Two Children Die After Polio Vaccination, Four in Critical Condition in Pakistan
Two children in the Tehsil Bara area of the Khyber Agency tribal region in Pakistan reportedly died last week “moments” after receiving the live oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). Another 11 children, who had been administered the vaccine in Tehsil Bara, fell unconscious and were taken to Hayatabad hospital in the city of Peshawar. Four of the…
Takeda To Build Dengue Vaccine Manufacturing Plant in Germany
Headquartered in Japan, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. is the largest pharmaceutical company in Asia and is speeding up development of a vaccine for dengue fever—a mosquito-borne flavivirus disease. The Japanese drugmaker has initiated a 20,000 patient based Phase 3 study in Asia and Latin America to test its…
Major Clinical Study on HIV Vaccine Begins in South Africa
In South Africa, seven million people (one in every five) live with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)—the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Research in that country is proceeding on the development of an HIV vaccine that some believe may provide relief for those suffering from this disease.
Study: Flu Vaccine Does Not Reduce School Absenteeism
Findings from a recent study published in Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses reveals that getting the flu vaccine does not reduce the number of school days missed by children who get influenza. The conclusion of the study questions how often the flu vaccine actually prevents severe type A or type B influenza among children between the ages of five to 17 years old.
Gates Foundation Supports Time Released Vaccines Coated With Aluminum Oxide
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $1.1 million grant to the University of Colorado at Boulder to develop next-generation vaccines that do not need to be refrigerated. The money will fund research conducted by Robert Garcea, PhD, Theodore Randolph, PhD, and Alan Weimer, PhD, who work in the university’s Jennie Smoly Caruthers Biotechnology Building (JSCBB). A major goal is to develop genetically engineered vaccines that deliver time-released doses in the body. Dr. Garcea, who is with the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology and the BioFrontiers Institute, has teamed up with Dr. Randolph…
Fauci Says Zika Vaccine Coming by 2018
Director of the National Institutes for Health Anthony Fauci, MD announced this week that a Zika vaccine could be rushed to market as early as 2018. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has already launched two phase 1 Zika vaccine trials this year, including a genetically engineered vaccine. “I’m confident we’ll get a Zika vaccine, but it’s not going to be before 2018,” said Dr. Fauci…