AIDS vax may have only offered temporary protection; CDC to recommend that everyone gets a flu shot

Vaccine Research

> An AIDS vaccine that produced only limited results in a clinical trial in Thailand appears to offer only temporary protection. Report

> For the first time, researchers from the U.S. and abroad have shown a single-dose HIV DNA vaccine can induce a long-lasting HIV-specific immune response in nonhuman primates, a discovery that could prove significant in the development of HIV vaccines. Story

> Annapolis, MD-based PharmAthene says that the government has extended its contract to develop a new anthrax vaccine, providing an additional $78.4 million for its work on SparVax. Story

> Dynavax says that it has selected a clinical vaccine candidate for its novel Universal Flu program. Release

> The Marian Medical Center says that a clinical trial of a new lung cancer vaccine has begun. Story

H1N1

> The H1N1 panic of 2009 has run its course even if the pandemic itself hasn't, CNN reports. Now panic has been replaced by a high level of public indifference. Report

> "This pandemic appears to be on the less severe side of the spectrum of pandemics that we have seen in the 20th century," says UN flu expert Keiji Fukuda. Report

Vaccine market

> The CDC's immunization advisory panel says that everyone should get the flu shot, not just individuals who face a high risk of complications. Story

> According to researchers, the pneumococcal vaccine for infants and children introduced in 2000 caused a precipitous drop in infections until 2005, when serious illnesses began to rise again, especially infections caused by a strain of the pneumococcal bacteria called 19A. Release

> Novartis AG won FDA approval of the meningococcal vaccine Menveo. Story

> Health Canada has approved Merck's Gardasil for use in boys and young men to guard against genital warts. Report

> An investigation by Dutch health officials found no link between Pfizer's childhood vaccines and the deaths of three infants last year. Story