The European Medicines Agency has launched a review of Pandemrix on the request of the European Commission to investigate whether there is a link between cases of narcolepsy and vaccination with Pandemrix. A limited number of cases was reported, all collected through spontaneous reporting systems, mainly in Sweden and Finland. Pandemrix, an influenza vaccine, has been used since September 2009 for vaccination against H1N1 influenza in at least 30.8 million Europeans. Narcolepsy is a rare sleep disorder that causes a person to fall asleep suddenly and unexpectedly…

Continued increases-as much as 15 percent-were made in nationwide coverage for vaccines specifically recommended for pre-teens, according to 2009 National Immunization Survey-Teen (NIS-Teen) estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey of more than 20,000 teens aged 13-17 found that in 2009 there were increases in the percentage of teens in this age group who had received vaccines routinely recommended for 11- and 12-year-olds…

The Assembly today passed legislation designed to ensure that all children have access to life-saving immunizations and sent it to the governor. Assembly Bill 2093, authored by Assemblymember Manuel Perez, D-Coachella and co-sponsored by the California Medical Association, received bipartisan support in both the Assembly and the Senate, where it passed on Tuesday. AB 2093 requires insurers to cover physicians’ cost to administer vaccinations. The measure is crucial for safeguarding public health and improving vaccination rates…

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology will convene its conference on “Immunological Mechanisms of Vaccination” in Seattle, Washington from October 27 to November 1, 2010 at Sheraton Seattle Hotel. This is the first conference of Keystone Symposia’s 40th meeting season and its first in Seattle. It will be held at the conclusion of the Grand Challenges in Global Health conference, also taking place in Seattle for that program’s grant recipients earlier in the week…

The WHO “has granted prequalification status to Pfizer Inc.’s children’s pneumococcal vaccine, Prevenar 13, paving the way for United Nations agencies and governments to start ordering the product,” the Associated Press reports (8/23). The WHO decision comes after Pfizer in March entered “into a 10-year Provisional Supply Agreement to provide Prevenar 13 to infants and young children in the world’s poorest countries under the terms of the Advance Market Commitment (AMC) for pneumococcal disease, an innovative program piloted by the GAVI Alliance,” according to a Pfizer press release…

In light of today’s report of the National Immunization Survey results, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) encourages increased efforts in fully immunizing all adolescents. The report issued by the National Immunization Survey (NIS) shows progress in increasing immunization rates among teens 13-17 years of age. However, rates remain unacceptably low for those vaccines that are targeted specifically to prevent disease in adolescents: meningococcal meningitis (53.6 %), human papillomavirus (44.3% received one dose, while only 26…

The internationally-renowned scientific journal Immunity, from the Cell Press group, published online recently, and will publish in its August 27 print issue, the results of a study conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andre Veillette, Director of the Molecular Oncology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM). Their scientific breakthrough could have an impact on the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, which affect tens of thousands of Canadians. Dr…

The internationally-renowned scientific journal Immunity, from the Cell Press group, published online recently, and will publish in its August 27 print issue, the results of a study conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Andre Veillette, Director of the Molecular Oncology research unit at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal (IRCM). Their scientific breakthrough could have an impact on the treatment of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases, which affect tens of thousands of Canadians. Dr…

CSL Behring announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to extend the shelf life of Hizentra®, Immune Globulin Subcutaneous (Human), 20% Liquid, from 18 months to 24 months. Hizentra, the first and only 20 percent subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIg) approved in the U.S. by the FDA, is also the first and only SCIg in the U.S. that may be stored at room temperature

The BBC reports on discussions about childhood immunization at the International Pediatric Association (IPA) meeting last week in Johannesburg, South Africa. “Vaccines are a key plank in meeting Millennium Development Goal 4 - to reduce child mortality by two thirds by 2015 - and many sessions at the congress were devoted to them,” the news service writes…