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OSE Immunotherapeutics SA today announced the launch of its international Phase 3 clinical trial (Artemia) of Tedopi®, the ‘off-the-shelf’ neoepitope-based therapeutic cancer vaccine, in second-line treatment in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Tedopi® (immunotherapy activating tumor-specific T-cells, off-the-shelf, neoepitope-based) is the most advanced therapeutic cancer vaccine in development.

This pivotal study, accepted in 14 countries by international health agencies (Canada, Europe, U.K., U.S.), supports the registration of the product Tedopi® in parallel with the companion diagnostic for HLA-A2 positive patients.

Nicolas Poirier, CEO of OSE Immunotherapeutics, said in a press release on September 10, 2024, “This international registration trial is now on track, and we look forward to confirming the therapeutic benefit of Tedopi® for metastatic cancer patients."

"Tedopi® is the most advanced therapeutic cancer vaccine in clinical development and the first treatment option to address the high unmet medical need and largely untapped market in advanced and metastatic second-line NSCLC. “

NSCLC accounts for 85% of all lung cancers, and the HLA-A2 phenotype represents about 45% of the population.

Each year, more people die of lung cancer in the U.S. than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. Lung cancer accounts for about 20% of all cancer deaths.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) estimates for lung cancer cases for 2024 are:

About 234,580 new cases of lung cancer (116,310 in men and 118,270 in women),
About 125,070 deaths from lung cancer (65,790 in men and 59,280 in women).

On a positive note, the ACS says the number of deaths from lung cancer continues to decrease due to fewer people smoking and advances in early detection and treatment.

Vaccine Treats:

Lung Cancer

Image:

Image Caption:

US NIH

Live Blog Update Author:

Don Hackett

Location Tags:

France

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Since 2023, outbreaks of Oropouche virus disease have been primarily reported in South America but have recently been reported throughout the Region of the Americas.

Published on September 6, 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Epidemiological Update Oropouche in the Americas disclosed that 9,852 confirmed cases, including two deaths, have been reported this year.

Confirmed cases were reported in eight countries: Bolivia (356), Brazil (7,931, including two deaths), Canada (1 imported case), Colombia (74), Cuba (506), the Dominican Republic (33), Peru (930 cases), and the United States (21 imported cases, in 3 states).

The PAHO reiterated its recommendations on diagnosis and clinical management, laboratory diagnosis, prevention, and vector control of Oropouche virus disease. The disease is spread to people by the bites of infected biting midges, and some mosquitoes can also spread the virus.

The likelihood of Oropouche spreading widely in the continental U.S. is low because of differences in climate, types of biting midges, and mosquitoes. However, public health authorities have assessed the risk to human health in the Americas as very high.

The U.S. CDC Level 2 Travel Health Notice says Oropouche cases have been traced to vertical infection causing congenital malformation or fetal death associated with infection. Investigations on vertical transmission and malformation risk remain under assessment in various countries.

Therefore, the CDC recommends that pregnant women avoid non-essential travel to areas with reporting Oropouche cases.

The clinical presentation of Oropouche virus disease is commonly mistaken for other arboviruses, such as dengue and chikungunya.

Diagnosis of Oropouche virus disease can be challenging. It requires a positive RT-PCR result from blood samples collected within six days of symptom onset. After this period, serology could be diagnostic, but commercial kits for the Oropouche virus are currently unavailable.

While preventive vaccines for chikungunya (IXCHIQ®) and dengue available, no Oropouche vaccine is available in 2024.

Vaccine Treats:

Dengue

Image:

Image Caption:

PAHO Sept. 2024

Live Blog Update Author:

Karen McClorey Hackett

Vaccine:

QDENGA Dengue Vaccine

Northern Texas Leads Lower HPV Vaccination Rate

Texas ranks 48th in HPV vaccinations

September 9, 2024

Fact checked by Robert Carlson, MD

About Us

Vax-Before-Travel

Vax-Before-Travel (VBT) is a publisher of international vaccine information that empowers people to make informed immunization decisions before traveling abroad. Throughout 2025, VBT published fact-checked information on local disease risks and related travel vaccines.

"We believe international travelers want to learn about disease risks and vaccine options before their next vacation or business trip," writes Don Hackett, VBT publisher. 'This philosophy reduces disease risks by minimizing the under-use, over-use, and misuse of vaccines.'

When traveling internationally to countries like Costa Rica or within the United States, such as Florida, Vax-Before-Travel's continuously updated information empowers you to 'Know Before You Go.'

Vax-Before-Travel Mission

Vax-Before-Travel publishes vaccine information that empowers travelers to live life to the fullest.

Vax-Before-Travel Content

Vax-Before-Travel's news team stands by the information we publish; if it's incorrect, we will change it as quickly as possible.

Recent studies have highlighted the value that VBT's news brings to people. Key findings from a study published in October 2025 found 45% of AI-produced answers had at least one significant issue from from ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Perplexity against key criteria, including accuracy, sourcing, distinguishing opinion from fact, and providing context.

A June 2025 analysis published in the American Journal of Infection Control, based on Google News reports, found that less than 25% of all news stories cited clinical research.

Travel Vaccine Newsletters

Anyone can enroll in the free Vax-Before-Travel newsletter for the latest vaccination news. Recent studies have highlighted that when people are exposed to messages about vaccine options, about 49% report that the information is new, and 65% indicate that they are likely to discuss vaccines with their healthcare provider.

Contributing Expert Program

The VBT News Contributing Expert Program empowers vaccine providers to communicate with people digitally through news articles. This Trusted Travel Vaccination Network offers guidance and services to international travelers seeking unbiased information on preventing diseases while traveling.

Travel Vaccine Appointments

VBT enables travelers to request an appointment with a vaccine expert using this l ink.

Travel Vaccination Overview

The U.S. Travel Association research reveals that about 1.4 billion passengers are expected to fly in 2025. Recent research suggests that tens of millions of people are not adequately vaccinated before traveling to countries with endemic diseases. This includes last-minute travelers who deferred approximately 18% of their protective vaccines due to insufficient time before departure.

According to Coherent Market Insights, The Global Vaccines Market is estimated to be valued at $81.91 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $124 billion by 2032. The Medical Value Travel population, which travels to different regions or countries seeking healthcare services, was valued at $115 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach approximately $286 billion by 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate of 10.8%.

Travel Vaccination Timing

With over 15 million people traveling monthly, the U.S. CDC recommends that most travel vaccines be administered at least one month, if not earlier. The time between the vaccine's administration and the start of travel is significant for seniors. In Europe, over 4% of returning international travelers who recently displayed symptoms may be infected with a mosquito-transmitted disease, such as chikungunya, dengue, or Zika.

During pre-travel consultations, providers should consider potential interactions between vaccines and medications. A study by S. Steinlauf et al. identified potential drug interactions with travel-related medicines in 45% of travelers with chronic conditions; 3.5% of these interactions were potentially serious.

Policies

Various VBT policies are listed on this webpage.

Comments and Concerns

This link discusses VBT ownership and revenues. VBT is committed to providing greater transparency about how travel vaccine information is produced and distributed. We will respond to your request as soon as possible. Please email [email protected]. If you have any clinical questions, please get in touch with VBT's medical director, Dr. Robert Carlson, at [email protected].

Thank you,

Don Hackett, Founder & Publisher, VBT LLC

[email protected]

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Last Reviewed:

Wednesday, December 17, 2025 - 13:55

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Vax-Before-Travel

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The American Medical Association (AMA), in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), today announced it has developed a new toolkit to help clinicians offer better care for patients with prolonged, non-specific symptoms and concerns about Lyme disease.

The CDC has scheduled a COCA Call for September 19, 2024, when presenters will share a brief overview of Lyme disease, provide a diagnostic and management framework for patients with prolonged symptoms and concerns about Lyme disease, and review new clinical tools and resources to help support these patients.

If you cannot attend the live COCA Call, the recording will be available on the webpage. The slide set will be available on the day of the call under Call Materials on the COCA Call webpage.

According to recent data, Lyme disease has continued spreading in the United States from the northeast into the upper midwest. And in various Euopean countries.

About 329,000 persons annually are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the U.S.

While most patients recover fully after treatment, but about 5 to 10% can have prolonged symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and difficulty thinking.

As of September 9, 2024, there are no Lyme disease approved vaccines.

However, Valneva SE's VLA15 vaccine candidate has advanced the furthest along the clinical development timeline, with two Phase 3 trials in progress.

Vaccine Treats:

Lyme Disease

Image:

Image Caption:

US CDC Lyme disease state based map 2022

Live Blog Update Author:

Karen McClorey Hackett

Location Tags:

Atlanta

Vaccine:

Lyme Disease Vaccine (VLA15)

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Evaxion Biotech A/S today announced new pre-clinical data demonstrating the ability of its novel EVX-B2 mRNA gonorrhea vaccine candidate to eliminate gonorrhea bacteria by triggering a targeted immune response.

This new data provides strong Proof-of-Concept (PoC) for the mRNA-based version of EVX-B2 in a pre-clinical setting.

EVX-B2 was initially designed as a protein-based prophylactic vaccine candidate for which pre-clinical PoC has already been obtained. The novel pre-clinical data for the mRNA-version of the vaccine substantiates that AI-Immunology™ identified vaccine antigens are delivery modality agnostic and can be applied across different vaccine modalities.

“In the case of gonorrhea, no vaccine exists today, so we have an opportunity to develop a potentially groundbreaking treatment. Further, the data confirms that our platform is delivery modality agnostic, which is a very strong value proposition towards existing and new partners,” said Christian Kanstrup, CEO of Evaxion, in a press release on September 9, 2024.

While there are no approved gonorrhea vaccines, off-table use of existing vaccines has been found to offer some protection.

A systematic review published in July 2024 evaluated the evidence of vaccine effectiveness (VE) of meningococcal B (MenB) outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines against gonorrhea and a non-OMV-based vaccine (MenB-FHbp). This study concluded that 4CMenB and MenB-OMV vaccines show moderate VE against gonorrhea infection.

Vaccine Treats:

Gonorrhea

Image:

Image Caption:

by Betty Verheij

Live Blog Update Author:

Karen McClorey Hackett

Location Tags:

Copenhagen

Vaccine:

Bexsero Meningitis B Vaccine

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The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently announced the arrival of the first shipment of 99,100 doses of the JYNNEOS® (MVA-BN®) mpox - smallpox vaccine.

On September 5, 2024, the Bavarian Nordic A/S produced vaccines were officially received by the Minister of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Samuel Roger Kamba, alongside others.

Additional shipments to the DRC are planned for a total of more than 250,000 vaccines.

Since the start of 2024, DRC has reported over 4,901 confirmed mpox clade 1 cases, with more than 629 associated deaths, representing a sharp escalation in both infections and fatalities compared to previous years.

According to the Africa CDC, introducing the two-dose JYNNEOS vaccine is a decisive action to mitigate further spread and protect the most at-risk populations.

The U.S. government has confirmed that two doses provide robust protection against disease, and booster doses (3rd) are not endorsed. As of September 2024, JYNNEOS is commercially available in the U.S.; however, routine immunization against mpox is not recommended for the general public.

Vaccine Treats:

mpox

Image:

Image Caption:

from Pixabay

Live Blog Update Author:

Don Hackett

Vaccine:

JYNNEOS Smallpox Mpox Vaccine

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When visiting the Republic of Costa Rica in 2024, international guests may be exposed to mosquito-transmitted diseases such as chikungunya, dengue, or zika.

This health concern has not fazed international travelers, as about 2.4 million people arrived in 2023, a 16% increase over 2022.

On September 6, 2024, the Costa Rica Ministry of Health published Epidemiological Bulletin No. 34, highlighting various health risks, such as the following:

There have been 28 chikungunya infections reported this year. In 2023, there were 82 chikungunya cases confirmed. From a prevention perspective, Valneva SE's IXCHIQ® vaccine is now approved in various countries, including the U.S.

Costa Rica has been included in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest Travel Health Advisory, which confirmed that dengue fever is classified as high risk and is a year-round health risk. Over 19,900 dengue cases were confirmed in Costa Rica in 2024, and 24,914 were reported in 2023.

Takeda's QDENGA® dengue vaccine is available in various countries in 2024.

This Central American country has also reported 23 Zika cases in 2024, with 40 cases confirmed in 2023. No Zika vaccines are available anywhere in 2024.

Furthermore, as the 2024-2025 respiratory season approaches, Costa Rica is launching a vaccination campaign against influenza and rhinovirus. The Tico Times reported the country plans to administer 1.5 million vaccines.

To alert travelers of these health risks, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the U.S. CDC have issued travel advisories and vaccine recommendations for Costa Rica.

The CDC recommends checking its recommended travel vaccine list and seeing a healthcare provider at least a month before visiting Costa Rica.

Vaccine Treats:

Chikungunya

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