An Injection of Trust

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

An Injection of Trust VACCINES OUTLOOK in the United States alone1. Since the 1980s, every US state has required a standard bat- tery of vaccines for school enrolment. There is strong participation too in much of West- ern Europe, where these vaccines are merely ‘recommended’. “The vast majority of children are immunized, with coverage of over 90% MARMADUKE ST. JOHN/ALAMY MARMADUKE ST. across Europe,” says Pier Luigi Lopalco, head of the vaccine-preventable diseases programme at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm. When Australia faced falling vaccination rates in the 1990s it introduced incentives that rewarded both clinics and parents. “Our immunization rates rose by at least 10%, which was a major increase,” says Julie Leask, a social scientist Health-care workers in New York protest against compulsory swine flu vaccination. specializing in immunization policy at the University of Sydney. PUBLIC HEALTH But some vaccination programmes allow people to refuse for personal reasons. In much of Europe, no medical consultation is required. In the United States, parents must actively An injection register their refusal; 48 states recognize reli- gious exemptions and 18 allow ‘personal belief exemptions’. The refusal numbers are low — just 2% for 2010–2011, according to the CDC of trust — but epidemiologist Saad Omer of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, has observed a disconcerting rise. “The rate of refusal has Faced with outbreaks of preventable diseases, public-health gone up, and even the rate of change compared experts need to win over parents who refuse vaccinations. to previous years has accelerated,” he says. Indeed, CDC data indicate that the percent- age of non-medical exemptions essentially BY MICHAEL EISENSTEIN 5,442 in just the first 4 months of 2013. And doubled between 2006 and 2011. Different in France, the World Health Organization states require different levels of effort: some n July 2013, public-health officials in Wales (WHO) reported 14,000 cases of measles in require medical consultation, others simply finally began to breathe a sigh of relief. The 2011. “There are lots of examples in wealthy, a signature. Omer found that non-medical measles epidemic that had raged through developed countries,” says Seth Berkley, chief exemption rates were 2.3 times higher in states Ithe country for eight months and infected executive of the Global Alliance for Vaccination with easy requirements than in those with more than 1,200 patients — hospitalizing 88 and Immunization (GAVI) in Geneva, Switzer- steeper administrative barriers2. “If you make and killing one — was finally coming under land. Given the narrow margins of ensuring it easier for a parent who is hesitant and on the control. The respite was brief, however, as protection against such outbreaks, even a few fence to claim an exemption, it looks like they just months later a second outbreak emerged parents who refuse paediatric vaccination will,” he says. in the same region, with 36 new cases by can jeopardize the control and elimination of Unvaccinated families also tend to cluster. mid-November (see “Exposed and unvacci- diseases that are prominent killers of infants Leask notes that in Australia “the refusal rate nated” page S18). and children elsewhere in the world. is 1.7% nationally, but in some regions that can The outbreaks primarily afflicted children Vaccine refusal dates back to the nineteenth climb to around 20%.” Some clustering also whose parents had opted not to let them have century, when the UK Government permitted occurs in self-contained religious groups. The the measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine. ‘conscientious exemption’ for those opposed ‘Bible Belt’ region of the Netherlands, which Their refusal was broadly attributed to lin- to smallpox vaccination. But today’s reasons is home to several communities of Orthodox gering fears related to a now discredited link for refusal are very different. “We ask citizens Protestants that have rejected vaccination, has between the MMR vaccine and autism. Parents to get vaccines to prevent 14 different diseases, been the site of a large ongoing measles out- remained hesitant even after the first outbreak, which can mean as many as 26 inoculations in break, and in October 2013 an unvaccinated and a strong vaccination push reached fewer the first few years of life, to prevent diseases 17-year-old girl died from measles. More than half of the eligible children. that people mostly don’t see, using biological recently, international travellers have enabled The re-emergence of vaccine-preventable fluids that most people don’t understand,” says this epidemic to make the leap to Canada. diseases has become increasingly common Paul Offit, head of the infectious-diseases divi- worldwide. For example, in 2012 the US Cent- sion at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia SCARE STORIES ers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Pennsylvania. “It’s not surprising that people Instead of religious dogma, many clusters of in Atlanta, Georgia, reported the largest num- are hesitant.” vaccine refusals result from shared concerns ber of US cases of about whether children may be harmed by the pertussis (whooping NATURE.COM PERSONAL REASONS inoculations. “Refusal is multifaceted, but per- cough) for nearly For some of the Most public-health experts view vaccination ceptions of vaccine safety contribute more than 60 years. In Japan, latest research on programmes as unalloyed successes. One other factors,” says Omer. These worries can rubella cases leapt immunization: analysis estimates that immunization has result in delayed vaccination, outright refusal from 87 in 2010 to nature.com/nm prevented 75–106 million cases of disease or selective inoculation of children, where the 6 MARCH 2014 | VOL 507 | NATURE | S17 © 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved OUTLOOK VACCINES schedules that leave children underprotected. EXPOSED AND UNVACCINATED Based on a large study of undervaccination A drop in coverage of MMR vaccine in in eight managed care organizations, Glanz Welsh children led to a rise in vulnerability concluded that at least 12–13% of parents “are to a measles outbreak. deliberately not giving vaccines on time.” PUBLIC HEALTH WALES PUBLIC HEALTH WEXHAM Many parents also visit anti-vaccination Number of cases websites that use anecdotal evidence to pro- per 100,000 people mote an agenda of parental choice that builds November 2012 to December 2013 on an underlying mistrust of the government In Wrexham, 3 where coverage is and the pharmaceutical industry . “They use high, there were narratives and tell stories,” says Neal Halsey, only a small director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at number of cases. the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public ABEYSTWYTH Health in Baltimore, Maryland. “We present numbers and risk levels, and those things don’t resonate with hesitant parents.” For such parents, emotional descriptions of children who have allegedly been injured WALES by vaccines may prove more persuasive than tales of half-forgotten diseases. “My wife ran the intensive care unit at a major teaching hos- pital in America, and she’s never seen a case of NEATH Vaccine uptake among measles or tetanus,” says Berkley. “I think that’s 2-year olds April 2003 SWANSEA to March 2005 a big factor.” He points out that vaccines are generally embraced in the developing world, >85% CADIFF where these diseases remain all too real — the 81–85% Swansea, one of the WHO estimates that 158,000 people died from 76–80% lowest coverage was measles in 2011. “In general, people there des- <75% hit by the most cases. perately want vaccines and will walk for a day to get them,” he says. But in nations with long- standing vaccination programmes, such as the decision is a product of both risk calculation from the VSD helped disprove the connection United States or United Kingdom, it’s easy to and emotional response. between MMR and autism, but have also iden- dismiss these diseases as harmless unless you’ve A single scare can cast a long shadow. The tified real adverse events, such as when 197 experienced the potential complications, which story of Andrew Wakefield, a gastroenter- children in a cohort of 1.8 million who had include pneumonia and encephalitis. “When ologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London received the MMR vaccination developed I’ve talked with parents of unvaccinated chil- whose work led to a widespread belief in a link immune thrombocytopaenic purpura4. “It’s a dren who have been admitted to hospital with between the MMR vaccination and autism, is relatively benign blood disorder where there’s complications from pertussis or measles, they well known. As parents panicked, MMR vac- easy bruising and bleeding, but it can be scary,” inevitably say, ‘I never knew it could be this cination rates in England and Wales fell from says Jason Glanz, an epidemiologist affiliated serious’,” says Halsey. over 90% in 1997 to less than 80% in 2004, with the VSD at the Kaiser Permanente Institute If large numbers of parents continue to opt with similar drops in the United States and for Health Research in Denver, Colorado. out of vaccination programmes, these may well across Western Europe. Although thoroughly The CDC continues to fight the myth of become more familiar experiences. In a well- discredited, Wakefield’s ideas are kept in a vaccine–autism link and recently dem- vaccinated community, even unvaccinated circulation by vocal networks of anti-vaccine onstrated that there was no link between individuals benefit from herd immunity. The activists. “In southern Europe, especially Italy, exposure to numerous vaccine antigens and threshold for this benefit depends on both this alleged link between autism and MMR is autism5. “A substantial proportion of parents the disease and the vaccine; for measles, the re-emerging in the newspapers and on a lot of still have concerns along these lines,” says CDC estimates that herd immunity requires websites,” says Lopalco.
Recommended publications
  • Paul Offit: Claiming the High Gr Ound I N the Vaccine C Ontroversy
    PaUl oFFIt: CLAIMInG tHe HIGH GR oUnD I n tHe VaCCINE C ontRoVeRsY BY B rian G. Connell Y aul aul s my my a ourtesy c hen Paul Offit (Res ’80) was a resi- dent in the emergency department at / photo WChildren’s Hospital of Pittsburgh in RRIS the late 1970s, he had a patient—a 9-month- rank ha old infant—who died of rotavirus. Offit was f shocked to realize that this common intestinal infection still killed children in the United illustration States. A leading cause of severe diarrhea in Offit is co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine RotaTeq, which was recommended for routine infants and young children, rotavirus contrib- immunizations in infants by the World Health Organization. utes to more than half a million deaths world- wide each year. have advanced the belief that there’s a link Offit, who has testified in congressional Some three decades later, in 2009, between vaccines and autism. The suspect hearings on vaccine safety, says the conse- RotaTeq— a vaccine for rotavirus—was recom- vaccines change, but the story remains the quences of skipping vaccines are not theo- mended by the World Health Organization to same: Citing anecdotes or data taken out of retical. He points to the pertussis outbreak in protect against the deadly infection. RotaTeq context, activist groups accuse physicians and California this year, which killed 10 infants is the fruit of 25 years of labor for Offit, the pharmaceutical companies of concealing what and infected 9,000 people. “We’re past the vaccine’s coinventor who is now a renowned they believe are harmful effects associated with tipping point,” he says.
    [Show full text]
  • KDHE News Release
    News Room - 2012 - News Release A to Z Topic Listing KDHE News Release For Immediate Release KDHE Office of Communications January 3, 2012 [email protected], 785-296-0461 KDHE Promotes Cancer Screenings and HPV Vaccination During Cervical Health Awareness Month TOPEKA – In recognition of Cervical Health Awareness Month, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) encourages women to schedule their annual well-woman checkups. According to a 2010 Kansas Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) report, approximately 17 percent of Kansas women aged 18 and older did not have a Pap test within the past three years. "Pap tests decrease the risk of developing cervical cancer by detecting precancerous cells which, when found early, are highly treatable," said Robert Moser, M.D., KDHE Secretary and State Health Officer. “Women should have their first screening Pap test at age 21, or within three years of becoming sexually active if younger." Although cervical cancer was once the leading cancer killer of women, the number of cases has declined 75 percent in the past 50 years, largely because of the widely available and reliable Pap test. Even so, an estimated 12,000 women in the United States are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year. In 2007, 4,021 women died from cervical cancer in the United States. In 2008, 76 Kansas cases were diagnosed, with 24 deaths due to cervical cancer in 2010. Most cervical cancer cases are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted disease. HPV infection can also cause a number of other health problems for both men and women.
    [Show full text]
  • Myocarditis and Mrna Vaccines
    Updated June 28, 2021 DOH 348-828 Information for Clinical Staff: Myocarditis and mRNA Vaccines This document helps clinicians understand myocarditis and its probable link to some COVID-19 vaccines. It provides talking points clinicians can use when discussing the benefits and risks of these vaccines with their patients and offers guidance on what to do if they have a patient who presents with myocarditis following vaccination. Myocarditis information What are myocarditis and pericarditis? • Myocarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle. • Pericarditis is an inflammation of the heart muscle covering. • The body’s immune system can cause inflammation often in response to an infection. The body’s immune system can cause inflammation after other things as well. What is the connection to COVID-19 vaccination? • A CDC safety panel has determined there is a “probable association” between myocarditis and pericarditis and the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, in some vaccine recipients. • Reports of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination are rare. • Cases have mostly occurred in adolescents and young adults under the age of 30 years and mostly in males. • Most patients who developed myocarditis after vaccination responded well to rest and minimal treatment. Talking Points for Clinicians The risk of myocarditis is low, especially compared to the strong benefits of vaccination. • Hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have safely been given to people in the U.S. To request this document in another format, call 1-800-525-0127. Deaf or hard of hearing customers, please call 711 (Washington Relay) or email [email protected].
    [Show full text]
  • CV Seth Berkly2.Indd
    Dr Seth Berkley Chief Executive Officer of the GAVI Alliance As a physician, epidemiologist and leading advocate for vaccines and immunisation, Dr Seth Berkley brings many years of experience and knowledge from the fields of public health, development and vaccines to the work of the Alliance. Seth joined the GAVI Alliance in August 2011 as it launched its five year strategy to immunise a quarter of a billion children in the developing world with life-saving vaccines by 2015. “I am impressed by GAVI’s life-saving work and have great admiration for its successful track record,” said Dr Berkley. “I am therefore honoured and excited to have been chosen to lead the GAVI Alliance as it works to deliver on an ambitious new strategy.” Prior to joining the GAVI Alliance, Seth was the founder, president and CEO for 15 years of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative ( IAVI ), the first vaccine product development public-private sector partnership. Under his leadership, IAVI implemented a global advocacy programme that assured that vaccines received prominent attention in the media and in political forums such as the G 8, EU and the UN. He also oversaw the creation of a virtual vaccine product development effort involving industry, academia, and developing country scientists. Prior to founding IAVI, Seth served as associate director in the Health Sciences Division at The Rockefeller Foundation. He has also worked for the Center for Infectious Diseases of the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ), the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and for the Carter Center where he served as an epidemiologist at the Ministry of Health in Uganda.
    [Show full text]
  • Thimerosal in Vaccines—An Interim Report to Clinicians
    AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS Committee on Infectious Diseases and Committee on Environmental Health Thimerosal in Vaccines—An Interim Report to Clinicians ABBREVIATIONS. AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics; and for preventing bacterial contamination, particu- USPHS, US Public Health Service; FDA, Food and Drug Admin- larly in opened multidose containers. Some but not istration; IPV, inactivated polio vaccine; OPV, oral polio vaccine; all of the vaccines recommended routinely for chil- DTP, diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (vaccine); Hib, Haemophilus in- dren in the United States contain thimerosal.1 fluenzae type b (vaccine); EPA, Environmental Protection Agency; ATSDR, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; Thimerosal contains 49.6% mercury by weight and is HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; HBIG, hepatitis B immune metabolized to ethyl mercury and thiosalicylate. globulin. Data are limited regarding potential differences in toxicity between ethyl mercury and methyl mercury. n July 7, 1999, the American Academy of Both forms of organic mercury are associated with Pediatrics (AAP) issued with the US Public neurotoxicity in high doses, and definitive data re- Health Service (USPHS) a joint statement garding the doses at which developmental effects O occur in infants are not available. When vaccines alerting clinicians and the public of concern about thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative used containing thimerosal have been administered in the in some vaccines. That statement was disseminated recommended doses, hypersensitivity has been widely, including on the AAP members e-mail list, noted, but no other harmful effects have been report- 2 Massive overdoses from inappropriate use of and was posted on the AAP web site since July 7, ed.
    [Show full text]
  • Presentation of Stanley Plotkin
    Vaccine Safety by Stanley A. Plotkin Advac Alumni 2019.pptx Sept. 22, 2019 Plotkin, Pediatrics, 2019; 143 2 (Cont.) 3 Vaccine Safety Library Topics May 2019 Heather Monk Bodenstab, PharmD, Paul Offit, MD, Frank DeStefano, MD • Adjuvants Other than Aluminum in Vaccines o Squalene (MF59, AS03, AF03) o Monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL), Saponin (QS21), and Related Adjuvant Systems (AS01, AS02, AS04) o CpG • Aluminum in Vaccines • Diabetes and Vaccines o Type-1 Diabetes o Gestational Diabetes • DNA and Vaccines • Egg Allergy and Vaccines o Influenza Vaccine o Measles-Containing Vaccine o Yellow Fever Vaccine • Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) and Vaccines 4 Vaccine Safety Library Topics (cont.) May 2019 Heather Monk Bodenstab, PharmD, Paul Offit, MD, Frank DeStefano, MD • Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Safety Concerns o HPV Vaccine and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)/Systemic Exertion Intolerance Disease (SEID) o HPV Vaccine and Multiple Sclerosis/Central Demyelinating Disease o HPV Vaccine and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) o HPV Vaccine and Primary Ovarian Insufficiency o HPV Vaccine and Promiscuity o HPV Vaccine and Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) • MMR and Autism • Multiple Sclerosis/Central Demyelinating Disease and Vaccines o Hepatitis B o Flu Vaccine • Pertussis Vaccine and Neurologic Complications • Pregnancy and Vaccines o HPV Vaccine and Pregnancy o Influenza Vaccine and Pregnancy o Pertussis-containing Vaccines and Pregnancy • Sudden-infant death syndrome (SIDS) and Vaccines • Thimerosal and Autism • Too Many, Too Soon • Vaccine Ingredients o Formaldehyde o Gelatin o Polysorbate 80 • Yeast and Vaccines 5 Package Insert for MMR Risks of a Vaccine Reaction . Soreness, redness, or rash where the shot is given and rash all over the body can happen after MMR vaccine.
    [Show full text]
  • COVID-19 Vaccine and CMT – Q & A
    COVID-19 Vaccine and CMT – Q & A Disclaimer: Nothing shared on these pages should be construed or is intended to be used for medical diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider. Should you have any emergency questions or concerns, please contact your physician or health care provider immediately. Always consult with your physician or other health care provider to gain clarification regarding any health care related questions. This content was sourced from the CDC, the CMTA Scientific Advisory Board, the MDA and the NY Times. What are the side effects of the COVID vaccine? Will they affect my CMT? The known side effects of current and likely-to-be authorized COVID-19 vaccines are similar to those of the annual influenza vaccine. These include symptoms such as: muscle soreness at the injection site, fever, tiredness, body aches and headache. It’s important to note that at this time we do not know whether or not the COVID-19 vaccine will have a different or more serious set of side effects for CMT patients. You should talk to your doctor about the possibility of more serious side effects of a COVID-19 vaccine for you. What impacts will the vaccine have on possible future gene therapy treatments or medications? Whether the vaccine will have an adverse impact on any course of treatment that you or your loved one may be taking is something that you will want to consult with your clinician about directly. Upon the FDA authorization of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the FDA did not name any contraindications pertaining to genetic therapies or other medications particularly important to the CMT community.
    [Show full text]
  • Needle Tips Fall/Winter 1998-1999
    Volume 8 - Number 2 NEEDLE TIPS Fall/Winter 1998-1999 & the Hepatitis B Coalition News Published by the Immunization Action Coalition for individuals and organizations concerned about vaccine-preventable diseases. Holy contraindications, Robin! That person was coughing! WHAT'S ON THE INSIDE: Why did you vaccinate him? Ask the Experts CDC’s immunization expert Dr. William Atkinson answers your questions ......................... 1 CDC’s hepatitis experts, Harold Margolis, MD, and Linda Moyer, RN, answer hepatitis A and B questions .................................................................................................. 17 What’s New? Vaccinate, don’t vacillate! by Walter A. Orenstein, MD, Centers for Disease Control ........... 3 Vaccine highlights: new vaccines and new recommendations .............................................. 4 ? ? ? It’s federal law! by Neal Halsey, MD, Institute for Vaccine Safety ....................................... 6 What’s your state doing? hepatitis B laws, pneumococcal, influenza rates, etc. .................... 9 Unprotected people...five varicella-related deaths ................................................................ 13 Photocopy these materials! Holy missed opportunities, Batman! Polio Vaccine Information Statement (VIS) ......................................................................... 7 A mild illness is NOT a reason to NEW! Vaccinations for adults with hepatitis C virus infection ............................................. 10 withhold vaccinations. You’d know this, Revised!
    [Show full text]
  • Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases
    The new england journal of medicine special article Vaccine Refusal, Mandatory Immunization, and the Risks of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Saad B. Omer, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., M.P.H., Daniel A. Salmon, Ph.D., M.P.H., Walter A. Orenstein, M.D., M. Patricia deHart, Sc.D., and Neal Halsey, M.D. Abstract Vaccines are among the most effective prevention tools available to clinicians. How- From the Hubert Department of Global ever, the success of an immunization program depends on high rates of acceptance Health, Rollins School of Public Health (S.B.O.), and the Emory Vaccine Center and coverage. There is evidence of an increase in vaccine refusal in the United States (S.B.O., W.A.O.), Emory University, At- and of geographic clustering of refusals that results in outbreaks. Children with lanta; the Department of International exemptions from school immunization requirements (a measure of vaccine refusal) Health (S.B.O., D.A.S., N.H.) and the In- stitute for Vaccine Safety (N.H.), Johns are at increased risk for measles and pertussis and can infect others who are too Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public young to be vaccinated, cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons, or were vacci- Health, Baltimore; the National Vaccine nated but did not have a sufficient immunologic response. Clinicians can play a Program Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC crucial role in parental decision making. Health care providers are cited as the most (D.A.S.); and Maternal and Child Health frequent source of immunization information by parents, including parents of un- Assessment, Washington State Depart- vaccinated children.
    [Show full text]
  • Fall 2011 MEDICINE
    BROWN Volume 17 | Number 3 | Fall 2011 MEDICINE Gentleman Scholar Calm, cool, connected, Griffin Rodgers pushes for research that will serve the people. PS:l U PRIMARY CARE REIMAGINED MAKING BABIES c1BrMed_Spring11rev.indd 1 9/29/11 1:53 PM Letter from the dean Start of One Era, End of Another The opening of the new Medical School in Providence’s old Jewelry District on August 15 marked one of the most important mile- stones in our history. Now our students have a state-of-the-art, spacious, and absolutely stunning home to call their own. This his- toric, creatively restored building off Col- lege Hill is close to several of our major teaching hospitals and the Public Health Program. Furthermore, it symbolizes Brown’s commitment to the city and the state to educate the next generation of physicians for all of us. Reunion and Commencement were carried out with beautiful weather and our usual traditions. Alumnus Griffin P. Rodgers, director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases—one of the National Institutes of Health—gave an inspiring commencement speech to our graduating class and is featured in this issue. He emphasized the excitement of research in human biology in this era of genomics, proteomics, and systems biology. Advances over the next decades will be spectacular and will change the way we care for patients. Since the earliest classes, the Medical School’s graduates have enhanced the lives of their patients as well as their communities. Some, such as Dr. Rodgers, have gone on to national careers.
    [Show full text]
  • Print Who's Afraid of Gardasil?
    Who's Afraid of Gardasil? by KAREN HOUPPERT March 8, 2007 This article appeared in the March 26, 2007 edition of The Nation. The HPV vaccine story has gotten all tangled up. As recently as June 8, 2006, public health advocates, progressives and many parents were celebrating a huge victory: The Food and Drug Administration had approved Merck's new vaccine Gardasil, a shot series that would help protect girls from cervical cancer and genital warts. To their continuing delight, the Centers for Disease Control's immunization committee recommended less than a month later that the shots immediately be given to all females between the ages of 9 and 26. The committee acted on persuasive data indicating that the vaccine, which prevents the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus (HPV), works best before girls are sexually active. Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world, and most women have had it-- 80 percent of US women, by the CDC's estimates. Often it goes away on its own, without its carrier's awareness. But each year hundreds of thousands of women and girls in the United States develop persistent infections from it, more than 10,000 get cervical cancer and 3,700 die from the cancer. Gardasil, given in a series of three shots, protects against four strains of HPV. Two of those strains cause 70 percent of the nation's cervical cancer cases, and two of them cause 90 percent of genital warts. This new vaccine, widely given, has the potential to make cervical cancer almost obsolete here.
    [Show full text]
  • Inaugural Keynote Lecture: Contributions of Gavi and DCVMN to the Global Vaccine Markets
    Inaugural Keynote Lecture: Contributions of Gavi and DCVMN to the global vaccine markets DCVMN 18th AGM Seth Berkley M.D, CEO 26 September 2017, Seoul www.gavi.org Gavi’s mission, model and 1 achievements to date Gavi’s mission Saving by increasing and protecting in lower-income children’s equitable use of people’s health countries lives vaccines DCVMN 18th AGM 26 September 2017 Gavi’s partnership model IMPLEMENTING COUNTRY DONOR COUNTRY GOVERNMENTS GOVERNMENTS CIVIL SOCIETY RESEARCH & ORGANISATIONS TECHNICAL AGENCIES VACCINE PRIVATE MANUFACTURERS SECTOR PARTNERS DCVMN 18th AGM 26 September 2017 Increasing immunisation coverage Launch of Gavi Post-Gavi 20% increase points 2000-2016 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2016 2020 Expanded Programme Stall in immunisation Support from Gavi to world’s on Immunization takes off coverage lowest-income countries * Based on data officially reported to WHO and UNICEF by current member states. Note: Includes DTP-containing vaccines, such as pentavalent vaccine. th Source: WHO/UNICEF Estimates of National Immunization Coverage, 2017 DCVMN 18 AGM 26 September 2017 Accelerating access to new vaccines in poorest countries Prior to Gavi support Now High-income countries Low-income countries High-income countries Low-income countries 100% 100% 100% 91% 86% 86% 77% 72% Hepatitis B 67% Hib Pneumococcal % of countries introduced vaccines nationally 3% 6% 6% 2000 2009 2000 2009 2016 Note: Only countries with universal national introduction are included. World Bank 2016 country classification has been applied to the whole time series. DCVMN 18th AGM Source: The International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) VIMS database. Data as of 31 December 2016.
    [Show full text]