Travel Vaccine Breaking News

The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, today announced that the mpox upsurge continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

As of June 9, 2025, this PHEIC has been declared, based on the continuing rise in the number of cases, including a recent increase in West Africa, and likely ongoing undetected monkeypox virus (MPXV) transmission in some countries beyond the African continent.

The Director-General also concurred with and issued the Committee's revised temporary recommendations to Member States experiencing mpox outbreaks. 

Regarding preventive vaccinations, the WHO advises preparing for and implementing targeted use of vaccines for "Phase 1- Stop the outbreak" through the identification of disease hotspots and targeting those groups at high risk of mpox exposure to interrupt sustained community transmission.

As of early June 2025, the U.S. CDC states that JYNNEOS is a two-dose vaccine developed to protect against mpox and smallpox. People need to receive both doses of the vaccine for optimal protection against mpox.

In the United States, JYNNEOS® is commercially offered at health clinics and pharmacies, with insurance options available.

Furthermore, to be most effective, mpox vaccination should be included as part of broader prevention activities and routine sexual health care, such as HIV or gonorrhea. 

'Whether or not you've been vaccinated, continue to reduce your risk of getting mpox,' writes the CDC.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Department of Health & Family Welfare in India, Kerala remains the most affected state during the resurgence of COVID-19 in 2025.

As of June 8, 2025, COVID-19 cases have also been reported in Gujarat, West Bengal, and Delhi.

Local media reported 358 new infections, bringing India's active case tally above the 6,400 milestone this year. Since January 2025, about 65 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in India.

The Ministry posted on X today, 'India demonstrated remarkable solidarity by sending over 30 crore vaccine doses to 101 countries. This means every second country received a Made-in-India COVID vaccine, showcasing India's commitment to global health and vaccine equity.'

While about half of the world’s population is at risk of malaria, the African Region accounts for about 95% of all cases.

However, this mosquito-transmitted disease has been detected in various unusual locations in 2025.

In the Western Pacific region, which includes Australia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), New Zealand, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands, malaria cases have been reported.

Malaria in Australia is commonly recorded in returned international travellers, with about 100 imported cases recorded in Queensland each year. But so have locally acquired cases.

For example, Queensland Health recently reported a second locally acquired malaria case in a Torres Strait LGA resident.

As of June 2, 2025, investigations into this malaria case are ongoing.

In 2025, 71 malaria notifications were reported, of which 97% were related to international travel, predominantly with PNG and the Solomon Islands.

The last locally acquired malaria outbreak in the Torres Strait was in 2023, with five cases detected in northern Torres Strait Islands.

From a disease prevention perspective, neither malaria vaccine is offered in Australia as of June 6, 2025.

With a population of 2.8 million, Jamaica remains a popular tourist destination in June 2025. Last year, this Caribbean Island destination welcomed over 4 million visitors by air and sea.

A short two-hour flight from Miami, Florida, brings tourists to vast resorts and warm waters.

While the U.S. Department of State recently reduced its Level 3 travel advisory for Jamaica, it still advises Americans to exercise caution while visiting in June 2025.

As of May 29, 2025, the State Department's periodic review indicates that civil unrest in Jamaica has decreased since 2024; however, it remains statistically high throughout the country. 

Tourist areas typically experience lower rates of crime compared to other parts of the country. Still, the homicide rate reported by the Government of Jamaica is among the highest in the Western Hemisphere.

From a local health perspective, U.S. citizens should not expect the same level of healthcare services in Jamaica. This concern includes slower emergency service response times and reduced availability of care for illnesses or injuries.

Private hospitals typically require payment upfront before admitting patients and may not have the necessary resources to provide specialized care. 

The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica previously stated 'Be aware that U.S. Medicare/Medicaid does not apply overseas. Most hospitals and doctors overseas do not accept U.S. health insurance. U.S. citizens with medical emergencies can face bills in the tens of thousands of dollars, with air ambulance service to the United States.'

We highly recommend that you purchase insurance before traveling, writes the Embassy, which is located at 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6.

Seperately, the U.S. CDC advises visitors to take actions to protect themselves from diseases such as measles and chikungunya.

Furthermore, the Pan American Health Organization has been working since 2003 to control and prevent dengue. The disease remains a substantial concern throughout the Americas, but only 165 cases have been reported in Jamaica this year.

The CDC recommends checking the vaccines and medicines list and visiting your doctor at least a month before your trip to Jamaica. 

ImmunityBio, Inc. recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Expanded Access authorization for the use of its Cancer BioShield™ platform, anchored by ANKTIVA®, to treat lymphopenia in adult patients with refractory or relapsed solid tumors independent of tumor type who have progressed after first-line standard-of-care treatment, chemotherapy, radiation, or immunotherapy.

On June 2, 2025, ImmunityBio stated 'while oncologists and patients have long had therapies such as EPOGEN® and NEUPOGEN® to manage chemotherapy- and radiation-induced anemia and neutropenia, no comparable option has been available for lymphopenia.'

To date no treatment exists for lymphopenia, a depletion of critical lymphocytes responsible for immunogenic cell death, specifically natural killer (NK) cells, killer CD8+ T cells and CD4+ with memory T cells.

Treatment-induced lymphopenia is a debilitating consequence of chemotherapy, radiation, specific immunotherapies, and steroids. This treatment-acquired immunodeficiency not only increases susceptibility to infections but also deprives the body’s immune system to fight residual or recurrent cancer, accelerating metastasis and disease progression, and contributing to early mortality.

Countless publications over the last two decades have reported lymphopenia as a highly predictive biomarker of poor prognosis across all tumor types.1-6 Despite its significant clinical impact, the pharmaceutical industry has largely overlooked lymphopenia as a disease in its own right, and no approved therapies have existed to directly address it, until the approval of ANKTIVA in the treatment of BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer with the mechanism of action of an IL-15 superagonist proliferating key lymphocytes.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman, and Global Chief Scientific and Medical Officer of ImmunityBio, commented in a related press release, “This FDA authorization allows all patients with solid tumors suffering from immune collapse following first-line therapy of chemo, radiation, or immunotherapy to access ANKTIVA."

"The survival benefit we observed at ASCO 2025 in 3rd to 6th line advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer confirms that restoring lymphocyte levels—rather than depleting them—can change the course of disease.”

As of June 4, 2025, ANKTIVA is available at participating cancer centers in the United States and other countries, such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Republic of Ecuador has been exposed to a wide range of zoonotic pathogens that have a significant impact on the population's health and the overall economy.

Recent disease outbreaks, such as yellow fever, rabies, hantavirus, and highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1), have disrupted the health system of this South American country.

For example, the number of yellow fever cases reported in South America so far in 2025 represents a threefold increase compared to the cases reported in 2024.

Since the beginning of 2025 and as of early May, four confirmed fatal cases of yellow fever have been reported in Ecuador, from the provinces of Morona Santiago (one fatal case) and Zamora Chinchipe (three fatal cases).

These conditions led Ecuador to establish priority surveillance, prevention, and control strategies for potential outbreaks of animal-borne diseases.

In response to these conditions, with technical support from the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, specialists from the Ecuador Ministry of Public Health, and others announced on June 2, 2025, they are working to prioritize zoonotic and emerging diseases to obtain a list that would provide the country with clarity in the implementation of surveillance and control tasks for these pathologies. 

To alert international visitors, the U.S. CDC has included Ecuador in various disease outbreak alerts. 

The CDC recommends yellow fever vaccination for travelers aged 9 months or older traveling to areas below 7,550 feet in elevation, east of the Andes Mountains, in the provinces of Morona-Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Pastaza, Sucumbíos, Tungurahua, and Zamora-Chinchipe.

As of June 3, 2025, the YF-Vax vaccine is generally not recommended for travel to areas with an elevation below 7,550 ft.

The vaccine is required for most travelers arriving from Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Uganda, including those with 12-hour airport transits or layovers in any of these countries. But not those arriving from the U.S.

Located on South America's Pacific Ocean, Ecuador also includes the Galápagos Province, about 600 miles west of the mainland.

This travel vaccine, along with others, is commercially offered at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

Since April 2024, the Ministry of Health (MOH) of the Republic of Costa Rica has reported an outbreak of Bordetella pertussis (whooping cough) in the Tibas district of San Jose, which has a population of over 70,000 residents.

As of June 2, 2025, the MOH remains on alert for whooping cough cases in local schools, which are primarily transmitted through respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing, and have an incubation period ranging from 4 to 21 days.

On May 20, 2025, a case of whooping cough was confirmed in a teacher at a school in Golfito and a resident of the Corredores canton. There are now 14 confirmed cases in home isolation, in good general health, and receiving treatment and monitoring from the inter-institutional team.

Following the initial diagnosis, 79 direct contacts were identified, including 72 students, six teachers, and one cleaning staff member. Of these, 31 people presented symptoms.

The MOH recommends that the local population comply with the national vaccination schedule: the Pentavalent vaccine at 2, 4, 6, and 15 months, the Tetravalent vaccine at 4 years old, and the vaccine for pregnant women, indicated from the 20th week of pregnancy.

About 18 years ago, Costa Rico declared a whooping cough emergency and launched a nationwide vaccination program.

While the U.S. CDC advises individuals planning to visit Costa Rica in June 2025 to stay up to date with routine vaccinations, the agency also highlights the presence of Chikungunya and measles in Costa Rica.

These travel vaccines are commercially offered at clinics and pharmacies in the U.S. and should be administered about one month before departure abroad.