Cancer Vaccine Breaking News

The Republic of South Africa's year-long battle against measles outbreaks continues in September 2023.

In the past weeks (week 34 up until week 35), 17 laboratory-confirmed measles cases were detected across the country from four of the eight provinces.

As of September 2, 2023, Gauteng province reported most of the cases (11), Limpopo reported three, Kwa-Zulu Natal reported two, and North West reported one case.

Measles is highly contagious. Around 90% of people who are not protected will become infected following exposure to the virus.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) criteria for declaring the measles outbreak was met in the Northern Cape province in week 15, the North West province in week 24, and the Free State province in week 25. 

Since late 2022, the NICD has tested 6,816 serum samples for measles, of which 1160 (17%) were confirmed positive.

The NICD has implemented numerous vaccination programs throughout the measles outbreaks and continue in September 2023.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), India leads all other countries over the past year with about 57,000 cases.

In addition, the CDC published a global Travel Health Notice on June 29, 2023, highlighting various measles outbreaks.

Most health experts say 'what happens in the Southern Hemisphere is a reliable indication of the next flu season in the United States.'

This opinion is based on the yearly circulating influenza viruses and flu shot composition.

Flu seasons in the Southern Hemisphere usually occur between April and September, compared with October through May in the north.

According to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published today, the 2023-2024 influenza vaccines should protect people from severe hospitalizations.

On September 8, 2023, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) MMWR stated the adjusted vaccine effectiveness against severe acute respiratory infection hospitalization associated with any influenza virus during the 2023 Southern Hemisphere season was 51.9% (95% Confidence Interval 39.2%–62.0%).

Despite the encouraging data, fewer than 30% of persons identified in this CDC study were vaccinated against influenza in the five countries studied before their illness onset.

This news means the circulating influenza viruses were genetically similar to those targeted by the 2023–2024 Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine available in the U.S.

Over 100 million flu shots have already been distributed this year.

In anticipation of the new flu season, the CDC recommends U.S. healthcare providers eagerly administer seasonal influenza vaccine to all eligible persons.

The findings in this CDC report are subject to at least five limitations, and no industry conflicts of interest were disclosed. Corresponding author: Ashley L. Fowlkes, [email protected].

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) new report, very few influenza samples tested positive last week.

The CDC's FluView Week #35 report, published on September 8, 2023, data from clinical laboratories indicate 233 specimens tested positive for influenza, reflecting a 0.8% rate.

And public health laboratories reported only 41 positives out of 1,466 samples.

Nationwide, 1.8% of patient visits to healthcare providers last week were due to respiratory illness that included fever plus a cough or sore throat.

This data is increasing week over week, which can usually predict a flu outbreak is forecasted.

The unfortunate news is that influenza continues to cause related fatalities.

National Center for Health Statistics Mortality Surveillance data available on September 7, 2023, shows four death certificates listed influenza as an underlying or contributing cause of death.

Additionally, two influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2022-2023 season were reported to the CDC during week #35.

A total of 174 influenza-associated pediatric deaths occurring during the 2022-2023 season have been reported to CDC. This is the most significant number of fatalities since the 2019-2020 flu season.

The CDC's new Director, Mandy K. Cohen, MD, MPH, recently recommended on X that people start getting their annual flu shot ahead of the 2023-2024 flu season.

'It's that time of year — I got my flu shot... Get yours to #FightFlu.'

A joint team of Yale, University of Georgia, and Emory University scientists have received a $25 million government grant to develop an mRNA cancer vaccine. 

On September 7, 2023, Carlos Salcerio with Yale News reported the research combines the team's expertise in mRNA and dendritic cells.

These researchers seek to develop synthetic mRNA that will carry instructions for cancer-specific antigens to dendritic cells. 

By programming dendritic cells with synthetic mRNA, researchers can precisely instruct the immune system to target cancer-specific antigens without attacking healthy cells.

Healthy cells modified to include unrecognized proteins using mRNA might have otherwise been treated as a foreign entity. 

The researchers recognized that vaccine breakthroughs often involve considerable complexities and difficulties.

"We're not naive.... we know how difficult this stuff is..... we have to pick our winners to move forward into the clinic.... but I would say that certainly there should be winners."

Since Ebola virus disease (EVD) impacts everyone in an outbreak area, another agency has approved a preventive vaccine for young children.

Merck today announced that the European Commission (EC) approved an expanded indication for the ERVEBO® vaccine for active immunization of individuals one year of age or older to protect against EVD caused by Zaire ebolavirus.

ERVENO was previously approved for use in the European Union for individuals 18 or older. 

The U.S. FDA recently issued similar approval for young children.

ERVEBO is approved in the European Union, United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Switzerland, and ten countries in Africa.

ERVEBO is a live recombinant viral vaccine with a vesicular stomatitis virus backbone that protects people from Zaire ebolavirus. This vaccine does not protect people from the Sudan ebolavirus or the Marburg virus.

Dr. Eliav Barr, senior vice president, head of global clinical development, and chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories, commented in a press release on September 7, 2023, “When outbreaks of Ebola virus disease occur, they can quickly become a public health crisis. We are proud to play a role, alongside the global public health community, in helping to prepare for potential outbreaks of Zaire ebolavirus.”

In January 2021, Merck confirmed an agreement with UNICEF to establish the world’s first global Ebola vaccine stockpile to support future Zaire ebolavirus (EBOV) outbreak preparedness and response efforts.

Over 500,000 doses of ERVEBO have been delivered to the stockpile, administered by the International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision.

The initial EBOV case was confirmed in 1976 in the African countries of South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recent data suggest EBOV outbreaks may originate from human-to-human transmission instead of spillover events.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a list of EBOV Cases and Outbreaks as of August 2023.

Moderna, Inc. today announced that clinical trial data from its research assay confirm its updated COVID-19 vaccine, which is pending approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, generates an 8.7-fold increase in neutralizing antibodies in humans against BA.2.86 (Pirola), a new variant under monitoring.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control indicates that the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant may be more capable of causing infection in people who previously had COVID-19 or were vaccinated with previous vaccines.

"These results demonstrate that our updated COVID-19 vaccine generates a strong human immune response against the highly mutated BA.2.86 variant. Taken together with our previously communicated results showing a similarly effective response against EG.5 and FL.1.5.1 variants, these data confirm that our updated COVID-19 vaccine will continue to be an important tool for protection as we head into the fall vaccination season," said Stephen Hoge, M.D., President of Moderna, in a press release on September 6, 2023.

Public health authorities are vigilantly monitoring the BA.2.86 variant, a highly mutated strain of the SARS-CoV-2 betacoronavirus with over 30 mutations as compared to prior Omicron strains.

Moderna's clinical trial data around its updated COVID-19 vaccine's effectiveness against BA.2.86 have been shared with regulators and submitted for peer review publication.

GSK and the YMCA today announced they are hosting GSK's Sideline RSV "Community Conversations" event series to raise awareness about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in older adults.

This is an essential event since the U.S. CDC issued a Health Advisory on September 5, 2023, regarding the 2023-2024 RSV season. 

The events will occur at four YMCA locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Phoenix, joined by GSK's campaign spokesperson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr., to help spark important conversations about RSV.

Kicking off in September 2023 and running through RSV Awareness Month in October, the private events will include perspectives from medical professionals and patients and convene public health leaders, media, and 60+ YMCA members.

"As a dedicated public health advocate, I'm excited to be able to visit older adults in their communities to talk about their risk for RSV infection," said Johnson in a press release.

"Like many of us, and being over 60 myself, I used to be unaware of RSV's effect on older adults."

"Now, I'm passionate about educating others and encouraging them to understand their risks and be proactive about their health."

For older adults, data suggest an increased risk for severe RSV infection that can lead to hospitalization.

RSV can exacerbate certain underlying medical conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and chronic heart failure, and can lead to severe outcomes, such as pneumonia, hospitalization, and death.

As of September 6, 2023, two RSV vaccines were approved by the U.S. FDA.

To learn more, visit www.SidelineRSV.com. 

Earvin Johnson played for Michigan State in college in 1979, then for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning numerous championships.