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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reported seasonal influenza activity remains high in the U.S. but is declining in most areas.
However, influenza-related fatalities have increased.
As of Week #51, the CDC disclosed 74 influenza-associated pediatric fatalities were reported during the 2022-2023 flu season. Unfortunately, 13 of those deaths were recently reported.
Furthermore, the CDC confirmed on January 6, 2023, that among the 2,380 pneumonia, influenza, and/or COVID-19 (PIC) fatalities last week, 303 were influenza-related.
The CDC continues every eligible person to get annual flu shots, which are generally available at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.
"An annual flu shot is the best way to protect against influenza," CDC researchers wrote in today's weekly report.
"Vaccination helps prevent infection and can also prevent serious outcomes in people who still get sick with flu."
BioNTech SE today announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with the Government of the United Kingdom ("UK") focused on personalized mRNA immunotherapies.
The MoU aims to provide personalized cancer therapies for up to 10,000 patients by the end of 2030.
This objective is part of a multi-year collaboration focused on three strategic pillars: cancer immunotherapies based on mRNA or other drug classes, infectious disease vaccines, and investments into expanding BioNTech's footprint in the UK as one of the Company's key markets.
The next steps of the collaboration will be the selection of candidates, trial sites, and the set-up of a development plan to be ready to enroll the first cancer patient in the second half of 2023.
Prof. Ugur Sahin, M.D., CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech, commented in a press release on January 6, 2023, "Our goal is to accelerate the development of immunotherapies and vaccines using technologies we have been researching for over 20 years."
"The collaboration will cover various cancer types and infectious diseases affecting collectively hundreds of millions of people worldwide."
BioNTech stated it plans to invest in a UK Research and Development ("R&D") hub in Cambridge with an expected capacity of more than 70 highly skilled scientists, the first to commence R&D by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
Disclosure: Content was manually curated for mobile readers.
Vaxcyte, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for VAX-24, an investigational 24-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) candidate for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), in adults.
PD is an infection caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
With Breakthrough Therapy designation, Vaxcyte will have access to all of the elements of the FDA's Fast Track program.
The company stated the FDA's decision was based on positive topline results from the Phase 1/2 proof-of-concept study, which evaluated the safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of VAX-24 in adults 18-64 years of age.
Grant Pickering, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Vaxcyte, said in a press release on January 5, 2022, "Our focus remains on advancing our VAX-24 clinical programs in both adults and infants."
"And we anticipate announcing the topline data from the Phase 2 study in adults 65 and older in the second quarter of 2023."
VAX-24 is intended to improve the standard-of-care PCVs for children and adults by covering the serotypes responsible for most of the pneumococcal disease currently in circulation.
Vaxcyte aims to efficiently create and deliver high-fidelity, broad-spectrum vaccines, such as VAX-24, by using modern synthetic techniques, including advanced chemistry and the XpressCF™ cell-free protein synthesis platform.
In the U.S., approximately 900,000 people get pneumococcal pneumonia each year, which is estimated to result in about 150,000 hospitalizations and 28,000 deaths.
Pneumococci also cause over 50% of all cases of bacterial meningitis, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Antibiotics are used to treat pneumococcal disease, but some strains of the bacteria have developed resistance to treatments.
As of January 5, 2022, the U.S. FDA has approved various PCV vaccines, and several are conducting late-stage clinical research.
Disclosures: The company and CDC published the data, and this news post is not paid content.
Aura Air Inc. today announced the findings of an independent study confirming that the company's data-driven air purification devices are highly effective in eliminating the airborne pathogens that contribute to Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
A recent study by Innovative Bioanalysis Laboratory shows Aura Air's four-stage purification process filters and removes 99.997% of airborne RSV.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, RSV results in approximately 58,000 annual hospitalizations.
Aura Air has partnered with schools, hospitals, and medical associations like the New Jersey Hospital Association (NJHA) to help them combat the spread of RSV, COVID-19, and the flu.
"Hospitals and communities across the country are being hit by an unprecedented surge in patients suffering from RSV, especially very young children," said New Jersey Hospital Association's SVP Michael A. Guerriero in a press release on January 4, 2023.
"Aura Air's advanced air purification and disinfection technology provide a welcome line of defense against these highly contagious viruses."
In addition to RSV, Sheba Medical Center, a leading Israeli medical facility, and Innovative Bioanalysis Laboratory confirmed that Aura Air successfully filters and removes 99.99% of airborne SARS-CoV-2 and 99.98% of Influenza A viruses.
Aura is headquartered in Israel with global offices in the U.S. and India, with distribution in about 87 countries.
Note: As of January 4, 2023, the U.S. FDA has not approved an RSV-preventive vaccine.
Disclosures: This content was sourced from the company and is not paid content.
According to the latest National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) report, South Africa's measles outbreak in children accelerated in late 2022.
As of December 29, 2022, 297 laboratory-confirmed measles cases have been reported in South Africa for specimens collected as of epidemiological week #51 across all provinces.
These measles cases were reported from five South African provinces: Mpumalanga (68 cases), North West (69 cases), Gauteng (13 cases), and Free State (7 cases).
The Western Cape, which includes the capital city of Cape Town, has only reported three cases.
South Africa's measles outbreak has been attributed to consistently lower than-optimal vaccine coverage of routine measles 1 and 2 doses.
"Ensuring that children are vaccinated against measles and other preventable childhood diseases is a matter of life or death," said Muriel Mafico, UNICEF South Africa Deputy Representative, in a press release on December 22, 2022.
"We call on all parents and caregivers to check the status of their children's immunization coverage and to get up to date as quickly as possible," added Mafico.
UNICEF also thanked the Governments of Germany and Japan for support of South Africa's vaccine cold chain, management, and risk communication.
As of January 4, 2022, the U.S. CDC has not issued a travel alert regarding South Africa's measles outbreak but does recommend MMR vaccinations for most visitors.
The CDC's Level 1 measles alert for Africa was issued on December 1, 2022, but did not include information about South Africa.
Various measles vaccines are available in the U.S. in most clinics and pharmacies.
