Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Study: COVID-19 vaccines may remain effective against new influenza viruses

Influenza vaccines need to be evaluated every year to ensure they remain effective against new influenza viruses.

26 Mar 2021

Vaccine hesitancy could pose a major threat to public health efforts to end COVID-19

Although demand for COVID-19 vaccines currently seems high, vaccine hesitancy could pose a major threat to public health efforts to end the pandemic, according to an editorial published today in the journal Science.

25 Mar 2021

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: Getting down to work at HHS

As questions swirl about the Covid vaccine made by AstraZeneca, public health experts are worried the confusion could create more doubts among people already hesitant to get a vaccine.

25 Mar 2021

Stop blaming Tuskegee, critics say. It’s not an ‘excuse’ for current medical racism.

For months, journalists, politicians and health officials — including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Dr. Anthony Fauci — have invoked the infamous Tuskegee syphilis study to explain why Black Americans are more hesitant than white Americans to get the coronavirus vaccine.

25 Mar 2021

Inmates’ distrust of prison health care fuels distrust of Covid vaccines

One November night in a Missouri prison, Charles Graham woke his cellmate of more than a dozen years, Frank Flanders, saying he couldn't breathe. Flanders pressed the call button. No one answered, so he kicked the door until a guard came.

25 Mar 2021

Dual-antigen COVID-19 vaccine elicits humoral and cellular immune responses in mice

The scientific consensus is that safe and highly effective vaccines are required to end the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 COVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2. A new study describes a new vaccine that presents two viral antigens to the human immune system, in order to elicit a more efficacious response.

25 Mar 2021

Could an mRNA vaccine second dose reduce cellular immunity in previously infected individuals?

A new study, which was released on the bioRxiv* preprint server, shows the differential effect that a standard vaccine protocol may have on individuals, based on their history of prior infection with the virus.

25 Mar 2021

Researchers examine SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactome

A new study focuses on the identification of RNA-binding protein by mass spectrometry (ChIRP-M/S) approach. This study develops a global map that contains the complete set of host proteins that involve the SARS-CoV-2 genome during infection. This study has successfully identified new SARS-CoV-2 host dependency factors by merging proteomics data with gene silencing experiments. Such a discovery has paved new roads to develop more antiviral therapies.

25 Mar 2021

Food preservative may harm the immune system, shows new study

A food preservative used to prolong the shelf life of Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Cheez-Its and almost 1,250 other popular processed foods may harm the immune system, according to a new peer-reviewed study by Environmental Working Group.

25 Mar 2021

Researchers conduct online survey on people’s intentions regarding COVID-19 vaccination

Ahead of the first U.S. emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 vaccine, only half of Americans said they were likely to get vaccinated as soon as possible, according to an in-depth study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

25 Mar 2021

COVID vaccines have only 17% detectable antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 virus

When clinical trials were conducted to determine the immunogenicity -- the ability to elicit an immune response -- for the first two vaccines marshaled against SARS-CoV-2the virus that causes COVID-19, one group was not among those included: people who have received solid organ transplants and others (such as those with autoimmune disorders) who are immunocompromised.

25 Mar 2021

Study tests the effects of messages about vaccination in televised news reports

News coverage of expert scientific evidence on vaccine safety is effective at increasing public acceptance of vaccines, but the positive effect is diminished when the expert message is juxtaposed with a personal narrative about real side effects, new research has found.

25 Mar 2021

‘COVID-19 fears’ prevent many Africans from accessing malaria treatment

Fears of contracting COVID-19 are preventing people accessing vital health services, experts say.

24 Mar 2021

New therapeutic vaccine uses patient's own tumor cells to aid in cancer destruction

Immunotherapy, which recruits the body's own immune system to attack cancer, has given many cancer patients a new avenue to treat the disease.

24 Mar 2021

Study finds rapid spread of B.1.1.220 variant with E484K mutation in New York

New research led by Patrick McGann from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research found the first cases of the B.1.1.220 variant with an E484K mutation on the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. Their results suggest the variant recently emerged as B.1.1.220 was not found in New York before December 2020. Still, it quickly made up 25% of coronavirus strains in late January and early February.

24 Mar 2021

Survey finds a steady increase in acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers

A survey of Geisinger employees conducted over two weeks in December 2020 found a steady increase in intent among healthcare workers to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

24 Mar 2021

New compound may provide a basis for drug development against COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, arrived one year ago and turned our lives upside-down.

24 Mar 2021

Reduced mRNA COVID-19 vaccine response in nursing home residents

A recent study has examined the response of nursing home residents who were naïve to SARS-CoV-2 infection following vaccination by the mRNA BNT162b2 model from Pfizer-BioNTech.

24 Mar 2021

Delaying second doses of COVID-19 vaccines can reduce positive cases

Delaying second doses of COVID-19 vaccines should reduce case numbers in the near term; however, the longer term case burden and the potential for evolution of viral ‘escape’ from immunity will depend on the robustness of immune responses generated by natural infections and one or two vaccine doses, according to a study from McGill University and Princeton University published today in Science.

24 Mar 2021

Epitope antibody testing is effective in detecting immune responses to SARS-CoV-2

A new preprint study led by Shawn S-C. Li from Western University in Ontario, Canada, provides evidence of epitope-specific antibody responses and designed a test to measure this in relation to disease severity and outcome after infection.

24 Mar 2021