Cold medicine

FDA's greenlighting of maternal RSV vaccine represents a major step forward in protecting young babies against the virus

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 28, 2023
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RSV is the most common cause of lower respiratory infections in young children and can be especially severe for infants under 6 months of age.

Key Points: 
  • RSV is the most common cause of lower respiratory infections in young children and can be especially severe for infants under 6 months of age.
  • It is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
  • Each year, RSV is associated with half a million emergency room visits, nearly 100,000 hospitalizations and 300 deaths in young U.S. children.
  • The approval of a maternal vaccine and monoclonal antibody signals a major milestone in the medical profession’s ability to prevent RSV disease in children.

A game-changer in the fight against RSV

    • Abrysvo stimulates the mother’s immune system to produce antibodies that cross the placenta and offer protection to the newborn against RSV illness, starting at birth.
    • In the trial, the maternal RSV vaccine prevented 82% of severe lower-respiratory illnesses caused by RSV in infants in the first 3 months of life, and 69.4% through 6 months of age.
    • Abrysvo was also approved by the FDA in May 2023 to prevent RSV illness in adults 60 years and older.

Monoclonal antibodies also provide protection

    • For those who are unable to get the RSV vaccine during their pregnancy, there is also an option to provide ready-made antibodies to protect the baby.
    • These antibodies help protect against lower-respiratory tract disease, including bronchiolitis and pneumonia, caused by RSV.

Parsing the differences

    • Clinical trials showed that the vaccine was protective up to 6 months of age and the antibody up to 5 months of age.
    • While Abrysvo stimulates the production of the mother’s own antibodies that get passed on to the baby, Beyfortus is not actually a vaccine.
    • It instead provides ready-made antibodies given as an injection to protect the child.
    • The cost of Abrysvo and how it will be covered by insurance will depend on what the CDC says in October.

The bottom line

    • Both products are safe and effective, and it is important to protect young infants and children at risk from RSV.
    • Until now, effective monoclonal antibodies were only available for the most premature babies.

EDO NFL TV Outcomes Report Reveals NFL Ad Effectiveness, Strength of Streaming

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Software, Entertainment, Sports, Internet, Technology, Football, Celebrity, TV and Radio, Marketing, Advertising, Communications, Content Marketing, New Frontier, NFL, Heinz, Sport, Super Bowl, New England Patriots, Telemundo, CPG, Foodservice, SL, 2020 New England Patriots season, EDO, Super Bowl counterprogramming, Rihanna, Cold medicine, Fluticasone propionate, SVP, Social media, Television, Restaurant, Automotive industry

EDO , the TV outcomes company, released today the inaugural NFL TV Outcomes Report , which highlights key ad engagement trends from the 2022-23 NFL season.

Key Points: 
  • EDO , the TV outcomes company, released today the inaugural NFL TV Outcomes Report , which highlights key ad engagement trends from the 2022-23 NFL season.
  • EDO analyzed every Convergent TV ad that ran during linear and streaming NFL programming to reveal the season’s most impactful matchups for advertisers, the brands with the most effective investment, and granular analysis of TV ad engagement data across nine categories, such as Automotive, CPG, and Restaurants.
  • As marketers across industries continue to contend with economic headwinds, EDO’s outcomes data will help optimize limited budgets on TV’s most premium inventory.
  • “Luxury auto and restaurant advertisers had particularly strong investment and ad engagement throughout last NFL season,” said Laura Grover, SVP, Head of Client Solutions, EDO.

Nigeria battles a deadly diphtheria outbreak - what it is and how to control it

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
People, Vaccine, Tissue, Heart, Cold medicine, Vaccination, Atmosphere, Fever, Respiratory disease, Weakness, Skin and skin structure infection, Congo, Neck, UNICEF, Cough, Nose, Conditional sentence, Death, Democratic republic, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Tetanus, Sneeze, Bacteria, World, Sore throat, Disease, Pharmaceutical industry, Film industry, Corynebacterium, Diphtheria

Infectious diseases expert Dr. Oyewale Tomori explains what diphtheria is, its symptoms and how people can protect themselves against the disease.

Key Points: 
  • Infectious diseases expert Dr. Oyewale Tomori explains what diphtheria is, its symptoms and how people can protect themselves against the disease.
  • What is diphtheria?
  • Left untreated, diphtheria toxin spreads through the tissues of the nose and throat as well as tissues of the heart and nerves.
  • Symptoms of respiratory diphtheria usually begin 2 to 5 days after a person becomes infected.
  • Skin infections caused by C. diphtheriae typically consist of shallow ulcers (sores) and do not result in severe disease.
  • Nigeria must also enhance epidemiological surveillance to ensure early detection of diphtheria cases.
  • There must be early and prompt reporting of cases, timely management and treatment of cases, and adequate supply of diphtheria antitoxin.

Measles and whooping cough outbreaks in South Africa: a sign of low vaccination coverage, experts warn

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Vaccine, Gaps, Seizure, Cold medicine, Immunization, Vaccination, Vaccine-preventable diseases, Education, South African Medical Research Council, Parent, COVID-19, Infection, Measles vaccine, Whooping cough, Immunity, World Health Organization, Diphtheria, Research, Brain damage, Vaccine hesitancy, History, UNICEF, Measles, Cough, Death, Health, Cholera, Child, Tetanus, Sneeze, WHO, World, Safety, Pneumonia, Caregiver, Disease, Pharmaceutical industry

Worldwide, in the decades 2000-2020, childhood vaccination led to the reduction of deaths in children under 5 by 50% to 5.4 million deaths per year.

Key Points: 
  • Worldwide, in the decades 2000-2020, childhood vaccination led to the reduction of deaths in children under 5 by 50% to 5.4 million deaths per year.
  • These are deaths that would have been caused by measles, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, diphtheria, pneumonia, rotavirus diarrhoea, and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
  • Scientists from the South African Medical Research Council explain why these diseases continue to threaten children’s health in the country.

The country currently has outbreaks of several diseases. What are they?

    • It is the second most frequently reported disease outbreak in Africa after cholera.
    • Up to 10% of children under five years of age who develop measles die from complications of the disease.
    • A child requires two doses of the measles vaccine to develop protective immunity against the disease.
    • The two doses of the measles vaccine are given at 6 and 12 months of age in South Africa.

These diseases are preventable. What’s behind the spread?

    • The resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases in South Africa is due to immunity gaps caused by low vaccination coverage.
    • A national survey conducted from July to December 2019 found that only 81% of children had received all their vaccine doses scheduled up to 12 months of age in South Africa.

What’s the cause of the gaps in immunisation?

    • This has led to an increase in the number of children who are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated.
    • Structural barriers such as vaccine availability and access to health facilities are well known to reduce vaccination coverage.
    • This has had a dramatic impact on routine immunisation services and ultimately reduced vaccine coverage over the years.

What steps can be taken to close these gaps?


    Globally, many initiatives exist to improve childhood immunization, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Within the context of the Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) programme, WHO, UNICEF and Gavi, are launching the “Big Catch-Up” initiative. This initiative aims to support countries like South Africa to plan and implement intensified efforts to bolster immunisation. It has three main objectives:
    • Interventions that are focused on improving the healthcare system include cold-chain infrastructure improvements to ensure availability and access to vaccines.
    • Informing and providing education to caregivers and healthcare workers has also been effective increasing vaccination in children in cases where parents were hesitant.
    • However, not enough research is done on interventions to dispel misinformation and misconception regarding immunisation, which is one of the leading causes of vaccine hesitancy.

'Got polio?' messaging underscores a vaccine campaign's success but creates false sense of security as memories of the disease fade in US

Retrieved on: 
Friday, April 28, 2023
People, Vaccine, United Nations Foundation, Medicine, Cold medicine, Vaccine-preventable diseases, NFIP, Awareness, Life, Epidemic, Public, Polio, Neurodevelopmental disorder, COVID-19, Fear, Whooping cough, Diaphragm, Hypoesthesia, Crutch, Research, Rehabilitation, Diphtheria, History, Parent, Neck, Paralysis, Measles, Hospital, Developed country, Patient, Collection, Risk, Collective memory, Brace, Mass media, FDR, Radio, Post-polio syndrome, Diagnosis, Immunization, Headache, Death, Disease, Pharmaceutical industry, Entertainment

Thanks, Science.” Messages like this are used in memes, posters, T-shirts and even some billboards to promote routine vaccinations.

Key Points: 
  • Thanks, Science.” Messages like this are used in memes, posters, T-shirts and even some billboards to promote routine vaccinations.
  • Phrasing that aims to encourage immunizations by highlighting their accomplishments implies that some diseases are no longer a threat.
  • Moreover, a 2020 poll had found that 84% of adults viewed vaccinating children as important, a 10% decline from 2001.
  • A shift in focus to immunization in developing countries has further lulled Americans into a false sense of security.

Campaigning against a devastating disease

    • Before vaccines, polio – called infantile paralysis or poliomyelitis – was the most feared childhood disease in the U.S.
    • Frequently affecting elementary school kids, the disease sometimes presented like a cold or flu – fever, sore throat and headache.
    • Only time could reveal whether the paralysis was permanent or would recede, sometimes to return decades later as Post-Polio Syndrome.
    • High schoolers performed polio-themed plays, putting the disease itself on trial in “The People vs. Polio.” People passed around collection boxes at movie theaters and other public gatherings.

From public enemy No. 1 to success story

    • Over the next decade, the NFIP shifted its focus to widespread immunization, again using both mass media and local campaigns.
    • The repeated declaration of what polio vaccines could and were accomplishing was strategically effective in persuading more people to get their shots.
    • The American public of the 1960s and 1970s had lived through repeated polio epidemics and knew both the fear of contracting the disease and its visible aftereffects.
    • Public health rhetoric that focused on this vaccine success story worked around the world in the late 1980s and 1990s.
    • A reminder for the American public about this still dangerous disease can help ensure that “Got Polio?” does not become a serious question.

Acetaminophen overdose is a leading cause of liver injury, but it is largely preventable

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 26, 2023
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“Larissa was healthy and within a week of the overdose, her liver failed, she received a liver transplant, and died from complications.

Key Points: 
  • “Larissa was healthy and within a week of the overdose, her liver failed, she received a liver transplant, and died from complications.
  • It was probably an attempt to treat her COVID-19 symptoms at a time when she was not eating well.
  • The three of us were developing educational tools on acetaminophen-related liver injury for health-care providers when we first learned of Larissa’s story.

Leading cause of acute liver injury

    • Yet, it is also a leading cause of acute liver injury, which can be fatal without a rescue liver transplant.
    • With millions around the world using acetaminophen every day, why are so few people aware of the dangers of overdose?
    • Approximately 4,500 Canadians are hospitalized from acetaminophen overdose each year — 12 hospitalizations per day.

Toxicity and overdose

    • In the first 24 hours after an overdose, there may only be mild symptoms such as nausea and vomiting, but many have no symptoms at all.
    • While the liver may heal itself, around six per cent of people hospitalized for acetaminophen overdose develop liver failure.
    • An antidote is available (an intravenous medicine called N-acetylcysteine) but it is most effective if given within 24 hours of overdose.

Using acetaminophen safely

    • Given that acetaminophen remains one of the most common medicines for treating pain and fever, people need to take steps to reduce their risk of liver injury.
    • Always check acetaminophen packages for the maximum single dose and 24-hour dose.
    • If the first acetaminophen dose is taken at noon, the 24-hour window ends at noon the next day.
    • When buying acetaminophen for common ailments like a headache or arthritis pain, reach for the regular strength product.

Pregnant this winter? Here's how to prepare for COVID and get vaccinated

Retrieved on: 
Saturday, April 15, 2023
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Most pregnant women are aware of the recommendations around getting vaccinated against influenza (flu) and pertussis (whooping cough).

Key Points: 
  • Most pregnant women are aware of the recommendations around getting vaccinated against influenza (flu) and pertussis (whooping cough).
  • However, COVID is still relatively new, meaning women who have never been pregnant before may be unaware of the current recommendations and research.

1 in 10 pregnant women are vaccine hesitant

    • We are following more than 6,000 Australian women in the Birth in the Time of COVID-19 study who were pregnant or gave birth during the first two years of the pandemic.
    • We also sent them follow-up surveys at two months, six months, 12 months and 24 months after giving birth.
    • Our latest findings reporting on 2,144 responses to questions on vaccine uptake, published in the journal BMJ Open show around one in ten pregnant women and just over one in 13 postnatal women were hesitant to get a COVID vaccination.

So what does the evidence say?

    • But real-life data shows no evidence of a negative impact on fertility, miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth or other problematic pregnancy outcomes, and no negative impact on newborns or via breastfeeding.
    • We also know most side effects are mild and go away within a couple of days.
    • The baby may have a higher risk of premature birth (before 37 weeks of pregnancy), stillbirth or admission to the hospital newborn unit.

What do pregnant women need to know now winter is coming?

    • If you are trying to become pregnant, you do not need to delay vaccination or avoid becoming pregnant after vaccination.
    • For pregnant women, there are special considerations that need to be discussed so informed decisions can be made.
    • Advice from the Department of Health and Aged Care is that if you are pregnant, you should have two COVID vaccine doses (called the primary course).

What if you’re already vaccinated?

    • Recommendations for booster doses if you are pregnant are now the same as for non-pregnant people of the same age.
    • To book a COVID vaccine or booster dose, use the health Service Finder or text “Hey Eva” a callback service for Easy Vaccine Access.

ILiAD Biotechnologies Announces Presentation at the World Vaccine Congress

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Health, Infectious Diseases, Health Technology, Clinical Trials, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Vaccine, Fast track (FDA), Cold medicine, Congress, Iliad, MPH, Infection, Pharmaceutical industry, Lancet, MD

ILiAD Biotechnologies, LLC (ILiAD), a vaccine company utilizing its B-Tech™ technology to develop novel vaccines against infectious diseases, today announced that Chief Medical Officer Stephanie Noviello, MD, MPH, will present information regarding its pertussis vaccine, BPZE1, at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, DC (April 3 – 6, 2023).

Key Points: 
  • ILiAD Biotechnologies, LLC (ILiAD), a vaccine company utilizing its B-Tech™ technology to develop novel vaccines against infectious diseases, today announced that Chief Medical Officer Stephanie Noviello, MD, MPH, will present information regarding its pertussis vaccine, BPZE1, at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington, DC (April 3 – 6, 2023).
  • BPZE1 is the most advanced next generation pertussis vaccine, designed to overcome deficiencies of current vaccines, including limited durability and the inability to prevent nasopharyngeal Bordetella pertussis infections that lead to transmission, especially to vulnerable infants.
  • BPZE1 has successfully completed four human clinical studies and has received FDA Fast Track designation.
  • A copy of the presentation will be available after the conclusion of the meeting in the “BPZE1 Publications” section of the ILiAD website.

Clover Announces Corporate Updates and Full Year 2022 Financial Results

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
EUA, Vaccine, GMP, SCB-2019, Cold medicine, Omicron, EU, Technology transfer, Clinical trial, International, Vaccination, The Post-Pandemic World Order, SARS-CoV-2, DPT vaccine, COVID-19, G&A, Diphtheria, Research, EV71, Respiratory syncytial virus, Influenza, CDMO, COVID-19 vaccine, RSV, International Financial Reporting Standards, Tetanus, Growth, Ageing, CpG, Immunodeficiency, Commercial, Health, Cross-promotion, Pharmaceutical industry, Cryptocurrency, Clover

SHANGHAI, China, March 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clover Biopharmaceuticals, Ltd. (Clover; HKEX: 02197), a global commercial-stage biotechnology company committed to unleashing the power of innovative vaccines to save lives and improve health around the world, today announced corporate updates and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Key Points: 
  • (Clover; HKEX: 02197), a global commercial-stage biotechnology company committed to unleashing the power of innovative vaccines to save lives and improve health around the world, today announced corporate updates and financial results for the year ended December 31, 2022.
  • Comprehensive Global Vaccine Development: Clinical trial results released and published in 2022 consistently demonstrated that SCB-2019 elicited broad cross-neutralization across variants.
  • Notably, in January 2022, Clover published the final efficacy results from its global Phase 2/3 study of SCB-2019 in The Lancet.
  • Clover also announced positive data from its Phase 3 study evaluating SCB-2019 as a heterologous COVID-19 booster vaccine.

ILiAD Biotechnologies Announces Publication of BPZE1 Adult Phase 2b Clinical Results in The Lancet

Retrieved on: 
Friday, March 10, 2023
Health, FDA, Infectious Diseases, General Health, Clinical Trials, Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Pasteur Institute, Iliad, Vaccine, Bordetella pertussis, Mortality, Safety, Tetanus, Medicine, Public, Doctor of Philosophy, Diphtheria, Disease, Immunity, Vaccination, Manuscript, Cold medicine, Infection, IPL, Pharmaceutical industry, Lancet

ILiAD Biotechnologies, LLC (ILiAD), a vaccine company utilizing its B-Tech technology to develop novel vaccines against infectious diseases, today announced a peer-reviewed publication in The Lancet.

Key Points: 
  • ILiAD Biotechnologies, LLC (ILiAD), a vaccine company utilizing its B-Tech technology to develop novel vaccines against infectious diseases, today announced a peer-reviewed publication in The Lancet.
  • The published research article summarizes the adult Phase 2b clinical study of BPZE1, the most advanced next generation pertussis vaccine.
  • The manuscript titled “Immunogenicity and safety of BPZE1, an intranasal live attenuated pertussis vaccine, versus tetanus–diphtheria– acellular pertussis vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, phase 2b trial” was published in The Lancet on March 10, 2023.
  • “In contrast to Boostrix, BPZE1 demonstrated both protection against attenuated Bordetella pertussis colonization and induction of pertussis-specific mucosal immune responses.