Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Duke Health: Vaccine Breakthrough Could Eliminate Cancer Cells For Good
Duke Health researchers recently announced groundbreaking results from a clinical trial that began over two decades ago. A small group of women with advanced breast cancer participated in a trial where they received a vaccine, and all are alive today, with robust, long-lasting immune cells that recognize their cancer. ABC11 spoke with Lori Lober, a study participant. Initially, she was given a grim prognosis, with median survival rate of less than 2 to 3% for five years. However, the trial at Duke Health gave her new hope. She has remained disease-free for 24 years. (11/16)
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On nasal vaccines —
A new study from Chiba University researchers has developed a therapeutic HPV vaccine that can be administered through the nose, offering a potential non-invasive treatment for individuals already infected with the virus. (11/17)
A new vaccine to protect dairy and poultry workers from bird flu does not require a needle and works against multiple strains of the H5N1 virus, researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health said. Protection could be a quick squirt away. (Hille, 11/14)
More on vaccines and RFK Jr. —
Should the American Medical Association (AMA) establish its own vaccine advisory committee or focus instead on restoring the original CDC committee? Members took up that debate during a small committee session at the AMA House of Delegates interim meeting. In June, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ousted all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with people whose vaccine skepticism aligned with his own. (Firth, 11/16)
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) on Sunday said he is “very concerned” about the possibility of changing the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants in the United States. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s panel of federal vaccine advisers is set to discuss and potentially vote on changing that vaccine schedule when they next meet on Dec. 4. On Sunday, Cassidy said he “was concerned” and that the vaccine and its ingredients, such as aluminum, which the panel is set to discuss, “have been shown to be safe.” (Limon, 11/16)
Several Democratic candidates and organizations told POLITICO they’re betting on Robert F. Kennedy dragging down the GOP, pointing to polling showing his long-held anti-vaccine views are turning the public off. (Ollstein, 11/15)
