Latest news with #vaccines
CNN
8 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Anti-vaccine group that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. founded files suit against him over vaccine safety task force
A nonprofit anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing him, in his capacity as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for failing to establish a task force to promote the development of safer childhood vaccines. 'Our first priority will ALWAYS be children's health. Sec. Kennedy has FAILED 'to establish a task force dedicated to making childhood vaccines safer, as mandated by federal law,' so we WILL be holding him accountable,' Children's Health Defense said Tuesday in a post on X. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 directs the HHS secretary to establish a task force consisting of the director of the National Institutes of Health, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The NIH director is designated as chair. According to an article posted Monday on Children's Health Defense's news site, in the years since the act was passed, no HHS secretary – including Kennedy – has ever reported to Congress on steps taken to make vaccines safer. 'This is part of the 1986 act itself,' Children's Health Defense CEO Mary Holland said in the article. 'That no secretary has done so since the passage of this law is a blow to the rule of law. I hope and trust that the current secretary will fulfill his obligation to Congress's mandate.' The organization says attorney Ray Flores, its senior outside counsel, filed the lawsuit on its behalf. Kennedy filed a similar case in 2018 after a Freedom of Information Act request failed to produce any of the reports that are supposed to be filed under the Act. HHS has not responded to CNN's request for comment about the new lawsuit. 'Even if it does not include the people in the [National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act], there are multiple federal committees that routinely look at vaccine safety and how to make vaccines safer. It's something that gets a lot of attention,' Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, told CNN in an email. 'This looks performative, and it may give Kennedy cover for convening this task force that he may already want to convene. It may well be collusion,' she wrote. 'To me, this looks like a way to give political cover to something the Secretary may want to do anyway (and can do without anything). The government has answers to this lawsuit, but may not want to.'
CNN
9 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Anti-vaccine group that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. founded files suit against him over vaccine safety task force
A nonprofit anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing him, in his capacity as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for failing to establish a task force to promote the development of safer childhood vaccines. 'Our first priority will ALWAYS be children's health. Sec. Kennedy has FAILED 'to establish a task force dedicated to making childhood vaccines safer, as mandated by federal law,' so we WILL be holding him accountable,' Children's Health Defense said Tuesday in a post on X. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 directs the HHS secretary to establish a task force consisting of the director of the National Institutes of Health, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The NIH director is designated as chair. According to an article posted Monday on Children's Health Defense's news site, in the years since the act was passed, no HHS secretary – including Kennedy – has ever reported to Congress on steps taken to make vaccines safer. 'This is part of the 1986 act itself,' Children's Health Defense CEO Mary Holland said in the article. 'That no secretary has done so since the passage of this law is a blow to the rule of law. I hope and trust that the current secretary will fulfill his obligation to Congress's mandate.' The organization says attorney Ray Flores, its senior outside counsel, filed the lawsuit on its behalf. Kennedy filed a similar case in 2018 after a Freedom of Information Act request failed to produce any of the reports that are supposed to be filed under the Act. HHS has not responded to CNN's request for comment about the new lawsuit. 'Even if it does not include the people in the [National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act], there are multiple federal committees that routinely look at vaccine safety and how to make vaccines safer. It's something that gets a lot of attention,' Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, told CNN in an email. 'This looks performative, and it may give Kennedy cover for convening this task force that he may already want to convene. It may well be collusion,' she wrote. 'To me, this looks like a way to give political cover to something the Secretary may want to do anyway (and can do without anything). The government has answers to this lawsuit, but may not want to.'
CNN
9 hours ago
- Health
- CNN
Anti-vaccine group that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. founded files suit against him over vaccine safety task force
A nonprofit anti-vaccine group founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suing him, in his capacity as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, for failing to establish a task force to promote the development of safer childhood vaccines. 'Our first priority will ALWAYS be children's health. Sec. Kennedy has FAILED 'to establish a task force dedicated to making childhood vaccines safer, as mandated by federal law,' so we WILL be holding him accountable,' Children's Health Defense said Tuesday in a post on X. The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 directs the HHS secretary to establish a task force consisting of the director of the National Institutes of Health, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The NIH director is designated as chair. According to an article posted Monday on Children's Health Defense's news site, in the years since the act was passed, no HHS secretary – including Kennedy – has ever reported to Congress on steps taken to make vaccines safer. 'This is part of the 1986 act itself,' Children's Health Defense CEO Mary Holland said in the article. 'That no secretary has done so since the passage of this law is a blow to the rule of law. I hope and trust that the current secretary will fulfill his obligation to Congress's mandate.' The organization says attorney Ray Flores, its senior outside counsel, filed the lawsuit on its behalf. Kennedy filed a similar case in 2018 after a Freedom of Information Act request failed to produce any of the reports that are supposed to be filed under the Act. HHS has not responded to CNN's request for comment about the new lawsuit. 'Even if it does not include the people in the [National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act], there are multiple federal committees that routinely look at vaccine safety and how to make vaccines safer. It's something that gets a lot of attention,' Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at UC Law San Francisco, told CNN in an email. 'This looks performative, and it may give Kennedy cover for convening this task force that he may already want to convene. It may well be collusion,' she wrote. 'To me, this looks like a way to give political cover to something the Secretary may want to do anyway (and can do without anything). The government has answers to this lawsuit, but may not want to.'
CBC
16 hours ago
- Health
- CBC
Alberta mother feared the worst for 4-month-old with measles
Months after fearing she would lose her baby girl to measles, Morgan Birch says she wants Canadians to educate themselves more about the importance of vaccines. Birch's daughter, Kimie Fukuta-Birch, was too young to be eligible for the vaccine, which is not routinely given to children under a year old. But she feels her baby would not have been infected if more people around her had received the vaccine. "Basically as parents, it's your responsibility to educate yourself with the help of your pediatrician and health-care professionals," she said. "I feel this was completely preventable." Birch, who lives in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., said she is also worried that her daughter may suffer long-term health complications as a result of her getting measles at such a young age. "It's not just that parent or child who it affected when they don't vaccinate, there's a whole other population that needs to be protected by vaccines." Birch isn't certain where her daughter got infected, but said she took her out in the Fort Saskatchewan community before she got sick. Alberta has become a hot spot for measles, with the province reporting nearly 1,380 infections since the beginning of March. This is more than the total number of cases reported in the United States. Ontario has also reported more than 2,270 infections since an outbreak began last fall. Alberta's immunization rates against measles for children fall below the recommended rate of 95 per cent that scientists say is needed to prevent the illness from spreading. The province's 2024 data shows that by age two, 80 per cent of children received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, and 68 per cent received both doses. Alberta's vaccination schedule for the two-part shot calls for the first dose at 12 months and the second at 18 months. But even by age seven, only 71.6 per cent had received both doses, provincial data shows. However, it's not the only province with low immunization rates against measles among children. Three out of the four Atlantic provinces told The Canadian Press they also had immunization rates below the 95-per-cent threshold, while one province, Newfoundland and Labrador, has not responded to requests for its data. WATCH | Canada measles outbreaks are preventable, says family doctor: Family doctor says measles outbreaks in Canada are entirely preventable 5 days ago While B.C. has recorded a little over 100 cases of measles as of July 5, neighbouring Alberta has recorded more cases than the entirety of the U.S. despite having a fraction of the population. Dr. Susan Kuo, a Richmond family physician, said the current outbreak could be prevented with up-to-date vaccinations, and the COVID-19 pandemic had led to an increase in vaccine skepticism and poor disease mitigation. Last week, Dr. Kimberley Barker, regional medical officer of health for Sussex, N.B., said measles cases were rising due to factors such as vaccine hesitancy. In some cases, she said parents are too busy and may underestimate the seriousness or risk of infection. Barker said officials are ramping up immunization campaigns when schools start in September to make it easier for kids with busy parents to get vaccinated. Other provinces are also making it easier to get immunized through walk-in clinics, community health centres and health-care providers. Birch explained how the consequences could be severe for those who don't follow recommendations from their local public health officials and doctors. She recalled that before her daughter's bout of measles, she was a happy baby. But it took a month for Kimie to recover from the infection. And although she is now back to her "happy self," Birch said she seems to be falling sick more than she used to. "Her immune system has to be built up again." Overall, Canada has a total of 3,822 confirmed measles cases from Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, as of July 5. New Brunswick has confirmed 14 cases. Lingering risks Shelly Bolotin, director of the Centre for Vaccine Preventable Diseases at the University of Toronto, said the first does of the measles vaccine is usually given at 12 months. But children as young as six months can also be given the shot if they are travelling or living in an area with an outbreak. Although, she added those children who receive a dose at six months will still need to receive two subsequent doses. "As people are going out of town and taking trips — if they are going to measles endemic areas — they can protect their infant if they're a minimum of six months old," Bolotin said, adding it takes up to two weeks for the vaccination to take effect. Bolotin said the incubation period for measles is up to three weeks from the time a person is exposed to the disease until they start experiencing symptoms. Measles infects the immune cells, erasing a lot of the previous immunity and leaving the person susceptible to other bacterial and viral infections for several years, she said. "The technical term is measles immune amnesia." Children who recover from measles can experience other infections more frequently because they have lost this immunity and don't realize that this is a long-term effect of measles infection, she noted. There is also a rare and fatal form of neurological deterioration — subacute sclerosing panencephalitis — that happens in four to 11 in every 100,000 cases, she said. This disorder occurs when measles remains in the body latently, she added. Some of the symptoms include behavioural changes, cognitive decline, jerks, and seizures,with the onset of the disease being late childhood or adolescence. Childhood complications "Canada worked very, very hard to eliminate measles, and we achieved measles elimination in 1998 which means the World Health Organization has recognized that it wasn't circulating regularly in our country, and now we're at risk of losing that," Bolotin said. "And that would be a shame." Dr. Anna Banerji, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto, said some children suffer from complications after measles such as pneumonia, hepatitis or encephalitis. Measles can also cause deafness and blindness, especially if the child is malnourished. Measles cases in Alberta surpass 1,300 4 days ago As Alberta's measles outbreak continues to grow, some residents are reconsidering travel plans — particularly families with young children or individuals with autoimmune concerns. Dr. Christopher Labos addresses and debunks common misinformation about measles vaccines and preventative treatments. CORRECTION (July 18, 2025): A previous version of this title incorrectly stated the number of confirmed measles cases in Alberta as 13,000. In fact, the number of cases in the province is 1,300. After recovering from a bout of infection, Banerji said some children have temporary low immunity. "It can take a while to recover," she said. Meanwhile, Birch said she will carry the heartbreak, frustration and feeling of helplessness as she watched her four-month-old daughter fight measles. "She could have died," she said of her daughter. "A lot of kids died from measles back before there were preventive measures in place."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Billion euro deal: Sanofi buys UK biotech company to expand respiratory vaccine portfolio
In the race to develop next-generation respiratory virus vaccines, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has agreed to buy Vicebio Ltd., a privately-held biotechnology company headquartered in London, UK. Sanofi said there will be an initial cash payment of $1.15bn (€980 million) for the deal, 'with potential milestone payments of up to $450 million based on development and regulatory achievements'. 'We are excited to join Sanofi', said Emmanuel Hanon, Chief Executive Officer at Vicebio, in a statement. 'Their global scale and deep expertise in vaccine development provide the ideal environment to fully realise the potential of our innovative technology." With the acquisition, Sanofi gets Vicebio's early-stage combination vaccine candidate for two respiratory viruses, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human metapneumovirus (hMPV). Respiratory infections, affecting millions globally, often appear as cold-like illnesses that could, in severe cases, lead to pneumonia. In respiratory medication, Sanofi already has several vaccines in its portfolio against flu and RSV prevention; this latest acquisition adds a non-mRNA vaccine to its pipeline. mRNA technology is relatively new for vaccines. It teaches the body how to make a protein that triggers an immune response to protect against a specific virus, instead of using a weakened or inactivated germ to trigger this reaction. With the current deal, Sanofi also gets access to Vicebio's Molecular Clamp technology, which stabilises viral proteins in their native shape, triggering a more effective immune response. This technology is expected to speed up vaccine development and simplify manufacturing and distribution. Related EU pharma chief calls for European Nasdaq to boost biotech innovation Doliprane-maker Sanofi confirms exclusive talks with US firm CD&R 'This acquisition furthers Sanofi's dedication to vaccine innovation with the potential to develop next-generation combination vaccines that could provide protection to older adults against multiple respiratory viruses with a single immunisation," said Jean-François Toussaint, global head of research and development vaccines at Sanofi. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2025, and will not have a significant impact on Sanofi's financial guidance for 2025. The pharma giant's share price was down around 0.4% before 11:00 CEST in Paris.
