Cancer Vaccine Breaking News

Australia's Department of Health and Aged Care recently announced the Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) COVID-19 is no longer available in-country. 

Australia initially confirmed AstraZeneca's vaccine for use as a primary course and booster dose in people aged 18 years and over in February 2021.

And the government provisionally approved for use in Australia as a booster on February 8, 2022.

As of April 4, 2023, Pfizer, Moderna, or Novavax COVID-19 vaccines are the preferred COVID-19 vaccines for people under 60 years.

This assessment was based on the higher risk and observed severity of a rare side effect called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia after receiving AstraZeneca in people under 60 years compared with those aged 60 years or older.

Previously, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation recommended in February 2023 that all adults are eligible for a 2023 booster dose this year, provided they have not had a COVID-19 vaccine dose or been infected with COVID-19 within the previous six months.

According to a new study published in Health Affairs, most hospitals in the U.S. are not fulfilling patient privacy promises made when websites were launched in the late 1990s.

Published in April 2023, this study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that third-party tracking was present on 98.6 percent of hospital websites, including data transfers to large technology companies, social media companies, advertising firms, and data brokers.

By including third-party tracking apps on websites, hospitals are facilitating the profiling of their patients by third parties, such as major tech companies and data brokers.

This analysis included hospitals in health systems, hospitals with a medical school affiliation, and hospitals serving more urban patient populations, all exposing visitors/patients to high levels of data tracking.

These data include a person's medication and vaccination histories.

In addition to personal privacy concerns, these practices may lead to increased online health-related advertising targeting patients' mobile phones.

In 1996, the privacy rule within the Kassebaum-Kennedy Act (HIPAA) offered initial privacy protection for a person's health information.

Researchers recently published a study in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy that concluded pharmacist-led culture follow-up programs to deprescribe antibiotics for patients with negative cultures has the potential to save significant antibiotic exposure.

According to these researchers, there was an opportunity to save a median of five antibiotic days per patient.

Published on March 28, 2023, this peer-reviewed, retrospective, descriptive study reviewed bacterial cultures of adult patients at an emergency department or urgent care in August 2022.

For one month, pharmacists reviewed 398 cultures, of which 208 (52%) were urine cultures or chlamydia tests with negative results.

Fifty patients (24%) with negative results had been prescribed empiric antibiotics.

The median duration of antibiotic treatment was seven days (interquartile range [IQR], 5-7 days), while the median time to culture finalization was two days (IQR, 1-2 days).

Thirty-two patients (15.3%) followed up with their primary care physician within seven days; of these patients, 1 (0.05%) had their antibiotic prescription discontinued by the primary care physician.

Previous studies in 2022 and 2019 also concluded pharmacist interventions deliver measurable, positive results.

Public Health France recently announced an investigation of Mpox cases clustered in the Centre-Val de Loire region, located in the Paris Basin and bisected by the Loire River.

As of March 23, 2023, about 5,000 cases of Mpox had been recorded in France since May 2022.

After the peak of contamination reached the end during June/July, the number of cases fell sharply.

Between January 2023 and March 23, 2023, 17 confirmed male cases were reported in the Centre-Val de Loire region, including 14 since March 1, 2023.

Six of the 17 cases had received no smallpox vaccination.

Unfortunately, Mpox infections can occur in people who have received a complete 2-dose vaccination.

The investigation showed that all these cases concerned men who have sex with men, several of whom reported having had several partners without always being able to identify them.

In addition, no parties or events common to the cases were identified.

The clinical characteristics of these cases remain similar to those previously observed; no case required hospitalization.

In addition, Mpox outbreak news is posted at MpoxToday.

Alzamend Neuro, Inc. today announced the initiation of a phase I/IIA clinical trial for its immunotherapy vaccine (ALZN002) to treat mild to moderate dementia of Alzheimer's Disease.

ALZN002 is a proprietary "active" immunotherapy product, which means each patient's immune system produces it.

This trial aims to assess the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of multiple ascending doses of ALZN002 compared with that of placebo in 20-30 subjects with mild to moderate morbidity.

"Alzamend's motto is 'Making Alzheimer's just a memory.' There remains a need to develop new therapies that alter the progression of Alzheimer's and prevent, reverse, or slow neurodegeneration and cognitive decline."

"Today, we are on the threshold of importantly advancing the art and science of anti-beta amyloid therapy by treating each Alzheimer's patient's immune system," said Stephan Jackman, Chief Executive Officer of Alzamend, in a press release on April 3, 2023.

"Intermittent use of our immunotherapeutic vaccine (ALZN002) may be expected to limit the number of infusions needed, may reduce the potential for adverse reactions, and provide more substantive cognitive and functional outcomes to the millions of Americans afflicted with this devastating disease."

The primary goal of this clinical trial is to determine an appropriate dose of ALZN002 for treating patients with Alzheimer's in a more extensive Phase IIB efficacy and safety clinical trial, which Alzamend expects to initiate within three months of receiving data from the initial trial.

Other Alzheimer's disease vaccine news is posted at this link.

There are new entry requirements when visiting the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Ministry of Health and Human Services recently announced the COVID-19-related requirements would expire.

This means proof of COVID-19 vaccination will no longer be required for visitors to the Turks and Caicos Islands as of April 1, 2023. 

However, persons are strongly encouraged to take general precautions to protect themselves and limit the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses in circulation.

And eligible persons are strongly encouraged to consider taking COVID-19 vaccine/booster and the flu shot.

These vaccines are available at no cost at all Primary Health Care Clinics. For further information, please visit the Ministry of Health’s website https://www.gov.tc/moh/coronavirus/. 

Separately, the U.S. CDC suggests other travel vaccinations when visiting Turks and Caicos in 2023.

Furthermore, there is a risk of dengue in this country, and visitors should avoid mosquito bites, particularly between dawn and dusk.

A British Overseas Territory located southeast of the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos is an archipelago of 40 islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Before the recent pandemic, about 1.5 million people visited the islands in 2019.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) recently announced it had been two years since the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2) became available.

Approximately 590 million doses of nOPV2 have been administered across 28 countries under its WHO Emergency Use Listing (EUL) to date.

An additional 13 countries have met the EUL requirements for nOPV2 use in the event of a polio outbreak.

As of April 1, 2023, the nOPV2 vaccine is unavailable in the U.S.

GPEI’s nOPV Working Group leaders, Simona Zipursky (World Health Organization) and Ananda S. Bandyopadhyay (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), were interviewed on March 29, 2023, on the journey and the vaccine’s performance so far.  

The unedited interview is posted at this link.