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WHO Sends Over 1 Million Polio Vaccines to Gaza to Protect Children
The World Health Organization is sending more than one million polio vaccines to Gaza to be administered over the coming weeks to prevent children being infected after the virus was detected in sewage samples, its chief said on Friday.
“While no cases of polio have been recorded yet, without immediate action, it is just a matter of time before it reaches the thousands of children who have been left unprotected,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in an opinion piece in Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
Israel’s military said on Sunday it would start offering the polio vaccine to soldiers serving in the Gaza Strip after remnants of the virus were found in test samples in the enclave.
Besides polio, the U.N. reported last week a widespread increase in cases of Hepatitis A, dysentery and gastroenteritis as sanitary conditions deteriorate in Gaza, with sewage spilling into the streets near some camps for displaced people.
The Years After COVID Have Turned Into a Post-Flu Vaccine Era
Demand for flu shots is declining, particularly among some of the most medically vulnerable groups, raising concerns that the vaccines may be falling out of favor in a post-pandemic world.
Why it matters: While uptake for flu shots has never been stellar, experts say vaccine fatigue, shifting attitudes and lowered public trust may be eroding demand.
The big picture: The CDC recommends everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine each year and last month it recommend the 2024-2025 flu vaccines in addition to the updated COVID-19 vaccines. Half of U.S. adults did during the 2020-2021 respiratory virus season, but the rate has tailed off since then and was down to about 47% in 2023-2024.
Zoom in: The same patterns have been seen at Nemours Children’s Health where many parents who traditionally got their kids vaccinated are opting out, said Jonathan Miller, chief of pediatric primary care at Nemours in Delaware.
UK Regulator Authorizes Updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID Shot Targeting JN.1 Strain
Britain’s health regulator said on Wednesday it has authorized Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech’s (22UAy.DE) updated COVID-19 vaccine that targets the JN.1 subvariant for use in infants, children and adults.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it has approved four forms of the adapted Comirnaty JN.1 vaccine after reviewing its safety, quality and effectiveness.
The regulator also said it would keep the safety of the vaccine under close review.
Indivior Reaches $86 Million Opioid Settlement With 16 U.S. States
Indivior (INDV.L) reached an $86 million settlement with 16 U.S. states over the drug manufacturer’s alleged role in spreading opioid addiction across the United States, New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Friday.
James said the settlement in principle concerned Indivior’s manufacture of buprenorphine-based products meant to treat opioid abuse, but which allegedly can fuel addiction if misused.
The North Chesterfield, Virginia-based company was accused of improperly targeting sales to doctors running pill mills and failing to monitor suspicious orders, leading to inappropriate prescriptions. Indivior’s buprenorphine-based products include Sublocade and Suboxone.
“When companies like Indivior exploit those in the thralls of addiction for profit, their behavior must be stopped,” James said in a statement. She said the $86 million will be used over five years for opioid addiction treatment, recovery and prevention.
European Regulators Say Alzheimer’s Therapy Leqembi Should Be Rejected
European regulators on Friday said that an Alzheimer’s therapy from Eisai and Biogen should be rejected, again diverging from their U.S. counterparts on a medicine for a condition where treatments are desperately needed.
In a statement, the regulators said that the benefits of Leqembi did not outweigh the risks of potentially dangerous side effects.
A final decision rests with the European Commission, which almost always follows EMA recommendations. A key concern has centered on a side effect called ARIA, a brain swelling or bleeding that can be fatal in rare cases.
EU Regulator Backs Use of GSK’s RSV Shot in Adults Aged 50 to 59
The European Union health regulator on Friday recommended expanded use of GSK‘s (GSK.L) respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in adults aged between 50 and 59.
Any recommendation by the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has to be formally approved by the European Commission, which usually follows the regulator’s decision.
The vaccine, branded Arexvy, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) did not recommend RSV shots for adults under 60 years. The recommendation downsized GSK’s U.S. market for the shot in 2024-25 from 93 million to about 55 million, according to analysts.
GSK had forecast peak annual sales of more than 3 billion pounds for the vaccine.
Ontario Expanding Access to RSV Vaccines for Young Children, Pregnant Women
Toronto Star reported:
Ontario is doubling the number of children eligible for vaccination against a virus that can make young kids very sick. The province says infants and high-risk children up to two years old will have access to new immunization to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
Pregnant women will also be able to be inoculated with a different vaccine to provide protection to newborns.
The province says children will be able to receive doses of Beyfortus, made by Sanofi and approved by Health Canada last year. Pregnant women will have the option to receive Abrysvo, made by Pfizer and also approved by Health Canada last year, which can provide protection from RSV in infants up to six months of age.
The new measures double the number of children eligible for the vaccines, said the office of Health Minister Sylvia Jones. The province estimates about 130,000 more children will be eligible.
