By University of California - San Diego, [RxPG] Oncologists at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) in La Jolla are hoping to stave off the relentless march of advanced lung cancer by treating patients with a novel kind of cancer vaccine. While many vaccines attempt to pump up the immune system to fight off a cancer, the new vaccine, Lucanix.

via rxpgnews.com

A vaccine available right now could help save lives in a future bird flu pandemic, UK scientists claim. A jab against one strain of avian flu, given years earlier, may "prime" the immune system to fight a wide range of bird flu strains. When the pandemic arrives, "pre-vaccinated" people could then be given a booster shot, and be protected far quicker, said researchers.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Although most people think of young children when they hear about childhood vaccinations, adolescents need certain booster shots as well as new immunizations. However, a recent study has found that not all teens are getting these necessary vaccinations. The study, published in the October issue of Pediatrics, found that nearly one-third of teens weren't up-to-date on their measles-mumps-rubella vaccination.

via medicinenet.com

Danish vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday it would start a Phase III study in 2010 for its prostate cancer vaccine after the Phase II study data was positive. The Phase II data for the Prostvac vaccine showed statistically significant improved overall survival in a sample of 125 patients. Patients treated with the vaccine had a longer median overall survival by 8.5 months compared to the placebo group.

via reuters.com

Solantic, a leading provider of walk-in urgent care across Florida, is now offering the first-ever guaranteed flu vaccination. Whoever receives their flu shot (or the nasal vaccine FluMist) at Solantic -- and then contracts the flu -- will receive a free flu examination with a physician, including a flu test and treatment recommendation.

via marketwatch.com

Two Alberta Catholic school boards will not be offering a controversial vaccine to Grade 5 girls this fall. Calgary Catholic school board members voted Wednesday night not to make the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine available in schools. Trustee Mary Martin said Calgary Bishop Fred Henry didn't want to appear to be condoning pre-marital sex. "The bishop felt it was a moral issue."

via cbc.ca

AN EXPERIMENTAL breast cancer vaccine has the potential to wipe out resistant and recurring tumours in many patients, researchers revealed yesterday. The treatment would be tailored to women with "HER2-positive" cancers, which account for up to 30 per cent of cases and tend to be highly aggressive.

via news.scotsman.com

In July, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services quietly amended its list of required vaccinations for immigrants applying to become citizens. One of the newest requirements? Gardasil, which vaccinates against the human papillomavirus (HPV). From the agency’s press release.

via thinkprogress.org

The stock of nearly 4.5 lakh vaccines for Japanese Encephalitis (JE), which was found unfit for use after arrival in the city on Friday, had already suffered a loss of potency before being dispatched from the Government Medical Store Depot (GMSD) at Karnal. Experts from an international NGO Path, who visited GMSD on Saturday, found that Vaccine Vial Monitor.

via expressindia.com

An expert committee of the health ministry which looked into reviving three government vaccine units that were closed down has recommended converting two of these units into centres for producing yellow fever vaccine capable of serving global needs. The units were shut down almost a year ago after they failed to comply with good manufacturing practice norms.

via business-standard.com

Campaign encourages parents to protect their 11- and 12-year-olds from meningitis, whooping cough, and the virus that causes cervical cancer The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases today announced that new public service announcements (PSAs) targeting the parents of pre-teens are now available to broadcast organizations.

via marketwatch.com

Scientists found that there is no link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, also known as MMR vaccine, and autism. The researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health’s Center for Infection and Immunity, who collaborated with scientists from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Trinity College Dublin, and the U.S.

via efluxmedia.com

Writing in the September issue of Pediatrics, the multicenter research team offers pediatricians a step-by-step tool for quickly identifying children with allergic reactions to vaccines, and a much-needed guide, they say, to safely immunize those who are allergic.
Serious allergic reactions to vaccines are extremely rare - one or two per million vaccinations.

via sciencedaily.com

Close monitoring and a few precautions can help vaccinate children with known or suspected allergies, according to John Hopkins Children's Centre team. The team offered paediatricians a step-by-step tool for quick identification and a much-needed guide to immunisation of children with allergic reactions.

via newkerala.com

Cases of chickenpox — a childhood infection that was once nearly universal — have fallen 57% to 90% in communities across the USA since a vaccine was introduced in 1995, a new report shows. Before the vaccine, 4 million Americans a year came down with chickenpox, nearly 11,000 were hospitalized and more than 140 died, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in today's Pediatrics.

via usatoday.com