investment, according to an economic analysis by a researcher at the University of Toronto and the University Health Network.

7 Apr 2010

University of Wisconsin-Madison uses ultrasensitive detector to find fetal heart rhythm problems

At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the most powerful magnetic detectors in the world is helping screen high-risk pregnant patients for rare but very serious fetal heart rhythm problems. Thanks to a collaboration with The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; and Hope Children's Hospital, Chicago, the ultrasensitive detector measures magnetic signals coming from the tiny beating hearts of fetuses.

6 Apr 2010

Flu vaccine shortage in New Zealand

The overwhelming demand for the flu vaccine has been seen as the biggest cause for its shortage in New Zealand. Despite 530,000 doses of the vaccine being distributed last month, there are some medical practices where the supply is woefully inadequate to meet the demand. This has resulted in the Ministry of Health bringing in shipments of 95,000 more doses.

5 Apr 2010

Wall Street Journal examines railway hospital in India

The Wall Street Journal examines Lifeline Express, "the world's first hospital on rails," which is run by Impact India, a group that "initially focused on immunization and prevention of diseases such as polio and malaria." Its success has spread to China and Zimbabwe, where three Lifeline Express trains are operated, and to "hospital river boats based on the India model have been set up to tend to patients in Bangladesh and Cambodia." It has also been used as a model for other health projects in India, according to the newspaper.

3 Apr 2010

Kaiser Permanente ranked highest in 2010 Member Health Insurance Plan Study

Kaiser Permanente announced today that its members in four geographic regions rated the organization's health plans highest in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power and Associates 2010 U.S. Member Health Insurance Plan Study.

3 Apr 2010

Protein vaccines for needle-free immunization through the skin

Most immunizations currently involve an injection in the arm. In the future, vaccination may be accomplished without the unpleasant jab of a needle: a team led by Victor C. Yang at the University of Michigan (USA) has developed a method by which vaccines can pass directly through the skin without a needle. As the researchers report in the journal Angewandte Chemie, merely linking a special short peptide molecule to the vaccine, which can then be administered in the form of a patch, will do the job.

1 Apr 2010

Renewed set of national policy guidelines to control diarrhoeal disease in Kenya

Today the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, together with the Department of Family Health (Division of Child and Adolescent Health), unveiled a renewed set of national policy guidelines to redouble diarrhoeal disease management and control efforts by putting proven interventions to work within the country's health system.

31 Mar 2010

Also in Global Health News: H1N1; USAID's Global Pulse; Rotavirus vaccine; Uzbek doctors; Zimbabwe development; Malaria vaccine

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda on Monday announced that a group of 29 independent scientists and public health experts has been formed to evaluate the response of the organization and national governments to the emergence of H1N1 (swine flu), the Associated Press reports. According to Fukuda, the committee will hold its first meeting April 12-14 (3/29).

29 Mar 2010

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

GlaxoSmithKline today announced the launch of the GSK Vaccines Access Program, which will provide the company's adult vaccines free of charge to eligible, low income individuals who do not have insurance coverage for vaccines. The program will cover the company's FDA-approved vaccines for Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis for eligible persons ages 19 and older.

29 Mar 2010

Final results from Novavax' Phase II clinical trial of trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine announced

Novavax, Inc. a clinical-stage vaccine company, released the final results from a Phase II clinical trial evaluating Novavax's trivalent seasonal influenza Virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate in healthy adults. The study enrolled healthy volunteers 18 to 49 years in age who were immunized with a single injection of Novavax's trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine matched to the influenza strains recommended for the 2008-2009 influenza vaccine.

29 Mar 2010

Pfizer to supply pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for infants and children

Pfizer Inc. today announced it has signed a 10-year Provisional Supply Agreement to supply Prevenar 13* (Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Conjugate Vaccine [13-valent, adsorbed]), the company’s 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, for infants and young children in the world’s poorest countries under the terms of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) pilot project against pneumococcal disease.

24 Mar 2010

Vaccine deal signed - 47 developing countries to receive low priced vaccines by 2015

Pharmaceutical giants have signed a historical 10-year deal on Tuesday pledging the supply of 60 million doses a year of pneumococcal vaccines at cut-prices to developing nations.

24 Mar 2010

FDA recommends clinicians temporarily suspend use of Rotarix vaccine

The agency recently became aware that an independent U.S. academic research team, using a novel technique, has found DNA from porcine circovirus 1 (PCV1) in Rotarix, which is manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. PCV1 is not known to cause illness in humans or other animals. In addition, Rotarix has been studied extensively, before and after approval, and found to have an excellent safety record.

24 Mar 2010

Swine flu risk to pregnant women uncovered in landmark study

A study to be published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) today has found 11 percent of pregnant women admitted to intensive care units (ICU) with 2009 A/H1N1 (swine flu) died, with 12 percent of babies born to them dying from complications. None of the mothers had been immunised against seasonal flu.

22 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Lancet study performed a systematic review of HIV prevention and treatment services targeting injecting drug users (IDUs) globally based on the availability of "core interventions for IDUs: needle and syringe programmes (NSPs), opioid substitution therapy (OST) and other drug treatment, HIV testing and counselling, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and condom programmes." The authors conclude, "although the number of countries with core HIV prevention services is growing … worldwide, there are few countries in which the level of intervention coverage is sufficient to prevent HIV transmission" (Mathers et al., 3/20).

20 Mar 2010

Nature News examines GAVI Alliance's budget gap

Nature News examines GAVI Alliance's multi-billion-dollar budget shortfall ahead of a donors meeting in The Hague on March 25-26.

18 Mar 2010

Prevenar 13: Immunogenic and well tolerated in young children previously vaccinated with Prevenar

According to results from a Phase III safety and immunogenicity study presented today, Prevenar 13 (Pneumococcal polysaccharide conjugate vaccine, [13-valent, adsorbed]) was shown to be immunogenic and generally well tolerated in healthy young children who had received at least three prior doses of Prevenar (Pneumococcal Saccharide Conjugated Vaccine, Adsorbed). These data were presented today at the 7th International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD) in Tel Aviv, Israel.

17 Mar 2010

Immunization News and Research

AP examines anticipated changes to U.S. National Security Strategy, use of health diplomacy

L.A. Care Health Plan receives $15.6M federal grant to establish HITEC-LA

UCSF, SEEK Development launch international partnership to improve global health

Ontario invests millions of dollars in universal flu vaccine campaign

University of Wisconsin-Madison uses ultrasensitive detector to find fetal heart rhythm problems

Flu vaccine shortage in New Zealand

Wall Street Journal examines railway hospital in India

Kaiser Permanente ranked highest in 2010 Member Health Insurance Plan Study

Protein vaccines for needle-free immunization through the skin

Renewed set of national policy guidelines to control diarrhoeal disease in Kenya

Also in Global Health News: H1N1; USAID's Global Pulse; Rotavirus vaccine; Uzbek doctors; Zimbabwe development; Malaria vaccine

GSK offers free vaccines for low income adults without insurance coverage

Final results from Novavax' Phase II clinical trial of trivalent seasonal influenza VLP vaccine announced

Pfizer to supply pneumococcal conjugate vaccines for infants and children

Vaccine deal signed - 47 developing countries to receive low priced vaccines by 2015

FDA recommends clinicians temporarily suspend use of Rotarix vaccine

Swine flu risk to pregnant women uncovered in landmark study

Recent releases in Global Health

Nature News examines GAVI Alliance's budget gap

Prevenar 13: Immunogenic and well tolerated in young children previously vaccinated with Prevenar

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

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