Category Archives: Vaccines and immunisation

Trump aid spending freeze halts leading malaria vaccine programme

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Global collaboration with US researchers likely to be set back by years, including on spread of drug-resistant HIV

A flagship programme to create malaria vaccines has been halted by the Trump administration, in just one example of a rippling disruption to health research around the globe since the new US president took power.

The USAid Malaria Vaccine Development Program (MVDP) – which works to prevent child deaths by creating more effective second-generation vaccines – funds research by teams collaborating across institutes, including the US university Johns Hopkins and the UK’s University of Oxford.

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Former vaccines tsar describes ‘open warfare’ within UK government during Covid pandemic

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Dame Kate Bingham, who led the vaccine taskforce in 2020, said the clinically vulnerable were deprioritised and goals were not followed

There was “open warfare” between UK government departments during the pandemic, the former vaccines tsar has said, adding the failure to prioritise the needs of clinically vulnerable, immunocompromised individuals was ethically and morally wrong.

Dame Kate Bingham led the vaccine taskforce (VTF) – based in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) – between May and December 2020, and played a pivotal role in persuading the government to back the development of a portfolio of potential jabs, as well as securing contracts for millions of doses.

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Britain must build own vaccine manufacturing capability, says Matt Hancock

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Former health secretary told Covid inquiry an onshore facility was ‘critical’ in preparation for future pandemic

Britain must build its own vaccine manufacturing capability as a “critical” part of preparing for a future pandemic, the former health secretary Matt Hancock has told the Covid inquiry.

Hancock, a central figure in the UK’s response to the crisis, said the pandemic demonstrated the “vital need” for a sovereign onshore facility to ensure the country was able to produce and distribute vaccine doses as soon as regulators gave the green light.

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Even in blue Colorado, vaccine advocates worry about RFK Jr’s appeal and ‘medical freedom’ movement

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Growing rates of infectious disease in state’s most populous region could indicate increased ‘vaccine hesitancy’

In deep blue Colorado, one of the only states that did not shift right in the 2024 presidential election, vaccine advocates see openings for Robert F Kennedy Jr.

An environmental lawyer and the nation’s most prominent propagator of vaccine misinformation, Kennedy is now the embodiment of where left meets right – the scion of a political dynasty who first ran as a Democratic presidential candidate and is now slated to join president-elect Trump’s administration as the nominee to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

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Ex-CDC acting director calls RFK Jr’s false vaccine theories ‘cruel’

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Richard Besser criticizes Trump’s health secretary pick, and says falsely linking vaccines to autism is a ‘cruel thing to do’

The former acting director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has criticized Robert F Kennedy Jr’s nomination by Donald Trump as secretary of the country’s health and human services (HHS), calling his false vaccine theories “cruel”.

In a new interview on ABC, Richard Besser, who led the CDC during Barack Obama’s administration, called Kennedy’s push to falsely link vaccines to autism a “cruel thing to do”, adding, “There are things we do for our own health, but there are things we do that are good for ourselves, our families and our communities and vaccination falls into that category.”

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RFK Jr says Trump would push to remove fluoride from drinking water

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Kennedy, who Trump promised to let lead health programs, makes claims against fluoride, which strengthens teeth

Robert F Kennedy Jr, a prominent proponent of debunked public health claims whom Donald Trump has promised to put in charge of health initiatives, said Saturday that the former president would push to remove fluoride from drinking water on his first day in office if elected.

Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear-and-tear, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

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One in 10 Australian parents struggling to afford vaccinations for children

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Biggest obstacle to improving immunisation rates are practical difficulties families face, according to national vaccination survey

One in 10 Australian parents are struggling to afford the costs of vaccinating their children, according to a nationally representative survey conducted earlier this year.

The national vaccination insights project surveyed 2,000 Australian parents of children under five between March and April, and found the biggest barrier to turning declining vaccination rates around were the practical difficulties parents face.

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Mpox vaccination begins in DRC after 859 die this year

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World Health Organization declared outbreak in central and east Africa a global emergency two months ago

Authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have begun vaccination against mpox, nearly two months after the disease outbreak that spread to several countries was declared a global emergency by the World Health Organization.

Some of the 265,000 doses donated to the DRC by the EU and the US were administered in the eastern city of Goma in North Kivu province, where hospitals and health workers have been overstretched, struggling to contain the new and possibly more infectious strain of mpox.

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Race to combat mpox misinformation as vaccine rollout in DRC begins

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Poll suggests half of Congolese have not heard of deadly disease, as conspiracy theories and rumours spread

For doctors and nurses fighting mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus itself is not the only enemy. They are also facing swirling rumours and misinformation.

The first of millions of promised doses of mpox vaccine have finally started to arrive. Now the focus is on ensuring that people who need them will take them when the vaccination campaign begins next month, and teaching wider communities how to protect themselves.

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Global alliance buys half a million mpox vaccines for Africa

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Gavi uses newly established First Response Fund to secure doses, but 10 million are needed to meet demand on the continent

A batch of 500,000 mpox vaccines has been bought by the vaccine alliance Gavi, for delivery this year to virus-affected countries in Africa, where until now doses have been scarce.

It is estimated that 10 million vaccines are needed to meet demand, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accounts for most cases, only received 100,000 vaccines earlier this month despite having had more than 700 deaths this year and 22,000 cases of the new Clade 1b strain. Neighbouring countries Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya have each reported a handful of cases.

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Taliban’s curbs on women add to risk of polio outbreak, health officials warn

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Regime suspends polio campaign across Afghanistan over security concerns and women’s role in vaccination drive

Afghanistan is at risk of a polio outbreak, health officials have warned, after the Taliban suspended the vaccination campaign over security fears and restrictions on women.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed 18 new cases of polio infection in the country so far this year, a significant increase from the six cases reported in 2023. Local healthcare workers say these numbers could be higher as many cases will not yet have been detected.

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DRC receives first donation of 100,000 mpox vaccines to contain outbreak

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Jab not yet approved for children, who make up most cases, while officials warn millions more doses will be required

The first donation of mpox vaccines arrived in Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday, but officials say millions more doses will be needed.

The announcement came amid warnings that the geographical spread of the virus, formerly known as monkeypox, was increasing, and swift action was needed across the continent to contain the outbreak.

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‘We cannot protect our children’: parents in Gaza face new threat of polio

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Vaccination is likely to be an uphill struggle after re-emergence of the disease in the territory, where war has decimated healthcare

Like so many in Gaza, Eid al-Attar, a teacher from the north of the territory, now spends his days trying to find enough food and water to keep his family alive. Displaced eight times since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in October, the 42-year-old has tried his best to shield his five children from the conflict. Now the Palestinian territory is facing a new danger: the highly infectious and potentially deadly disease, polio.

“We cannot protect our children. We are exposed to death at any moment due to the constant bombardment and insecurity. And I cannot protect them from diseases either,” he said in Deir al-Balah on Sunday as a UN-led vaccination campaign got under way.

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Pregnant women and older people in England offered RSV vaccine on NHS

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Programme for respiratory syncytial virus could prevent estimated 5,000 hospitalisations annually in infants

Pregnant women and older people across England will be routinely vaccinated against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) for the first time, the NHS has said.

From 1 September the NHS will vaccinate pregnant women from 28 weeks onwards and adults turning 75. Adults aged 75 to 79 will be offered a catchup vaccine to make sure they are protected.

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‘Positive’ start to polio vaccination rollout in Gaza despite continued fighting

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Families queue at vaccination centres on first day of complex campaign to inoculate children against emerging threat

A complex, large-scale vaccination campaign to inoculate children against the newly emerged threat of polio in the Gaza Strip has begun successfully despite ongoing fighting in the territory, according to UN officials and local health authorities.

Infectious conditions such as dysentery, pneumonia and severe skin diseases are affecting more than 150,000 people in Gaza, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, amid a dire humanitarian crisis and unsanitary conditions caused by Israel’s campaign to annihilate Hamas in the wake of 7 October.

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African nations hit by mpox still waiting for vaccines – despite promises by the west

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Last week’s planned rollout of doses faces further delays as campaigners complain of greed and inequality

None of the African countries affected by the outbreak of a new variant of mpox have received any of the promised vaccine, pushing back a rollout that had been planned for last week.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been at the centre of an outbreak of the new clade 1b variant, with 18,000 suspected cases and 629 deaths this year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

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Parents urged to ensure children get measles jab before new UK school term

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Health agency warns of surge in cases of potentially serious disease as MMR vaccination uptake falls below 95%

Parents should make sure their children are fully vaccinated against measles before the new school term begins, the UK’s health agency has said, amid concerns that pupils mixing at school could fuel a new surge in cases.

According to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), there have been 2,278 laboratory-confirmed measles cases reported in England since the start of 2024, with London and the West Midlands particularly affected. The majority of cases – 62% – have been in children aged 10 years and under.

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Africa to finally receive first batch of vaccines for deadly mpox virus

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The continent will belatedly get 10,000 shots amid criticism of delays to the process caused by WHO red tape

Africa’s first batch of mpox vaccines will this week finally reach the continent, weeks after they have been made available in other parts of the world.

The 10,000 shots, donated by the US, will be used to tackle a dangerous new variant of the virus, formerly known as monkeypox, after a 2022 outbreak triggered global alarm.

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Flu vaccine will curb bird flu risk for US farm workers, CDC deputy director says

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US launches major vaccination campaign in a bid to prevent healthcare strain and potential mutations of H5N1 virus

In the face of serious concerns over the spreading bird flu virus in US agriculture, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is pushing a major flu vaccination campaign among farm workers in a bid to prevent healthcare strain and combat potential mutations from the highly pathogenic bird virus.

Part of the campaign will seek to combat disinformation about vaccines, which has hampered previous efforts.

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Four million vaccine doses for children and pregnant women flown to North Korea

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Delivery of first medical aid since Covid raises hopes that country could open up again to UN agencies and NGOs

More than 4 million vaccine doses have been flown toPyongyang, raising hopes that North Korea could open up again to UN agencies and NGOs amid reports of a worsening health situation in the authoritarian state.

“The return of essential vaccines marks a significant milestone towards safeguarding children’s health and survival in this country,” Roland Kupka, Unicef’s acting representative for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said in a statement.

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