Page 2 - Vaccine

US bans flu shots with thimerosal in RFK Jr led vaccine policy shift

About 5 per cent of flu shots given in the US in the last flu season were multi-dose vials that contained the preservative, which was largely phased out decades ago

Over 14 million infants missed all vaccines in 2024, warn WHO and UNICEF

Despite stable global coverage, over 14 million infants received no vaccines in 2024, a worrying gap as efforts to meet Immunization Agenda 2030 targets remain off-track

14 million children did not receive a single vaccine in 2024, says UN

More than 14 million children did not receive a single vaccine last year about the same number as the year before according to UN health officials. Nine countries accounted for more than half of those unprotected children. In their annual estimate of global vaccine coverage, released Tuesday, the World Health Organization and UNICEF said about 89 per cent of children under one year old got a first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine in 2024, the same as in 2023. About 85 per cent completed the three-dose series, up from 84 per cent in 2023. Officials acknowledged, however, that the collapse of international aid this year will make it more difficult to reduce the number of unprotected children. In January, US President Trump withdrew the country from the WHO, froze nearly all humanitarian aid and later moved to close the US AID Agency. And last month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said it was pulling the billions of dollars the US had previously ...

Biological E to make HPV9 vaccine under licensing pact with Recbio

BE to produce and commercialise Recbio's nine-valent HPV vaccine in India and global markets, including participation in UNICEF and PAHO tenders

US pulls funding from vaccines group; 'ignored the science', says RFK Jr

US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said the country is pulling its support from the vaccines alliance Gavi, saying the organisation has ignored the science and lost the public trust. A video of Kennedy's speech was shown to participants at a Gavi meeting in Brussels on Wednesday, where the vaccines group was hoping to raise at least USD 9 billion for the next five years. Gavi is a public-private partnership including WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and the World Bank. It has paid for more than 1 billion children to be vaccinated through routine immunisation programmes, saving an estimated 18 million lives. The US has long been one of its biggest supporters; before Trump's re-election, the country had pledged USD 1 billion through 2030. Kennedy called on Gavi to re-earn the public trust and to justify the USD 8 billion America has provided in funding since 2001, saying officials must consider the best science available, even when that science contradicts established paradigms.

70% vaccines sourced by WHO are from India; US imports 14% generics

Union Minister of State for Health Anupriya Patel said on Monday 70 per cent of total vaccines sourced by the World Health Organization (WHO) and 14 per cent of generics imported by the US are from India. She delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the Second Policymakers' Forum organised by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) here. An international delegation of policymakers and drug regulators from 24 countries is participating in the forum. Aimed at promoting the recognition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia and collaboration in India's initiative for flagship affordable medicines -- the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) -- the Forum is being organised by the IPC under the aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in association with the Ministry of External Affairs. In her keynote address, Patel emphasised India's commitment to ensuring equitable access to quality-assured medicines and stressed the importance of regulatory ...

BioNtech to buy CureVac in $1.25 billion share deal to boost cancer focus

CureVac about a year ago opted to focus on oncology when it agreed to sell its remaining influenza and COVID-19 vaccine development to its alliance partner, Britain's GSK

Merck's potential cholesterol pill succeeds in late-stage studies

The company is searching for its next blockbuster candidate as its major revenue driver, Keytruda, is expected to lose patent protection by the end of the decade

US ends $590 mn Moderna deal to develop bird flu vaccine using mRNA tech

The US has cancelled its $590 million contract with Moderna for a bird flu vaccine, citing safety and ethical concerns over mRNA technology, sparking debate among experts and public health officials

Covid vaccines not recommended for children, pregnant women: US health secy

US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for those groups. No one from the CDC was in the video, and CDC officials referred questions about the announcement to Kennedy and the US Department of Health and Human Services. US health officials, following recommendations by infectious disease experts, have been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans ages 6 months and older. A CDC advisory panel is set to meets in June to make recommendations about the fall shots. Among its options are suggesting shots for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice to get vaccinated. But Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine advocate before becoming health secretary, decided not to wait. He said that annual ...

FDA may change Covid-19 booster rules from 2025: What it means for you

The US Food and Drug Administration may limit Covid-19 boosters shots to high-risk groups from 2025; Pfizer reviewing proposal as agency seeks new trials, clearer risk labels for younger males

India's Covid-19 response must go beyond vaccines, follow global practices

Several advanced countries are offering annual Covid-19 booster doses, especially to vulnerable groups

Bharat Biotech's oral cholera vaccine Hillchol clears phase 3 trials

In this study, participants were divided into three age groups: adults over 18 years, children aged 5 to under 18 years, and infants aged 1 to under 5 years

Bharat Biotech's cholera vaccine 'Hillchol' clears phase-III trials

Bharat Biotech International Ltd on Wednesday said its oral Cholera Vaccine Hillchol has successfully completed phase III clinical trials. The vaccine maker, in a press release, said it has demonstrated against both Ogawa and Inaba serotypes, proving non-inferior in healthy Indian adults and children, supporting its potential as an effective OCV. Ogawa and Inaba are two serotypes of Vibrio cholerae O1, a bacterial species that causes cholera. The findings of a double-blind, randomized phase III clinical trial evaluating the safety, immunogenicity, non-inferiority, and lot-to-lot consistency of the Hillchol oral cholera vaccine, compared to a comparator vaccine, were recently published in a journal. The study involved 1,800 participants, ranging from infants to adults, across 10 clinical sites in India, the release said. The participants were divided into three age groups: adults over 18 years, children aged 5 to under 18 years, and infants aged 1 to under 5 years. They were randomi

Brazil confirms first bird flu case on farm, raising global supply fears

The disease has spread around the globe in the past years, leading to hundreds of millions of poultry being culled. It has also been reported in dairy cows, cats, and humans

Mexico scrambles to contain measles outbreak linked to Mennonite community

In a rickety white Nissan, nurse Sandra Aguirre and her vaccination team drive past apple orchards and cornfields stretching to the desert horizon. Aguirre goes door to door with a cooler of measles vaccines. In one of Latin America's biggest Mennonite communities, she knows many will decline to be vaccinated or even open their doors. But some will ask questions, and a handful might even agree to get shots on the spot. We're out here every single day, said Aguirre, pausing to call out to an empty farm, checking for residents. To gain trust of the Mennonites -- because they're reserved and closed-off people -- you have to meet them where they're at, show a friendly face. Aguirre's work is part of an effort by health authorities across the country to contain Mexico's biggest measles outbreak in decades, as cases climb not only here but in the US and Canada. In Mexico, cases have been concentrated in the Mennonite community -- long skeptical of vaccines and distrustful of authorities --

Shingles vaccine may reduce heart disease risk by 23%, says report

Getting vaccinated against shingles could lower the chances of a cardiovascular event, such as stroke or heart failure, by 23 per cent, according to a study. Protective effects of the vaccine for shingles -- a viral infection that causes painful rashes -- could last for up to eight years and be stronger among men and people aged under 60. Researchers, led by those from the Kyung Hee University's college of medicine, South Korea, looked at over 12 lakh residents of the country, aged at least 50. Data on shingles vaccination status was collected from 2012 onwards and analysed together with cardiovascular health and lifestyle. Published in the European Heart Journal, the study is "one of the largest and most comprehensive" to provide evidence at a population level, allowing the team to look at the link between vaccination and 18 different types of cardiovascular disease. "There are several reasons why the shingles vaccine may help reduce heart disease. A shingles infection can cause .

FDA review of Novavax Covid-19 vaccine sparks uncertainty about other shots

The Trump administration's effort to impose new requirements on Novavax's COVID-19 vaccine -- the nation's only traditional protein-based option for the coronavirus -- is sowing uncertainty about updates to other vaccines, too. Novavax said on Monday that the Food and Drug Administration was asking the company to run a new clinical trial of its vaccine after the agency grants full approval. The company said it had responded and that it believed its shot remains "approvable". But a weekend post on social media by FDA Commissioner Marty Makary suggested the prospect of needing a new trial before the shots' yearly strain update -- something unlikely to be possible before fall. That's raised questions about whether other vaccines will be caught in the turmoil. "I don't think because there's a strain change that this is a new product," said Dr Jesse Goodman of Georgetown University, a former FDA vaccine chief. If that's the new policy, "you'd always be doing clinical trials and you'd nev

China unveils booster to amplify immune responses against cancer, viruses

This technology is capable of amplifying immune responses against tumours and infections up to 150-fold

Will 1 million children die? Trump's vaccine cuts could spark crisis in US

Trump's vaccine funding cuts could leave 75 million children around the world without immunisation, risking a global health crisis and putting one million young lives in danger