Another Shot at a Vaccine for Lyme Disease
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided the University of Maryland with a $3.5 million dollar grant to develop a vaccine for Lyme disease.1 Principal investigators Utal Pal, PhD, professor at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Matthias Schnell, PhD, director […]
Pharma’s Public Pledge On COVID-19 Vaccines
On Sept. 8, 2020, nine pharmaceutical companies working on COVID-19 vaccines signed a pledge saying they would not submit their experimental vaccines to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unless they were shown to be both safe and efficacious in the Phase 3 human clinical trials.1 2 3 4 5 The pledge, signed by […]
Half a Million Sharks Could Die to Produce Squalene Adjuvants for COVID-19 Vaccines
Story Highlights A shark conservation group is calling for alternatives to using squalene harvested from the liver of sharks as an adjuvant in COVID-19 vaccine candidates. Shark conservation advocates estimate that an additional 500,000 sharks will be killed every year should squalene adjuvanted coronavirus vaccines become licensed for global general use. The group is asking […]
Young Girl Dies in Thailand Following HPV Vaccination
An 11-year-old girl died on Aug. 30, 2020 after receiving an HPV (human papillomavirus infection) vaccine for cervical cancer at her school in Maha Rat, Thailand. It is unclear how much time elapsed between the time the girl was vaccinated and her death. It is also not clear if the death was caused by the […]
Virginia Legislature Gives CDC, Board of Health Power to Mandate Vaccines for School Children
In the 2020 Legislative session, the Virginia Legislature passed H.B.1090, a bill that amended a law requiring children attending public and private schools in the state to receive vaccines (§ 32.1-46. Immunization of patients against certain diseases).1 Virginia Delegate Patrick Hope (D-Arlington) was the lead sponsor of H.B. 1090 introduced on Jan. 8, 2020, which […]
GSK and Sanofi COVID-19 Vaccine Produced in Insect Cells with Squalene Adjuvant
Story Highlights GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi Pasteur are partnering to develop an experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The two global vaccine manufacturers are using existing recombinant DNA vaccine technology and a squalene adjuvant for their COVID-19 vaccine. Clinical trials are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2020 and, if successful, the vaccine will be available in […]