Scientists hope a new type of vaccine could help treat autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Type 1 diabetes, allergic asthma, or Crohn's disease. In autoimmune diseases, the body's immune system —  our defense against illness — can't tell the difference between good cells and bad cells, and ends up attacking them all. So you get sick either way.   But in a study published in Nature Biomedical Engineering this month, the scientists say a so-called "inverse vaccine" helped them stop an immune response from attacking healthy cells when it was faced with a laboratory model of an autoimmune disease. Jeffrey Hubbell, who led the research, told DW that inverse vaccines were "a whole new concept of vaccination" that may one day treat many autoimmune diseases. The vaccine is still in development, and has not been tested on humans. What is an inverse vaccine? Conventional vaccines train the immune system to spot infectious diseases and stop them from multiplying and spreading.  Take the COVID-19 vaccine, for example. It contains elements that represent the coronavirus spike protein — the thing that attaches itself to cells and infects them, and makes you sick. If you've had a COVID vaccine, your body should be able to recognize that spikey shape of the virus attached to a cell and kill it. An inverse vaccine, on the other hand, stops the immune system from attacking cells — specifically, good, healthy cells.  Instead, it retrains the immune system to save healthy cells, essentially by adding a "do not attack" flag. What illnesses might inverse vaccines treat? Researchers hope inverse vaccines will be used to treat a variety of auto-immune diseases, including MS, where immune cells attack cells of the brain and spinal cord, or in Type I diabetes, where immune cells attack the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Autoimmune diseases are usually treated with drugs that suppress the immune system to stop the immune cells from attacking any cells, including healthy ones. They can be effective, but have their disadvantages, too. "By dampening down the immune [system], patients can't fight infectious disease as well [as they would otherwise], and don't response well to vaccines, [so] they're more susceptible to diseases [in general]," said Hubbell. The inverse vaccine works differently. Instead of giving a general message to the immune system to dampen it down, it gives a specific message to stop attacking the body's own — healthy — cells. "[It] suppresses a dysfunctional immune response, leaving the healthy parts of the immune system intact," said Chris Jewell, a bioengineer at University of Maryland, US, who also works on inverse vaccines but was not involved in the study. How adaptable are inverse vaccines to different diseases? The concept of an inverse vaccine is not new. It was pioneered by Stanford researcher Lawrence Steinman in the early 2000s. But Hubbell says his research offers a new approach to creating adjustable inverse vaccines, specific to different autoimmune diseases. "The basic structure [of the vaccine] can be applied to different diseases. We're also working on food allergies and allergic asthma," said Hubbell. When will inverse vaccines be ready for patients? Hubbell's inverse vaccine is not yet ready for testing in human trials, and no other inverse vaccines have been clinically approved, either. But early safety trials are under way, including for their use with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease associated with eating wheat, barley and rye, and Phase 1 safety trials for MS. "A lot of the first indications of success are [with] celiac disease, so you could treat people to respond better to gluten. It could be really transformative," said Jewell. Jewell said they hoped to see more developments in the field of inverse vaccines in the next five to ten years.

The German biotech firm BioNTech is facing compensation claims for alleged side-effects from its Comirnaty vaccine. Millions of people in Germany received the jab, which authorities say saved many lives in the pandemic. The German biotechnology company BioNTech will go to court on Monday to defend itself against a lawsuit from a woman who alleges that its COVID vaccine caused her to suffer damaging side-effects. The trial at a Hamburg regional court is the first to deal with such allegations regarding a COVID vaccine. Several hundred damages lawsuits have been filed or are in preparation nationwide, according to figures from lawyers' offices.  BioNTech says more than 64 million people in Germany and some 1.5 billion across the world received its Comirnaty vaccine, the most commonly used in the Western world, during the coronavirus pandemic. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has approved it as safe.   Under German pharmaceutical law, makers of drugs or vaccines are liable for damages only if it is scientifically shown that their products cause harm that is disproportionate to their benefits or if the label information is wrong. The court has said no decision in the case is likely on Monday. What is the plaintiff claiming? The woman, who is not being publicly named under German privacy laws, alleges that the vaccine caused her to suffer upper-body pain, swollen extremities, fatigue and sleeping disorder. She is suing BioNTech for at least €150,000 ($161,500) in damages for bodily harm as well as compensation for unspecified material damage, according to the court. A lawyer representing her, Tobias Ulbrich, told Reuters news agency that he would challenge assessments made by EU and German health regulators that the Comirnaty jab had a positive risk-benefit profile. What have BioNTech and the EMA said? BioNTech said it has given the case careful consideration and concluded that it was without merit. "The positive benefit-risk profile of Comirnaty remains positive and the safety profile has been well-characterized," it said. The EMA reaffirmed last week the benefit of all COVID shots it approved, including Comirnaty. It said vaccines were estimated to have helped save almost 20 million lives across the world in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic alone. It conceded that there was a very small risk, mostly to young males, of two types of heart inflammation — myocarditis and pericarditis — following vaccination with the Comirnaty shot. The EMA says it registered almost 1.7 million spontaneous reports of suspected side-effects by May, which amounts to about 0.2 for every 100 administered doses. Many vaccinations against illnesses produce adverse side-effects, but these are normally temporary and limited to headache, fever, fatigue or muscle pain. The EMA monitors adverse events or illnesses after vaccination, also watching whether they are more frequent in the vaccinated than the non-vaccinated population.

UNICEF India on Thursday released the agency's global flagship report "The State of the World's Children 2023: For Every Child, Vaccination," highlighting the significance of childhood immunisation. According to Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative, World's Children 2023 report highlights India as one of the countries with the highest vaccine confidence in the world, "The State of the World's Children 2023 report highlights India as one of the countries with the highest vaccine confidence in the world. This is a recognition of the Government of India's political and social commitment and demonstrates that the #largestvaccinesdrive during the pandemic has paid off in building confidence and strengthening systems for routine immunization to vaccinate every child." "Immunization is one of humanity's most remarkable success stories, allowing children to live healthy lives and contribute to society. Reaching the last child with immunization is a key marker of equity that benefits not only the child but also the whole community. Routine immunizations and strong health systems can best prepare us in preventing future pandemics and reducing morbidity and mortality," added McCaffrey. Based on new data collected by The Vaccine Confidence Project (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and published by UNICEF, the report reveals that popular perception of the importance of vaccines for children held firm or improved only in China, India and Mexico out of 55 countries studied. While the vaccine confidence marks a decline in over a third of the studied countries, e.g., in the Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Senegal and Japan after the start of the pandemic. The report warns of the growing threat of vaccine hesitancy due to factors such as access to misleading information and declining trust in vaccine efficacy. The decline in vaccine confidence globally comes amid the largest sustained backslide in childhood immunization in 30 years, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic interrupted childhood vaccination almost everywhere, especially due to intense demands on health systems, the diversion of immunization resources to COVID-19 vaccination, health worker shortages and stay-at-home measures. The report has also mentioned that a total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021. "A total of 67 million children missed out on vaccinations between 2019 and 2021, with vaccination coverage levels decreasing in 112 countries. In 2022, for example, the number of measles cases was more than double the total in the previous year. The number of children paralysed by polio was up 16 per cent year-on-year in 2022. When comparing the 2019 to 2021 period with the previous three-year period, there was an eight-fold increase in the number of children paralysed by polio, highlighting the need to ensure vaccination efforts are sustained," the report warns. "Despite an increase in the number of zero-dose (unreached or missed out) children to three million - between 2020 and 2021 - during the pandemic, India was able to arrest the backslide and bring down the number to 2.7 million, which represents a smaller proportion of the India's under -5 child population given its size and the world's largest birth cohort. This achievement can be attributed to sustained evidence-based catch-up campaigns initiated by the government, including the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI), continued provision of comprehensive Primary Health Care services, a strong Routine Immunization programme and dedicated health workers. Continued progress is being made to reach the last mile and the last child," read a statement issued by UNICEF. "New data produced for the report by the International Center for Equity in Health found that in the poorest households, 1 in 5 children are zero-dose while in the wealthiest, it is just 1 in 20. It found unvaccinated children often live in hard-to-reach communities such as rural areas or urban slums. They often have mothers who have not been able to go to school and who are given little say in family decisions. These challenges are greatest in low- and middle-income countries, where about 1 in 10 children in urban areas are zero dose and 1 in 6 in rural areas. In upper-middle-income countries, there is almost no gap between urban and rural children," the statement added.

A special program has started from today to give the fourth dose of Corona vaccine. Director General of the Department of Health Ahmedul Kabir inaugurated the program at Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka at 9 am. According to the Department of Health, people above the age of 60 who have already received the third dose will be vaccinated under the programme. In the circular signed by the member secretary of the Covid-19 Vaccine Management Task Force Committee, Shamsul Haque, it is said in the circular that, besides, frontliners, pregnant women, people aged 18 years and above with low immunity and chronic diseases will be vaccinated during this campaign. Among the frontliners are - freedom fighters, workers of the Ministry of Health and its affiliates and affiliated private healthcare organizations, all employees of public-private and autonomous organizations, law enforcement and military personnel, journalists, bank employees, national team players and others working on the frontline. The fourth dose campaign will be administered only by Pfizer and will be administered at permanent vaccination centers across the country. According to the Department of Health, there are about 1,000 such centres. As of December 14, about 14.9 crore people have been received the first dose, over 12.65 crore people have been received the second dose and about 6.46 crore people have been received the booster dose. The government started the mass vaccination program from February 8 last year with the Oxford, AstraZeneca vaccine prepared by the Serum Institute of India. Later 6 more vaccines from different companies were added to this list. These are - Pfizer, Sinopharm, Moderna, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson.

The Department of Health said that the fourth dose of the coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine will start in the country from December 20. This vaccination will be given to people over 60, frontline fighters, pregnant women and lactating mothers to prevent the spread of coronavirus. According to the notification of the Department of Health, the Pfizer vaccine will be given as the fourth dose. This information was informed in a circular signed by Director and Line Director of Health Department, Member Secretary of the Covid-19 Vaccine Management Committee Shamsul Haque. According to the notification, the second or fourth dose can be administered to those who have passed 4 months after receiving the third dose. The notification also informed that all permanent Covid-19 vaccination centers located at city corporation, district, upazila and municipal area nationwide (Specialized Hospitals, Government Medical College Hospitals, 500, 250 and 100 bed hospitals, District Headquarters Hospitals, Upazila Government Health Complex etc. The fourth dose of vaccine should be given in these running booth Apart from this, these vaccination centers include Secretariat, Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Kurmitola General Hospital, Mugda Medical General Hospital, Sheikh Russell Gastroliver Hospital and Government Employees Hospital.

Ceravac, an indigenously developed vaccine for cervical cancer caused by the human-papillomavirus (HPV), will be priced between Rs 200-400 per dose and available in a few months, said manufacturer Serum Institute of India on Thursday.   “Initially, the vaccine will be supplied to the government programme and then from next year onwards, some private partners may also be involved,” said Serum India CEO Adar Poonawalla. The vaccine is given as a two-dose or three-dose regimen depending on age.   Two HPV vaccines are available in the private market presently, both made by foreign companies: Gardasil by Merck and Cervarix by Glaxo Smithkline. HPV vaccines sell for Rs 2,000-3,500 per dose now, and Serum India’s entry is expected to bring down prices.   Announcing the scientific completion of the vaccine that took more than a decade to develop, the central government said that around 2,000 volunteers had participated in the country for clinical trials. Pune-based Serum India developed Ceravac in collaboration with the government’s biotechnology department.   Work started in September 2011 and the vaccine was approved by India’s drug regulator in July this year. “Partnerships between private-public are becoming very important in such research, this co-creation is what is going to make all the difference in the world,” said Rajesh Gokhale, secretary in the Department of Biotechnology.   Covid-19 had raised awareness about preventive healthcare and Ceravac will help such efforts, said Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of Science and Technology.   Ceravac, which is based on virus-like-particle (VLP) platform technology, has demonstrated a robust antibody response nearly 1000 times higher than the baseline against all targeted HPV types and in all dose and age groups.   HPV types--16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, 58--are considered as high risk for cancer. Type 6 and 11 are considered low-risk types. SII’s quadrivalent HPV vaccine works against type 6,11,16,18.   It means the vaccine protects against four different strains of the HPV, and approximately give coverage against 90 percent of HPV prevalent in the developing world.   Cervical is the second most frequent cancer among women in India. About 5 percent of women in the general population are estimated to have cervical HPV‐16/18 infection, and 83.2 percent of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPVs 16 or 18.   India has 483.5 million women aged 15 and older who are at risk of cervical cancer. Current estimates say that every year 123,907 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 77,348 die from the disease. Cervical is the second-most frequent cancer among women in India.   The standing technical sub-committee of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended including cervical cancer in the National Immunisation Mission (NIM).   According to the 2011 Census, around 114.8 million girls were between the age of 10-14 years. The numbers would be slightly different now, however, one can estimate around 100-120 million female children to be in the target age group for HPV vaccination under the NIM.   Umesh Shaligram, executive director of Serum India and who was involved in developing Ceravac, said the vaccine could also be given to males once there are enough doses. The vaccine can be used to cover other HPV-caused diseases and not just cervical cancer, he said.   Source: Business Standard  

Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), the Indian vaccines and bio-therapeutics manufacturer, on Wednesday announced that its rotavirus oral vaccine ROTAVAC has been introduced to immunise its children from the life-threatening diarrhoeal disease that affects millions of children worldwide. Taking to Twitter, Bharat Biotech said, "Rotavac was introduced into the national immunization program in Nigeria today. This is a great milestone for team Bharat Biotech, where decades of innovation have resulted in a safe and efficacious product that will save thousands of lives worldwide. Currently, Nigeria accounts for 14 per cent of the rotavirus deaths globally, making it the country with the second-highest number of rotavirus deaths in the world, according to the statement released by Bharat biotech. Notably, Rotavirus infection causes about 50,000 child fatalities under the age of five every year in Nigeria. "Decades of research and product development have resulted in Rotavac. This vaccine is now available in several countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. We are proud to state that novel vaccines from India are saving lives worldwide," Dr Krishna Ella said, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat. He further said that they are committed to supporting and reducing the infectious disease burden amongst children in the developing world, and to ensure nations like Nigeria in the African continent, have access to cost-effective world-class interventions for infants and vulnerable populations. ROTAVAC is safe and effective at preventing diarrheal disease caused by the Rotavirus." "Bharat Biotech will continue to play its role in researching, developing, and manufacturing novel vaccines, to lower the morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases and contribute towards the achievement of universal vaccine access," Ella adds. Rotavirus is one of the leading causes of diarrheal disease in the world and is responsible for over 40 per cent of diarrhoea in children. It accounts for about 215,000 of the 525,000-under-5 mortality worldwide each year that are attributed to diarrheal diseases, making it the most common cause of severe diarrhoea. ROTAVAC received WHO-Prequalification in January 2018. Bharat Biotech developed the first generation, rotavirus vaccine, Rotavac under a Public-Private Partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, the Government of India and 16 other international partners, making it the largest ever social innovation project for public health, according to the statement. Source: ANI

The vaccine by Danish biotech company Bavarian Nordic has already been approved for the prevention of monkeypox in the US and Canada. The decision comes a day after the WHO declared the disease a global health emergency. The European Commission approved Bavarian Nordic’s Imvanex vaccine which protects against smallpox for use against monkeypox in the EU, the Danish biotech company said on Monday. Bavarian Nordic said the approval came after a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) last week, and is valid in all EU member states. The availability of an approved vaccine can significantly improve nations readiness to fight emerging diseases, but only through investments and structured planning of the biological preparedness, Bavarian Nordic’s Chief Executive Paul Chaplin said. The announcement comes a day after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a global health emergency. Chaplin told Reuters news agency that the company was also in talks to potentially grow production capacity and could meet demand for the monkeypox vaccine in the tens of millions. What we know about Imvanex vaccine Imvanex is the only vaccine to have been granted approval for the prevention of monkeypox in the United States and Canada and had previously only been approved for use in the treatment of smallpox. According to Bavarian Nordic, its jab is a non-replicating smallpox vaccine which was developed in collaboration with the US government. The development of IMVANEX was made possible through significant investments from the US government for the past two decades, the company said. Bavarian Nordic’s share price has risen by 122% over the past three months, driven by strong demand for a vaccine to combat monkeypox. The disease as long been endemic in West and Central Africa, but spread to countries around the world starting in May this year. Since then, over 15,300 cases in 75 countries have been confirmed in laboratories, according to the WHO. The current outbreak is centered in Europe. What are the symptoms of monkeypox? According to the WHO, those who contract monkeypox report having high fever, an intense headache and swelling of the lymph nodes, as well as back pain and muscle aches. A skin rash and lesions usually appears 1 to 3 days after the appearance of a fever. The rash most commonly breaks out on the face, but can also appear on the palms of hands and soles of the feet. Most people recover within weeks without requiring medical attention. Monkeypox is similar to smallpox, but is less dangerous and less contagious.

First Indian elected as Regional Director of World Health Organization (WHO)'s South-East Asia Region, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh on Sunday congratulated India for setting a 'new record' by administering two billion vaccine doses within months. In a conversation with ANI today, Dr Singh said, "Congratulations India for administering over 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses. This is yet another evidence of the country's commitment and efforts to minimize the impact of the ongoing pandemic." "COVID-19 vaccines provide protection against severe diseases and deaths for all variants. We must continue our efforts to ensure everyone everywhere benefits from these life-saving vaccines. Let us not forget that the pandemic is still around even after being administered with the vaccine. We must remember to take all precautionary measures to curtail the virus spread," the doctor said. India has administered two billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine so far under the nationwide vaccination drive. "17th July 2022, a day to remember forever," tweeted Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya. India's COVID-19 vaccination drive touched the 1 billion doses feat in October 2021, in just over nine months since the start of the drive. Now, India has reached another milestone of 2 billion doses. "Witness the history in making! India under PM @NarendraModi Ji's leadership is all set to achieve the 200-crore COVID-19 vaccination mark! Countdown starts," tweeted Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on July 16. In order to ensure protection against COVID-19, Mandaviya launched the "Covid Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav" on July 15 at the COVID Vaccination Camp in Nirman Bhawan. Moments after India crossed the 2 billion Covid vaccine doses milestone, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the country has created history again and that India's vaccination drive is unparalleled in scale and speed. He congratulated all Indians on crossing the special figure of 200 crore vaccine doses.   Source: ANI

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday said that the Vaccine Maitri exercise has been a strong statement and defines what India is to the world.   "I think, Vaccine Maitri has been a very strong statement. Very often when I go to Africa to other countries in Asia, or meet with my counterparts in the Caribbean or the Pacific Island. I will say today perhaps if there's a single action, which for them defines what is India, then it is actually been the Vaccine Maitri exercise," Jaishankar said at an ICCR event.   He said India is increasingly perceived as a tech-friendly society and the generosity of India has also come through in different ways.   "India today, when it comes to soft power is a polity, which expresses its beliefs, which practices its values, which is very proud of its way of life. We obviously will not allow it to be diminished or denigrated," Jaishankar said while talking about the soft power.   Mentioning India's progress, he said, "I think India today is progressing, which is embracing modernity while preserving and even enriching its traditions."   Jaishankar also mentioned that India enriches the world more by example than by aggressive advocacy. "The message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in many ways, expresses that middle path when it comes to coexistence and pluralism," he concluded.   In January 2021, India launched the Vaccine Maitri (Vaccine Friendship) initiative - a major diplomatic effort to gift and supply made-in-India vaccines to low-income and developing countries globally.   Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Morocco, South Africa, Afghanistan, Mexico, DR Congo, Nigeria, United Kingdom, and many other countries were among some of the beneficiaries of the Vaccine Maitri initiative.   India kicked off international shipments of the vaccines on January 20, 2021, only four days after starting its own vaccination program. Bhutan and Maldives were the first countries to receive vaccines as a grant from India. Source: ANI