Vaccine News and Research

Latest Vaccine News and Research

Face masks offer little protection from bird flu

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the mass wearing of surgical face masks would do little to reduce the rate of infection in the event of an influenza pandemic.

7 May 2007

Oral vaccine prevents prion disease in mice

An oral vaccine can prevent mice from developing a brain disease similar to mad cow disease, according to research presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 59th Annual Meeting in Boston.

4 May 2007

US control strategies may make flu epidemics worse

Regular as clockwork, the flu arrives every year. And, according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 to 20 percent of the U.S. population on average will come down with it. About 36,000 people will die.

4 May 2007

Prenatal toxicity linked to immune dysfunctions in later life

A Cornell researcher and his wife have conducted the first comprehensive review of later-life diseases that develop in people who were exposed to environmental toxins or drugs either in the womb or as infants.

4 May 2007

LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals presents data showing that immunization with their influenza H1N1-VLP formulation resulted in 100% protection from H1N1 and H3N2

LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals has presented preclinical data showing that immunization with their influenza virus-like particles (VLPs) induced heterosubtypic protection in a virus challenge study.

4 May 2007

Child infections are an increasing concern in affluent countries

Dr Deborah Lehmann, who leads infectious diseases research at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, said the findings show that infection is an increasing concern in affluent countries.

4 May 2007

Newer flu vaccines may have been less effective than vaccines used in previous years

A new Harris Poll suggests that the flu vaccine used before last winter may have been less effective than the vaccines used in some previous years.

4 May 2007

Some physicians not purchasing, restricting recipients of Gardasil because of cost, Washington Post reports

Inadequate reimbursement from insurance companies for Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil is leading some physicians to refuse to purchase the vaccine and restricting the recipients to those whose insurers have agreed to pay a "reasonable" fee, the Washington Post reports (Boodman, Washington Post , 5/1).

2 May 2007

Some doctors refuse to purchase cervical cancer vaccine because of low reimbursements

Some physicians are refusing to purchase Merck's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil or are restricting who receives it because they say insurance reimbursements for the vaccine are too low, the Washington Post reports.

2 May 2007

Serious illness among children with sickle cell disease reduced with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine

A vaccine introduced in 2000 has reduced by more than 90 percent the rate of a serious bacterial illness among young children with sickle cell disease (SCD), who are particularly susceptible to it, according to a new study that appears in the June 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases and currently is available online.

2 May 2007

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center establishes new vaccine and disease institute

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has established a new Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute to develop and implement prevention strategies for globally important infectious diseases, including HIV, malaria and cancer.

2 May 2007

Generic biologic drugs unlikely to be cheaper than brand-name drugs

Generic versions of a class of medicines called "biologics" would not be significantly cheaper than brand-name versions of the medicines, according to research from professors at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

2 May 2007

Afghan President Hamid Karzai meets WHO chief on polio eradication

Days after Afghanistan vaccinated more than 7 million children against polio, the world's top health official and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to capitalize swiftly on the country's remarkable progress towards eradicating the disease.

2 May 2007

Cancer Research Technology licenses therapeutic antibodies to Peptech

Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT), the oncology-focused development and commercialisation company, today announces it has licensed rights to a panel of cancer therapeutic antibodies to Peptech Limited.

2 May 2007

Protecting Americans against a smallpox outbreak

In the event of a smallpox outbreak in the United States, how long would it take for a vaccine to start protecting Americans by stimulating an immune response? A new national study led by Saint Louis University School of Medicine will attempt to answer this question.

1 May 2007

Texas Legislature passes bill to halt Gov. Perry's executive order mandating HPV vaccine

The Texas House on Wednesday voted 135-2 to pass ( HB 1098 ) a Senate-approved bill that would prevent mandatory vaccination for middle school girls in the state until 2011, the New York Times reports (Blumenthal, New York Times , 4/26).

30 Apr 2007

Vaccine to cope with viral diversity in HIV

The ability of HIV-1 to develop high levels of genetic diversity and acquire mutations to escape immune pressures contributes to our difficulties in producing a vaccine.

30 Apr 2007

Scientists discover pathway that promotes muscle cell survival in mice

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have identified an enzyme that pumps up a cell's ability to maintain healthy muscle and restores normal muscle function in genetically engineered mice with weak muscles.

30 Apr 2007

Feasible to create a stockpile of H5N1 vaccine

Countries and vaccine manufacturers agreed on Wednesday in a meeting at WHO that it may be feasible to create a stockpile of H5N1 vaccine, and to separately develop a mechanism to ensure broader access to pandemic influenza vaccine for developing countries in the advent of a pandemic.

30 Apr 2007

Nasal spray of virus enzymes for ear infections

Parents might one day give their children a weekly treatment with a nasal spray of virus enzymes to prevent them from getting severe middle ear infections, based on results of a study done in mice by investigators from St. Jude and The Rockefeller University.

27 Apr 2007