Global Health
Parliamentarians support Pandemic Agreement efforts
In October 2024, parliamentarians from across the world met at the UNITE Global Summit in Berlin to sign a statement in support of the WHO Pandemic Agreement
WHO, IMF, and WBG agree on pandemic preparedness principles
In October 2024, WHO announced an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG) on “broad principles
Wellcome funding to overcome AMA capacity challenges
The African Union Development Agency – New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD) announced in October 2024 that Wellcome
GSK’s Arexvy offers protection for 3 RSV seasons
GSK announced in October 2024 that data from the AreSVI-006 (Adult Respiratory Syncytial Virus) Phase III trial of Arexvy indicate that a single dose
Adult vaccination in the EU: report finds disparities
A report from Coalition for Life Course Immunisation (CLCI) considers the financial and policy frameworks of various National Immunisation Programmes
“Deliberate ignorance” predicted vaccine refusal in study
A paper in npj vaccines in September 2024 explores the significance of “biased processing” of information relating to vaccines in addressing vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although vaccine hesitancy is influenced by various factors, the research...
COVID-19 in LAC region: up to 2.61 million deaths averted
A study in Open Forum Infectious Diseases in September 2024 estimates the number of deaths averted through vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean Region (LAC) during the first year and a half of vaccination efforts. The study spans January 2021 to May 2022 and...
Bavarian Nordic shares mpox vaccine supply update
Bavarian Nordic issued an update on its supply and manufacturing activities in support of mpox response efforts in September 2024. The company manufacturers the approved non-replicating smallpox and mpox vaccine MVA-BN (marketed as JYNNEOS, IMVAMUNE, and IMVANEX). The...
HPV vaccine GARDASIL 9 meets endpoints in Phase III trial
In September 2024, Merck (MSD) announced positive top-line results from its pivotal Phase III trial evaluating the company’s 9-valent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, GARDASIL 9, in young males in Japan. The trial met its primary and secondary endpoints, proving...
Study: need for clinical surveillance of patients with C-VAM
An FDA-funded study in eClinical Medicine explores the clinical characteristics, myocardial injury, and longitudinal outcomes of COVID-19 vaccine-associated myocarditis (C-VAM). The authors provide a “detailed phenotypic clinical characterisation” of C-VAM in 33...
15,460 additional mpox vaccine doses arrive in DRC
Gavi announced in September 2024 that a shipment of 15,460 doses of mpox vaccine has arrived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to “support the global and regional effort to contain the outbreak”. These doses were donated by manufacturer Bavarian Nordic to...
Cancer Research UK funds Oxford’s ‘LynchVax’ efforts
The University of Oxford’s Centre for Cancer Early Detection and Prevention announced in September 2024 that Cancer Research UK has awarded a team of scientists up to £550,000 to carry out “underpinning work” to test a vaccine for patients with Lynch syndrome. Lynch...
WHO and Africa CDC: mpox preparedness and response plan
In response to the mpox outbreak, declared a PHEIC by WHO and a PHECS by Africa CDC, the two organisations announced that they are co-leading a “coordinated, continent-wide response”. The Mpox Continental Preparedness and Response Plan for Africa describes “essential...
Study: structural inequities to vaccine access in India
A study in Vaccine in August 2024 explores the role of “structural and historical inequities” in shaping access to COVID-19 vaccines for the transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) and disability communities in the Indian context. The authors take a participatory...
Mpox public perception study highlights need for knowledge
A study in Vaccine X presents a “comprehensive view of people’s opinions, fears, and behaviours” about mpox. The authors searched various sites for descriptive cross-sectional study designs from 2022 and 2023 addressing “knowledge, attitude, perception, preparedness,...
Childhood vaccination approach shows promise against HIV
In August 2024 researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine shared that their strategy to provide protection against HIV has shown promise in a study. The paper in Science Immunology (not open access) explores the potential of a multidose immunisation regimen in infant...
DEFRA launches TB eradication strategy with Field Force
In August 2024 the UK Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced the launch of a new tuberculosis (TB) eradication strategy to end the badger cull and “drive down” bovine Tuberculosis rates. TB has had a “devastating” effect on British...
UNICEF issues emergency tender for mpox vaccine procurement
UNICEF announced in August 2024 that it has issued an emergency tender for the procurement of mpox vaccines amid the public health emergency declared by Africa CDC and WHO. UNICEF is the world’s largest single vaccine buyer, reportedly procuring “more than 2 billion”...
APPC data shows US vaccine willingness is decreasing
The Annenberg Public Policy Centre (APPC) shared a report in August 2024, revealing that the number of Americans believing COVID-19 vaccination misinformation has risen and their “willingness” to take or recommend vaccination against COVID-19 is “lower than in the...
Mental health condition disparities in HPV vaccination
A study in The Lancet Public Health by researchers at Karolinska Institutet finds “disparities’ in cervical cancer prevention among girls with mental health conditions in Sweden. The authors call for research to ensure equitable protection after their population-based...
