Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Study examines alternative immunization schedule occurrence rates in Washington State

Seventy-seven percent of Washington state pediatricians report that they are sometimes or frequently asked to provide alternative childhood vaccine schedules for their patients, according to a new study from Seattle Children's Research Institute. Researchers also found that 61 percent of Washington state pediatricians are comfortable using an alternative schedule when asked by a parent.

30 Nov 2011

Shots reduce risk of chicken pox

Infants below the age of one may be too young to get the chicken pox vaccine but far fewer of them got the itchy rash after the U.S. started routinely vaccinating older children in 1995, according to a new study.

29 Nov 2011

Many kids missing vaccinations owing to parental refusal: Report

Figures reveal that more parents are opting out of school shots for their kids. In eight states now, more than one in 20 public school kindergarten children aren't getting all the vaccines required for attendance.

29 Nov 2011

EC extends therapeutic indication for Soliris to treat atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the European Commission (EC) has extended the therapeutic indication for Soliris® (eculizumab) to include the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS).

29 Nov 2011

New glycoconjugate vaccine prototype more effective than traditional vaccines

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) researchers have created a vaccine that is more potent than traditional vaccines available today. The glycoconjugate vaccine prototype is 100 times more effective than traditional glycoconjugate vaccines. Their work is published in the December 2011 issue of Nature Medicine.

29 Nov 2011

Pediatricians frequently asked to provide alternative childhood vaccine schedules

29 Nov 2011

New swine flu virus alarms health officials

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three cases of a new flu virus have been confirmed. These originated in pigs but apparently spread from person to person, in three Iowa children.

28 Nov 2011

Inviragen commences DENVax Phase 2 trial for dengue

Inviragen, Inc. today announced the initiation of a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of DENVax, the Company's investigational dengue vaccine.

28 Nov 2011

Suppressing mosquitoes - the only way of controlling dengue

There is no vaccine against dengue, an emerging tropical disease regularly also hitting tourists, so the only way of controlling it is by suppressing the mosquitoes transmitting the disease.

28 Nov 2011

Mass immunization with cervical cancer vaccine switched to a more effective variety

Cervarix is currently offered to girls aged 12 and 13 years to protect against strains of the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes most cases of cancer of the cervix, the neck of the womb. Cervarix was picked by the Labour government for the first four-year phase of the NHS programme in 2008 because it offered ‘best overall value’ and more than five million doses have been given.

27 Nov 2011

Immunicum receives Swedish approval to commence first clinical trial of patented cancer vaccine

Immunicum, which is developing cancer vaccines, has received approval from the Swedish Medical Products Agency to start its first clinical trial. The study will be conducted on kidney cancer patients at the University Hospital in Uppsala. At the same time, the company secures substantial financing to complete the clinical trial.

25 Nov 2011

NIH-led study advances HIV vaccine research

HIV is coated in sugars that usually hide the virus from the immune system. Newly published research reveals how one broadly neutralizing HIV antibody actually uses part of the sugary cloak to help bind to the virus. The antibody binding site, called the V1/V2 region, represents a suitable HIV vaccine target, according to the scientists who conducted the study. In addition, their research reveals the detailed structure of the V1/V2 region, the last part of the virus surface to be visualized at the atomic level.

24 Nov 2011

MC3R gene plays an important role in maintaining steady weight

Against the backdrop of the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have made an important new discovery regarding a specific gene that plays an important role in keeping a steady balance between our food intake and energy expenditure. The study may help scientists better understand the keys to fighting obesity and related disorders such as diabetes.

24 Nov 2011

JIB highlights aluminium's potential role in neurodegenerative diseases

Aluminium's potential role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and cancer, specifically breast cancer, and the potential role for aluminium adjuvants in vaccine-related adverse effects are spotlighted in the latest issue of the Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry (JIB).

23 Nov 2011

Balanced approach needed to fight cholera outbreaks in Haiti

Jason Nickerson, a respiratory therapist and doctoral candidate in Population Health at the University of Ottawa, in this Global Health Hub post, recounts recent controversy surrounding "the health and humanitarian response to the earthquake and cholera outbreaks" in Haiti, noting tension "between the provision of [a cholera] vaccine as opposed to spending the money on improvements to water and sanitation" in the country.

23 Nov 2011

University of Rochester receives U.S. patent for HPV vaccine research

The University of Rochester has been awarded a U.S. patent for research essential to both human papillomavirus vaccines on the market.

23 Nov 2011

Panel discussion highlights USAID achievements on 50Th anniversary

This post in the Malaria Policy Center blog summarizes a panel discussion, titled "Partnerships for Global Health Success: Spotlight on USAID," that took place Monday in Washington, D.C., and was sponsored by Research!America.

23 Nov 2011

Medicare to cover infusion costs for prostate cancer vaccine, company says

In Medicare news, the drug maker Dendreon says federal officials have said they will pay doctors to administer the drug. Also, policymakers are studying Medigap to see if curbs on those policies could help cut Medicare costs.

23 Nov 2011

Arginine may reactivate T-cells in patients with glioblastoma

In many cases, tumors suppress a patient's immune system in a way that keeps the cancer safe from immune system attack. This is particularly true for patients with glioblastoma, a primary brain tumor that carries a prognosis of only 12-15 months survival after diagnosis.

22 Nov 2011

FDA accepts Regeneron's ARCALYST sBLA for review

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for ARCALYST Injection for Subcutaneous Use for the prevention of gout flares in patients initiating uric acid-lowering therapy.

22 Nov 2011