Cancer Vaccine Breaking News

Following the reduced demand for access to digital COVID-19 test and vaccine records through the epass.ny.gov portal and the official ending of the pandemic in the U.S., the NYS Wallet that hosts the Excelsior Pass Plus vaccine credential was disconnected as of July 28, 2023.

Since the NYS Wallet app will be removed from app stores, new users cannot log in and register for it.

The app was launched in March 2021 and was eventually used by 11.5 million people.

Media reported various consulting contracts, with over $200 million in spending, are currently the subject of an investigation by the state Office of the Inspector General.

Hazel Crampton-Hays, a spokeswoman for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, said in a statement reported by Joshua Solomon with the Times Union, "Going forward, the state will use the knowledge gained from this project to improve how New Yorkers can use technology to access services and benefits."

The Excelsior Pass Plus and the NYS Wallet Apps provided a secure digital copy of vaccination records, including vaccine type, site, and date of vaccination, validated by the State of New York.

The State of New York says the data collected continues to be private and secure.

The state has set up an "Excelsior Help Desk," which can be reached at 844-699-7277 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., to assist those with questions or concerns about their vaccination records.

Internationally, the World Health Organization confirmed launching a digital health partnership on July 1, 2023, that will help protect citizens worldwide from ongoing and future health threats, including pandemics.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently expanded its Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions, Travel Health Notice regarding measles outbreaks.

The CDC identified 38 countries with active measles outbreaks on June 29, 2023.

The leader is India, with over 73,000 measles cases.

Historically, measles outbreaks in the U.S. are rare, generally related to unvaccinated travelers. This year, the CDC has reported 15 measles cases in eleven jurisdictions.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air by direct contact with infectious droplets or by airborne spread when an infected person breathes, coughs, or sneezes. Furthermore, the measles virus can live for up to two hours in airspace after an infected person leaves an area.

And infected people can spread measles up to four days before and four days after a rash appears.

The good news is measles is a vaccine-preventable disease.

Approved measles vaccines are generally available at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

The U.S. Embassy in Paris recently issued another Security Alert regarding demonstrations in the greater Paris region and other major urban centers in France.

As of June 30, 2023, the embassy is aware of potential security risks surrounding events expected to occur in Paris and the Paris region.

The embassy urges U.S. citizens to avoid these events and follow general guidelines regarding gatherings.

Previous Security Alerts can be found on this website.

The U.S. Embassy in Paris can be contacted at +33 (1) 43 12 22 22 or [email protected]. Additionally, U.S. citizens are encouraged to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive security updates from the Department of State.

As of June 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of State's Level 2 advisory says visitors to France should exercise increased caution due to civil unrest.

And incidents such as pickpocketing and phone snatchings occur frequently and can happen anywhere, especially in crowded areas such as airports, train stations, subway and train cars, and near tourist attractions.

As always, it is a good practice to notify friends or family of your whereabouts, says the U.S. government.

From a health perspective, the CDC suggests various travel vaccinations when visiting France in 2023.

This article was updated on June 3, 2023, with State Department reference and link.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) recently reported the global cholera outbreak continues into the summer of 2023. While cholera in travelers is sporadic, outbreak settings do pose health risks.

The ECDC confirmed 412,137 cholera cases, including 2,130 related deaths, have been reported worldwide as of June 21, 2023.

In comparison, only 400 cholera deaths were reported during the same period in 2022.

In the Region of the Americas, Haiti continues to lead in cases and deaths.

Since January 2023 and as of early June 2023, over 26,000 cases, including 253 deaths, have been reported in Hati.

In comparison, in 2022, no cases were reported.

The good news is the island of Hispanola's eastern neighbor, the Dominican Republic, has reported very few cholera cases in 2023.

Visitors to Haiti should avoid unsafe food and water and wash their hands often to help prevent cholera, says the U.S. CDC.

Cholera is a vaccine-preventable disease. However, vaccination against cholera is not routinely recommended because most travelers do not visit areas of active transmission.

During 2023, cholera vaccines are in limited supply in the U.S.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says polio is a vaccine-preventable disease that often impacts children. And to reduce poliovirus transmission, 31 countries have been administering a new vaccine in Africa.

Since 2022, the World Health Organization has recommended the nOPV2 vaccine when responding to circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 outbreaks in Africa.

As of late June 2023, over 670 million people have been vaccinated with this vaccine.

This single-dose vaccine has been 'triple-locked' using genetic engineering to prevent it from becoming harmful. As a result, nOPV2 is reported to be genetically more stable than existing oral polio vaccines, with a lower risk of reversion to neurovirulence.

As of July 1, 2023, the nOPV2 vaccine is not offered in the U.S.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative recently published nOPV2 Frequently Asked Questions, Fact Sheet, and polio outbreak country list. 

And the WHO reconfirmed on May 12, 2023, poliovirus outbreaks remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

The Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS) laboratory has confirmed mosquito samples that have tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV).

As of June 27, 2023, the mosquito samples were collected from the 75019 zip code in Coppell, 75146 in Lancaster, and 75159 in Seagoville, TX.

Unfortunately, there are no vaccines to prevent or medications to treat WNV in people.

“It’s important to prevent mosquito bites that can cause West Nile Virus infection. As people are getting outside more, remember the four Ds: DEET, Dress, Drain, and Dusk to Dawn”, commented Dr. Philip Huang, Director of DCHHS, in a press release.

In response to these detections, weather permitting, DCHHS has scheduled ground spraying.

Spraying will not be conducted in wind speeds over ten mph or inclement weather.

Click on the link to view a map of the spraying areas as of June 30, 2023: http://www.dallas.leateamapps.com/PublicMap/.

Dallas area residents should remain inside during the time sprayers are in the area.

furthermore, WNV is a major health risk in Europe.

As of June 30, 2023, European Union, European Economic Area, and EU-neighbouring countries have confirmed 1,340 locally acquired human cases of West Nile virus, including 104 related deaths, in 2022.

According to the U.S. CDC, WNV is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. 

It is most commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. Cases of WNV occur during mosquito season, which starts in the summer and continues through fall.

Fortunately, most people infected with WNV do not feel sick. About 1 in 5 infected people develop a fever and other symptoms.

About 1 out of 150 infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, illness.

In severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalized to receive supportive treatment, such as intravenous fluids, pain medication, and nursing care, says the CDC.

Vaxxinity, Inc. recently announced positive results from Part B of its Phase 1 clinical trial of UB-312, an investigational vaccine for Parkinson's disease (PD).

On June 22, 2023, the Company confirmed in a press release that UB-312 was well-tolerated and induced anti-alpha-synuclein (aSyn) antibody responses in participants with early PD, meeting the trial's primary objectives.

UB-312 is an investigational synthetic peptide vaccine targeting toxic aggregated aSyn forms to address PD and other synucleinopathies. Alpha-synuclein plays a central role in synaptic functions and regulation of neurotransmitter release.

The accumulation and aggregation of misfolded aSyn in the brain are key factors in PD's development and progression.

"This positive Phase 1 results demonstrate several important features necessary for an immunotherapy against Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies to be successful and represent a further proof-of-principle for Vaxxinity's platform in chronic disease," said Mei Mei Hu, CEO of Vaxxinity.

"UB-312 was observed to safely break immune tolerance, inducing antibodies against toxic aggregated forms of alpha-synuclein."

"Importantly, these antibodies crossed the blood-brain barrier, and the data also suggest potential target engagement in the periphery, where pathological alpha-synuclein is known to be concentrated."

"Together, these results support the further development of UB-312 in a Phase 2 clinical trial."

"We continue to view UB-312 as a promising candidate for the prevention or disease modification of Parkinson's disease globally."

This announcement is important since PD affects approximately one million people in the U.S. and more than 10 million worldwide.

The U.S. NIH says PD is a chronic brain and progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra area of the brain. 

Additionally, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is funding a 2-year collaborative project between Vaxxinity, the Mayo Clinic, and the University of Texas Houston. This work evaluates the potential of protein misfolding cyclic amplification to assess target engagement and will also aim to characterize the anti-aSyn antibodies produced after UB-312 administration.