Pharma Developing Bird Flu Vaccine for Humans As Animals Get Sick
Pharmaceutical companies GSK (formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline), Moderna and CSL Seqirus announced that they are developing and ready to test human vaccines against avian influenza H5N1 (also known as bird flu) as a precautionary measure to prepare for what they believe may be a future pandemic.1 Now that certain strains of H5N1 have infected not […]
Group B Strep Vaccine for Pregnant Women on Fast Track for FDA Approval
Pfizer is conducting phase 2 trials for the development of a vaccine that will target pregnant women to prevent newborns from infection with Group B Streptococcal (GBS). The vaccine was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in September and the agency has indicated it will fast track the product’s […]
Moderna, Novavax Developing Combined Single-Dose COVID-19 and Influenza Vaccine
American pharmaceutical and biotechnology company Moderna, Inc., which partnered with the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) to develop an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine being distributed in the United States under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) announced that it is developing a combined single-dose booster vaccine for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza.1 In a […]
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 […]
Public Acceptance of COVID-19 Vaccine Faces Many Hurdles
Story Highlights Even before a vaccine against COVID-19 has been introduced to the public in the U.S., expectations for it are low. Dr. Anthony Fauci warns that a COVID-19 vaccine is not expected to be either long-lasting or more than 50 to 60 percent effective. Citing experience with other vaccines, a COVID-19 vaccine is not […]
Intranasal COVID-19 Vaccine May Be More Effective Than Injected Vaccines
There are more than 150 experimental COVID-19 vaccines under development around the world, all of which are being designed for intramuscular injection.1 Some researchers are investigating whether the conventional intramuscular injection route is less effective when using vaccines to prevent microbial infections that invade the respiratory airway like SARS-CoV-2.2 Avery August, PhD, an immunologist at […]