Vaccine News

ImmunityBio, Inc., today announced the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA), King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSHRC), and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center (KAIMRC).

As of May 27, 2025, this multi-party collaboration will introduce the FDA-approved Cancer BioShield platform to Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle East, marking a new era of immune-restorative therapies for cancer patients.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, Founder, Executive Chairman, and Global Chief Medical and Scientific Officer of ImmunityBio, stated in a press release, “We are honored to work with KAIMRC, KFSHRC, and MISA to bring this transformative technology to the region."

"The BioShield platform changes the way we think about treating cancer, not by destroying the immune system but by restoring and activating it."

"The root cause of early mortality is the collapse of the immune system—lymphopenia is the disease, and cancer is a symptom."

"Together, by considering this a paradigm change, we can build a regional center of excellence for next-generation immunotherapies in which we activate the body’s natural defenses.”

The BioShield platform, powered by Anktiva (nogapendekin alfa inbakicept)—the world’s first FDA-approved IL-15 superagonist to stimulate the proliferation of NK and T cells (lymphocytes)—represents a paradigm shift in cancer care.

Unlike conventional treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation, which kill and suppress natural killer immune cells, thereby paradoxically catalyzing further spread, BioShield protects and activates the immune system’s natural killer cells and T cells to restore immune function and prolong life.

For the first time in medicine, physicians can address the long-overlooked impact of lymphopenia (loss of NK and T cells), induced by current standards of care of chemotherapy, radiation, or by the cancer itself.

The BioShield is the first therapy in history to specifically address the protection and restoration of lymphocytes, represented by NK, CD8, and CD4 T cells—the most important cells in the body needed to fight cancer and infection.

Treating lymphopenia is an answer to premature death from life-threatening diseases such as cancer and sepsis, and, potentially, to aging and longevity in health.

As of May 2025, Anktiva plus BCG Vaccine is available at various clinical sites in the U.S. 

The São Paulo State Health Department recently confirmed that Dengue is a seasonal disease. During the rainy season, a high transmission rate can be observed. Throughout Brazil, Dengue is the most critical arbovirus disease transmitted by arthropod vectors.

Over the past 25 years, nearly 18 million Brazilians have been infected with Dengue.

As of May 26, 2025, the state of São Paulo, with a population of 44 million, has reported about 617,000 of Brazil's 2.5 million Dengue cases this year. According to data, the state of São Paulo leads in the number of deaths from dengue fever, with 692 cases.

In February 2025, a public health emergency was declared to alert residents and international visitors of this continuing health risk.

Last year, about 2.1 million Dengue cases and 2,100 related fatalities were reported in São Paulo.

This ongoing surge is related to Dengue virus serotype 3 (DENV-3) reemergence since the population is not immunized against this serotype.

While a second-generation Dengue vaccine will be limited in availability in 2025, Butantan Institute in São Paulo has been involved in developing an innovative vaccine that could become available in 2026.

Additionally, with the annual influenza season arriving in South America, beginning on May 27, 2025, the flu vaccination will be offered to the entire population in São Paulo's 645 municipalities over six months of age.

When visiting Brazil in 2025, the U.S. CDC recommends international travelers speak with a travel vaccine expert about various immunization options, such as chikungunya and yellow fever.

When the polio eradication campaign was launched in 1988, the ambitious goal was to eliminate the disease by 2000. Despite the campaign's remarkable progress, polio remains a global health challenge in 2025.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), polio remains a global health concern in May 2025.

The WHO says there is no cure for polio, and infection prevention through vaccination is the best protection available. 

Polio paralysis is caused by a human enterovirus called the wild poliovirus. However, less than 1% of wild poliovirus infections result in paralysis.

An article published in Clinical Infectious Diseases on May 21, 2025, says one significant misstep of the polio vaccination was the transition from the trivalent oral polio vaccine (OPV) to the bivalent OPV, which excluded the type 2 vaccine. 

This switch occurred after the eradication of wild-type 2 poliovirus was declared in 2015.

This change was made to curb the emergence of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV), which occur when the weakened virus in the vaccine mutates back to virulence and spreads in under-immunized populations.

Contrary to the optimistic modeling predictions, the exclusion of type 2 vaccine led to a dramatic increase in cVDPV cases, skyrocketing from just 6 cases in 2016 to more than 1,000 cases 3 years later, with more than 3,300 children paralyzed since the switch in 43 countries.

These researchers believe that the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) must be an essential part of polio eradication campaigns in the future.

Today, the U.S. CDC is partnering with other agencies through the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) to help eradicate polio globally. Last week, the GPEI reported that Germany, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Sudan confirmed cVDPV2-positive environmental samples and human infection.

As of April 2025, the CDC identified 38 countries reporting poliovirus detections.

In the U.S., vaccinations with the IPV are standard with the CDC's schedules, including a booster dose for certain people visiting poliovirus outbreak areas in 2025.

'Before any international travel, make sure you are up to date on your polio vaccines,' says the CDC.

As of May 25, 2025, polio vaccination services are offered at clinics and pharmacies nationwide.

While most rabies cases in the United States are related to bites from infected bats, not dogs, a recent report from rural North Carolina indicates that trend may be changing.

According to City of Roxboro officials, on May 20, 2025, a man was attacked by a coyote in the area of Somerset Drive. Local media reported that the man could defend himself and kill the coyote. 

The Person County Animal Services seized the dead coyote for rabies testing.

The County says, 'If you see wildlife behaving strangely, primarily nocturnal animals such as skunks and raccoons found during daylight hours, do not approach the animal. Instead, call 336-597-0545 and speak to the Animal Control Officer.'

'If any animal bites you, wash the wound immediately with soap and water and seek medical attention.'

Additionally, rabies vaccination is recommended for various reasons.

At the end of March 2025, a bat found in the area of Shady Oak Road in northern Person County tested positive for rabies, becoming the second confirmed case in Person County this year.

The U.S. CDC says rabid dogs kills about 70,000 people worldwide. Many countries have not looked for rabies in local wildlife, and it is likely that yet-undetected wildlife also maintain the virus, and are a threat to unaware international travelers.

Certain vector-borne diseases, such as Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika, are expanding public health challenges in Southeast Asia, including the Kingdom of Thailand. There has been evidence of chikungunya virus transmission in Thailand within the last five years.

These diseases have become a health risk to Thailand's 35 million visitors annually.

A research article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases on May 21, 2025, assessed the role of sylvatic reservoirs in arboviral circulation by examining serological evidence of exposure to DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV among humans and macaques living close in endemic regions. 

The overall seropositivity rates across arboviruses among human populations are higher than those of macaques (38.5-74.4% versus 0-8.0%, respectively).

Globally, a study published in April 2025 estimates that 5.66 billion (95% confidence interval 5.64-5.68) people currently live in areas suitable for Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika.

The U.S. CDC says international travelers should speak with a vaccine expert before visiting Thailand in 2025 regarding routine and travel vaccine options, such as Valneva SE's IXCHIQ® Chikungunya vaccine. These vaccines are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies and should be administered weeks before departing abroad in 2025.

With the mosquito-transmitted Chikungunya virus infecting over 144,000 residents and international travelers throughout the Region of the Americas in 2025, access to an approved vaccine may soon expand.

According to Valneva SE's website, on May 23, 2025, Valneva wrote, 'By 2026, we want to enable access to Valneva's single-shot chikungunya vaccine IXCHIQ® in India and Brazil by enabling local manufacturing and access through technology transfers.'

'In Asia, we signed an exclusive license agreement with the Serum Institute of India, complementing our existing agreement with Instituto Butantan in the Americas.'

IXCHIQ was the first vaccine approved in 2023 to address chikungunya virus infections in adults at increased risk of exposure to the mosquito-transmitted disease. This vaccine is currently available in the United States at clinics and pharmacies.

The U.S. CDC has issued travel health notices for outbreaks in Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion, Somalia, and Sri Lanka to warn international travelers of the Chikungunya health risk. Vaccination is recommended for travelers visiting an area with an outbreak.