FDA Approves 6 in 1 Combo Vaccine for Babies
Story Highlights On Dec. 21, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new combination hexavalent vaccine (Vaxelis) that includes antigens for six diseases to be given in three doses to infants and children between six weeks and four years of age. Manufacturers Sanofi Pasteur and Merck jointly developed Vaxelis, which combines diphtheria, […]
Vaccine for Bees Bypasses Lack of Antibodies
Story Highlights Bees and other pollinators face serious threats from disease, parasites, pesticides and habitat destruction, threatening the viability of crop farming worldwide, most well publicized by the critical danger posed to honeybees. Treatment of bee diseases has been hampered by the nature of the honeybee immune system: They do not produce targeted antibodies as […]
AFM Not Transmissible from Human to Human Says CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) still does not know what is causing the growing number of cases of acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) in the United States, but it believes the polio-like illness is not contagious. In a recent interview with CBS, CDC director Robert Redfield, MD said, “The good news is that it […]
Vaccine for Acne Targets Bacteria in the Skin’s Microbiome
Story Highlights Current acne treatments such as antibiotics, birth control pills, etc., have largely proven to be ineffective. A proposed vaccine to treat acne targets toxins secreted by a specific bacteria, P.acnes, which lives on the skin and is a part of the skin’s natural mircobiome. Concerns have been raised regarding the vaccine because of […]
Vaccinating Plants: A Risky Technology?
In an attempt to reduce use of pesticides on crops, scientists are exploring the concept of “vaccinating” food plants to prevent them from being infected with viruses and other pathogens. Experiments are utilizing an external application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), a naturally occurring product that is found in most organisms, to make plants resistant to certain microbes.
WHO Recommends New Typhoid Vaccine
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that infants and children can be given a new typhoid conjugate vaccine when it is released in 2019. After collecting five years of follow-up observation data for seroconversion, WHO officials put forward recommendations to introduce the first typhoid conjugate vaccine for infants and children over six months of age as a single dose.