Novavax's COVID-flu combo and standalone flu shots improve immunity in late-stage study
June 11 (Reuters) - Novavax's (NVAX.O), opens new tab experimental COVID-19-influenza combination and standalone influenza vaccines showed strong immune responses in some patients tested in a late-stage study, the company said on Wednesday.
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Sky News
27 minutes ago
- Sky News
Gonorrhoea vaccine programme to launch after rise in diagnoses
Why you can trust Sky News A new vaccine programme will be launched in Scotland to help curb cases of gonorrhoea following a rise in diagnoses post-pandemic. The sexually transmitted infection (STI) is the nation's second most common bacterial STI, with the latest figures showing 5,999 cases in 2023 - a 59% increase since before COVID hit. It is hoped the £280,000 programme - which will begin in August and is being funded by the Scottish government - will address increasing health inequalities and growing resistance to antibiotics treatment. Those eligible include gay and bisexual men at highest risk of infection, those involved in selling or exchanging sex regardless of gender, and those who sexual health clinic professionals assess as being at a similar risk level. Gonorrhoea can cause significant pain and discomfort, and in rare cases life-threatening sepsis. Public Health Minister Jenni Minto said: "This action is urgent and timely since the number of diagnoses has been high and the disease is becoming increasingly difficult to treat with antibiotics. "The science tells us that this vaccine will potentially protect thousands of people and prevent the spread of infection. "Anything which stops people from contracting gonorrhoea in the first place can have huge benefits, including ensuring our health system remains resilient by reducing the amount of treatment needed." The medication will be delivered by the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme led by Public Health Scotland (PHS). The funding is expected to cover first and second doses of the 4CMenB vaccine. The Scottish government said the vaccine was 30-40% effective and will be offered in clinics alongside those for HPV, hepatitis and the routine mpox vaccination programme. Dr Sam Ghebrehewet, head of the vaccination and immunisation division at PHS, said: "With gonorrhoea diagnoses having increased in recent years, the offer of the 4CMenB vaccine to those at highest risk of exposure is a welcome new intervention. "This vaccination programme is expected to help control and prevent the spread of gonorrhoea. "Public Health Scotland is working with the Scottish government and colleagues across NHS boards to finalise plans for the rollout of this targeted vaccination offering to those at increased risk of gonorrhoea from August 2025."
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Kennedy's new vaccine adviser was expert witness against Merck vaccine
June 12 (Reuters) - One of the new vaccine advisers picked by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has earned thousands of dollars as an expert witness in litigation against Merck's (MRK.N), opens new tab Gardasil vaccine, court records show. Martin Kulldorff, a biostatistician and epidemiologist who publicly criticized COVID-era lockdowns, is one of eight new members named by Kennedy on Wednesday to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a highly influential panel that recommends which shots should be administered to the American public. Kennedy fired the entire previous 17-member committee of expert vaccine advisers this week, claiming they were "plagued with persistent conflicts of interest" from financial ties to drugmakers. Kulldorff recently served as an expert witness for plaintiffs who accused Merck of concealing the risks of Gardasil, which is intended to prevent cancers caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). In March, a federal judge in North Carolina ruled in favor of Merck in one of those cases that included about 200 lawsuits. At a deposition in October, Kulldorff testified that the plaintiffs paid him $400 an hour and he had already billed for about $33,000 in legal work on the case through late September. He said he also received a $4,000 retainer in the North Carolina case, according to court documents. Kulldorff is also listed as an expert witness in a similar case pending against Merck in Los Angeles state court, records show. Under ACIP's rules, committee members cannot serve as a "paid litigation consultant or expert witness in litigation involving a vaccine manufacturer' during their tenure on the panel. Prior work as an expert witness against drugmakers may require a waiver from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and recusal from votes involving Merck and HPV vaccines. The agency has said in its rules it "will generally consider issuance of waivers in specific situations." Kulldorff did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Merck declined to comment. A spokesman for Kennedy's Health and Human Services Department said on Wednesday that "all newly appointed ACIP members were thoroughly vetted." HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kulldorff.
Reuters
4 hours ago
- Reuters
Ukraine and Russia exchange wounded, ill prisoners of war
KYIV, June 12 (Reuters) - Ukraine and Russia exchanged another group of ill and severely wounded servicemen on Thursday, officials from both countries said. All of the Ukrainian troops need treatment, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a message on the Telegram messaging app that did not go into details on the numbers involved. Kyiv and Moscow agreed to a large exchange of POWs and the remains of thousands of dead soldiers during talks in Istanbul earlier this month. Since then, Russia and Ukraine have swapped dozens of prisoners of war, focusing on under-25s and the severely wounded and sick. There are hopes they could build into some of the biggest exchanges in the war that was triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said a group of Russian troops had returned from Ukraine and crossed into neighbouring Belarus, in accordance with the agreements made on June 2. "They are being provided with the necessary psychological and medical assistance," the ministry said on Telegram. On Wednesday, Ukraine said it had brought home the bodies of 1,212 bodies of troops killed in the war with Russia. Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said Ukraine had returned the bodies of 27 Russian soldiers.
