Trump Administration’s Gamble on 70 Year Old Vaccine Tech Raises Red Flags
The US Department of Health and Human Services diverted $500 million from the pandemic preparedness fund to grant a non-competitive contract to a single vaccine project. The award raised red flags among vaccine experts and government watchdogs.
1) funds are committed to only one vaccine candidate, which is “a little like going to the Kentucky Derby and putting all your money on one horse,” said William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University professor and past president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “In science we normally put money on a number of different horses because we can’t be entirely sure who’s going to win.”
2) the vaccine candidate uses 70-year old technology that has fallen out of favor since better technologies have been developed. This older technology is associated with more adverse health events.
3) This vaccine candidate is only in the early states of development. Many more promising candidates are further along in the R&D process.
4) the lead researcher on the vaccine project were recently named to top positions at the NIH, raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
Full Story: KFF
United States Has Worst Flu Season for Children Since 2009
This flu season, the US has seen the most pediatric flu deaths of any year since 2009, the year that swine flu swept through the country. Although flu cases and deaths have tailed off significantly from the peak, the flu season isn’t over yet. To date the CDC has confirmed that flu killed 216 American children this season. This number is likely much lower than the final total, since it typically takes many weeks for all the deaths to be compiled from across the country and counted. Last year the CDC did not finalize its count until the fall.
A key reason for the increase in child flu deaths is likely the falling vaccination rate, experts say. This year vaccination rate among children was just 49%, which is down by 15 percentage points compared to 5 years ago. Even though flu vaccines do not always prevent symptoms, the shots are very good at preventing deaths and hospitalizations.
Full Story: HealthDay
