Despite some expectations that the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) would dramatically change the childhood vaccine schedule for hepatitis B, the committee is poised to vote Sept. 19 on a much smaller change that would move the current birth dose to 1 month for infants born to mothers who test negative for hepatitis B.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a few other medical professional groups were no-shows at the Sept. 18 meeting of the U.S. CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. The absence of the liaison groups was noted, especially that of the AAP. In opening the two-day meeting, ACIP Chair Martin Kulldorff said he lamented that the AAP has ended its association with the committee.
Nipah virus (NiV) and Hendra virus (HeV) are highly pathogenic henipaviruses that cause severe respiratory and neurological disease in humans, often with high fatality rates. To date, NiV has caused 749 cases across nine countries with 43%-100% fatality rates, while HeV infections are fewer but similarly lethal (57%).
The Sept. 17 U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on the CDC is throwing even more shade on the upcoming meeting of the agency’s reconstituted Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), which is expected to recommend changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.
Auravax Therapeutics Inc. has received funding from the Gates Foundation to evaluate the efficacy of Nanosting-001 in validated swine models of influenza infection at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and The Pirbright Institute.
An ongoing concern for scientists is that there will be across-the-board funding cuts. This is already happening in mRNA research, where reductions affected coronavirus-related projects. During the pandemic, efforts focused on this pathogen, and once the health emergency was over, grants for antivirals were eliminated. However, these drugs could stem future outbreaks. Despite the cuts, recent research continues to demonstrate the potential of mRNA, not only for the development of antivirals, but also for obtaining more effective and longer-lasting vaccines.
Just three days before the U.S. CDC’s reconstituted Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to discuss and possibly vote on the COVID-19, hepatitis B and MMRV vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy added five new members to the panel.
CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd.’s SYH-2066 tablets has obtained clearance from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) to enter clinical trials for respiratory infections caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitors (NRTTIs) are a novel class of antiretroviral agents that inhibit HIV replication by targeting the viral reverse transcriptase enzyme and specifically blocking its translocation step during DNA synthesis, a critical process in the viral replication cycle.
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