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 […]
Artificial Intelligence Takes Over Vaccine Development
Story Highlights A computer with artificial intelligence (AI) has designed a new “turbocharged” flu vaccine without human help. A research team from Flinders University in Australia created the AI program, which they named SAM (Search Algorithm for Ligands). The AI vaccine research work is being funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Scientists in […]
Merck Plans to Up Production of Experimental Ebola Vaccine
In response to the current outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which began in August 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). There have been about 2,500 confirmed cases of Ebola in the DRC and at least 1,737 people have […]