Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

NIH and FDA examine serious side effect that surfaced in COVID vaccine trial

The Food and Drug Administration is weighing whether to follow British regulators in resuming a coronavirus vaccine trial that was halted when a participant suffered spinal cord damage, even as the National Institutes of Health has launched an investigation of the case.

14 Sep 2020

Oxford University and AstraZeneca resume COVID-19 vaccine trial

More than a hundred candidate vaccine trials against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), are underway. About 35 are now undergoing clinical evaluation, and of these, nine are in the final phase of human trials, including the vaccine developed by Oxford University and the biopharmaceutical firm, AstraZeneca.

14 Sep 2020

Children's Hospital Los Angeles is U.S. site for new study of SARS-CoV-2 spread within households

One of the mysteries about severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, is how it is spread within households, including why some family members develop the viral infection and others do not.

14 Sep 2020

Should a COVID-19 vaccine be mandatory for children?

As the search for a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine continues, with some candidate vaccines nearing the completion Phase III clinical trials, a trio of experts weighs in with some sound reasoning as to whether any future vaccine should be considered mandatory for children. The viewpoint article is published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics in September 2020.

14 Sep 2020

A map of SARS-CoV-2 escape mutations enables the development of therapeutic antibody cocktails

A recent tour-de-force study by the US researchers describes a comprehensive approach to completely map mutations to the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) that escape antibody binding – enabling, in turn, rational design of antibody therapeutics and appraisal of the antigenic consequences of viral evolution. The results are currently available in a bioRxiv preprint paper.

13 Sep 2020

India's whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shows promise

Researchers in India have conducted a preclinical study demonstrating the safety and efficacy of a new candidate vaccine for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the agent that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

13 Sep 2020

ACP highlights the importance of planned increases in payments for E/M services

Today the American College of Physicians sent a letter to every member of Congress stressing the importance that the planned increases in payments for evaluation and management services and other changes to the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule move forward as scheduled on Jan. 1.

12 Sep 2020

Ghana’s community-based surveillance is enabling early detection of preventable diseases

Members of the public trained on how to collect health information in Ghana are enabling early detection and reporting of vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, a study says.

11 Sep 2020

New review explores the role of antibodies and T-cells towards an effective COVID vaccine

More than 100 companies have rushed into vaccine development against COVID-19 as the U.S. government pushes for a vaccine rollout at "warp speed" -- possibly by the end of the year -- but the bar set for an effective, long-lasting vaccine is far too low and may prove dangerous, according to Marc Hellerstein of the University of California, Berkeley.

11 Sep 2020

New antitumor vaccines control melanoma growth in preclinical models

Combining their expertise in protein engineering and synthetic DNA technology, scientists at The Wistar Institute successfully delivered nanoparticle antitumor vaccines that stimulated robust CD8 T cell immunity and controlled melanoma growth in preclinical models.

11 Sep 2020

Comprehensive analysis of antibody responses in COVID-19 patients can help develop effective vaccine

A comprehensive analysis of antibody responses in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients could inform the development of an effective vaccine, according to a study published September 10 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Chao Wu and Rui Huang of Nanjing University Medical School, and colleagues.

11 Sep 2020

New book gives overview of viruses and how they emerge to cause pandemics

Since the novel coronavirus SARS-Cov-2 emerged late last year, it has been virtually impossible to consume any news without encountering stories about the virus and how it spreads, potential treatments, and the development of new vaccines.

11 Sep 2020

Effective, simple, safe self-amplifying RNA vaccines

A recent review paper in the journal Current Opinion in Virology in September 2020 shows how a new generation of RNA vaccines called self-amplifying RNA vaccines are more potent than conventional mRNA vaccines and could hold the key to the global production of cost-effective potent COVID-19 vaccines.

11 Sep 2020

New study brings researchers closer to a universal COVID-19 antibody test

A new study released by Houston Methodist takes researchers a significant step closer to developing a uniform, universal COVID-19 antibody test.

11 Sep 2020

Researchers explore IgA response to SARS-CoV-2

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv* and conducted by researchers from The Rockefeller University in New York examined the role of IgA antibodies in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this study, the team analyzed the IgA response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in 149 individuals.

10 Sep 2020

DLnano-vaccines may be a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy

Researchers designed DLnano-vaccines displaying 60 copies of protein parts derived from the melanoma-specific antigens Trp2 and Gp100 and tested these in mouse models of melanoma, observing prolonged survival that depended on CD8 T cell activation both in therapeutic and prophylactic settings.

10 Sep 2020

Over half a million reported child COVID-19 cases in the United States

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association have come up with a joint report on the number of children affected by COVID-19 across the United States. Over half a million children have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), they point out. Their report titled, "Children and COVID-19: State Data Report," was released on 3rd September 2020.

10 Sep 2020

Strict social distancing associated with lower chances of coronavirus infection

Using public transportation, visiting a place of worship, or otherwise traveling from the home is associated with a significantly higher likelihood of testing positive with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, while practicing strict social distancing is associated with a markedly lower likelihood, suggests a study from researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

10 Sep 2020

Pneumococcal vaccine effective at protecting children against most severe type of pneumonia

A pneumococcal vaccine was effective at protecting children in Laos against the most severe type of pneumonia, a new study has found.

10 Sep 2020

Study: Seven in 10 Americans interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine

Almost seven in 10 Americans would be interested in receiving a COVID-19 vaccine when one becomes available, according to a new study. But researchers say there are concerning gaps in interest, particularly among Black Americans, who suffer disproportionately from the virus.

10 Sep 2020