HOUSTON – Peter Hotez has 2 words for his fellow scientists: Speak up. A venerable vaccine researcher and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, Hotez says he and other scientists of his generation were taught to do science and…
Public health professionals are going to have to get creative in order to reach young people skeptical about the value of vaccines, writes Brian Goldman in his CBC Radio blog.
Flu-related deaths topped 80,000 in the US last winter, but “people still discount their risks of disease” writes Heidi J. Larson. The vaccine mistrust looks set to spur the next pandemic, undermining the available preventive measures. As director of the Vaccine Confidence…
There are exciting reasons to be hopeful about the promise of vaccines—such as those using mRNA, which could be developed faster and cheaper. Many of the quantum leaps in vaccine research, write Christopher J. Elias and Trevor Mundel, of the Bill & Melinda Gates…
A promising new vaccine is poised to take on both Lassa fever and rabies, according to new research published in Nature Communications. Both diseases take a toll in Africa, where access to rabies vaccines and post-exposure shots can be scarce; there is currently no approved…
A growing number of kids in the US are going without the full roster of recommended vaccinations, such as whooping cough and measles—which has returned in the US amid rising vaccine skepticism in some communities.
The attention on tuberculosis at tomorrow’s first UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting focused on ending the scourge is welcome. But it must be matched by resources, argue Bjorn Lomborg, president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, and Aaron Motsoaledi, South Africa’s…
Our work is based on science and trust, on our ability to communicate reliable information—and on having people believe that information is real. We help Tanzanians change their behaviors to protect themselves from malaria by laying out the advantages of sleeping under…
The Italian government has alarmed doctors and scientists by suspending 10 mandatory vaccinations for schoolchildren, including measles, tetanus and polio.
Vaccines’ disease-fighting super powers are clear. However, a successful rollout is not guaranteed. A lack of planning and political will can allow misinformation and scandals to destroy public confidence.
