Travel Vaccine Breaking News

As the COVID-19 caseload recently accelerated in India, the global community is debating the cause of this upsurge. 

Medical experts have warned that the new XBB1.16 coronavirus variant can evade people's immune systems, regardless of vaccine or naturally induced immunity.

For example, India's Ministry of Health reported 12,591 new cases and 40 deaths on April 19, 2023. 

Dr. Randeep Guleria recently told ANI .... while the country was seeing a fresh surge in Covid-19 infections, the situation isn't one to induce panic.... the majority of the infections are mild.

And the rate of hospitalization hasn't gone up either.

In reaction to this new data, most states in India have reordered COVID-19 vaccines, such as CoviSheld, CorbeVax, and CovoVax™.

As of April 11, 2023, a total of 2,206,624,273 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in India.

According to recent data from the Republic of Costa Rica Health Surveillance Directorate of the Ministry of Health, a total of 105 positive cases of malaria have been identified in the Huerta Caribe region.

And 2,844 people treated from the communities of Finca 12, PCC, Medio Queso, Coquital, and San Gerardo, in the canton of Los Chiles, chose to prevent the spread of malaria, and 726 homes have been visited in which a total of 9,136 doses of chloroquine have been provided.

Most people detected as of April 13, 2023, were between 20 to 39 years of age.

It is essential to highlight that the Ministry of Health's goal is eliminating malaria by 2025.

To notify international travelers, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an Alert - Level 2, Practice Enhanced Precautions on April 17, 2023, regarding Costa Rica's malaria outbreak.

The CDC warned malaria is a medical emergency, and appropriate treatment should not be delayed. And seek medical care if you develop fever, chills, sweats, headache, vomiting, or body aches. 

According to the World Health Organization Malaria Report released in December 2022, there were an estimated 619,000 malaria-related fatalities globally in 2021, with 568,000 deaths.

Additionally, the CDC stated if you are traveling to Limón or Alajuela Province, you should speak to your healthcare professional about how to prevent mosquito bites and which antimalarial drug is best.

Furthermore, as a prevention, you could take antimalarial drugs before travel. 

According to the CDC, malaria is a vaccine-preventable mosquito-borne disease. 

Vaccines such as RTS,S, and R21 have been approved in various countries and are reported to be effective at preventing disease.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had not approved a malaria vaccine as of April 19, 2023.

This article was updated on April 20, 2023, with local links.

The U.S. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) conducted a digital meeting today led by Dr. Grace Lee focused on the U.S. FDA's updated COVID-19 vaccine emergency use authorizations (EUAs).

The EUAs were structured by the FDA on April 18, 2023, to simplify the use of bivalent mRNA vaccines for all doses and indications administered to individuals ages six months and older and additional mRNA dose(s) for specific populations.

These changes did not impact the Novavax protein-based COVID-19 vaccine (Nuvaxovid™, CovoVax™).

The ACIP also reviewed the following presentations on April 19, 2023:

• Vaccine safety updates,
• Vaccine effectiveness data updates,
• Epidemiology and hospitalization data,
• Benefit-risk analysis,
• Considerations for transition to bivalent primary series,
• Future directions of COVID-19 vaccines, including updates to vaccine policy.

Both the CDC and FDA staff confirmed today that a meeting in June 2023 would offer additional clarity before any Fall 2023 COVID-19 vaccination program,

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has reported an unprecedented negative trend in confirmed cases of Lassa Fever.

The NCDC recently confirmed a total of 869 confirmed Lassa Fever cases and 151 related fatalities from 26 states and 101 local government areas.

Cumulatively for 2023, the case fatality rate (CFR) of 17.4%.

As of April 9, 2023, for week #14 , the number of new confirmed cases is 23 from Bauchi, Ondo, Edo, Taraba, Lagos, and Enugu Niergian States.

Lassa fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic fever with a natural reservoir in the Mastomys natalensis rodent (African rat).

As of early March 2023, the U.S. CDC's Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions notice alerts visitors to Nirgeria of the health risk.

As of April 19, 2023, the U.S. FDA had not approved a Lassa fever vaccine.

According to the U.S. government, pharmacies are the leading distribution outlet for COVID-19 vaccines. During the 2022-2023 season, available data show that more than two-thirds of adult COVID-19 vaccinations were administered at pharmacies.

Announced on April 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced the ‘HHS Bridge Access Program For COVID-19 Vaccines and Treatments Program (“Program”) to maintain broad access to COVID-19 vaccines for millions of uninsured Americans.

The program will create a unique $1.1 billion public-private partnership to help maintain uninsured individuals’ access to COVID-19 care at local pharmacies.

HHS wrote pharmacies had been a critical partner in the Administration’s response to COVID-19 and a vital access point for millions of Americans in receiving convenient and timely COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and tests.

In the future, HHS aims to ensure that the pharmacy setting remains a place of access for the uninsured.

In building the Program, CDC will establish contracts with pharmacies to enable them to continue offering COVID-19 vaccines and designated treatments with no out-of-pocket costs to uninsured individuals, maintaining this critical access point for this population.

And pharmacies will also be expected to conduct outreach regarding the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, including through community partnerships focusing on underserved populations. 

Together, these efforts will create a unique public-private partnership that will help maintain uninsured individuals’ access to COVID-19 care at their local pharmacies, local health centers, and public health infrastructure. 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today reissued its Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions regarding dengue outbreaks in Asia and the Pacific Islands.

The CDC stated that on April 17, 2023, the listed countries reported higher-than-usual dengue cases, and travelers visiting these countries may be at increased risk.

Because Dengue is a severe disease spread by mosquito bites, all travelers to risk areas should prevent mosquito bites by using an EPA-registered insect repellent, wearing long-sleeved shirts and long pants outdoors, and sleeping in an air-conditioned room or room with window screens or under an insecticide-treated bed net.

The CDC says Dengue can take up to 2 weeks to develop, generally lasting less than a week.

Additionally, visitors to these countries should speak with a healthcare provider regarding dengue vaccines, such as Dengvaxia and Takeda's QDENGA®.

Vax-Before-Travel posts other dengue outbreak news.

SAB Biotherapeutics announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to SAB-176, an investigational therapeutic, for post-exposure prophylaxis for Type A and Type B influenza illness in high-risk patients, including those who have antiviral resistant strains.

SAB-176 is being developed for several influenza indications.

The FDA's Breakthrough Therapy designation confirms that the multi-epitope targeting modality of SAB-176 has a clear differentiation vs. monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind to a single epitope.

And SAB's treatment can sustain its efficacy over viral mutations and prevent or reduce the risk of emerging treatment-resistant influenza strains.

Virus evolution driven by vaccines or treatments is a serious challenge, and the use of therapeutics can create "escape mutants" or versions of a virus that have changed to escape pressure on virus survival driven by antiviral treatment, whether it is a small molecule or mAbs modality, wrote the company.

SAB recently announced that the FDA had granted Fast Track designation to SAB-176.

The company had also received FDA guidance and regulatory alignment on advancing SAB-176 into the next development phase by initiating a Phase 2b clinical trial.

"Influenza continues to pose considerable health concerns in the U.S. and globally. This Breakthrough Therapy designation signifies an important step forward in our fight against this disease," said Eddie Sullivan, Ph.D., co-founder, President & CEO of SAB Biotherapeutics, in a press release on April 18, 2023.

"We are proud that based on generated preclinical and clinical evidence, SAB-176 has received both Breakthrough and Fast Track designations, a combination rarely seen."

The FDA's Breakthrough Therapy designation process is designed to expedite the development and reviewing a medicine intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition. Preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may substantially improve over current therapies on a clinically significant endpoint(s).

Products that qualify for Breakthrough Therapy designation receive more benefits than Fast Track products.

Precision Vaccinations post influenza vaccines news for April 2023.