Do I really need to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine?
Most in the medical field strongly encourage the updated COVID-19 vaccine, but your decision may rely on a few other factors, such as a recent infection, your social circle and your health.
Here is a list of questions you need to ask yourself:
How high is your personal risk?
Do you have a weaker immune system due to age, pregnancy or a health condition such as diabetes or heart disease?
Are you taking medications that make you immunocompromised? This includes anti-rejection drugs for organ transplants, or medications for autoimmune conditions such as lupus, multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis?
If the answer is yes, get the vaccine.
Whos at risk in your social circle?
Do you care for aging parents or an ill relative? Even the youngest among us are vulnerable.
Particularly infants are unprotected. So children under six months need us to protect around them so that they dont get sick, said Dr. Marianne Sumego, an internal medicine specialist at Cleveland Clinic.
Are you planning for future events in the next few months, such as a wedding or vacation?
The vaccine gives about three months of protection, but it takes a couple of weeks to build immunity, so plan accordingly.
Did you recently have a COVID infection?
If so, you likely also have about a three-month window of protection, but if it hit you pretty hard, you may consider getting the vaccine since cold and flu season hangs around through April.
There are now three updated COVID vaccines available. The MRNA versions from Pfizer and Moderna, and the protein-based Novavax shot is available for those 12 and older regardless if theyve had previous vaccinations.
If youre young, healthy and not a risk to the vulnerable, you may consider skipping it, but remember this advice from Sumego: COVID still causes more hospitalizations and deaths than the other respiratory illnesses that circulate. And so we know that we can reduce that and impact that chance of happening with the COVID vaccine, so why wouldnt you want to give yourself a chance of staying out of the hospital?
Monica Robins is the Senior Health Correspondent at 3News. The information provided in this column is for educational and informational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in this column or on our website.
People vaccinated before their first case of COVID-19 are diagnosed with Long COVID almost four times less than unvaccinated people, suggests a large new study published Nov. 22 in the BMJ.
Thats not an entirely new finding. For years, studies have shown that, while vaccinated people can and do develop Long COVID, they are at lower risk than people who havent had their shots. But researchers have come to drastically different estimates about exactly how much protection vaccines offer against Long COVID, with their findings ranging from about 15% efficacy to around 50%.
The new study offers encouraging evidence that people who get vaccinated before their first COVID-19 case are at significantly lower risk of developing long-term symptoms like brain fog and fatigue, with each additional dose received prior to infection offering extra protection. A single pre-infection dose of one of the original COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of Long COVID by 21%, two doses by 59%, and three or more doses by 73%, the researchers estimated.
To reach those conclusions, they studied data from more than half a million adults in Sweden who caught COVID-19 for the first time from December 2020 to February 2022. National vaccine records showed that about half of those people had gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose before they got sick, while the others were unvaccinated. Using the participants health records, the researchers then assessed who went on to be diagnosed with Long COVID during the studys follow-up period, which ended in November 2022.
The study looked only at original COVID-19 vaccines, not newer boosters like the one released this fall. It also did not assess Long COVID after reinfections, which in some cases do lead to long-lasting health problems. As such, the findings may not translate perfectly to the present day, when many people have received updated shots and had COVID-19 multiple times.
Long COVID diagnoses were rare across the board during the studys follow-up period, but even less common among people whod been vaccinated before getting sick. About 1.4% of unvaccinated people received a Long COVID diagnosis during the study period, compared to 0.4% of previously vaccinated people.
Of course, theres a difference between having Long COVID and being diagnosed with Long COVID. Many people with symptoms of the condition struggle to get formally diagnosed, and the studys authors acknowledge that some clinicians may not have known how to assess the emerging condition during the period the paper considers. Indeed, prevalence estimates tend to be higher than those reported in the study. In the U.S., for example, an estimated 14% of adults have ever had Long COVID, and an estimated 5% currently do.
Further, observational studies like this one cannot definitively prove cause and effect, only uncover patterns. Even still, the trends reported in the study are promising, given that more than 5.5 billion people around the world have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In the study, vaccines were linked with particularly high efficacy against Long COVID in men, tracking with prior findings that women are disproportionately likely to develop the condition. Vaccines also seemed to work especially well for adults ages 55 to 64, contrary to some previous studies that concluded Long COVID risk increases with age.
Recent immunization also seemed to be especially protective against Long COVID, compared to vaccination more than four months prior to acute illnesswhich may be an extra argument for continuing to get boosters as they come out.
With litigation spanning many countries, the COVID-19 vaccine giants remain engagedin a heated patent war. Inthe latest twist, Pfizers Comirnaty partner BioNTech chalked up a win as the European Patent Office (EPO) snatched back one of Modernas patents, ruling it invalid.
The patent in question protects respiratory virus vaccines, according to its listing in the European Patent Register. Opposers to the patent include BioNTech and Pfizer, as well as Sanofi, the listing notes.
BioNTech understands and welcomes the EPOs decision, a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. According toBioNTech,none of the more than 100 auxiliary requests that Moderna filed with amended claims were deemed sufficient to keep thepatent in an amended form.
The decision "is an important one as we believe that this and others of Modernas patents do not meet the requirements for grant and should never have been granted, the company added.
Meanwhile, Moderna disagrees with the EPOs decision, a spokesperson told Fierce Pharma over email. We continue to believe in the strength and validity of the 565 Patent and will appeal this decision.
Last year, Moderna initiated litigation against BioNTech and Pfizer in the U.S. and Germany, following up with cases in the Netherlands and the U.K. Most recently, the company filed suits in Dublin, Ireland and the Brussels Commercial Court Belgium.
Moderna has made it clear that its litigation doesnt aim to remove Pfizer and BioNTechs Comirnaty from the market, but instead reap compensation and damages from alleged infringement.
While Moderna claims Pfizer and BioNTech copied key features of its patented technologies, the rival partnershave said the mRNA specialist seeks to rewrite the COVID story to put itself in the single, starring role while stretching its already overbroad patents to claim credit for others work.
Global vaccination trends are telling us both good news and bad news stories, nearly four years after the start of a global pandemic. On the plus side, some childhood immunizations have begun recovering to pre-COVID rates. Against that, almost half of the 73 countries that reported pandemic-related declines in vaccine rates have either flatlined or continue to drop. Also on the downside, UNICEF reported earlier this year that public trust in vaccinations had eroded worldwide. And that includes the U.S., where one new pandemic documentary aims to probe (and show ways to ease) this distrust.
The film, called A Shot in the Arm, couldnt be more timely. Confidence in vaccine safety has dropped for two years in the U.S., according to a recent survey, while belief in misinformation has grown. A new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) meanwhile recorded the highest-ever vaccine exemption rate for children entering kindergarten, in the 202223 school year.
Public health and policy experts are alarmed, but not all point to the same culprits. Some, such as health law expert Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta, blame misinformation and conspiracy theories spewed by antivaccine crusaders for the decline. So does the prominent vaccine scientist Peter Hotez, who, in a recent interview with Scientific American, argued that a well-oiled, well financed antiscience ecosystem is undermining public trust in vaccines.
However, other experts, such as Julie Leask, an Australian social scientist who studies all the different reasons that cause people not to vaccinate, point to a more complicated mix of psychological, socioeconomic and ideological factors that, yes, does include the influence of crusading antivaccine activists. In our postpandemic world, trust in public health and government has been severely tested, and bad actors are having their day, Leask said, in an e-mail. At the same time, she also urges science communicators to wrestle with the appeal of high-profile vaccine opponents like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. I do think people need to engage with the anxieties beneath what he says, rather than attack it on a manifest level or just attack him, she added.
The new documentary premiering this month evocatively captures those deep-seated anxieties. A Shot in the Arm unfolds at the onset of the pandemic, when fear and confusion paralyzed society. The film then chronicles the rhetorical battlefield that pitted earnest public health professionals, who preached cautionary social measures and the science of immunization, against the blustery, self-appointed watchdogs of medical freedom who inveighed against masks, lockdowns and the COVID vaccine.
Who should we listen to, who should we trust? the documentary asks, in its exploration of denialism. It seems like a no-brainer. During an interview in the film, Kennedy is challenged to name any vaccines in history he thought were a benefit to mankind. I was sure that, if nothing else, Jonas Salk and polio would roll off his tongue. Instead, Kennedy demurred: Um, I dont know the answer to that.
As The New Yorker put it in July, this scion of a famous political family is roiling with conspiracy theoriesabout everything from the CIA and Wi-Fi, to the COVID vaccines and the cause of AIDS. Despite such a mindset, or perhaps because of it, Kennedy is surging as a third-party presidential candidate. Comedians have mocked him, and family members have deplored and condemned his views. It hasnt mattered. (Like Donald Trump, Kennedys superpower is shamelessness.) So perhaps it is time, as Leask suggests, to engage with whatever is roiling the people who seem drawn to his message.
In a 2022 Nature Medicine paper, scientists with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine write that some of the factors fueling vaccine hesitancy, such as anxieties around the pace of technological change or feelings of political disempowerment, are not within the control of the medical community. The authors acknowledge that rampant misinformation plays a significant role in undermining confidence in public health authorities, but focusing only on the information ecosystem can obscure the wider sociocultural, historical, institutional and political context.
That context is essential to an understanding of vaccine hesitancy in some communities, such as Black Americans, who have long faced inequities in health care and also carry a historical memory of immoral medical experiments. (A Shot in the Arm, addresses this issue with its attention to the notoriously unethical Tuskegee syphilis study.)
On that broader note, the 2022 paper argued that acute public anxieties during the pandemic became intertwined with a legacy of distrust in medical and government institutions. Opportunistic misinformation peddlers exploited this legacy. The authors concluded: Like the virus that gave rise to them, it seems probable that myths and conspiracies around COVID-19 and vaccines will be things that we all need to learn to live with and manage for some time to come.
This seems prescient, given Kennedys recent ascendance in a political sphere already filled with demagogues, some in Congress who are politicizing dangerous nonsense about vaccines. Thats a recipe for disaster, which we already got a bitter taste of from the infamous January 6 Capitol riot. A Shot in the Arm shows the jarring scene of the MAGA Health Freedom rally, when leading anti-vaxxers joined with Stop the Steal organizers, a confederation of conspiracy mongers, to rile up the angry mob in Washington, D.C. I wish I could tell you that this pandemic is really dangerous, antivaccine leader Del Bigtree shouted from a lectern. I wish I could believe that voting machines worked and that people cared. Youve been sold a lie!
Since then, the MAGA and antivaccine movements have continued to merge into a potent Frankenstein ideology, stitched together out of mistrust for experts, that threatens to further erode trust in government institutions as well as scientistsat least among Republican voters.
Against this worry, the bigger picture offers encouragement on the vaccine front. A new and comprehensive Texas A & M University survey found that Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of all vaccination mandates. This tracks with findings from a survey published earlier this year by the Pew Research Center.
This also suggests that conspiracy theories and alternative facts are not poisoning the minds of most Americans about childhood immunizations. Thats a relief. As the science writer Michael Specter wrote in his 2009 book, Denialism: Choosing to vaccinate an infant requires faithin pharmaceutical companies, in public health officials, in doctors, and, above all, in science.
Its true that a good number of vaccine-hesitant people have lost such faith. But they are not a monolith, cautions Leask, and shouldnt be broadly labeled as antiscience if we have any hope of restoring their trust in the scientific establishment. Field studies and the literature on science communication suggest approaching vaccine reluctant individuals respectfully and from a position of empathy.
Theres a scene towards the end of A Shot in the Arm that reflects empathys effectiveness. It comes when the noted vaccine expert Paul Offit of the University of Pennsylvania appears on a podcast hosted by a vaccine-refusing parent. Youve been saying a lot of things that make a whole lot of sense, she acknowledges to him at one point, before imploring her audience to engage in a respectful dialogue on vaccines. People need to stop treating each other so mean and so badly, the parent activist urges her listeners, so we can get somewhere.
That sounds like a worthy prescription for our polarized times, in general; its also an Rx that would surely help build long-standing trust in the vaccines that protect us and our loved ones from infectious diseases.
This is an opinion and analysis article, and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily those ofScientific American.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Ixchiq, the worlds first licensed vaccine for the mosquito-borne chikungunya virus.
The single-dose vaccine was developed by Valneva, a French biotech company, and fast-tracked by the FDA via the Accelerated Approval pathway.
Chikungunya which is spread by mosquito bites means to become contorted or that which bends up in the East African language of Kimakonde, referring to the position that infected persons frequently take.
While it is considered non-fatal, affected individuals typically experience fever and severe joint pain that typically lasts for weeks but can persist for years. Other symptoms include headache, rash, nausea, muscle soreness, and fatigue, making chikungunya difficult to differentiate from other mosquito-borne illnesses such as dengue and Zika, both of which have also become increasingly concerning.
Chikungunya is an emerging global health threat, per the FDA, and at least 5 million cases have been reported since 2008. According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, there have been 440,000 cases of chikungunya reported just this year.
The areas most susceptible to the virus include the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and South and Central America.
However, researchers have theorized that rising temperatures across the globe may increase the geological range of mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, which could potentially expose the United States to the infection.
With the development and approval of Ixchiq, though, the cause for concern has been mitigated.
In Valnevas press release, the company noted that Ixchiq is geared toward the 60-plus million Americans who travel each year to locations where mosquito-borne diseases are endemic.
Valneva also said it hopes to commercialize the vaccine in the U.S. early next year while securing a vote of approval from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices by the end of next February. People over the age of 18 and at risk of exposure to chikungunya are eligible for the shot.
The approval is an important advancement in the prevention of a potentially debilitating disease with limited treatment options, said Peter Marks, the director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
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The U.S. Army sent a letter to former service members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, informing them they can request corrections of their discharge records, as the military branch reportedly struggles with recruitment three years after the onset of the pandemic.
The letter, which gained traction on social media, was addressed to former service members and notified of "new Army guidance regarding the correction of military records for former members of the Army following the rescission of the COVID-19 vaccination requirement."
It states, "as a result of the rescission of all current COVID-19 vaccination requirements, former Soldiers who were involuntarily separated for refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccination may request a correction of their military records from either or both the Army Discharge Review Board (ADRB) or the Army Board for Correction of Military Records (ABCMR)."
The letter, signed by Brigadier General Hope C. Rampy, of the U.S. Army Director of the Military Personnel Management Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, goes on to link to three forms where "individuals can request a correction to military personnel records, including regarding the characterization of discharge."
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A soldier receives a COVID-19 vaccine from Army Preventative Medical Services on Sept. 9, 2021 in Fort Knox, Kentucky. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
"Individuals who desire to apply to return to service should contact their local Army, US Army Reserve (USAR) or Army National Guard (ARNG) recruiter for more information," it concludes.
An Army spokesperson on Sunday confirmed the authenticity of the letter to Fox News Digital.
The spokesperson said the letter, dated November 1, does not explicitly ask former Army members dismissed for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine to return to service.
The Army provided additional information on Monday.
"As part of the overall COVID mandate recession process mandated by Congress, the Army mailed the letters following Veterans Day weekend to approximately 1,900 individuals who had previously been separated for refusal to obey the mandatory COVID vaccination order," Army spokesperson Lt. Col. Ruth Castro told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement Monday.
"The letter provides information to former servicemembers on how to request a correction of their military records," Castro added.
The Instagram accounts @analyzeeducate and @northernprovisions, jointly shared a copy of the letter to their combined hundreds of thousands of followers on Saturday.
Preventative Medicine Services NCOIC Sgt. First Class Demetrius Roberson administers a COVID-19 vaccine on Sept. 9, 2021 in Fort Knox, Kentucky. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
"The US Army has sent letters to soldiers that were discharged for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, offering to correct their records. Most, if not all, of the soldiers that were kicked out for not getting the vaccine were given a discharge that was other than honorable," the post says. "The letter indicates that the Army is hoping these soldiers will apply to return to service."
"The military in general has been going through a major recruiting crisis for the past two years. For both FY2022 and 2023, only the Marine Corps and the Space Force met or exceeded their recruitment goals. The Army, Navy, and Air Force all missed their targets by a long shot," the accounts go on to say.
AIR FORCE HOPES RAISING MAXIMUM AGE OF ENLISTMENT TO NEW HIGH WILL EASE RECRUITING CRISIS
"The size of the active duty Army has shrunk from 485k in 2021 to 452k right now," the post added. "This is the smallest active duty Army since 1940. In 2022, they missed their recruitment goal by 15,000 soldiers. This crisis has necessitated changes made to policy, including the removal of a policy that mandated recruits have a high school diploma or GED equivalent. Although, after a lot of backlash that policy was quickly reinstated. Around 8,000 soldiers were kicked out for not getting the vaccine, which is a lot even if you dont take the context of the recruiting crisis into account. The letters that were sent out have been verified by the Army as well."
In 2021, the Pentagon, with the support of military leaders and President Biden, mandated COVID-19 vaccination for all military service members. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
On Oct. 3, the U.S. Army announced a transformation of its recruiting enterprise, stressing how "the armed forces facing the most challenging recruiting environment in a generation."
At a press conference from the Pentagon, Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Chief of Staff of the Army Randy George detailed sweeping changes in how the Army will identify and recruit talent by expanding focus past high schoolers to a larger share of the youth labor market and create "an increasingly permanent and specialized talent acquisition workforce."
They said the Army expects to have ended fiscal year 2023 with nearly 55,000 recruiting contracts, including roughly 4,600 for the Armys Delayed Entry Program recruits who will ship in the 2024 fiscal year. As a result, the Army said it will meet its end-strength goal of 452,000 for active-duty soldiers.
"The competition for talented Americans is fierce, and it is fundamentally different than it was 50 or even 20 years ago," Wormuth said.
Task and Purpose noted the Army separated about 1,900 active duty service members for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine during the nearly year-and-a-half it was mandatory.
Regarding recruitment woes, the outlet also cited a July 2022 memo from the Department of the Army stating that "Americas military faces the most challenging recruiting environment since the All-Volunteer Force was established in 1973, driven in part by the post-COVID labor market, intense competition with the private sector, and a declining number of young Americans interested in uniformed service." The memo said, "currently, only 23 percent of 17- to 24-year-old Americans are fully qualified to serve."
Citing data provided by the military branches, CNN reported in October that only 43 of the more than 8,000 U.S. service members discharged from the military for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19 have sought to rejoin eight months after the vaccine mandate was officially repealed.
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Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin officially rescinded the COVID-19 vaccination order for service members on Jan. 10, 2023.
Austin had issued a memo on Aug. 24, 2021, requiring service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. According to Task and Purpose, thousands of troops unsuccessfully sought religious exemptions from the inoculation, including 8,945 soldiers, 10,800 airmen and guardians, 4,172 sailors, and 3,717 Marines.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) We could be in for a rough winter when it comes to illness. Doctors say there is a good chance COVID-19, the flu, and RSV will overlap in the coming months. However, doctors are excited because, for the first time, there is a new weapon against RSV.
Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a potentially dangerous, highly contagious virus that can cause respiratory disease. The last RSV season lasted longer and was more severe than usual. Signs of the illness include a fever, worsening cough, and restricted airways leading to trouble breathing.
RSV in small children, especially under 18 months, can land them in the hospital and even in the intensive care unit. It is extremely serious and it is for that reason we recommend the vaccine, said Dr. Jeremy Cauwels.
The RSV vaccine approved by the FDA in August is called Abrysvo.
Were hoping its going to really cut down in hospitalizations as well as complications like pneumonia or even death, said pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Shu.
There are three groups to consider when it comes to the new vaccine. Very young children, people over the age of 60, and expectant mothers. Doctors recommend pregnant women get the vaccine because they can pass that protection on to their baby.
Dr. Cauwels says there has been a tough rollout for the RSV vaccine which is creating a shortage.
I can tell you our pediatricians and the rest of our family doctors are absolutely giving this vaccine as fast as they can get it in, so just make sure you are checking in with your doctor to make sure it is available, said Cauwels.
He says if you have any questions please reach out to your doctor. With a potentially rough season for illnesses ahead, the more people who are vaccinated the fewer people doctors will see in the hospital. The typical RSV season is from October through March.
Shipments of the worlds first WHO-recommended malaria vaccine, RTS,S, have begun with 331 200 doses landing last night in Yaound, Cameroon. The delivery is the first to a country not previously involved in the malaria vaccine pilot programme and signals that scale-up of vaccination against malaria across the highest-risk areas on the African continent will begin shortly.
Nearly every minute, a child under five dies of malaria. In 2021, there were 247 million malaria cases globally, which led to 619 000 deaths. Of these deaths, 77 per cent were children under 5 years of age, mostly in Africa. Malaria burden is the highest on the African continent, which accounts for approximately 95% of global malaria cases and 96% of related deaths in 2021.
A further 1.7 million doses of the RTS,S vaccine are expected to arrive in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone in the coming weeks, with additional African countries set to receive doses in the months ahead. This reflects the fact that several countries are now in the final stage of preparations for malaria vaccine introduction into routine immunisation programmes, which should see first doses administered in Q1 2024.
Comprehensive preparations are needed to introduce any new vaccine into essential immunisation programmes such as training of healthcare workers, investing in infrastructure, technical capacity, vaccine storage, community engagement and demand, and sequencing and integrating rollout alongside the delivery of other vaccines and health interventions. Delivering the malaria vaccine has the added challenge of a four-dose schedule which requires careful planning to effectively deliver.
Since 2019, Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi have been administering the vaccine in a schedule of 4 doses from around 5 months of age in selected districts as part of the pilot programme, known as the Malaria Vaccine Implementation Programme (MVIP). More than 2 million children have been reached with the malaria vaccine in the three African countries through MVIP resulting in a remarkable 13% drop in all-cause mortality in children age-eligible to receive the vaccine, and substantial reductions in severe malaria illness and hospitalizations. Other key findings from the pilot programme show that vaccine uptake is high, with no reduction in use of other malaria prevention measures or uptake of other vaccines.MVIP is coordinated by WHO in collaboration with PATH, UNICEF and other partners, and funded by Gavi, the Global Fund, and UNITAID, with donated doses from GSK, the manufacturer of the RTS,S vaccine.
The data from the pilot have shown the impact and safety of the RTS,S vaccine and provided important evidence on vaccine acceptability and uptake that helped inform the recent WHO recommendation of a second malaria vaccine R21, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII). Results of a phase 3 trial for R21 showed that the vaccine has a good safety profile in the clinical trial setting and reduces malaria in children. It is expected that, like RTS,S, when R21 is implemented it will have similar high public health impact. The choice of which vaccine to be used in a country should be based on programmatic characteristics, vaccine supply, and affordability.
The R21 vaccine is currently under review by WHO for prequalification. The availability of two malaria vaccines is expected to increase supply to meet the high demand from African countries and result in sufficient vaccine doses to benefit all children living in areas where malaria is a public health risk. In preparation for scaled-up vaccination, Gavi, WHO, UNICEF and partners are working with countries that have expressed interest and/or have confirmed rollout plans on the next steps.
These developments mean that broad implementation of malaria vaccination in endemic regions has the potential to be a gamechanger for malaria control efforts, and could save tens of thousands of lives each year. However, malaria vaccines are not a standalone solution. They should be introduced in the context of the WHO-recommended package of malaria control measures which include insecticide-treated nets, indoor residual spraying, intermittent preventive treatment in pregnant women, antimalarials, effective case management, and treatment, all of which have helped to reduce malaria-related deaths since 2000. Importantly, the MVIP showed that delivering vaccines alongside non-vaccine interventions can reinforce the uptake of other vaccines and the use of insecticide treated nets, and overall boost access to malaria prevention measures.
The world needs good news and this a good news story, said David Marlow, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Gavi is proud that our Alliance of stakeholders, with African countries at the forefront, took the decision to invest in the malaria vaccine as a public health priority, and that this support has played a part in the availability of a new tool that can save the lives of thousands of children each year. We are excited to rollout this historic vaccine through Gavi programmes and work with partners to ensure it is delivered alongside other vital measures.
This could be a real gamechanger in our fight against malaria, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Introducing vaccines is like adding a star player to the pitch. With this long-anticipated step, spearheaded by African leaders, we are entering a new era in immunization and malaria control, hopefully saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of children every year.
This is another breakthrough moment for malaria vaccines and malaria control, and a ray of light in a dark time for so many vulnerable children in the world. The delivery of malaria vaccines to new countries across Africa will offer life-saving protection to millions of children at risk of malaria, said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.But we must not stop here. Together, we must find the will and the resources to bring malaria vaccines to scale, so more children can live longer, healthier lives.
This is a significant advancement towards scaling up malaria vaccination in the region. The vaccine, which protects children from the severe forms of the disease, is a vital addition to the existing set of malaria prevention tools and will help bolster our efforts to reverse the rising trend in cases and further reduce deaths, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
Quotes from countries and stakeholders
"The arrival of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in Burkina Faso marks a historic milestone in our efforts to combat malaria, which remains a major public health threat. Malaria is in fact the primary cause for consultations, hospitalization and death in our health facilities. Children under 5 pay the heaviest price. We are hopeful that the introduction of this vaccine into routine immunisation for children aged 0 to 23 months will have the potential to reduce the burden of this disease and save many lives," said Dr Robert Lucien Jean-Claude Kargougou, Burkina Faso's Minister of Health and Public Hygiene.
"We are committed to ensuring that the vaccine reaches eligible children, and we encourage all parents to take advantage of this life-saving intervention." "The government remains committed to strengthening other malaria prevention and control measures". The arrival of the vaccines marks a historic step in our efforts to control malaria, which remains a major public health threat in the country. Were grateful for the support of our partners with whom were committed to working to ensure that the vaccines reach the children and protect them from this deadly disease, saidHon Dr Malachie Manaouda, Minister of Public Health of Cameroon. As we vaccinate children, the government also remains committed to strengthening other prevention and control measures so that we can lower the huge burden of malaria.
"The introduction of the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine in Liberia marks a significant milestone in our efforts to combat malaria which is the leading cause of infant and under five mortality. This vaccine has the potential to save many lives and reduce the burden of this disease on our population, saidHon Dr Wilhemina Jallah, Minister of Health of Liberia. We are committed to ensuring that the vaccine reaches those who need it the most, and we encourage all parents of eligible children to take advantage of this life-saving intervention."
Todays announcement is welcome news given that malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in sub-Saharan Africa, said Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund. Using this vaccine, appropriately prioritized in the context of existing tools, could help prevent malaria and save tens of thousands of young lives each year.
I am thrilled that the RTS,S vaccine, which is the result of so many years of work by PATH, GSK, and African partners, has arrived in Cameroon and will soon reach even more children at risk of malaria, said Nikolaj Gilbert, President and CEO of PATH. All of us at PATH appreciate the efforts by Gavi, UNICEF, and WHO to accelerate access to this life-saving vaccine.
As the scale up of the worlds first malaria vaccine begins, the U.S. Presidents Malaria Initiative congratulates the Gavi Secretariat and Ministries of Health throughout Africa, saidDr DavidWalton, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator. This moment has been decades in the making and the U.S. has supported malaria vaccine development for decades. To maximize the benefit of this lifesaving tool, we will enthusiastically continue our partnerships with Ministries of Health and national, regional, and global partners to achieve a world in which no child dies from a mosquito bite.
Notes to editors
Please explore links below for photos and multimedia content related to malaria vaccines, including photos and footage of the vaccines on the move from the GSK factory, and arriving in Cameroon. Additional content will continue to be added in the coming days and weeks.
For further information about these shipments, please see Frequently Asked Questions".
About Gavi,the Vaccine Alliance
Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance is a public-private partnership that helps vaccinate more than half the worlds children against some of the worlds deadliest diseases. The Vaccine Alliance brings together developing country and donor governments, the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the World Bank, the vaccine industry, technical agencies, civil society, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundationand other private sector partners. View the full list of donor governments and other leading organisationsthat fund Gavis workhere.
Since its inceptionin 2000, Gavi has helped to immunisea whole generation over 1 billion children and prevented more than 17.3 million future deaths, helping to halve child mortality in 78 lower-income countries. Gavi also plays a key role in improving global health security by supporting health systems and outbreak response as well as funding global stockpiles for Ebola, cholera, meningococcal and yellow fever vaccines. After two decades of progress, Gavi is now focused on protecting the next generation, above all the zero-dose children who have not received even a single vaccine shot. The Vaccine Alliance employs innovative finance and the latest technology from drones to biometrics to save lives, prevent outbreaks before they can spread and help countries on the road to self-sufficiency.
Learn more at www.gavi.org
About UNICEF
UNICEF works in some of the worlds toughest places, to reach the worlds most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone. For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit www.unicef.org. Find out more about UNICEFs work on the COVID-19 vaccines here, or about UNICEFs work on immunization here.
About WHO
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A nurse administers the malaria vaccine to an infant at the Lumumba Sub-County hospital in Kisumu, Kenya, July 1, 2022. A new vaccine, known as RTS,S, is expected to be included in routine immunization programs in several African countries by early next year.BAZ RATNER/Reuters
Health agencies are launching the rollout of a new malaria vaccine across Africa, beginning in Cameroon this week, in a renewed effort to tackle the ancient disease that remains one of the continents biggest killers.
The new vaccine is expected to be included in routine immunization programs in several countries by early next year. It offers hope of easing the burden from a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of African children every year.
On Tuesday night, Cameroon received its first shipment under the rollout: a batch of 331,200 doses of the new vaccine, known as RTS,S and marketed under the brand name Mosquirix by the British manufacturer GSK. The delivery is a historic step toward a broader African vaccination campaign, the World Health Organization said.
Cameroon becomes the first country to receive the vaccine after an earlier pilot phase to assess its effectiveness as a public-health tool. The pilot phase began in 2019 in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, where the vaccine was given to more than two million children. It found a dramatic 13-per-cent drop in mortality among children who received it, along with an even bigger reduction in severe malaria illness and hospitalization.
In preparation for the broader immunization program, a further 1.7 million doses are scheduled for shipment to Liberia, Niger, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone in the coming weeks. Other countries are expected to receive doses in the following months.
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Malaria is thousands of years old, with records of it in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt and in the writings of Homer and Plato in ancient Greece. It persisted in parts of Europe and the United States into the early 1900s, killing as many as 300 million people worldwide in the 20th century.
Over the past two decades, malaria-prevention programs have helped to reduce deaths by more than half, but progress has stalled in recent years, and nearly half of the worlds population remains at risk of the disease. There were an estimated 247 million cases of malaria in 2021, almost entirely on the African continent, and nearly 620,000 people died from the disease, mostly children, with 96 per cent of the deaths occurring in Africa.
The new vaccine could be a real gamechanger in our fight against malaria, said Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations childrens agency, Unicef, in a statement on Wednesday.
We are entering a new era in immunization and malaria control, hopefully saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of children every year, she said.
The WHOs director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called it another breakthrough moment for malaria vaccines and malaria control, and a ray of light in a dark time for so many vulnerable children in the world.
Under the vaccination program, three doses are given to children under the age of 2. A fourth dose extends the protection for a further one to two years.
Health agencies have secured 18 million doses of the vaccine for the period up to 2025, and the doses have been allocated to a dozen of the highest-risk African countries. But demand far exceeds the supply, since at least 30 countries on the continent are hoping to include a malaria vaccine in their health programs.
A second vaccine, known as R21, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, was recommended by the WHO last month and is now in a prequalification process, which leads to procurement and delivery. A decision is expected within months. It is likely to become available to African countries in the middle of next year.
As a malaria researcher, I used to dream of the day when we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria, Dr. Tedros said last month. Now, we have two.
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Trials of R21 have found that it reduced malaria cases by 75 per cent in the year following a three-dose series of the vaccine.
The R21 vaccine is a vital additional tool to protect more children faster and to bring us closer to our vision of a malaria-free world, Dr. Tedros said.
The R21 vaccine costs about US$2 to US$4 per dose, while the RTS,S vaccine is somewhat more expensive. The cost for African countries, however, will be financed by Gavi, a program of public and private donors, including UN agencies, governments, the World Bank and others.
New Mexico is standing out in the Southwest with a high amount of flu cases.
Albuquerque, N.M. Nowadays when we talk about family gatherings like Thanksgiving, the thought of spreading illness can sometimes be part of the calculations especially since COVID-19 began. But its not just COVID-19 to keep in mind.
This is the latest flu map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It shows New Mexico is standing out in the Southwest with a high amount of cases.
But New Mexico isnt the only state seeing a high numberof flu cases. Its one reason why the CDC is urging people to get vaccinated.
Another map from the New Mexico Departmentof Health shows Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Lincoln and Curry County as the counties with the highest percentage of emergency visits with a flu, COVID-19, or RSV diagnosis.
The first flu cases of the year were reported in New Mexico late last month.
Right now, doctors are encouraging people to get the flu vaccine, especially because this years vaccine is showing some success.
This year the match is very good its between 60 and 65% which is excellent, so we definitely want to see, get in and get that vaccine, said Dr. John Zaso, a pediatrician with the Nassau University Medical Center.
Along with the flu vaccine, health officials are asking people to get their COVID-19 booster, too.
State health officials are also advising doctors to test patients not just for COVID-19 or the flu, but for both because its possible for people to be sick with both viruses at the same time.
