European Medicines Agency Issues Support for New Recombinant Pertussis Vaccine
A new pertussis vaccine, which has been designed to be used as a booster and for vaccinating pregnant women, has received “positive regulatory support” from the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). Marketed under the name VacPertagen, the recombinant pertussis vaccine—formulated with genetically engineered proteins rather than inactivated whole […]
Louisiana Surgeon General Named to No. 2 Post at CDC
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) last week confirmed the appointment of Louisiana surgeon general Ralph Abraham, MD to be principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Abraham, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021 representing Louisiana’s 5th congressional district, will […]
CDC Looking to Break Up MMR Vaccine?
On Oct. 6, 2025, the acting director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jim O’Neill, called on the manufacturers of the live attenuated MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine to break up the biologic and develop separate shots for the three diseases it targets. “I call on vaccine manufacturers to develop safe […]
Pneumococcal Vaccines Ineffective at Reducing Hospitalizations and Deaths
Despite decades of public health campaigns promoting pneumococcal vaccination to prevent pneumonia and related deaths, new real-world evidence suggests the shots may not be delivering the expected benefits. A 2025 population-based cohort study of more than 2.2 million adults in Catalonia, Spain, published Oct. 21, 2025 in BMC Infectious Diseases, found that recipients of pneumococcal […]
Former FDA Director Regulating Vaccines Joins Eli Lilly
The former director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), Peter Marks, MD, PhD, who was responsible for the agency’s regulation of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, joined drug giant Eli Lilly and Company after resigning from the agency on Mar. 28, 2025.1 Dr. Marks alleged […]
FDA May Investigate DNA Contamination in COVID Shots
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering investigating potential DNA contamination in mRNA COVID-19 shots. Tracy Beth Hoeg, MD, senior adviser to FDA commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, confirmed that the investigation is “something that’s being discussed.”1 Retsef Levi, PhD, chair of the U.S. Centers for Disease and Prevention’s (CDC) COVID-19 immunization workgroup, […]