WHO Declares Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency
On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox (mpox) a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). “Today, the Emergency Committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,1 2 3 […]
Oral Polio Vaccine Causes Nearly All Cases of Paralytic Polio
Despite the introduction in March 2021 of a reportedly more stable and safer oral polio vaccine (OPV) called the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), cases of circulating vaccine-derived polio (cVDPV) paralysis continue to be reported around the world, Ironically, continuing OPV vaccine campaigns in underdeveloped countries appears to be the main reason the […]
“The Big Catch-Up”
In response to the marked decline in childhood vaccination rates around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic of the past three years, the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) and other organizations are partnering in […]
CDC May Bring Back Oral Polio Vaccine in U.S.
In response to the first confirmed case of polio in the United States since 2013 this past September and the subsequent detection of the polio virus in New York City wastewater, officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now considering recommending a return to use of the live attenuated oral […]
Mercury Project Funds Research to Convince More People to Get COVID Shots
The Mercury Project, a global consortium of researchers dedicated to “combating the impacts of mis- and disinformation on public health,” is being sponsored by the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) of Brooklyn, New York. SSRC announced on Aug. 23, 2022 that it will provide $7.2 million in grant funding teams doing behavioral research aimed at […]
Monkeypox Cases in U.S. Coincide With Vaccine Purchases by BARDA
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on May 21, 2022 that more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox had been identified in 12 countries, including between one and five confirmed cases in the U.S.1 Most of the cases have occurred in Europe with higher numbers in Portugal, Spain and the U.K. WHO officials […]