Vaccine News

With the continued overlapping incidence of chikungunya, dengue, malaria, Zika, and yellow fever diseases in the Region of the Americas, should international travelers be vaccinated before arriving in Florida?

According to the Florida Department of Health (FDH) Arbovirus Surveillance update #16, dated April 19, 2025, numerous travelers have been diagnosed with vaccine-preventable diseases this year, particularly in the Miami and Tampa areas.

To notify people of these health risks, FDH has missed alerts for Hillsborough, Manatee, Miami, and Pasco counties in 2025.

For example, last year, 11 instances of chikungunya were reported in individuals with a travel history to Brazil (five), India (five), and Pakistan.

In 2025, sixty cases of dengue fever had already been reported among individuals who had traveled internationally, and one locally acquired case of dengue (DEN-3). During 2024, 1,016 travel-associated dengue cases were reported, primarily among visitors from Brazil, Cuba (567), and Puerto Rico.

Furthermore, 91 locally acquired dengue cases were reported from ten counties, including Miami-Dade (50), in 2024.

In 2024, 72 cases of travel-related malaria were reported in individuals with a history of visiting malaria-endemic areas, such as Africa (Nigeria) and Central and South America. 

As of April 25, 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Canada Health, and the United Kingdom have not issued vaccination requirements for visiting Florida.

Of these mosquito-transmitted diseases, chikungunya vaccines are commercially available at most pharmacies and are recommended by various health agencies.

Novavax Inc. recently stated that it believes its Biologics License Application for its protein-based COVID-19 vaccine is approvable, based on conversations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from April 1, 2025, to April 24, 2025.

In its press release on April 23, 2025, Novavax announced that the FDA had issued a formal request, asking the company to provide a postmarketing commitment to generate “additional clinical data” for the COVID-19 vaccine.

'We look forward to engaging with the FDA expeditiously to address the PMC request and move to approval as soon as possible,' concluded Novavax.

The World Health Organization granted the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine (Nuvaxovid™) Emergency Use Listing on December 17, 2021, and it remains available today in numerous countries.

According to recent travel advisories issued by the United States government, visiting the Republic of Uganda is not encouraged in 2025.

On April 23, 2025, the U.S. Department of State reissued a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory for Uganda, a country home to approximately 32 million people, located in East Africa.

The State Department says visitors should exercise increased caution in Uganda due to security risks and ongoing civil unrest.

If you decide to travel to Uganda, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts from the U.S. Embassy in Kampala. This free digital offering makes it easier to locate people in an emergency.

From a health perspective, Uganda is confronting multiple disease outbreaks in 2025.

Building on sustained U.S. technical support to Uganda since the first day of the 2025 Ebola outbreak, the United States government has now donated 100 vials of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) to the Uganda Ministry of Health. As a breakthrough in medical science, mAb has the potential to significantly improve survival rates in patients with Ebola.

U.S. Ambassador Popp stated in a press release on April 14, 2025, “Providing these groundbreaking treatments demonstrates the United States’ strong commitment to innovation, scientific excellence, shared prosperity, and global health security. As we respond to outbreaks like Ebola, we build stronger global health security partnerships that benefit us all.”

And will enhance the ongoing efforts to end the current Sudan Ebola Virus outbreak in Uganda, as no vaccines or therapeutics have been approved for the prevention or treatment of SVD in 2025.

Additionally, the CDC has included Uganda in its polio and mpox travel advisories and recommends pre-arrival vaccinations for several routine and travel-related diseases, such as yellow fever, mpox, and cholera.

Travel vaccines for these diseases are commercially available at clinics and pharmacies in the United States.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently published its multi-country outbreak of cholera, external situation report #25, which indicates various countries continue to be severely impacted by this vaccine-preventable disease.

This year, a cumulative total of 116,574 cholera cases and 1,514 deaths were reported from 25 countries across three WHO regions, with the African Region recording the highest numbers.

In the Caribbean, a total of 1,298 suspected cholera cases, including 19 deaths, were reported in Haiti, especially noted in Cité Soleil and Arcahaie.

In March 2025, 517 cholera-related deaths occurred, highlighting an 8% decrease from February 2025.

The WHO announced some positive news on April 22, 2025: the average stockpile of Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) had stabilized at 5.2 million doses, marking the fourth consecutive month with a stockpile above the five million doses needed for the emergency stockpile at all times.

However, the growing global demand continues to exceed supply, hindering efforts to control cholera outbreaks, respond rapidly to the disease’s spread, and implement preventive campaigns, according to the WHO.

In the United States, travel clinics and pharmacies currently have ample access to OCVs.

The Ministry of Health for the Federative Republic of Brazil recently confirmed a total of 1,019,033 dengue cases and 681 related fatalities this year.

As of April 12, 2025, São Paulo had reported the most dengue cases, at 590,850.

As of April 22, 2025, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified more cases of dengue (1,481) than expected among U.S. travelers returning from countries with dengue outbreaks. 

In 2025, 54 travel-associated and one locally acquired dengue cases were reported in Florida.

Of dengue's four types, DENV-3 is the most common serotype identified, accounting for 84%.

To alert travelers to Brazil and other areas, the CDC reissued a Global Travel Health Notice on April 15, 2025, regarding Dengue outbreaks in the Americas. Additionally, the CDC encourages healthcare providers to increase testing of patients with symptoms related to dengue. 

Currently, dengue vaccines are unavailable in the U.S.

Recent maps released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) indicate hotspots for tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) in Europe.

There are three distinct subtypes of tick-borne encephalitis virus: European, Far Eastern, and Siberian. They are found in different areas and cause disease of varying severity.

While the virus is already present in many European countries, as of April 15, 2025, the Central, Eastern, and Northern European regions have recently reported their first human cases of TBE or have noted an increase in infections.

In Europe, ticks become infected when they feed on small rodents that have the virus in their blood. People can become infected through the bites of infected ticks.

TBE is a vaccine-preventable disease that affects the central nervous system. Vaccination is an effective means of prevention.

In addition, taking personal protective measures, such as wearing long clothing, using tick repellent, avoiding tick-infested areas, and promptly removing any ticks from the skin, can significantly reduce the risk of infection.

According to the U.S. CDC, the TICOVAC tick-borne encephalitis vaccine is available in the United States and is approved for use in persons aged 1 year and older.

As of April 21, 2025, the CDC recommends that TICOVAC be considered for some travelers visiting high-risk areas.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently issued a 'Stop Work Order' for GeoVax's investigational COVID-19 vaccine, GEO-CM04S1, which was being developed under a government-sponsored initiative.

According to GeoVax's press release on April 16, 2025, the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has decided to withdraw its funding, originally granted under Project NextGen (PNG), a $5 billion effort started under the previous U.S. administration to support the development of next-generation vaccines and therapies.

Of note, GEO-CM04S1 was the only multi-antigen/polyvalent COVID-19 vaccine candidate selected under the PNG initiative.

"While the recent HHS/BARDA Stop Work Order action was disappointing and surprising, our commitment to protecting vulnerable populations remains unchanged, and our clinical momentum is strong in support of our ongoing Phase 2 GEO-CM04S1 programs," commented David Dodd, Chairman and CEO of GeoVax.

GeoVax remains committed to addressing the critical medical need for GEO-CM04S1, particularly among the more than 40 million immunocompromised Americans and over 400 million people globally who remain inadequately protected by the current authorized COVID-19 vaccines.