Travel Vaccine Breaking News

According to recent data published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), influenza vaccine distribution in the United States (U.S.) is approaching a similar amount compared to the last flu season.

Private manufacturers produce flu vaccines in the U.S., so yearly supply depends on manufacturer production. 

As of December 31, 2022, the CDC confirmed 170.71 million influenza vaccines had been distributed.

During the 2021-2022 season, flu activity began to increase in November and remained elevated until mid-June, with two waves of influenza A(H3N2) virus activity occurring; the first peaked in late December 2021 and the second in April 2022.

Last flu season, vaccine manufacturers distributed 179.4 million doses of flu vaccine to the U.S. market as of February 25, 2022.

For the 2020-2021 flu season, 193.8 million doses were distributed in the U.S. as of February 26, 2021, the highest number of doses in a single flu season. 

As each flu season ends, the CDC and vaccine producers update their vaccine offerings for the next season, highlighted at this link.

The CDC says getting an annual flu vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from influenza.

Flu vaccination is essential if you are at a higher risk of developing severe complications. When you get vaccinated, you reduce your risk of getting sick and possibly being hospitalized or dying from influenza.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) today released Cancer Statistics, 2023, the organization's annual report on cancer facts and trends.

According to the new ACS report, overall cancer mortality has dropped 33% since 1991, averting an estimated 3.8 million cancer deaths.

Based on ACS data, in 2023, there are projected to be 1,958,310 new cancer cases and 609,820 cancer deaths in the U.S.

Prostate cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer death for men in the U.S., increased by 3% per year from 2014 through 2019 after two decades of decline.

Most concerning is that the diagnosis of advanced disease drove this increase.

Since 2011, the diagnosis of advanced-stage (regional- or distant-stage) prostate cancer has increased by 4% to 5% annually, and the proportion of men diagnosed with the distant-stage disease has doubled.

These findings underscore the importance of understanding and reducing this trend.

"The increasing percentage of men presenting with advanced prostate cancer, which is much more difficult to treat and often incurable, is highly discouraging," said Dr. Karen E. Knudsen, chief executive officer at the ACS, in a press release on January 12, 2023.

"In order to end cancer as we know it, for everyone, it is imperative for us to focus on cancers where trends for incidence and mortality are going in the wrong direction." 

These major findings were published today in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, alongside its consumer-friendly companion, Cancer Facts & Figures 2023, available at https://www.cancer.org/research/cancer-facts-statistics.html.

Health Canada recently approved Enhertu™ for treating adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low (IHC 1+ or IHC 2+/ISH-) breast cancer who have received at least one prior line of chemotherapy in the metastatic setting or developed disease recurrence during or within six months of completing adjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer should have received at least one and be no longer considered eligible for endocrine therapy.1 

Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) is a specifically engineered HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) jointly developed and commercialized by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca.

The approval by Health Canada on January 6, 2023, was based on the DESTINY-Breast04 Phase III trial results.

"Since the approval of HER2-targeted therapies in breast cancer more than twenty years ago, only patients with HER2-positive disease have been eligible for these therapies – leaving those with tumors with lower levels of HER2 expression with limited effective treatment options," said Dr. Jan-Willem Henning, Medical Oncologist, Tom Baker Cancer Centre, and Clinical Associate Professor, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, in a press release on January 12, 2023.

"The recent Health Canada approval of Enhertu in the HER2-low patient population is a significant milestone in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer and is the first anti-HER2 molecule to demonstrate efficacy outside of traditional HER2-positive breast cancer.

"Based on the promising data from the DESTINY-Breast04 trial, we're now able to differentiate levels of HER2 expression to redefine how we classify and treat metastatic breast cancer, providing additional patients with the opportunity to benefit from HER2-directed therapy."

In Canada, 10% of newly diagnosed breast cancers are metastatic; for those initially diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, approximately 30% will progress to metastatic disease.

HER2 expression is currently defined as either positive or negative and is determined by an IHC test which estimates the amount of HER2 protein on a cancer cell, and/or an ISH test, which counts the copies of the HER2 gene in cancer cells.

However, approximately half of all breast cancers are HER2-low, and previously these patients had limited effective treatment options following progression on endocrine (hormone) therapy.

Health Canada reviewed and approved Enhertu for this indication under the Priority Review and Project Orbis FDA collaboration pathways seven months from filing, enabling the timely availability to bring this new treatment option to HER2-low breast cancer patients as quickly as possible.

Note: ENHERTU is U.S. FDA-approved for treating several types of cancer.

According to today's announcements, World Health Organization (WHO) and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) officials again recommend airline travelers wear face masks while flying.

During a media briefing, Catherine Smallwood, WHO senior emergency officer for Europe, stated, "Passengers should be advised to wear masks in high-risk settings such as long-haul flights."

"This should be a recommendation issued to arriving passengers where there is widespread COVID-19 transmission."

The ECDC reported today the following recommendations apply with immediate effect for flights arriving in the EU from China: 

• pre-departure testing for passengers on direct and indirect flights,  
• wearing of medical face masks or respirators on board the aircraft for both passengers and crew,
• enhanced cleaning and disinfection of aircraft serving these routes,
• wherever possible, the vaccination status of crew members should be considered before assignment for duty,
• random testing may also be carried out on a sample of arriving passengers,
• wastewater should be monitored at airports with international flights and aircraft arriving from China to monitor the level of infection and detect any new variants.

These ECDC measures were defined in a way that should not introduce any flight delays or compromise flight safety. 

While there is ample debate on the value of wearing face masks in the open air, numerous studies support mask-use when in closed settings, such as an airplane.

And the WHO Director-General's remarks at the media briefing on January 11, 2023, included, "And we continue to call on all people to take appropriate precautions when necessary to protect yourself and others."

"You may not die with this disease (COVID-19), but you could give it to someone else who does."

Globally, nearly 2.9 million new COVID-19 cases and over 11,000 related fatalities were reported for the week ending January 8, 2023.

However, the data represents a reduction in weekly cases and fatalities of 9% and 12%, respectively, reported the WHO today.

The World Health Organization (WHO today issued a Rapid Risk assessment regarding the XBB.1.5 coronavirus variant. The XBB.1.5 variant is a sublineage of XBB, which is a recombinant of two BA.2 sublineages.

Based on its genetic characteristics and early growth rate estimates, XBB.1.5 may contribute to increases in case incidence.

As of January 11, 2023, the WHO stated in a media release that the overall confidence in the assessment is low, as growth advantage estimates are only from one country, the United States of America (USA).

From October 22, 2022, to January 11, 2023, 5,288 sequences of the Omicron XBB.1.5 variant have been reported from 38 countries.

Most of these sequences are from the USA (82.2%), the United Kingdom (8.1%), and Denmark (2.2%).

Globally, nearly 2.9 million new COVID-19 cases and over 11,000 related fatalities were reported for the week ending January 8, 2023.

This Edition 125 data represents a reduction in weekly cases and deaths of 9% and 12%, respectively, reported the WHO on January 11, 2023.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. discretely revealed its intentions to expand its Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Monoclonal Antibody offerings at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on January 9, 2023.

Regeneron's presentation stated that in the U.S. alone, millions of immuno-compromised people will not adequately respond to vaccination.

And antibodies can be dosed prophylactically to prevent infection and severe COVID-19 disease.

On slide #27, the Company stated its 'Next-gen COVID antibody binds outside variable RBD and has demonstrated high neutralization activity against all known variants and lineages and disclosed it anticipates initiating the REGN14287 phase 3 clinical trial in 2023, pending regulatory discussions.

The NCT04425629 study was last updated on July 29, 2022.

Previously Regeneron's first-generation REGEN-COV monoclonal antibody combination (casirivimab and imdevimab) is U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved and was a market leader in the U.S.

The U.S. NIH stated on December 1, 2022, vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection and should be considered the first line of prevention.

The City of Columbus, Ohio, reported yesterday new data regarding the measles outbreak in children that was initially identified in June 2022.

As of January 9, 2023, there have been 82 measles confirmations and 33 related hospitalizations.

About 75% of these children were unvaccinated before being infected with the measles virus.

Columbus's Health Commissioner, Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, recently stated, "The end of an outbreak isn't declared until 42 days after the last infected person develops a rash."

"If you are interested in scheduling your child's MMR vaccine, you can contact your local healthcare provider or reach out to the Ohio Department of Health," reported SpectumNews1.

Measles is a vaccine-preventable disease, says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Additionally, since many measles cases are travel-related, the CDC suggests being fully immunized before traveling abroad, as several countries, such as India, have reported outbreaks in 2023.

In the U.S., measles vaccines are generally available at clinics and pharmacies.