Doctors Avoid Hand Washing Despite Evidence It is Best Way to Reduce Infections
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been urging everyone to thoroughly and frequently wash their hands since reports of the coronavirus outbreak in China, highlighting the long recognized practice of hand washing as a tried and true infection control measure.1 A little known fact is that among all health care providers, […]
Cholera Vaccine Recommended by European Medicines Agency
The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the approval of the single-dose oral cholera vaccine Vaxchora, developed by multinational biopharmaceutical firm Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. of Gaithersburg, Maryland. On Jan. 30, 2020, the CHMP adopted a “positive opinion” on the granting of a marketing authorization for the bacterial […]
Coronavirus Vaccines on Fast Track as WHO Declares Global Public Health Emergency
A novel strain of a coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019 and, by the middle of January, thousands of Chinese citizens were sick. According to Johns Hopkins University Center for Science and Engineering, as of Jan. 30, 2020 there were 217 deaths among 9,776 confirmed coronavirus […]
Maternal Mortality Up Among Black Women in the U.S.
Story Highlights The incidence of maternal mortality, either during childbirth or during the postpartum period is increasing in the U.S., especially among black women. Differences in education, access to quality healthcare, and financial resources contribute to but do not explain the racial disparities in pregnancy and childbirth mortality. Some of the other probable causes include […]
Chinese Pharmaceutical Industry Competes for Vaccine Market Share
China’s National Medical Products Administration has announced that two Chinese pharmaceutical companies, Walvax Biotechnology and Innovax, have been approved to start selling their own version of drugs previously available only through global pharmaceutical giants Pfizer, Merck and GlaxoSmithKline.1 Cecolin, developed by Innovax, will compete in the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) arena against Merck’s Gardasil and […]
Massachusetts Health Care Workers Refusing Free Flu Shots
Story Highlights Hundreds of health care workers in Massachusetts are declining the annual flu shot. Health care worker flu shot requirements vary from state to state. A recent study questions the scientific validity of mandating annual influenza vaccinations for hospital workers. Hundreds of health care workers in Massachusetts, including those in nursing homes and kidney […]