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Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Shots - Health News

Fifteen Years After A Vaccine Scare, A Measles Epidemic

Luke Tanner, 7, gets vaccinated for measles at a clinic near Swansea, Wales, in April. Wales is at the center of a measles outbreak that has been linked to one death.

May 22, 2013 A measles epidemic in Wales that has infected more than 1,000 people is the fallout from a fraudulent paper linking the vaccine and autism published almost 15 years ago, health officials say. Many of the children and teenagers sick with measles were never vaccinated.

Summary

Thursday, May 09, 2013

Shots - Health News

Price Break For Cervical Cancer Shots In Developing World

A map of cervical cancer rates around the world shows that they're highest in low-income countries.

May 9, 2013 The two makers of HPV vaccines have agreed to lower the prices for their vaccines to less than $5 a shot for low-income countries. The cheaper vaccine may make it easier to vaccinate girls in places where the risk of death from cervical cancer is greatest.

Summary

Friday, March 29, 2013

Shots - Health News

Number Of Early Childhood Vaccines Not Linked To Autism

A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds no link between the number of vaccinations a young child receives and the risk of developing autism spectrum disorders.

March 29, 2013 A government study of the medical records of 1,000 kids found no correlation between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. Experts hope the finding will allay some parents who worry that many vaccines on one day or in the first two years of life may lead to autism.

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Monday, March 04, 2013

Shots - Health News

Mouse Study Sheds Light On Why Some Cancer Vaccines Fail

A simple switch of ingredients made a big difference in how mice responded to experimental cancer vaccines.

March 4, 2013 More than 90 clinical trials have tested therapeutic vaccines in cancer patients, but the results have been a mixed bag. A recent study in mice suggests that changing a traditional ingredient in the vaccines could make a big difference.

Summary

Monday, February 04, 2013

Shots - Health News

Experimental Tuberculosis Vaccine Fails To Protect Infants

Nurse Christel Petersen inoculates a child in the South African Tuberculosis Vaccine Initiative study in 2011.

February 4, 2013 A study in South Africa finds that an experimental vaccine against TB didn't help protect infants very much against either infection with TB or development of disease. The results were a setback, but researchers say the field remains promising.

Summary

Friday, January 18, 2013

Shots - Health News

A Worm's Ovary Cells Become A Flu Vaccine Machine

The fall armyworm, a corn pest, is now also a vaccine factory.

January 18, 2013 The Food and Drug Administration just approved a flu vaccine made by cells taken from the fall armyworm, an agricultural pest. The cells produce copies of a piece of the flu virus's outer coat that primes the immune system. Conventional vaccines use the whole virus and take longer to produce.

Summary

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Shots - Health News

Scientists Try To Thwart Flu Virus By Resetting Its Clock

When flu viruses (in red) accumulate an escape protein too quickly, they exit the cell nucleus (in blue) before they've made enough viral copies to spread the infection.

January 17, 2013 Flu viruses hijack the machinery inside animal cells to replicate. The theft is a complicated process that takes time. If the virus leaves the cells too early or too late, the risk of infection falls.

Summary

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Shots - Health News

Schedule Of Childhood Vaccines Declared Safe

Some parents have worried that kids get too many vaccinations too quickly. A review of all the available research suggests those concerns are misplaced.

January 16, 2013 Parents will be reassured to hear there's no evidence linking the current timeline for vaccinations to health problems. A review of all available scientific data looked at a wide range of medical conditions — including diabetes, autism and epilepsy — before declaring that there's no reason to worry.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Shots - Health News

Colleges Try To Curtail Flu Risk For Students

Dr. Tom Nary is the director of health services at Boston College.

January 15, 2013 As students return to class from winter break, campus health official are trying to avert an outbreak. Colleges in Boston are especially worried after the mayor's declaration last week of a public health emergency in the city.

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Monday, December 17, 2012

Shots - Health News

Doctors Argue Against Proposed Ban On Vaccine Preservative

A boy in Lima, Peru, receives a hepatitis B vaccine during an immunization drive in 2008. The United Nations is considering a ban on the preservative thimerosal, which is often used in hepatitis B and other vaccines in developing countries.

December 17, 2012 The preservative thimerosal keeps vaccines from going bad in places where there is no refrigeration. Anti-vaccine activists say it should be banned because it contains mercury, but public health officials insist it's safe.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Shots - Health News

A Guarded Thumbs Up For Sugar To Ease Tots' Pain From Shots

Does a little sugar water before shots really help ease a babies' pain? If only they could tell us.

December 12, 2012 A roundup of the medical evidence by a group of independent researchers suggest that giving babies sugar water before injections can help comfort them. But the latest analysis is less enthusiastic about the approach than a previous review.

Summary

Friday, December 07, 2012

Shots - Health News

Unusually Early Flu Season Intensifies

The number of states experiencing widespread flu doubled in the past week.

December 7, 2012 The flu is back early this season. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cases

Summary

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Shots - Health News

Turning Vaccine Refusals Into Teachable Moments

Kimberly Magdeleno, 4, braces herself for a whooping cough booster shot at a health clinic in Tacoma, Wash., in May.

December 5, 2012 To raise vaccination rates, some states have made it much harder for parents to get exemptions for their children from immunizations based on personal beliefs. One doctor says restrictions could backfire.

Summary

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Shots - Health News

Evidence Mounts On Shortcomings In Whooping Cough Vaccine

At a Los Angeles media briefing in 2010, Mariah Bianchi describes how her own case of whooping cough caused the death of her newborn son.

November 28, 2012 There were more than 9,000 whooping cough cases in California in 2010, a 60-year high. There has been a resurgence of the disease across the country lately. Why? People going without vaccination is one factor. Another may lie in the vaccines themselves.

Summary

Friday, November 09, 2012

Shots - Health News

Experimental Malaria Vaccine Disappoints, But Work Continues

A mother dresses her baby after doctors examined him during the malaria vaccine trial at the Walter Reed Project Research Center in Kombewa in Western Kenya in October 2009.

November 9, 2012 An experimental vaccine for malaria reduces infants' risk of the disease by about a third. That's less than researchers had hoped for, given the vaccine's effectiveness in toddlers, but doctors say it's enough to prevent many high fevers, seizures and deaths in a lot of African children.

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