Vaccine News

The recently announced Africa Regional Polio Eradication Action Plan 2024-2025 outlines a new strategy for responding to polio outbreaks.

Released on August 19, 2024, the pre-publication version introduces a different approach by addressing all instances of poliomyelitis (polio) transmission, including outbreaks of circulating variant poliovirus, as if they were cases of wild poliovirus (WPV).

This action plan advocates for a more proactive strategy instead of following the previous two-round campaign response. It suggests that countries affected by polio should conduct between three and five vaccination campaign rounds based on their specific risk and population immunity.

The plan's authors wrote, 'By pursuing a new course of action defined by these priorities, the WHO African Region will end outbreaks and build the resilience required to achieve and maintain a polio-free Africa.'

Furthermore, this plan offers hope for the countries currently reporting poliovirus detections. On August 28, 2024, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative reported the following summary:

Afghanistan: four WPV1 cases,

Pakistan: two WPV1 cases and 16 positive environmental samples,

Chad: two cVDPV2 cases and two positive environmental samples,

Côte d’Ivoire: two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples,

DR Congo: one cVDPV2 case,

Niger: one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample,

Nigeria: three cVDPV2 cases and one positive environmental sample,

Palestinian territory: one cVDPV2 case,

South Sudan: one cVDPV2 case.

To alert international travelers to their potential polio risk, the U.S. CDC reconfirmed in August 2024 that before any of 37 countries, ensure you are up to date on your polio vaccines.

The GPEI previously launched its Polio Eradication Strategy 2022–2026. The GPEI strategy called for a rigorous review of its plan in 2023.

As of late August 2024, the type 2 novel oral polio (nOPV2) vaccine, produced by PT Biofarma, has been administered over one billion times in various countries. This vaccine was designed to improve phenotypic stability and make the poliovirus strains less prone to reversion to virulence.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it granted emergency use authorization (EUA) for an updated version of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine that more closely targets currently circulating SARS-CoV-2 virus variants to provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death.

Novavax's updated COVID-19 vaccine targets the "parent strain" of KP.2 and KP.3, formulated to target the JN.1 variant.

The updated monovalent, protein-based vaccine is authorized for individuals 12 and older.

This FDA approval helps protect Americans and their families during the U.S.'s biggest surge in COVID-19 cases since January 2022.

The FDA has determined that the updated Novavax COVID-19 vaccine has met the statutory criteria for issuance of an EUA, including that the known and potential benefits of the vaccine outweigh its known and potential risks.

Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, commented in a press release on August 30, 2024, “Today’s authorization provides an additional COVID-19 vaccine option that meets the FDA’s standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality needed to support emergency use authorization.”

Following the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research's release of vaccine batches, Novacax vaccines will be available in thousands of locations, including retail and independent pharmacies and regional grocers.

Health officials in Minnesota today announced they are urging families to ensure they are up to date on their measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine as the four-month measles outbreak continues to impact the Twin Cities metro area.  

Since May 2024, 30 cases of measles have been reported in Minnesota. So far, the outbreak is mainly affecting unvaccinated children in the Somali community in Minnesota.

In 2023, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) did not report a local measles case.

MDH says most measles cases in Minnesota result from people traveling to or from countries where measles is common and who become infectious with measles after arriving in Minnesota.

“Measles is currently circulating, and infections can be severe,” said Dr. Ruth Lynfield, state epidemiologist and medical director at the MDH, in a press release on August 28, 2024.

“I urge all parents to vaccinate their children because we know that vaccination offers the best protection.”

In Minnesota, the Vaccines for Children program (MnVFC) provides Free or Low-cost Vaccines for Children who are uninsured, enrolled in a Minnesota health care program like Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare, or American Indian or Alaska Native.

Over 750 healthcare providers, including pharmacists, are enrolled in MnVFC, and approximately half of Minnesotan children are eligible.  

Additionally, children who do not have health insurance to cover vaccines can also get vaccinated through local public health departments. Check your county government website to find a local public health immunization clinic.

Minnesota is not the only state reporting a measles outbreak in 2024. On August 22, 2024, the U.S. CDC reported 227 measles cases in 29 jurisdictions, led by Chicago, Illinois.

The U.S. CDC's Early Release Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on August 27, 2024, revealed that 21 Oropouche virus disease cases among U.S. travelers returning from Cuba have been reported this year.

At least three patients had recurrent symptoms after the initial illness, a common characteristic of Oropouche virus disease.

Most of these cases (20) were people in Florida.

The CDC recently published a Level 1 Travel Health Notice to alert travelers regarding Oropouche outbreaks in the Americas Region and Europe (19).

From December 2023 to June 2024, large Oropouche virus disease outbreaks were recognized in areas with known endemic diseases, and the virus emerged in new places in South America and Cuba where it had not been historically reported.

This year, cases have been reported in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, and Peru.

From 2015 to 2022, only 261 cases of Oropouche fever were recorded in Brazil. However, as of August 6, 2024, Brazil confirmed 7,497 cases. However, the infectious rate has recently diminished.

The CDC says clinicians and public health jurisdictions should be aware of Oropouche virus disease in U.S. travelers and request testing for suspected cases.

In Florida, the Department of Health identified suspected Oropouche cases primarily by reviewing patients who received negative dengue test results and had visited countries such as Cuba.

Reported symptoms commenced during May–July and most commonly included fever (95%), myalgia, headache, fatigue or malaise, and arthralgia.

Travelers should prevent insect bites when traveling, and pregnant persons should consider deferring travel to areas experiencing outbreaks of Oropouche virus disease, says the CDC.

As of August 28, 2024, there are no approved vaccines to prevent Oropouche virus disease.

The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) recently announced that clinical trial sites in the Lassa fever-endemic countries of Ghana, Liberia, and Nigeria were vaccinating volunteers in IAVI's C105 study of a Lassa fever vaccine candidate.

This study is designed to evaluate the vaccine candidate’s safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity at two different dosage levels in adults, including people living with HIV, as well as in adolescents and children two years of age and older. 

The IAVI C105 study results are expected in 2025. Should the vaccine candidate be found safe and efficacious, IAVI is committed to making its Lassa vaccine affordable and accessible to all needy populations.

As of August 28, 2024, no Lassa fever vaccine currently exists. However, several vaccine candidates are conducting research.

Lassa virus (LASV) is a zoonotic disease that causes the acute viral hemorrhagic illness called Lassa fever, for which treatment is limited.

People can get Lassa fever by contacting infected rats or their saliva, urine, or droppings. The U.S. CDC says that LASV can spread among people.

About 300,000 people fall ill across West Africa annually, though the actual disease burden is thought to be much higher. For these reasons, Lassa fever is featured in the World Health Organization’s R&D Blueprint and requires urgent action due to its potential to cause an outbreak of international concern.

Even though we cannot predict what will happen in the United States this upcoming flu season, by examining trends observed in the Southern Hemisphere this past season, we can gain valuable insights into what activity might occur during the forthcoming 2024-2025 Northern Hemisphere flu season.

The WHO's Global Respiratory Virus Activity Weekly Update N° 489 was posted on August 11, 2024, confirming in the Southern hemisphere, influenza activity remained elevated in countries in South America (due to influenza A(H3N2) and B viruses), Eastern Africa (due to A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses), Southern Africa (due to B viruses), and Oceania (due to A(H3N2) viruses). 

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on August 26, 2024, during the 2024 Southern Hemisphere flu season, most countries experienced similar levels of flu activity compared to trends observed in prior seasons (2017‒2019 and 2022‒2023 flu seasons).

However, South American and Southern African countries experienced high influenza virus detection levels.

"Vaccination remains the best defense against flu, and even if vaccination does not entirely prevent the risk of flu, it can help reduce the severity of flu illness in people who get flu despite being vaccinated," the CDC wrote. 

"In the U.S., September and October are generally good times to be vaccinated against flu."

As of late August 2024, various influenza vaccines are available at health clinics and pharmacies in the U.S.

The journal Clinical Infectious Diseases recently published results from an extensive, observer-blinded, CLOVER phase 3 clinical trial that found a Clostridioides difficile vaccine candidate was safe, well tolerated, and reduced the severity of C difficile infection (CDI).

However, this vaccine did not reduce the incidence of CDI in at-risk adults.

Although the primary endpoint of this study was not met, PF-06425090 reduced symptom duration, CDI requiring medical attention, and CDI-directed antibiotic treatment, highlighting its potential to reduce CDI-associated healthcare burden, wrote these researchers on August 24, 2024.

The U.S. CDC says CDI causes substantial mortality and healthcare burden. In 2022, the incidence rate of CDI increased with age, and rates were higher in women.

As of August 27, 2024, no C difficile infection protection vaccines are available.