China says vaccines didn't cause deaths

Vaccine Safety

China's Health Ministry said on Tuesday faulty vaccines were not to blame for the deaths of four children in northern Shanxi province, after a domestic newspaper pointed the finger of blame at substandard vaccinations. Story

The doctor at the center of the MMR controversy has defended his work - and claims the case against him was driven by a desire to "crush dissent." Dr Andrew Wakefield said the General Medical Council (GMC) hearing was about protecting the Government's MMR vaccination policy and some of the GMC's findings on the case were "false." Article

Because all flu vaccine is made in chicken eggs, there are concerns about giving the flu shot to kids with egg allergies. About one in 60 U.S. children has such allergies, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. But today's influenza vaccines contain only miniscule amounts of egg protein, notes Dr. Lynda Schneider of Children's Hospital in Boston, one of the new study's authors. "You're talking about a very small amount, I'd say on the order of a millionth of an egg, in the current vaccines." Report

Vaccine Research

In an effort to combat Lyme disease, researchers have found that tick-borne transmission might be preventable by deactivating a key gene in the bacteria that enables infection. Story

According to a new research, an experimental vaccine for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which is a progressive respiratory disease that affects millions of people, may reduce flare-ups in those with severe forms of the illness. Item

Developing a vaccine is a "pretty rigorous, complex process," says Elliot Parks, CEO of Hawaii Biotech, which is deep into development of West Nile and dengue vaccines, and beginning to develop a vaccine for tick-borne encephalitis. "Further back" in the lab are malaria and influenza vaccines. Hawaii Biotech filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in December, but Parks says that did not affect the vaccine programs and that all employees have been retained. Article