With spring break coming up and large numbers of students expected to travel both domestically and internationally, getting vaccinated against 2009 H1N1 influenza is especially important.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced March 8 that it would decide whether a federal law protects vaccine manufacturers from lawsuits in state court seeking damages for alleged design defects.

HIV

A seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine can protect adults with HIV against recurrent pneumococcal infection, according to research published in the March 4 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded Abt Associates two new contracts to evaluate the effectiveness of the H1N1 vaccine among health care workers and children younger than 18, the company announced March 5.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has received reports of several cases of malaria in Haiti since a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country Jan. 12.

Kanji Takada, a professor of pharmacokinetics, has developed a round vaccine "chip" measuring 1.5 centimeters in diameter that contains as many as 300 micro needles.

The U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last week heard a report about the high-dose influenza vaccine that was recently approved for people 65 and older but voiced no preference for its use in that age group.

As an international crowd of athletes and supporters gathered en masse in Vancouver, some scientists used the Olympics as their virtual test tube to find out how to prevent the outbreak of diseases spread by air travel.

CHICAGO — One in four U.S. parents believes some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, but even many of those worried about vaccine risks think their children should be vaccinated, The Associated Press reported March 1.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The current H1N1 swine flu pandemic is relatively less severe than some other influenza outbreaks, the World Health Organization said Feb. 24

AMSTERDAM — The Dutch health authority RIVM said Feb. 23 the deaths of three infants last year were not related to a vaccine produced by U.S. pharmaceutical company Wyeth, now part of Pfizer.

The Texas A&M University System and a Texas company have been awarded a $40 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to develop vaccines made from tobacco rather than the antiquated egg-based technology.

Pneumococcal

Children younger than 5 who already got four doses of Pfizer Inc.'s Prevnar 13 vaccine should get a fifth booster dose of the new version that covers more strains of pneumonia-causing bacteria.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South Africa faces a possible health crisis if an H1N1 flu outbreak strikes during the soccer World Cup this year, the country’s health minister told parliament Feb. 15, Reuters reported.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON — An AIDS vaccine that appears to have worked at least partly in Thailand may only temporarily protect patients, with the effects starting to wane after a year or so, researchers reported Feb. 18.

Politecnico di Milano

LONDON — Italian scientists said Feb. 19 that they had found evidence of how viruses helped change the course of human evolution and said their discovery could help in the design of better drugs and vaccines.

World Health Organization

The cause of a measles outbreak sweeping South Africa has not as yet been determined, but initial suspicions point to religious objections and unfounded fears that immunizations against the disease increase the risk of autism in children.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — The World Health Organization will convene its emergency committee later this month to examine whether the H1N1 flu pandemic has peaked, its top influenza expert said Feb. 11.

Social interaction between neighbors, work colleagues and other communities and social groups makes voluntary vaccination programs for epidemics such as H1N1 flu, SARS or avian flu a surprisingly effective method of disease control.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently addressed questions about the vaccine for the 2010-11 flu season on its Web site.

Mumps

NEW YORK — New York City health officials are encouraging young adults, especially males, in the Jewish communities in Brooklyn to get vaccinated for mumps, UPI reported Feb. 9.

H1N1

BOSTON – The latest poll from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health shows that 44 percent of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over, and levels of concern about getting sick with the virus continue to decline.

Novavax's viruslike particle vaccines

TEL AVIV, Israel — Novavax Inc. announced Feb. 8 that it ended talks aimed at a collaboration with Rovi Pharmaceuticals of Madrid to develop Novavax's viruslike particle vaccines against influenza in Spain.

Malaria

Research done at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's School of Biological Sciences could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria, ScienceDaily reported Feb. 5.

World Health Organization

There is now so much unused H1N1 pandemic flu vaccine in the world that rich nations, including the United States, are trying to get rid of their surpluses.

When it comes to vaccines, everyone now wants to get in on the action.

SV40

SV40 viruses use an amazing means of communication, in order to be able to penetrate into a cell: fats, whose structure must fit like a key in a lock, ScienceDaily reported Jan. 29.

Malaria

Médecins Sans Frontières teams in Burundi's Kayanza province assessing and treating patients in the midst of a rise in the incidence of malaria, the organization also known as Doctors Without Borders reported Jan. 29.

Pneumococcal

PATH, an international nonprofit global health organization, recently signed an agreement with the University of Kansas Center for Research to support the advancement of vaccine candidates across its vaccine development portfolio.

Traditional vaccines can be ineffective and expensive. Now, an interdisciplinary team of Cornell researchers has devised a new way to make vaccines that promises to prevent diseases much more cheaply, the university announced Jan. 25.

Salmonella

Research from Malawi, Birmingham and Liverpool has renewed hope that an effective vaccine could be developed against nontyphoidal strains of salmonella.

More than 30 health providers and organizations released an open letter advising people to get vaccinated. Below is the text of that letter.

Prostate Cancer Cells

In a newly published clinical trial, patients with metastatic prostate cancer who received a vaccine of harmless poxviruses lived substantially longer than patients who received a placebo vaccine.

Rotavirus

WASHINGTON — A vaccination campaign to combat rotavirus in the world's poorest countries could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of children, according to a pair of studies published this week.

The World Health Organization released a statement Jan. 22 addressing allegations of a conflict of interest and a fake pandemic meant to aid the pharmaceutical industry.

Helicobacter Pylori

Despite a strong response from our immune defense, the body is unable to rid itself of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called on Washington to send medication to the quake-stricken Haiti rather than troops.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

WASHINGTON — A vaccine additive made by Novartis and used in its European influenza shots can boost the body's immune response to a wide range of viruses, U.S. researchers reported Jan. 20 according to Reuters.

Archie Griffin

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health partnered with Archie Griffin, a two-time Heisman Trophy winner and Ohio State University alumnus, to encourage Ohioans to tackle H1N1 by getting a flu vaccine.

Malaria

The parasite that causes malignant malaria in humans has been detected in gorillas, according to a study co-authored by biologist Francisco Ayala of the University of California, Irvine.

HPV

The number of women under 30 diagnosed with cervical cancer will fall nearly two thirds by 2025 thanks to the vaccine against human papillomavirus, researchers say.

ATLANTA — About one in five Americans has been vaccinated against H1N1 flu, according to the government's first detailed estimates of vaccination rates against the pandemic, the Washington Post reported Jan. 16.

World Health Organization

WARSAW, Poland — The government here refused to import H1N1 flu vaccines amid worldwide warnings of a spreading epidemic.

Jason Derülo

“Whatcha Say” singer Jason Derülo had a stellar 2009 — a No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 single, an opening spot on Lady Gaga's Monster Ball Tour — and he knows that if he wants to step it up in 2010, he's going to have to stay healthy.

HiN1

VIENNA — AVIR Green Hills Biotechnology, based in Austria, announced Jan. 13 that it is embarking on the first clinical phase II study for the seasonal vaccine deltaFLU

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Charleston Area Medical Center plans to terminate two employees for refusing to take a seasonal flu vaccine, the Charleston Daily Mail reported Jan. 13.

LONDON — GlaxoSmithKline Plc agreed to reduce Germany’s order of Pandemrix H1N1 flu vaccine by $193 million on Jan. 12 after health officials decided they need fewer doses, the country’s Health Ministry said.

President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a nationwide effort to encourage H1N1 flu vaccination during National Influenza Vaccination Week from Jan. 10–16.

Malaria

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodia has seen a rise in reported cases of dengue fever and malaria in 2009, local media reported Jan. 5, citing health officials here.

Flu Vaccine

Flu shots do not protect arthritis patients who are being treated with the intravenous drug rituximab, according to a new study by Dutch researchers, The New York Times and Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 7.

H1N1

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted this “fact sheet” about thimerosal in H1N1 vaccines on its Web site Jan. 4.

NEW YORK — A new study provides further evidence that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of autism, Reuters Health reported Jan. 4.

The Center for Disease Control has reported only four cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending January 2.

Squalene

Vaccines being made to protect people from H1N1 flu may not be so healthy for threatened species of sharks, National Geographic News reported Dec. 29.

Stomach Cancer

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — New research at Sahlgrenska Academy might be an important step toward creating a vaccine against ulcers and stomach cancer, The Local reported Dec. 30.

World Health Organization

GENEVA — World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan revealed that she has yet to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu virus, which has killed more than 11,500 people worldwide.

TB

National Health Service efforts to tackle tuberculosis in England are improving, but worryingly nearly 18 percent TB hot spot areas, and 60 percent of all areas, still don't have a strategy in place to tackle the disease.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Fluzone High-Dose, an inactivated influenza virus vaccine for people ages 65 years and older to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B.

WASHINGTON -- Drugmaker MedImmune is recalling nearly 5 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccine because the nasal spray appears to lose strength over time, federal health officials announced Dec. 22.

H5N1

QUEBEC CITY — Medicago Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and virus-like particles.

Can young children get by with just one dose of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?

ZURICH — Europe's drugs watchdog has recommended approving a meningitis vaccine made by Switzerland's Novartis, according to Reuters.

H1N1

PARIS — French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis SA aims to double sales at its Sanofi Pasteur vaccines business by 2013, compared to the 2008 level, and reiterated it could make acquisitions in this fast-growing area.

Pneumococcal vaccine

While a nationwide push for vaccination against H1N1 and seasonal flu has led to long lines for shots, another vaccine against a common and deadly flu complication — pneumonia — hasn't gotten nearly as much attention.

World Health Organization

DAKAR, Senegal — Health experts in Africa are calling on governments to vaccinate children against rotavirus, to end an “unacceptable” yet preventable situation in which the virus kills some 1,400 children in developing countries daily

The Centers for Disease Control has reported 16 flu-related deaths among children across nine states during the week ending December 5.

H1N1

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's vaccination campaign against the H1N1 flu strain is not proceeding as fast as it should be partly because people are needlessly worried about the vaccine’s safety, officials said Dec. 11.

Centers for Disease Control

The Centers for Disease Control has reported only nine cases of flu-related pediatric mortality across seven states during the week ending December 12. This the lowest number reported by the CDC so far this quarter.

Tuberculosis

CANCUN, Mexico — Health experts called for more research funding to develop better diagnostic tests, vaccines and drugs for tuberculosis, which killed 1.8 million people around the world last year.

The H1N1 swine flu has sickened at least 22 million and killed almost 4,000 in the United States since April, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Flu Vaccine

WASHINGTON — Congress, the Obama administration and taxpayers need to accept that drugmakers are not going to pursue discovery and development of emergency medical countermeasures out of the kindness of their hearts.

Measles

LONDON -- Global deaths from measles fell by 78 percent between 2000 and 2008 thanks largely to mass childhood vaccination campaigns, but experts say death rates may rise again if complacency allows immunization efforts to lag.

H1N1

The number of states with widespread pandemic flu activity dropped for the third week in a row, but the virus continued to take a heavy toll on children, with at least 27 more pediatric deaths reported the week of Nov 15 to 21.

Anders Hedegaard

KVISTGARD, Denmark — Bavarian Nordic A/S announced Nov. 30 that it expects to file a new drug submission for its third-generation smallpox vaccine, Imvamune with Health Canada in the second half of 2010.

GlaxoSmithKline announced Nov. 30 that it has filed its vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus gastroenteritis (approved as Rotarix in several countries outside of Japan).

Avian flu

The Ministry of Health of Egypt has reported a new confirmed human case of avian influenza A (H5N1), the World Health Organization said Nov. 27.

H1N1

GENEVA — Tamiflu resistance in some H1N1 patients with badly weakened immune systems does not seem to reflect a major change in the virus' susceptibility to the frontline drug, the World Health Organization said Nov. 26.

HIV

World AIDS Day on Dec. 1 is intended to draw together people from around the world to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and demonstrate international solidarity in the face of the pandemic, according to the World Health Organization.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Tests have confirmed that samples from four patients with H1N1 influenza were found to be resistant to oseltamivir, known by the brand name Tamiflu.

HANOI, Vietnam — Through its commitment to immunization and other child health interventions, Vietnam has drastically reduced its child deaths, the GAVI Alliance announced Nov. 20 during its partner forum.

Dr. Anthony Fauci

Dr. Anthony Fauci wrote this commentary, posted Nov. 17, for msnbc.com. He is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in Bethesda, Md.

H1N1

LYON, France — Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group announced that the French drug agency Afssaps has granted marketing authorization in France for Panenza, its non-adjuvanted Influenza H1N1 2009 monovalent vaccine.

Mumps Virus

ATLANTA — U.S. health officials say the largest U.S. outbreak of mumps in three years is occurring in New York and New Jersey, The Associated Press reports.

Ebola

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — U.S. military officials sent a medical team to a remote outpost in southern Afghanistan this week to take blood samples from members of an Army unit after a soldier in the unit died from an Ebola-like virus.

The Center for Disease Control has reported 35 flu-related pediatric deaths that occurred in 17 states during the week ending November 9. The previous week only reported 18 deaths in nine states.

Anthrax

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that two medical countermeasures included in its anthrax franchise have been included as covered countermeasures under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act.

Anthrax

ROCKVILLE, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced July 31, 2008, that it has submitted a proposal in response to a request by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for a recombinant protective antigen anthrax vaccine (rPA).

Anthrax

ROCKVILLE, Md. —Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that on March 6, 2008, it completed the acquisition of a group of anthrax monoclonal antibodies from AVANIR Pharmaceuticals, including Avanir’s lead product candidate, AVP-21D9.

Fuad El-Hibri

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced that it would celebrate its recently completed initial public offering with the ringing of the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange by chairman and CEO Fuad El-Hibri on Nov. 22, 2006.

Anthrax

Emergent BioSolutions announced that it has been awarded two grants from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases totaling $3.8 million to support the development of the anthrax immune globulin (AIG) therapeutic product.

GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced June 21, 2006, that a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been named to its board of directors.