USDA Pressured to Create Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Bank
Representatives from the National Pork Producers Council, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Corn Growers Association and Iowa State University have urged the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to quickly establish a foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine bank.1 FMD is a contagious viral disease. The virus causes illness in cows, pigs, sheep, goats, deer, and […]
Quest for Universal Flu Vaccine Boosted by $200M NIH Grant to University of Maryland
Story Highlights National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the University of Maryland a contract for more than $200 million to develop a universal influenza vaccine. Currently, the influenza vaccine used around the world is developed every year by drug companies based on the “best guesses” made by public health officials at the World Health […]
Kenya Launches Malaria Vaccine Pilot Program
Kenya has become the third African country, along with Ghana and Malawi, to launch a pilot program for the world’s first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix, which has been developed by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The vaccine is available to children from six months of age in specific locations in Kenya due to its phased pilot introduction.1 2 Malaria […]
Executive Order Creates Influenza Vaccine Task Force to Promote “National Security and Public Health”
On Sept. 19, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order, “Modernizing Influenza Vaccines in the United State to Promote National Security and Public Health.” Describing mass use of influenza vaccines “to combat seasonal flu” and influenza pandemics as “strengthening our Nation’s public health and security,” he announced the establishment of a National Influenza Vaccine […]
Vaccine for Inflammation in the Works
Story Highlights Scientists are working on a vaccine for autoimmune, inflammation-induced mental health issues using soil-derived bacteria. Vaccines have been implicated in increasing the risk for neuropsychiatric issues in children. Vaccines and all other immune-system activators act by provoking an inflammatory response. Christopher Lowry, PhD and a team of researchers from the University of Colorado […]
NIH and Johnson & Johnson to Begin HIV Vaccine Trials on Humans
Story Highlights NIH, in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, will begin HIV vaccine efficacy trials on humans in August 2019 in the U.S. Another HIV vaccine candidate, using a live attenuated herpes cytomegalovirus (CMV), is also nearing clinical trials in humans. There are serious safety concerns regarding live attenuated vaccines and numerous cases reported in […]