Via Lusaka Times, excerpt :
" ABOUT 20 Zambians aboard a CR Carriers bus were on Friday denied entry into South Africa by that country’s immigration authorities on grounds that they had fake yellow fever vaccination certificates.
CR Carriers director in South Africa Mafire Cisoko said only 10 out of 30 passengers were allowed to enter that country after their yellow fever vaccination certificates were subjected to rigorous scrutiny by immigration officers at Beit Bridge.
This is according to a statement issued yesterday by first secretary for press at the Zambian High Commission in Pretoria, Patson Chilemba.
Mr Cisoko said South African immigration authorities intensified searches after being tipped by an unnamed source that the certificates which Zambians had were fake because they were not obtained from government authorised health institutions.
He said the officers believed authentic certificates were dark-yellow, while the fake ones were light-yellow.
The bus on which Zambians were travelling was nearly sent back, but was later allowed entry after operators intervened, but with few passengers who got clearance at the border."
Showing posts with label Vaccination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vaccination. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2012
Thursday, September 22, 2011
UK : Malaria vaccine trial raises hope
Article via BBC :
" Researchers are to expand a clinical trial of a new malaria vaccine after promising results in a preliminary study in Burkina Faso.
The trial was designed to test safety, but researchers found that vaccinated children had high levels of protection.
Described as a "most encouraging" result, a larger study involving 800 children is now to take place in Mali.
The scientists involved say they are hopeful that the vaccine will ultimately be very cheap to produce.
Around a hundred different malaria vaccine candidates have been developed to date but the MSP3 vaccine tested in Burkina Faso is only the second one to show a substantial level of protection against the illness."
" Researchers are to expand a clinical trial of a new malaria vaccine after promising results in a preliminary study in Burkina Faso.
The trial was designed to test safety, but researchers found that vaccinated children had high levels of protection.
Described as a "most encouraging" result, a larger study involving 800 children is now to take place in Mali.
The scientists involved say they are hopeful that the vaccine will ultimately be very cheap to produce.
Around a hundred different malaria vaccine candidates have been developed to date but the MSP3 vaccine tested in Burkina Faso is only the second one to show a substantial level of protection against the illness."
Thursday, June 2, 2011
New Zealand : Vaccine push for flu season
Article via Stuff :
" Winter is officially here this week, and with it comes the seasonal push to get people immunised against the flu as it starts doing the rounds of offices and schools.
Almost 950,000 doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed so far, which Health Minister Tony Ryall said was an indication that more than a million vaccines would be distributed this flu season.
While the flu was a mild to moderate illness for most people, the H1N1 swine flu pandemic had shown how serious the illness could be - potentially leading to serious complications or even death.
"With the official start of winter this week, it's important people who want to get protected against flu get immunised as soon as possible as it can take up to two weeks to develop immunity," Mr Ryall said.
People may not realise how costly the flu could be, with a recent study of the 2009 pandemic showing it cost $100,000 on average for critical hospital care in Australia and New Zealand, he said.
Some $85,000 of that went towards intensive care treatment alone."
" Winter is officially here this week, and with it comes the seasonal push to get people immunised against the flu as it starts doing the rounds of offices and schools.
Almost 950,000 doses of the flu vaccine have been distributed so far, which Health Minister Tony Ryall said was an indication that more than a million vaccines would be distributed this flu season.
While the flu was a mild to moderate illness for most people, the H1N1 swine flu pandemic had shown how serious the illness could be - potentially leading to serious complications or even death.
"With the official start of winter this week, it's important people who want to get protected against flu get immunised as soon as possible as it can take up to two weeks to develop immunity," Mr Ryall said.
People may not realise how costly the flu could be, with a recent study of the 2009 pandemic showing it cost $100,000 on average for critical hospital care in Australia and New Zealand, he said.
Some $85,000 of that went towards intensive care treatment alone."
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
CIDRAP : Late-season CDC survey shows flu vaccination gain
From Lisa Schnirring at CIDRAP, excerpt :
" US flu vaccine uptake rose nine percentage points from the first snapshot in November, to 42.3%, slightly above last season's 42.1% level, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.
Public health officials have been eager to see what vaccine uptake levels would be in the first flu season under a new universal flu immunization recommendation, which includes most people ages 6 months and older.
The findings are from the CDC's National Flu Survey, a telephone poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The interviews took place between Mar 3 and Mar 30 in 20 local areas and included responses from about 31,000 people.
In November, before the flu season picked up momentum, the same survey showed solid vaccine uptake, with 33% of Americans already vaccinated, 15% saying they definitely planned to get vaccinated, and 25% saying they would probably be immunized.
In the latest survey report, the CDC said flu activity remained low in most parts of the country until the middle of December, when it increased through early February. Last season there was an earlier-than-usual seasonal flu vaccine push to make way for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic vaccine, which arrived later than expected. Demand for the seasonal vaccine was high, due to frequent public health messages about both the seasonal and pandemic vaccines."
" US flu vaccine uptake rose nine percentage points from the first snapshot in November, to 42.3%, slightly above last season's 42.1% level, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said yesterday.
Public health officials have been eager to see what vaccine uptake levels would be in the first flu season under a new universal flu immunization recommendation, which includes most people ages 6 months and older.
The findings are from the CDC's National Flu Survey, a telephone poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. The interviews took place between Mar 3 and Mar 30 in 20 local areas and included responses from about 31,000 people.
In November, before the flu season picked up momentum, the same survey showed solid vaccine uptake, with 33% of Americans already vaccinated, 15% saying they definitely planned to get vaccinated, and 25% saying they would probably be immunized.
In the latest survey report, the CDC said flu activity remained low in most parts of the country until the middle of December, when it increased through early February. Last season there was an earlier-than-usual seasonal flu vaccine push to make way for the 2009 H1N1 pandemic vaccine, which arrived later than expected. Demand for the seasonal vaccine was high, due to frequent public health messages about both the seasonal and pandemic vaccines."
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Economic crisis 'must not disrupt vaccine programme'
Via BBC News :
" The global economic crisis must not be allowed to interfere with the delivery of new vaccines to the developing world, a global health body has warned.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (Gavi) says it needs more than $4bn (£3bn) by 2015.
This would enable it to continue existing programmes and roll out new vaccines against diarrhoea and pneumonia.
But there are fears donors may want to cut back in the current climate.
Many developing countries now have, with foreign assistance, built up the infrastructure so that routine immunisations can now be offered to up to 80% of the world's poorest children.
Saving money
Gavi, a public-private partnership which draws together organisations including the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the vaccine industry, is now trying to secure funding for 15 countries to add further vaccines to those existing programmes."
" The global economic crisis must not be allowed to interfere with the delivery of new vaccines to the developing world, a global health body has warned.
The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (Gavi) says it needs more than $4bn (£3bn) by 2015.
This would enable it to continue existing programmes and roll out new vaccines against diarrhoea and pneumonia.
But there are fears donors may want to cut back in the current climate.
Many developing countries now have, with foreign assistance, built up the infrastructure so that routine immunisations can now be offered to up to 80% of the world's poorest children.
Saving money
Gavi, a public-private partnership which draws together organisations including the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as the vaccine industry, is now trying to secure funding for 15 countries to add further vaccines to those existing programmes."
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Australia : Study may lead to improved flu vaccines
Via ABC News :
" Immunologists have made a discovery that will help in the development of flu vaccines that could be effective for many years longer than current ones.
Dr Nicole La Gruta, of the University of Melbourne, and colleagues, report their findings in the current issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
If new flu vaccines were developed from the discovery they would probably only need to be given every 5 to 10 years, instead of every year, says La Gruta.
Current flu vaccines are based on triggering antibodies that will recognise proteins (antigens) that appear on the surface of the virus.
But, says La Gruta, these surface proteins are the most changeable part of a virus, which is why vaccines lose their effectiveness as the virus mutates. As a result new vaccines have to be given each year."
" Immunologists have made a discovery that will help in the development of flu vaccines that could be effective for many years longer than current ones.
Dr Nicole La Gruta, of the University of Melbourne, and colleagues, report their findings in the current issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
If new flu vaccines were developed from the discovery they would probably only need to be given every 5 to 10 years, instead of every year, says La Gruta.
Current flu vaccines are based on triggering antibodies that will recognise proteins (antigens) that appear on the surface of the virus.
But, says La Gruta, these surface proteins are the most changeable part of a virus, which is why vaccines lose their effectiveness as the virus mutates. As a result new vaccines have to be given each year."
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
US : Misinformation About Vaccine Safety Puts Kids at Risk of Illness
Via Health Day:
" Almost one-third of U.S. parents surveyed delayed vaccines for their very young children in 2008, and 12 percent simply refused to have their children immunized, possibly making them more vulnerable to illness, a new study shows.
Physicians report that children who don't receive recommended vaccine doses by the time they're 2 years old are at risk of developing a variety of diseases. But some anti-vaccine activists contend that the shots can cause side effects, including autism, although health officials say repeated studies have failed to uncover such a link.
For this study, researchers analyzed the results of a 2008 national survey of parents and health-care providers."
" Almost one-third of U.S. parents surveyed delayed vaccines for their very young children in 2008, and 12 percent simply refused to have their children immunized, possibly making them more vulnerable to illness, a new study shows.
Physicians report that children who don't receive recommended vaccine doses by the time they're 2 years old are at risk of developing a variety of diseases. But some anti-vaccine activists contend that the shots can cause side effects, including autism, although health officials say repeated studies have failed to uncover such a link.
For this study, researchers analyzed the results of a 2008 national survey of parents and health-care providers."
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