Latest Vaccine News

Brazil begins Swine Flu vaccination
Brazil's health ministry says it has started a nationwide swine flu vaccination campaign expected to inoculate 90 million people by late May.  The ministry says Monday that the campaign will first inoculate 1.9 million health workers and 566,000 Indians in remote regions.  The 1.3 billion real ($730 million) campaign will use vaccines produced in England, France and Switzerland. It is expected end May 21.  According to the Health Ministry, 39,600 Brazilians were infected with the swine flu virus in 2009. Of that total, 1,705 died.
Associated Press 8th March, 2010

UN launches Polio immunization drive in Africa
The United Nations has launched a huge drive to vaccinate up to 85 million children in 19 West and Central Africa countries.  On March 7th and on April 24 over 400,000 volunteers will travel door to door to give kids in African nations two doses of vaccine and will use special carriers to ensure the vaccine remains below the required temperature of 8 C.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can lead to irreversible paralysis, usually of the legs, in one in 200 infections, according to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.

Swine Flu briefings dropped
The UK Government will no longer be giving weekly Swine Flu briefings as new cases in the past month have fallen dramatically.  However, a fortnightly bulletin will be issued starting Thursday 21 January together with an interpretative quote from the Chief Medical Officer.  Last week (w/c 04/01/2010) there were less than 5,000 new cases of Swine Flu.
13th. January, 2010

Leukaemia vaccine being developed
A new leukaemia vaccine is to be tested on human patients for the first time later this year in a trial at King's College London.  The vaccine has been developed for use after chemotherapy or a bone marrow swap operation and works by encouraging the body's immune system into thinking leukaemia cells are foreign and then attacking them.  This research was carried out by Dr Nicola Hardwick and colleagues from the Department of Haematological Medicine at King’s College London. The study was funded by The Leukaemia Research Fund, the Elimination of Leukaemia Fund and the Department of Health. It was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy.
05 January 2010

10 Years of the Meningitis C Vaccine
The Group C meningococcal vaccine was introduced into the UK childhood immunisation programme in November 2009 and has proved to be one of the most effective health protection measures of recent years, saving hundreds of lives according to Health Protection Agency (HPA) immunisation expert Dr Mary Ramsay.

Prior to the vaccine's introduction there were around 1000 recorded cases of Group C meningitis and septicaemia in England and Wales every year, resulting in over 100 deaths per year.

Director of Immunisation at the Department of Health Professor David Salisbury said, "In 1999, 79 children lost their lives to a disease that is now, thanks to the Department's successful immunisation programme, all but eradicated in the UK.  HPA figures show there were only 13 cases of Meningitis C in 2008/09 compared to 955 in 1998/99 - a decline of 99% largely due to the use of meningococcal C vaccine.