Category: Vaccine

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Epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard University since 2003, announced on social media Monday that he was "fired" by the university.

"I am no longer a professor of medicine at Harvard," Kulldorff wrote in a lengthy essay in the City Journal, also posting the news on his X account. "The Harvard motto is Veritas, Latin for truth. But, as I discovered, truth can get you fired."

Kulldorff was a prominent opponent of vaccine mandates and school closures during COVID-era debate about the regulation of schools and businesses. He, along with Professor Sunetra Gupta at Oxford University and Stanford's Jay Bhattacharya, released the Great Barrington Declaration in 2020, which "argu[ed] for age-based focused protection instead of universal lockdowns, with specific suggestions for how better to protect the elderly, while letting children and young adults live close to normal lives."

HARVARD RESPONDS TO CONGRESS, DETAILS 'RIGOR' REVIEWING PLAGIARISM ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CLAUDINE GAY

Epidemiologist Martin Kulldorff, a professor of medicine at Harvard University since 2003, announced Monday that he was "fired" by the university on social media. (Getty Images)

"The declaration made clear that no scientific consensus existed for school closures and many other lockdown measures. In response, though, the attacks intensifiedand even grew slanderous," Kulldorff wrote, recounting criticism against him and other professors for refusing to say that lockdown measures were a scientifically guided measure.

Kulldorff wrote that "[b[odily autonomy" was an argument against COVID vaccine mandates, calling those measures "unscientific and unethical" and restating his support for natural immunity from COVID and other diseases.

"The beauty of our immune system is that those who recover from an infection are protected if and when they are re-exposed," Kulldorff explained, also referencing a controversial "consensus" memorandum released by three members of Harvard's faculty for The Lancet, a prestigious scientific journal. That memo "question[ed] the existence of COVID-acquired immunity."

Kulldorff concluded that while most of Harvard's faculty still "diligently pursue truth in a wide variety of fields," truth has "not been the guiding principle of Harvard leaders."

"Nor have academic freedom, intellectual curiosity, independence from external forces, or concern for ordinary people guided their decisions," he added.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN SUBPOENAS HARVARD LEADERS FOR 'FAILING TO PRODUCE' SUFFICIENT DOCS IN ANTISEMITISM PROBE

Kulldorff,, along with Professor Sunetra Gupta at Oxford University and Stanford's Jay Bhattacharya (pictured above), released the Great Barrington Declaration in 2020, which "argu[ed] for age-based focused protection instead of universal lockdowns, with specific suggestions for how better to protect the elderly, while letting children and young adults live close to normal lives." (Getty Images)

He wrote that Harvard must bring back "academic freedom" and stop "cancel culture" if it wanted "to deserve and regain public trust."

"When scientists have different takes on topics of public importance, universities should organize open and civilized debates to pursue the truth," Kulldorff argued. "Harvard could have done thatand it still can, if it chooses."

"Almost everyone now realizes that school closures and other lockdowns, were a colossal mistake. Francis Collins has acknowledged his error of singularly focusing on COVID without considering collateral damage to education and non-COVID health outcomes," the scientist continued. "Thats the honest thing to do, and I hope this honesty will reach Harvard. The public deserves it, and academia needs it to restore its credibility."

"My hope is that someday, Harvard will find its way back to academic freedom and independence," he wrote.

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Anti-lockdown and vaccine mandate skeptic Martin Kulldorff announces he was 'fired' by Harvard - Fox News

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Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine uptake: an online three-wave survey study of US adults - BMC Infectious Diseases - BMC Infectious Diseases

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Key Takeaways

Adults 65 and older should get an additional dose of the updated COVID-19 vaccine this spring, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The agency gave its recommendation soon after a panel of advisors to the CDC met to discuss the vaccine strategy.

The committee agreed that older adults would benefit from another booster shot if it has been at least four months since their last vaccine dose. People older than 65 made up two-thirds of the COVID-related hospitalizations since March 2020.

People with compromised immune systems may also get additional vaccine doses two months after their last dose. The CDC didnt approve any new recommendations for those individuals but said they should ask their health providers about when to get their next booster shot.

People receiving a dose this spring will get the updated vaccine that rolled out in September. That vaccine is designed to target the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant. According to CDC data, it appears to protect against JN.1, the COVID variant that makes up about 92% of U.S. cases.

About 70% of U.S. adults have not received the most recent monovalent vaccine nor the bivalent vaccine that preceded it. Only 4% of adults have gotten a dose of the most recent vaccine formulation. Vaccine uptake was lower in rural areas and among Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

The CDC said they hope the latest recommendation will encourage older adults to get a shot of the updated vaccine to tide them over until the next generation of COVID vaccine is available.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel will meet in May to discuss the formulation of the vaccine for the fall. The CDC panel will then meet in June to provide clinical recommendations for the new vaccine.

Four years into the pandemic, the virus still does not follow a clear seasonal pattern. There may be an uptick in cases this summer, which is part of the reason the CDC recommended a top-up dose for older adults this spring.

We all feel that things with COVID are still unpredictable, particularly as new variants arise. I hope that we are moving in the direction of getting more flu-like where there is a really clear season, but I dont think that we are there yet, Megan Wallace, DrPH, MPH, an epidemiologist at the CDC, told the committee.

During Wednesdays meeting, the CDC committee deliberated whether to say that older adults should get a booster shot or if they may do so. Some panelists argued that a strongly worded recommendation may further vaccine fatigue.

The group settled on saying older adults should get the vaccine to emphasize the importance of an extra dose of protection for this age group.

From my perspective as an active clinician in the field, many people did not even know that they should have had an updated vaccine since September. If we say may, for me, thats too soft, said Camille Kotton, MD, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and a member of the scientific advisory panel.

The CDC shared data showing the vaccine lowered the odds of COVID hospitalization by 54% in otherwise healthy people 65 years and older.

When the COVID vaccines were first approved, they had an efficacy of 90% or more. Now that nearly every American has vaccine- or infection-induced immunity, the vaccines provide a relatively smaller boost to immune protection, explained Ruth Link-Gelles, PhD, MPH, vaccine effectiveness program lead for COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses at CDC.

Older adults can expect the vaccines to reduce their risk of hospitalization by about 50%.

Whether you were infected or vaccinated multiple times, your protection will decrease, and the vaccines can then provide really important extra protection, Link-Gelles said. Thats important for all people in the United States, but especially important for those that are the highest risk.

It can be tough to know if youre up-to-date on your COVID vaccines. If you havent yet received a dose of the updated COVID vaccine released in September or if you are unvaccinated, the CDC recommends getting one shot as soon as possible. If you are an older adult or immunocompromised, you can check with a health care provider about your vaccination strategy.

By Claire Bugos Claire Bugos is a senior news reporter at Verywell Health.

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Older Adults Should Get Another Dose of COVID Vaccine, CDC Says - Verywell Health

KYIV, 12 March 2024 From December 2023 to February 2024, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has delivered nearly 1,400 specialized refrigerators ensuring effective vaccine storage in 23 regions across Ukraine.

Today, thanks to UNICEF and USAID efforts, alongside the World Bank and the COVAX initiative, approximately 95 per cent of health care facilities and around 80 percent of vaccination points are equipped with quality cold-chain equipment and temperature loggers.

A prerequisite for ensuring high-quality vaccines for immunization is their proper storage, using cold-chain equipment that meets global standards, says Munir Mammadzade, UNICEF Representative to Ukraine. With this impressive new batch of refrigerators brought to Ukraine with USAIDs support, we are taking another significant step towards properly equipping vaccination points around the country. Importantly, with this new equipment, health facilities in Ukraine are better prepared for possible power outages.

The new specialised cold-chain equipment ensures continuous storage temperatures for up to three days in the event of an electrical failure. This is particularly important amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, where attacks on the electricity grid have impacted healthcare power systems.

UNICEF has been supporting Ukraine with its update of vaccine storage refrigerators to meet global standards. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and other expert bodies specialized in immunization recommend using standard equipment for the storage of vaccines to ensure effectiveness.

Preventive healthcare among the population is an ongoing priority for the healthcare sector, says Ihor Kuzin, Deputy Minister, Chief State Sanitary Doctor. At the national level, a comprehensive programme of re-equipment in line with the highest cold chain standards is underway 95 per cent of the cold-chain equipment has been already replaced. This includes refrigerators and freezers, specifically used for the vaccination cycle, starting from national-level warehouses to the establishment or upgrading of cold rooms at the level of regional centers for disease control and prevention.

Despite the full-scale war, the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with international partners, ensures the uninterrupted availability of vaccines for routine immunization at the level of each region, so that newborns can receive all mandatory vaccinations while at the maternity ward, and children and adults can receive them at the family doctor or vaccination point, adds Mr. Kuzin. These services are high quality, affordable and free of charge for patients.

To support this initiative, UNICEF is training health care and transportation on the use of the new equipment. In total, in 2022-2023, UNICEF has conducted 139 training workshops, organized with the support of the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the COVAX initiative. Approximately 5,000 health workers across Ukraine have benefited from this training on vaccine and cold chain management.

Background

UNICEF has been working with the World Bank, GAVI and USAID to update and enhance the cold-chain infrastructure in Ukraine. Almost 6,600 vaccine refrigerators and freezers have already been procured and delivered that will support effective vaccine storage at storage and vaccination points. UNICEF, with its own funds and USAID funds, also procured 36 refrigerator vans for vaccine transportation from national and regional levels to vaccination points.

In 2023 and early 2024, UNICEF delivered nearly 3 million doses of vaccines (polio, diphtheria-tetanus, measles-mumps-rubella, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), COVID-19, hepatitis A) procured with support from USAID, the governments of Japan, the Netherlands and France, and the international COVAX initiative. In addition, UNICEF provided nearly 6.2 million syringes for vaccination.

Media contacts

Damian Rance

Chief Advocacy and Communications

UNICEF Ukraine

Email: drance@unicef.org

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To aid effective vaccine storage, UNICEF equips 1000 vaccination points in Ukraine with refrigerators meeting global ... - ReliefWeb

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Enhanced attenuation of chikungunya vaccines expressing antiviral cytokines | npj Vaccines - Nature.com

Announcing a new publication for Acta Materia Medica journal. Vaccines have an essential role in preventing infectious diseases and reducing the burden of disease. In this article the differences in vaccine lists and prices, and the National Immunization Program (NIP) and vaccine development between China and the United States (US) in conjunction with epidemiologic data on infectious diseases were systematically compared.

The epidemiologic data of infectious diseases in 2019 were extracted from the China National Health Commission and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vaccine list was identified from the China National Medical Products Administration and US Food and Drug Administration databases. Vaccine prices were obtained via the China government procurement platform and the US CDC. The NIP vaccines for China and the US were obtained from the China and US CDCs. Vaccine candidates investigated in 2015-2022 were identified from the China Clinical Trial Registry Platform and the US clinicaltrials.gov database. Differences in the incidence of infectious diseases between China and the US were detected with both countries facing a lack of available vaccines for prevention of many diseases. The number of listed vaccines and preventable diseases in China was 59 and 36, respectively, which was higher than the US (45 and 31, respectively).

The median price of NIP vaccines in China was significantly lower than the price in the US (median: $3.8 vs. $20; P<0.001); however, there was no significant difference in the price of non-NIP vaccines (median: $68 vs. $86; P=0.498). Vaccines developed by local manufacturers were less expensive than imported products despite the absence of significant differences (median: $16 vs. $31; P=0.180). The number and types of NIP vaccines used to prevent infectious diseases in China were lower than the US. The majority of vaccine candidates in China were not novel compared to the US. Vaccines marketed in China for infectious diseases were comparable to the US.

These findings suggest that China should further expand NIP vaccines and incentive research and development on novel vaccines to improve accessibility based on infectious disease epidemiology.

Source:

Journal reference:

Luo, X., et al. (2024). A comparative analysis of vaccine lists, prices, and candidates, and the national immunization program between China and the United States.Acta Materia Medica. doi.org/10.15212/amm-2023-0033.

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A systematic comparison of vaccine lists, prices, and development between China and the U.S. - News-Medical.Net

According to the researchers, intramuscular vaccines induce a systemic immune response in the body, but do not induce a strong immune response in mucus membranes, like in the nose and airways. Protection in the bodys mucus membranes, where the virus is first encountered, is essential to preventing infection and limiting transmission of respiratory viruses.

An effective vaccine administered via the nose has the potential to induce a mucosal immune response as well as a systemic response, said Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences at Penn State and a leader of the research team. We are developing and testing the SpyCage vaccine delivery system to try to create vaccines that do just that. If we can induce a robust immune response in the respiratory tract, thereby blocking infection and transmission, we may be able to slow the spread of airborne viruses and potentially end, or even prevent, a pandemic.

According to the researchers, candidate nasal vaccines that have been developed to date have used viral vectors or live-attenuated viruses and continue to have safety concerns, especially for the most vulnerable populations.

The SpyCage protein scaffold looks similar enough to a virus to trick the immune system into mounting a response, but none of it is actually derived from a virus, Lindner said. We make portions of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in the lab and permanently attach them to the surface of the SpyCage. The result is a nanoparticle that resembles the virus in size, shape and symmetry that can induce an immune response in our pre-clinical animal testing.

In their tests, when the SpyCage was loaded with the spike protein and administered via the nose, it induced an immune response helping to clear an infection more quickly than in unvaccinated animals or if the spike protein was administered on its own. If the two components the SpyCage scaffold and the spike proteins were administered together but not bound to each other, the researchers did not see an immune response or reduction of infection. They also tested the vaccine in conjunction with an adjuvant a substance designed to enhance the efficacy of nasal vaccines but did not see any significant improvement.

Its clear that the SpyCage must be decorated with spike proteins to train the bodys immune system, so that when it is exposed to the actual virus, it can quickly respond and more rapidly eliminate the virus, Lindner said. The SpyCage vaccine platform must still be optimized to achieve the goal of preventing infections and transmission, and we are working to improve its efficacy.

The researchers explained that the SpyCage vaccine platform continues to be developed and is the subject of several patents and pending patent applications.

More testing is required to confirm its safety and optimize its effectiveness, Sutton said. However, because of its modular design and assembly, SpyCage can be easily adapted to make vaccines against other respiratory viruses and could provide a platform for rapid response vaccines for novel viruses in the future.

In addition to Lindner and Sutton, the research team includes Devanshi Patel, Allen Minns, Derek Gordon Sim, Cassandra Field, Abigail Kerr, Talia Heinly, Erin Luley, Randy Rossi, Carol Bator, Ibrahim Moustafa and Susan Hafenstein at Penn State and Elizabeth Norton at Tulane University. Funding from the U.S. National Institute of General Medical Science, Penn State, a Huck Institutes of Life Sciences COVID Seed Grant and the U.S. Department of Agricultures National Institute of Food and Agriculture supported the research.

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New nasal vaccine platform helps clear COVID-19 infections in an animal model - Penn State University

Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones threatened to go on a warpath against Donald Trump after the former president bragged about COVID-19 vaccines on his platform Truth Social.

In a critique of President Joe Bidens State of the Union address, Trump boasted about getting COVID-19 vaccines distributed to the public in less than a year, claiming it would have taken Biden a dozen years to do so.

Despite being a well-known supporter of Trump, Jones was angered by Trumps response. He called Trump's post bulls**t and vaccines a biological weapon in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Jones took things a step further when he threatened Trump on his show InfoWars.

"If I see any more of this from Trump ... I'm gonna have to go on the warpath," Jones warned. "I just cannot take this I cannot put my head down on the pillow at night and say that I'm a true person to everybody when I've already held my nose because of the overwhelming good he's doing and all the persecution, and put up with stuff like this."

Later in the show Jones claimed COVID-19 was actually cooked up by Dr Anthony Fauci, the former Chief Medical Advisor to the president, and that vaccines had already been developed for release. Jones also said Trumps post made him physically sick.

Though he confirmed his support for Trumps re-election, he urged voters to take the former presidents words with a grain of salt.

We cant put all of our faith in one man. We all get sucked into this Trump thing and it becomes everything. Thats kind of black-pilled though, Jones said. No, its an important fight, we need to get him in there, my gut tells me its the right thing to do, but God also the Holy Spirit also tells me, dont be a Trump follower, be a Trump backer so we have a guy in there that we can put pressure on.

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I'm going to have to go on the warpath: Alex Jones threatens Trump over vaccine brag - Salon

March 12, 2024

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A rapid response to hepatitis A exposure helped minimize the risk for transmission and prevent an HAV outbreak among incarcerated persons in a Los Angeles County jail, according to an investigation in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

On May 30, 2023, the countys Correctional Health Services (CHS) department was notified that an incarcerated person, who had been assigned to food preparation in the jail kitchen, tested positive for acute HAV. Within 48 hours, CHS identified individuals who had been housed in the jail during the infectious period and offered postexposure prophylactic HAV vaccination to more than 2,700 people.

The prompt vaccine rollout likely helped reduce transmission and prevent an outbreak among the LA County Jail population, and the enhanced surveillance, which included the monitoring of emergency hospital transfers made because of suspicion of acute hepatitis A, helped identify possible secondary cases or clusters needing further investigation, Nazia S. Qureshi, MPH, of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, and colleagues wrote.

According to the report, a 41-year-old incarcerated man with a history of homelessness, injection drug use and alcohol use disorder sought care on May 25 for vomiting, received antacids and reported feeling better. Three days later, the man returned to an urgent care facility for inappetence, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. He also had jaundice.

Health care providers reported elevated liver enzymes and reactive anti-HAV immunoglobin M; a stool sample collected May 28 also tested positive for HAV via polymerase chain reaction. The man remained hospitalized until June 2.

Based on the symptoms, CHS determined that May 9 to 28 was the patients infectious period, with the potential incubation period of his contacts to extend through July 17. CHS staff members identified 5,830 people who had been housed in the jail during the infectious period and offered HAV vaccination as postexposure prophylaxis to 2,766 who did not have a documented history of HAV serology or vaccination. Of these, 1,510 (54.6%) accepted and were vaccinated.

In addition, CHS noted that any HAV-related signs or symptoms were reason for emergency hospital transfer. No additional cases of HAV had been reported or identified as of Oct. 16, the report noted.

This exposure response highlights the importance of initiating a rapid response to hepatitis A exposure in a jail setting to minimize risk for transmission and help prevent an outbreak, Qureshi and colleagues wrote. Having relevant laboratory results for reportable communicable diseases consistently and seamlessly communicated electronically across different health systems with mutual patients and using serology and vaccination records from electronic health records and state immunization registries can facilitate and optimize the response to a potential exposure by ensuring the timely administration of postexposure prophylaxis to those who are at greatest risk.

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'Prompt vaccine rollout' helped minimize risk, prevent outbreak of HAV at LA County jail - Healio