Vaccine News

Starting early next year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will provide countries of the Americas with access to the Pfizer-produced vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Only the Pfizer vaccine has been approved by the World Health Organization to prevent RSV-related diseases in infants. 

The PAHO stated on November 1, 2024, that around 13 million children are born in the region each year, and if the RSV vaccine is offered to pregnant women, they could benefit from this measure.

The PAHO reported in October 2024 that the new RSV season had started slowly in the Americas.

In the United States, the U.S. FDA-approved single-dose, extended half-life monoclonal antibody Beyfortus™ offers passive immunization to prevent lower respiratory tract infections caused by the RSV to newborns and infants experiencing their first or second RSV season.

In September 2024, the WHO's advisory group recommended that all countries introduce passive immunization to prevent severe RSV disease in young infants.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) latest weekly update confirmed Afghanistan and Pakistan reported more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases this week. WPV1 is still endemic in these countries.

Additionally, circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases were reported in Chad (3), Niger (1), and Nigeria (5). 

The World Health Organization recently confirmed that the spread of the poliovirus remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Polio is a crippling and potentially deadly disease that affects the nervous system.

Polio can be fatal if the breathing muscles are paralyzed or if the brain is infected.

Furthermore, on August 20, 2024, the U.S. CDC reissued a Global Polio Alert—Level 2, Travel Health Notice regarding polio outbreaks and poliovirus detections in 37 countries.

Since polio is a vaccine-preventable disease, the CDC suggests speaking with a travel vaccine expert one month before visiting these countries.

Throughout 2024, a malaria outbreak has intensified in the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, recently exceeding 7.3 million cases and 1,157 related fatalities (CFR 0.02%).

By contrast, 4.1 million malaria cases, including 527 fatalities, were reported last year.

Approximately 75% of Ethiopia's land mass is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) endemic to malaria.

Historical data reveal significant malaria outbreaks in Ethiopia, such as the devastating 1958 epidemic, which affected approximately three million individuals, with 150,000 fatalities reported, covering a substantial portion of the highland area.

While located near Africa's malaria belt, Ethiopia is usually not listed as a leading outbreak zone by the WHO. In the African Region, the heaviest malaria burden is often reported in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda, and Tanzania. 

As of October 31, 2024, the WHO wrote the national risk level for malaria in Ethiopia is high due to multiple factors, and the regional risk is moderate due to concurrent malaria and other vector-borne disease outbreaks in six neighboring countries: Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan.

Based on the information available for this event, WHO does not recommend any general travel or trade restrictions for Ethiopia, reporting an upswing in international arrivals in 2024..

As of November 1, 2024, the U.S. CDC has not issued a Travel Health Advisory regarding Eithopia's malaria outbreak.

However, the CDC recommends that travelers going to some regions of Ethiopia take prescription medicine to prevent malaria.

While malaria and dengue vaccines are unavailable in the U.S., the CDC suggests prospective Ethiopian visitors speak with a travel vaccine expert at least one month before traveling abroad about polio and measles vaccination options.

In continued collaboration with the Republic of Rwanda, the Sabin Vaccine Institute announced it dispatched approximately 1,000 additional investigational vaccine doses for a randomized clinical trial arm within the ongoing open-label study targeting Marburg virus disease, which causes deadly viral hemorrhagic fever.

On October 31, 2024, Sabin confirmed that over 1,700 vaccines had already been delivered to Rwanda since September 27. The initial part of the trial focused mainly on health workers, who suffered the most casualties in this outbreak.

Rwanda has confirmed 66 Marburg cases and 15 related deaths in one of the most significant recorded outbreaks of this disease, which was first detected in Germany in 1967.

Marburg is spread by contact with objects, blood, or body fluids of a person infected with or who has died from Marburg.

Designed to prevent illness before exposure to the virus, Sabin’s Marburg vaccine based on the cAd3 platform has not yet been proven to have clinical benefit for vaccine recipients. The candidate is currently in Phase 2 trials in Uganda and Kenya ; no safety concerns have been reported. In Phase 1 trials, safety and immunogenicity were shown in humans.

Sabin is also a key partner in MARVAC, a WHO-coordinated effort promoting global collaboration in Marburg vaccine development.

As of November 1, 2024, the U.S. CDC says, 'Reconsider nonessential travel to the Republic of Rwanda, which is experiencing an outbreak of Marburg virus disease.'

The U.S. CDC published a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (73(6);1–18) today that confirmed from the 2010–11 through 2022–23 influenza seasons, older adults (aged ≥65 years) consistently had the highest laboratory-confirmed influenza-associated hospitalization rates than other age groups.

The CDC wrote on October 31, 2024, that studies have demonstrated that vaccinated, hospitalized adult patients have a 26%–59% reduced risk of being admitted to the ICU and a 31% reduced risk of death compared with unvaccinated patients.

This data revealed many seniors were unprotected against influenza infection.

Adults aged ≥65 who were hospitalized with influenza consistently had the highest proportion of current-season influenza vaccine receipt (range = 40.9% during 2022–23 to 60.7% during 2018–19). 

According to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting last week, all persons should receive influenza vaccinations. Still, it is essential for those with underlying medical conditions to be vaccinated because of the elevated risk of complications from an influenza virus infection.

As of the end of October, about 100 million flu shots had been distributed to healthcare providers in the U.S. These vaccines are generally available at clinics and pharmacies.

The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced today that it had detected its first Clade Ib mpox human case in London, England.

As of October 30, 2024, the infected individual has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit.

This person had recently traveled to countries in Africa that are reporting Clade Ib mpox outbreaks.

The UKHSA and NHS stated that the risk to the U.K. population remains low and will not disclose further details about this case. Any contacts will be offered testing and vaccination as needed and advised on any necessary further care if they have symptoms or test positive.

This is the first detection of this Clade of mpox in the U.K. It differs from mpox Clade II, which has circulated at low levels in the U.K. since 2022.

U.K. Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting commented in a press release, "The overall risk to the U.K. population currently remains low... (We) are securing vaccines and equipping healthcare professionals with the guidance and tools to respond to cases safely."

According to a recent World Health Organization analysis, Clade 1 viruses have been detected in Central Africa for decades.

In the United States, the CDC reported on October 19, 2024, that 2,230 Clade II cases were confirmed in 2024, compared with 1,096 reported in 2023.

In the U.S., Bavarian Nordic's JYNNEOS® (MVA-BN®, IMVAMUNE®, IMVANEX®) two-dose mpox/smallpox vaccine is commercially available at clinics and pharmacies. Vaccine efficacy data against Clade Ib is pending.