Category: Vaccine

UK-based AstraZeneca has acknowledged in court that its Covid vaccine can cause a rare blood clotting condition, British media reports said on Monday.

This follows a class action lawsuit brought by families who allege harm caused by the pharmaceutical giants vaccine. The admission comes amid legal proceedings triggered by claims that the vaccine led to serious health complications, The Daily Mail reported.

In a legal document submitted to a UK court in February, the Cambridge-based company conceded that its vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS," referring to thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome. This condition involves the formation of blood clots accompanied by a low platelet count, which is critical for blood clotting.

Previously known as vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT), this exceedingly rare complication has been listed as a potential side effect of the jab. According to the British daily, AstraZenecas admission paves the way for case-by-case settlements concerning individuals affected by the adverse reaction.

In the wake of the lawsuit, AstraZeneca has come out to express sympathy for those affected by adverse reactions to its vaccine while reaffirming its commitment to patient safety. The company underlined regulatory authorities stringent safety standards and reiterated the vaccines overall safety profile.

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first published: April 29, 2024, 19:13 IST

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UK-Based AstraZeneca Acknowledges Rare Health Risk Of Its Covid Vaccine In Court - News18

In a milestone study led by the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), researchers have identified fragments from influenza B viruses that the immune system consistently recognize, offering promising targets for a universal influenza B vaccine.

Often underestimated, influenza B viruses can cause significant illness and mortality, especially in children. Despite the burden of influenza B viruses globally, they remain understudied and little is known about how the immune system interacts with these viruses.

A team of scientists, led by University of MelbourneProfessor Katherine Kedzierska, Head of the Human T cell Laboratory at the Doherty Institute, set out to change this by delving into the intricacies of the immune response toinfluenza B viruses, revealing a wealth of insights previously overlooked.

Published inNature Communications,the study focused on killer T cells, also known as CD8+T cells, whichplay a crucial role in the antiviral immune response, and discovered how they targetinfluenza B virusesto combat infection.

University of MelbourneTejas Menon, Graduate Researcher at the Doherty Institute and co-first author of the paper, described the challenge of identifying the specific parts of the influenza B viruses that killer T cells bind to as like searching for a needle in a haystack.

To tackle a virus, killer T cells need to be able to recognize the virus and find the best viral parts to target, explained Mr Menon.

As new variants of a virus emerge, killer T cells can recognize fragments that are unchanged among those influenza variants. This makes killer T cells an attractive immune population to stimulate with vaccines.

In the context of influenza B viruses, we were excited to discover nine viral fragments which provoked a strong immune response from killer T cells and remained unchanged in the virus' history. This finding, reached after sieving through hundreds of influenza B virus particles, which was done in collaboration Professor Purcell and Dr Illing from Monash University, is a significant advancement in our understanding of influenza B immunity.

Until now, only 18 such viral fragments had been identified, limiting the ability to generate new vaccines against influenza B viruses that prevent severe illness and death. This comprehensive study brings the total to 27, offering more options for vaccine development.

Researchers also explored how this immune response changes with age, providing valuable information for tailoring health strategies for different age groups.

University of MelbourneDr Carolien van de Sandt, a Senior Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-author of the study, said that this research gives valuable insights into age-related immune responses to influenza B viruses.

As we age, our immune system responds differently to the flu, said Dr van de Sandt.

While we detected killer T cells that recognize influenza B viral fragments across the human lifespan, from young children to the elderly, those T cell responses substantially peaked in adults. This may help explain why this particular age group is protected from severe influenza B infections.

Our findings also showed that killer T cells that recognize influenza B viruses have a very good memory, but are not as numerous in elderly people and children. This is fascinating, as children have a higher burden from influenza B than adults and the elderly.

Professor Kedzierska explained that the clinical implications of the study are substantial, and the research presents the first step toward the development of new T cell-based influenza B vaccines.

The influenza B viral T cell targets that we have found could be included in new T cell-based vaccines, which could significantly reduce severe cases and death caused by influenza B, especially in children, and alleviate the burden of seasonal influenza epidemics.

Katherine Kedzierska,Professor, University of Melbourne

Current influenza vaccines primarily rely on antibodies that target specific strains, necessitating frequent updates due to mutations in the virus. However, the study suggests exploring T cell-based vaccine strategies, highlighting their potential to provide broad immune protection across all variants of influenza B viruses for various age groups.

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New study offers promising targets for universal influenza B vaccine - News-Medical.Net

The scientist who led the efforts to develop Chinas first anti-Covid vaccine has now been expelled from the parliament and is facingseriouscharges, reported Hong-based media outlet South China Morning Post.

Yang Xiaoming is a veteran researcher and former chairman of China National Biotec Group, a vaccine subsidiary of state-owned Sinopharm. It was only under his leadership that China developed Sinopharms BBIBP-CorV vaccine, Chinas first coronavirus shot.

Chinas National Peoples Congress (NPC) on Friday (Apr 26) said in a statement that hewas removedfor alleged serious violations of discipline and law.

An investigation has alreadybeen launchedagainst the 62-year-old scientist by the party disciplinary body, SCMP reported.

Sinopharms BBIBP-CorV vaccine was one of the most used vaccines in the country andwas exportedto at least 112 nations.Lateron, it causedhugeembarrassment for the Chinese government asquestions were raisedoverthe vaccines efficacy.

The action against Yang Xiaoming comes amidst an ongoing crackdown against corruption in Chinas health sector by President Xi Jinping.

WATCH: Tornado in China: Five killed & 140 factory buildings damaged in tornado

The crackdownisspecificallytargetinghospitals, drug companies and insurance funds, which also resulted in the arrest of several hospital chiefs last year.

The campaign is an extension of Xis 2012 anti-corruption drive.

Yang Xiaoming is a big name in Chinas vaccine development industry.In past, he served as a chief engineer andchiefscientist at Sinopharm.

He is also serving as the chief scientist of the vaccine project under Chinas national 863 programme.

The COVID-19 vaccine developed under his leadership was approved for use in December 2020, which also got the nod from the World Health Organization (WHO) for international use.

In a 2021 interview, Xiaoming had described his vaccine as a miracle, developed in a record time of just 330 days.

Earlier, he was rewarded forhis role infighting the pandemic and was given a national award in September 2020.

(With inputs from agencies)

Geopolitical writer at WION, follows Indian foreign policy and world politics, a truth seeker.

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Scientist who developed China's first vaccine now facing disciplinary charges, expelled from parliament - WION

BATON ROUGE - A group fighting against anti-vaccination legislation protested at the Capitol on Monday.

The nonprofit group Louisiana Families for Vaccines is hoping six of the 13 proposed bills will not become law. Group leaders said some of the bills would prohibit the requirement of vaccines in schools, ban COVID-19 vaccine requirements and require blood donors to disclose their vaccination status. Protest organizers said these bills are spreading mistruths.

"Ultimately, disinformation is deadly and it deserves no hospitality of the legislature floor," vaccine advocate Crystal Rommen said. "A lot of the legislation that we're seeing come through the House and the Senate are trying to limit access to vaccines. We see things that are based in misinformation."

One bill, HB 866, will allow for individuals to submit vaccine exemptions to allow them access into any public facility regardless of their vaccination status.

"Louisiana has one of the broadest vaccination exemption policies in the nations. We have non-medical exemptions including religious and philosophical. Of course, we also have medical exemptions for people who truly can't be vaccinated," Rommen said.

Pediatrician Mikki Bouquet says the legislature should be recommending vaccines to promote a healthier state.

"We need strong public policies that are evidence-based that state vaccines are safe, effective and healthy," Bouquet said.

HB 288, which would require autopsy reports for infants include immunization records, failed to pass.

The following bills are still making their way through the legislature:

- Allow unvaccinated students to remain in class with immunocompromised students during an outbreak (HB 908) - Require teenagers to have parental consent for immunizations (HB 711) - Prohibit businesses, schools and government entities from requiring COVID-19 vaccines or masks (HB 87) - Prohibit schools from requiring COVID-19 vaccines (HB 46) - Require blood donors to disclose vaccination status (HB 822) - Prohibit Louisiana from using CDC Public Health recommendations (HB 809)

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Nonprofit organization "Louisiana Families for Vaccines" voice concerns over proposed bills - WBRZ

Cotonou/Freetown/Monrovia In a significant step forward for malaria prevention in Africa, three countriesBenin, Liberia and Sierra Leonetoday launched a large-scale rollout of the life-saving malaria vaccine targeting millions of children across the three West African nations. The vaccine rollout, announced on World Malaria Day, seeks to further scale up vaccine deployment in the African region.

Todays launch brings to eight the number of countries on the continent to offer the malaria vaccine as part of the childhood immunization programmes, extending access to more comprehensive malaria prevention. Several of the more than 30 countries in the African region that have expressed interest in the vaccine are scheduled to roll it out in the next year through support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, as efforts continue to widen its deployment in the region in coordination with other prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticidal nets and seasonal malaria chemoprevention.

Benin, which received 215 900 doses, has added the malaria vaccine to its Expanded Programme on Immunization. The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from around 5 months of age.

The introduction of the malaria vaccine in the Expanded Programme on Immunization for our children is a major step forward in the fight against this scourge. I would like to reassure that the malaria vaccines are safe and effective and contribute to the protection of our children against this serious and fatal diseases, said Prof Benjamin Hounkpatin, Minister of Health of Benin.

In Liberia, the vaccine was launched in the southern Rivercess County and will be rolled out afterwards in five other counties which have high malaria burden. At least 45 000 children are expected to benefit from the 112 000 doses of the available vaccine.

"For far too long, malaria has stolen the laughter and dreams of our children. But today, with this vaccine and the unwavering commitment of our communities, healthcare workers and our partners, including GAVI, UNICEF and WHO, we break the chain. We have a powerful tool that will protect them from this devastating illness and related deaths, ensuring their right to health and a brighter future. Let's end malaria in Liberia and pave the way for a healthier, more just society," said Dr Louise Kpoto, Liberias Minister of Health.

Two safe and effective vaccines RTS,S and R21 recommended by World Health Organization (WHO), are a breakthrough for child health and malaria control. A pilot malaria vaccine programme in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi reached over 2 million children from 2019 to 2023, showing a significant reduction in malaria illness and a 13% drop in overall child mortality and substantial reductions in hospitalizations.

In Sierra Leone, the first doses were administered to children at a health centre in Western Area Rural where the authorities kicked off the rollout of 550000 vaccine doses. The vaccine will then be delivered in health facilities nationwide.

With the new, safe and efficacious malaria vaccine, we now have an additional tool to fight this disease. In combination with insecticide-treated nets, effective diagnosis and treatment, and indoor spraying, no child should die from malaria infection, said Dr Austin Demby, Minister of Health of Sierra Leone.

Malaria remains a huge health challenge in the African region, which is home to 11 countries that carry approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria. The region accounted for 94% of global malaria cases and 95% of all malaria deaths in 2022, according to the World Malaria Report 2023.

The African region is advancing in the rollout of the malaria vaccine a game-changer in our fight against this deadly disease, said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. Working with our member states and partners, were supporting the ongoing efforts to save the lives of young children and lower the malaria burden in the region.

Aurelia Nguyen, Chief Programme Officer at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, noted: Today we celebrate more children gaining access to a new lifesaving tool to fight one of Africas deadliest diseases. This introduction of malaria vaccines into routine programmes in Benin, Liberia, and Sierra Leone alongside other proven interventions will help save lives and offer relief to families, communities and hard-pressed health systems.

Progress against malaria has stalled in these high-burden African countries since 2017 due to factors including climate change, humanitarian crises, low access to and insufficient quality of health services, gender-related barriers, biological threats such as insecticide and drug resistance and global economic crises. Fragile health systems and critical gaps in data and surveillance have compounded the challenge.

To put malaria progress back on track, WHO recommends robust commitment to malaria responses at all levels, particularly in high-burden countries; greater domestic and international funding; science and data-driven malaria responses; urgent action on the health impacts of climate change; harnessing research and innovation; as well as strong partnerships for coordinated responses. WHO is also calling attention to addressing delays in malaria programme implementation.

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Major step in malaria prevention as three West African countries roll out vaccine - WHO | Regional Office for Africa

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made an appearance onReal Time with Bill Maher on Friday, pushing back on claims that he is anti-vaccine.

Maher began the segment by pressing Kennedy on running mate Nicole Shanahan, who spoke out against the Moderna vaccine.

Shes not gonna . . . I think those vaccines need to . . . We need to have, again, true double blind placebo control trials, Kennedy struggled to explain.

Notably, the results of a phase III double-blind clinical trial of the Moderna vaccine were published in 2021.

Kennedy went on to discuss vaccine skepticism in the American public, possibly fueled by claims he made, saying,Theres 25% of Americans who believe that they know somebody who was killed by a COVID vaccine.

Its true that a 2023 poll concluded that 34% of Americans believe COVID vaccines have contributed to deaths. Although, beyond their initial FDA clearance, multiple studies have shown that COVID vaccines are safe.

Kennedy then spouted a debunked claim that those who took the Pfizer vaccine in a clinical trial saw a 23% increase in death rate.

Maher, who said he himself was an early skeptic, touted the effectiveness of the vaccine in response to Kennedys and, eventually, the twocame to an agreement, with Maher arguing for mak[ing] it a case by case basis.

The pairs shared agita with vaccine mandates is in contrast with scientists, who hold that a large threshold of populations must be vaccinated for them to be maximally effective.

Im not anti-vaccine, Kennedy said. Im called that because its a way of silencing me.

Kennedys long history of vaccine skepticism was reported on in a 2005 article originally published by Salon, in which he argued that a link between compounds in vaccines and autism existed. The article was retracted after evidence suggesting critical errors and potential fraud in the cited studies emerged.

Watch RFK Jr. on "Real Time" here:

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RFK Jr. repeats debunked vaccine claims in interview with Bill Maher - Salon

The world has become a much safer place to be a young child in the last 50 years. Since 1974, infant mortality worldwide has plummeted. That year, one in 10 newborns died before reaching their first birthday. By 2021, that rate had fallen by over two-thirds.

A lot of factors drove this change: lower poverty and better nutrition, cleaner air and water, and readily available antibiotics and other treatments. But one of the biggest contributors, a new study from the World Health Organization (WHO) concludes, was vaccines.

Vaccines alone, the researchers find, accounted for 40 percent of the decline in infant mortality. The paper authored by a team of researchers led by WHO epidemiologist and vaccine expert Naor Bar-Zeev estimates that in the 50 years since 1974, vaccines prevented 154 million deaths.

Of that 154 million, 146 million lives saved were among children under 5, including 101 million infants. Because the averted deaths were so concentrated among young people, who on average would go on to live for 66 years, vaccines gave their beneficiaries an astounding 9 billion additional years of life.

The paper was commissioned on the 50th anniversary of the WHOs Expanded Programme on Immunization, which launched in 1974 to build on the success of the agencys work eradicating smallpox. It covers a critical period of time. The previous decades had seen a spree of important, newly developed vaccines: a joint diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus vaccine in 1948, a polio vaccine in 1955, a measles vaccine in 1963. While rolled out quickly in wealthy countries, these immunizations were, as of 1974, not broadly available in the Global South, even as the diseases they prevented wreaked massive damage.

Over the ensuing half-century, through vaccination campaigns led by the WHO and later Gavi (a multilateral group formerly called the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization), that changed radically. In sub-Saharan Africa in 2021, 68 percent of 1-year-olds received a first dose of the measles vaccine, 78 percent received the tuberculosis vaccine, and 7071 percent received the vaccines against hepatitis B, polio, and diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis.

This progress yielded massive gains. The measles vaccine, in particular, deserves pride of place in this story. The researchers conclude that it averted 93.7 million deaths from 1974 onward, accounting for the most deaths averted by vaccines in general. In terms of lives saved, the runners-up tetanus (28 million saved), pertussis (13.2 million), and tuberculosis (10.9 million) pale in comparison. Stamping out measles through vaccination enabled it to go from an omnipresent, fast-spreading lethal threat to a relic of the past though anti-vaccine activists threaten to undo some of that progress.

The data is a reminder that vaccines have historically been one of our best tools for saving lives and that redoubling efforts to discover and distribute new ones for diseases like malaria and tuberculosis could have a similarly transformative effect.

Studying the effect of vaccines across all continents, and across a 50-year time frame, is a daunting project. Its not for nothing that this paper has 21 authors. (And lets give them the credit theyre due. They are: Andrew Shattock, Helen Johnson, So Yoon Sim, Austin Carter, Philipp Lambach, Raymond Hutubessy, Kimberly Thompson, Kamran Badizadegan, Brian Lambert, Matthew Ferrari, Mark Jit, Han Fu, Sheetal Silal, Rachel Hounsell, Richard White, Jonathan Mosser, Katy Gaythorpe, Caroline Trotter, Ann Lindstrand, Katherine OBrien, and Naor Bar-Zeev.)

The paper is essentially combining three separate kinds of data and research results:

Put simply: They used what we know about how many people got vaccinated in the last five decades and how well vaccines work to construct a version of history where all that vaccination didnt occur, and adjusted actual death rates and health statistics accordingly.

This necessarily involves filling in some gaps in the data. They note that in many countries, our data on vaccine coverage starts in 1980, not 1974; in these places, they argue that vaccine coverage was so meager that assuming no coverage in 1974 and a steady increase thereafter is appropriate. They also conduct sensitivity analyses showing that other ways of handling this problem produce similar headline results.

The years of health life data allows another vantage point on gains from vaccination. Some diseases, like polio, are less lethal than the likes of measles but can cause lifelong negative health impacts, up to and including muscle paralysis. (For instance, while many doctors no longer think Franklin Delano Roosevelts paralysis was due to polio, it easily could have been.)

Any way you slice the data, vaccines saved a ton of lives and prevented a ton of suffering.

The past few years have been wonderful for vaccination, mostly due to the tremendously positive impact of the rapidly developed Covid-19 vaccines, but also somewhat perilous. In the US, the share of adults saying all children should be vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella has fallen, specifically among Republicans, a likely aftershock of how polarized the Covid vaccine issue has gotten. In that context, its important to remember just how much immunization has given us. In a half-century, its given people 9 billion additional years to live their lives. Thats nothing short of miraculous.

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How many lives have vaccines saved? New WHO study comes out with breathtaking estimate. - Vox.com

Bill Maher took presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to task on Fridays episode of Real Time with Bill Maher, over his and his running mates persistent efforts to spread anti-vaccine misinformation.

Maher has consistently platformed RFK Jr. throughout his presidential campaign, touting his guts and integrity, as hes promulgated misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. The presidential candidate's unsavory anti-vax rhetoric was once again pushed to the forefront of his campaign, when his running mate Nicole Shanahan called for a recall of the Moderna vaccine, earlier this month. Apparently the comment didnt sit so well with Maher.

But your Vice Presidential pick wants to recall the Moderna vaccine, thats the one I got, said Maher, who looked out onto the laughing audience. Do you agree with that? Recall it?

Appearing to be taken off-guard, RFK Jr. sputtered in response. I think those vaccines need to, we need to have again true double-blind placebo controlled trials on that, he said. There is 25 percent of Americans who believe that they know somebody who was killed by a Covid vaccine.

Killed? Maher asked.

Killed. 25 percent of Americans. 52 percent of Americans believe that the vaccines are causing injuries, including death. 52 percent, RFK Jr. responded. He then dove into describing the results of the Pfizer vaccines clinical trial study, but his argument was less than convincing to the talk show host.

People who got the vaccine had a 23 percent higher death rate, from all causes, at the end of that study, RFK Jr. said.

That could not be the disease itself? Maher asked, incredulously.

If it is, then the vaccine doesnt work, RFK Jr. said. The audience began applauding, but Maher quickly shut it down, forced to fact-check his friend in Real Time.

Well, no no, thats not, thats not true at all, he said. And Im someone who did not want to get the vaccine, and didnt think I should have been made to get it. But it does work. Maher contended that the vaccine had only killed, mostly the obese and the very elderly.

Most people are alive today, I think, because of the vaccine. I think thats the truth. Does it also have complications? Yes, he said. But they couldve had worse issues if they got the disease.

RFK Jr. went on the defensive. I think that [if] people want vaccines, they should be able to get it, Im not anti-vaccine, he said.

Well people think you are, Maher replied.

In response, the presidential candidate, who had just spouted blatant misinformation about vaccines, argued that that term is often used to silence him. RFK Jr. instead clarified that he is simply against vaccine mandates, an essential tool in ensuring that vaccines can work the most effectively.

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Bill Maher Batters His Buddy RFK Jr. Over Anti-Vax Claims - The Daily Beast

A new mouth-spray vaccine reportedly stops urinary tract infections (UTIs) from coming back again and again, as can happen in many people prone to the condition.

The pineapple-flavored vaccine, called Uromune, has so far been tested in one study without a placebo group and one completed gold-standard clinical trial. Both studies suggest that, for more than half of the participants, the vaccine helped ward off recurrent UTIs for months. It will need more testing to be fully approved but shows promise.

"Vaccines would be a game changer for a huge number of people who are, at the moment, stuck with long-term UTIs and there's nothing that can help them," Jennifer Rohn, a researcher who specializes in renal medicine at University College London and was not involved in the studies, told Live Science.

UTIs can cause debilitating pain; abdominal cramping; and an urge to urinate when you don't need to. Approximately 50% of women will have a UTI at least once in their life; of those, 22% will experience recurrent infections.

Women are about 30 times more likely to get UTIs than men.

Related: Dangerous 'superbugs' are a growing threat, and antibiotics can't stop their rise. What can?

Many patients who develop UTIs repeatedly are prescribed preventive antibiotics to help reduce their risk of future infections. Yet research shows that heavy reliance on antibiotics has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Plus, antibiotics can wipe out helpful bacteria in the body along with the disease-causing kind.

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UTI vaccines could offer an alternative approach, and Uromune is one such vaccine. The spray contains a mixture of the four bacteria most commonly responsible for recurrent UTIs: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis and Proteus vulgaris.

"Together, they make up about 88% of urinary tract infections," Dr. Glenn Werneburg, a physician-scientist at the Cleveland Clinic who was not involved in the studies, told Live Science. For the vaccine, these bacteria are inactivated by heat so that the proteins on their surface are still intact and thus can be identified by the immune system.

The vaccine is sprayed under the tongue because exposing the base of the tongue, the tonsils and the roof of the mouth is thought to trigger a strong immune response in "mucosal" tissues. These include the lining of the urinary tract and bladder, Werneburg said.

Scientists first tested the vaccine in a U.K.-based trial of 75 female participants; there was no comparison group that didn't use the spray. In that study, 59% of the women who used the spray daily for three months had no subsequent UTIs for the following year. These participants had experienced three or more UTIs in the year prior to receiving the vaccine.

In a second phase of the study, the scientists followed up with nearly 40 of the original participants, and they also added 17 men to the trial. In that group they found that, for 48 of them, the vaccine was still very protective nine years after its initial administration. These participants had remained UTI-free over that period and had no adverse effects.

On average across the whole group, all the patients remained UTI-free for about 55 months, or about 4.5 years.

The findings of this study were presented at the European Association of Urology Congress in Paris on April 6. Uromune has also been tested in one gold-standard clinical trial with a placebo group. In that trial, 56% and 58% of women who used the spray for three and six months, respectively, remained free of UTIs for up to nine months, compared to only 25% of the placebo group.

"I'm excited about these findings because it's more evidence that this vaccine may be an excellent alternative for these patients," Werneburg said.

Both the trials had limitations. For instance, the vaccine has only been tested for uncomplicated UTIs, meaning infections that don't involve catheters, fever, the kidneys or other complicating factors, for example.

"Some of the people who are most prone to infection are people with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction and people with chronic indwelling catheters," Werneburg said. "I really look forward to trials that assess the vaccine's safety and efficacy in these populations."

Not everyone responded to the vaccine in these initial trials. But "given how complicated UTI is and how every patient has something different going on different bugs, different immune systems half of the people responding is actually really good," Rohn said.

One possible reason some patients did not respond could be that they were infected by types of bacteria not included in the vaccine. Bacteria can also hide from the immune system and antibiotics by sticking to the bladder wall and coating themselves with a slimy shield. Other UTI vaccines being tested in mice could potentially target these germs.

Uromune has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for any use in the U.S. However, currently, it's available for compassionate use in 26 countries, meaning it's available to people who aren't enrolled in a formal trial but who haven't responded to other treatments. Time will tell if it will earn full approval for UTI prevention.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

Ever wonder why some people build muscle more easily than others or why freckles come out in the sun? Send us your questions about how the human body works to community@livescience.com with the subject line "Health Desk Q," and you may see your question answered on the website!

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New UTI vaccine wards off infection for years, early studies suggest - Livescience.com

Key points

The WHO Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC) meets regularly to assess the impact of SARS-CoV-2 evolution on the performance of approved COVID-19 vaccines. This includes meeting in person approximately every six months to determine the implications of SARS-CoV-2 evolution on COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition and to advise WHO on whether changes are needed to the antigen composition of future COVID-19 vaccines. The twice-yearly evidence review by the TAG-CO-VAC is based on the need for continued monitoring of the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 and the kinetics and protection of vaccine-derived immunity.

In May 2023, the TAG-CO-VAC recommended the use of a monovalent XBB.1 descendent lineage, such as XBB.1.5, as the vaccine antigen. In December 2023, the TAG-CO-VAC advised retaining the use of a monovalent XBB.1 descendent lineage, such as XBB.1.5, as the vaccine antigen. Several manufacturers (using mRNA, protein-based and viral vector vaccine platforms) have developed COVID-19 vaccines with a monovalent XBB.1.5 formulation which have been approved for use by regulatory authorities and introduced into COVID-19 vaccination programmes in some countries. Previous statements from the TAG-CO-VAC can be found on the WHO website.

The TAG-CO-VAC reconvened on 15-16 April 2024 to review the genetic and antigenic evolution of SARS-CoV-2; immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19 vaccination; the performance of currently approved vaccines against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants; and the implications for COVID-19 vaccine antigen composition.

The published and unpublished evidence reviewed by the TAG-CO-VAC included: (1) SARS-CoV-2 genetic evolution with support from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE); (2) Antigenic characterization of previous and emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants using virus neutralization tests with animal antisera or human sera and further analysis of antigenic relationships using antigenic cartography; (3) Immunogenicity data on the breadth of neutralizing antibody responses elicited by currently approved vaccine antigens against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants using animal and human sera, including modelling data; (4) Vaccine effectiveness estimates (VE) of currently approved vaccines during periods of circulation of XBB.1 and JN.1 lineages; (5) Preliminary immunogenicity data on immune responses following infection with circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants; and (6) Preliminary preclinical and clinical immunogenicity data on the performance of candidate vaccines with updated antigens shared confidentially by vaccine manufacturers with TAG-CO-VAC. Further details on the publicly available data reviewed by the TAG-CO-VAC can be found in the accompanying data annex. Unpublished and/or confidential data reviewed by the TAG-CO-VAC are not shown.

The TAG-CO-VAC acknowledges several limitations of the available data:

As of April 2024, nearly all circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants reported in publicly available databases are JN.1 derived variants. As virus evolution is expected to continue from JN.1, future formulations of COVID-19 vaccines should aim to induce enhanced neutralizing antibody responses to JN.1 and its descendent lineages. One approach recommended by TAG-CO-VAC is the use of a monovalent JN.1 lineage (GenBank: OY817255.1, GISAID: EPI_ISL_18538117, WHO Biohub: 2024-WHO-LS-001) antigen in vaccines.

The continued use of the current monovalent XBB.1.5 formulation will offer protection given the neutralizing antibody responses to early JN.1 descendent lineages, and the evidence from early rVE studies against JN.1. However, it is expected that the ability for XBB.1.5 vaccination to protect against symptomatic disease may be less robust as SARS-CoV-2 evolution continues from JN.1. Other formulations and/or platforms that achieve robust neutralizing antibody responses against currently circulating variants, particularly JN.1 descendent lineages, can also be considered.

In accordance with WHO SAGE policy, vaccination programmes should continue to use any of the WHO emergency-use listed or prequalified COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination should not be delayed in anticipation of access to vaccines with an updated composition. WHO stresses the importance of access to and equity in the use of all available COVID-19 vaccines.

Given the limitations of the evidence upon which the recommendations above are derived and the anticipated continued evolution of the virus, the TAG-CO-VAC strongly encourages generation of data on immune responses and clinical endpoints (i.e. VE) on the performance of all currently approved COVID-19 vaccines against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants, and candidate vaccines with an updated antigen over time.

As previously stated, the TAG-CO-VAC continues to encourage the further development of vaccines that may improve protection against infection and reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

Continue reading here:

Statement on the antigen composition of COVID-19 vaccines - World Health Organization (WHO)