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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced the appointment of Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., as chief science officer for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, the HHS's in-house think tank, providing policy advice to the Secretary.
Kulldorff is a biostatistician and epidemiologist with more than 200 peer-reviewed publications.
"Martin Kulldorff transformed ACIP from a rubber stamp into a committee that delivers gold-standard science for the American people," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a press release on December 1, 2025.
He recently chaired the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and previously taught at Harvard Medical School.
Before his leadership on ACIP, Kulldorff helped build the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) vaccine and drug safety surveillance systems by developing new statistical and epidemiological methods for the Vaccine Safety Datalink and Sentinel systems. He served on the FDA Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee and on the ACIP COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Technical Work Group.
The ACIP committee is scheduled to meet for two days later this week under new leadership. The agenda for Thursday's meeting focuses on the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The Republic of Indonesia and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the end of its poliovirus type 2 outbreak, which was caused by years of low polio immunization coverage.
The outbreak began in October 2022, when the first confirmed case was reported in Aceh province. Over the next two years, polio cases appeared in the provinces of Banten, West Java, Central Java, East Java, North Maluku, Central Papua, Highland Papua, and South Papua.
The last confirmed case was in South Papua on June 27, 2024.
During the response, nearly 60 million additional doses of the polio vaccine were administered to children.
Indonesia's response included two rounds of nationwide polio campaigns using novel OPV-2 (nOPV2) vaccine between the end of 2022 and the third trimester of 2024.
In parallel, routine immunization coverage also improved, with the percentage of children receiving their second dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) rising from 63% (1.9 million children) in 2023 to 73% (3.2 million children) in 2024.
"Indonesia's success marks a vital step towards a polio-free world. It also reinforces the entire WHO Western Pacific Region's ability to retain its polio-free status, an achievement we proudly reached 25 years ago," noted Dr Saia Ma'u Piukala, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, in a press release on November 21, 2025.
"I urge all our 38 countries and areas to remain vigilant."
"One day, polio will be just a memory. Until then, we vaccinate."
As of late 2025, over 2 billion doses of the nOPV2 vaccine have been administered globally.
To highlight this risk to international travelers, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions notice, which identifies 32 countries, and suggested IPV booster doses for certain people.
Over the last few decades, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued recommendations on vaccine use for the civilian population of the United States.
According to the draft agenda for the ACIP meeting posted on December 1, 2025, this Thursday's topics will include updates from the CDC, specifically regarding the Hepatitis B vaccine.
The ACIP includes up to 19 voting members who make vaccine recommendations selected by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The CDC says, 'The best way to prevent hepatitis B is by getting vaccinated.'
Then, on December 5, 2025, presentations of the ACIP Workgroups, CDC Vaccine Risk Monitoring Evaluation, Vaccine Schedule History, Childhood/Adolescent Immunization Schedule Discussion and Considerations.
Previous ACIP meeting agendas and presentations are posted on this CDC webpage.
Recently, the World Health Organization stated that available data indicate that during 2024 and 2025, poliovirus has spread geographically alongside continued transmission within core reservoir areas in both polio-endemic countries.
To highlight this severe health risk, the U.S. CDC updated its Level 2 - Practice Enhanced Precautions notice, which now identifies 32 countries.
This list includes Germany, Israel, and the United Kingdom.
The CDC statement issued on November 25, 2025, says that before traveling to any destination listed, adults who previously completed the entire routine polio vaccine series may receive a single, lifetime booster dose of polio vaccine.
When departing from the USA, polio vaccination services are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a Travel Health Notice regarding the expanding health risk of contracting the rabies virus when visiting India. And the CDC reaffirmed the risk of fake rabies vaccinations.
On November 25, 2025, the CDC posted a Level 1 - Practice Usual Precautions notice stating a case of Rabies had been reported in the U.S. in a traveler from India. Travelers potentially exposed to Rabies in India should immediately seek local medical care.
This advice is essential as Rabies is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. Last year, India's National Centre for Disease Control recorded 54 suspected rabies deaths.
The CDC says upon returning home, travelers should follow up with their health care provider as soon as possible. And in the USA, infected bats are the leading source of infection in people.
To prevent contracting rabies, travelers to India should avoid all contact with dogs, cats, and other wild mammals.
And consider getting vaccinated against Rabies before traveling abroad.
In the United States, rabies vaccines are available at pharmacies and travel clinics.
In India, the circulation of counterfeit ABHAYRAB human rabies vaccine has recently been reported in major cities. Counterfeit vaccines may not be effective in the prevention of Rabies and could contain harmful ingredients, says the CDC.
Valneva SE today announced positive final results regarding the immunogenicity and safety from its Phase 2 study, VLA15-221, of the Lyme disease vaccine candidate, VLA15.
According to Valneva's press release on November 26, 2025, this study's findings demonstrated a strong anamnestic immune response and a favorable safety profile six months after the third booster dose (at month 48) across all age groups.
Furthermore, these results confirm that the vaccine is compatible with the expected benefits of annual vaccination before the start of each Lyme season, which coincides with increased outdoor activities in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States.
Juan Carlos Jaramillo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Valneva, commented in a press release. "Lyme disease continues to expand geographically and remains a pressing unmet medical need affecting communities across the Northern Hemisphere."
"Each set of positive results moves us closer to the possibility of making this vaccine available to adults, adolescents, and children living in Lyme-endemic areas."
This is very encouraging news as there are currently no approved human vaccines for Lyme disease, and VLA15 has advanced the furthest in clinical development.
Valneva partnered with Pfizer Inc. in April 2020 to develop and commercialize VLA15.
Launched in early November 2025, the Walgreens Acute Respiratory Index (ARI) for 2025-2026 tracks influenza and COVID-19 hotspots using prescription, testing, and over-the-counter product purchase data from its locations nationwide.
As of November 22, 2025, the District of Columbia, New York, Texas, and Michigan lead Walgreens' ARI index.
Nationwide, the overall ARI score was 2.5 out of 5.0.
Walgreens' unique digital tool offers a more comprehensive view of respiratory illness trends across the U.S., enabling the public, healthcare providers, and health officials to make more informed decisions throughout the respiratory virus season.
Rick Gates, Walgreens' chief pharmacy officer, commented in a press release, "Vaccination remains the safest and most effective way to prevent highly contagious illnesses like flu, RSV, and COVID-19."
Previously, the U.S. CDC FluView for Week 47 will be posted on November 21, 2025, stating 'seasonal influenza activity in the United States remains low nationally but is increasing.'
Various flu shots are offered throughout the influenza season at most community pharmacies.
On the occasion of the Jubilee of the Poor, a special holy year which occurs once every 25 years, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has been conducting enhanced monitoring through its epidemic intelligence activities.
With multiple events that take place throughout the year and nning until December 2025, it is estimated that more than 35 million pilgrims will visit Rome during the Jubilee of the Poor.
As of November 21, 2025, the ECDC says the probability of EU/EEA citizens becoming infected with communicable diseases during the Jubilee 2025 is low if general preventive measures are followed, such as influenza vaccination according to national immunisation schedules.
