Vaccine News

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative recently reported one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)-positive environmental sample was detected in wastewater in the United Kingdom.

As of January 8, 2025, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says there is no evidence of community transmission, and the polio risk to the public in London is low.

Poliovirus surveillance is undertaken at 26 sites in the UK, with monthly sampling.

During November 2024, VDPV2 was detected in 1 sample from East Worthing Sewage Treatment Works (which covers some of West Sussex local authority and adjacent areas), in 2 samples from Leeds Knostrop Sewage Treatment Works, and 1 sample from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works.

As part of routine surveillance, poliovirus is detected occasionally in the UK. Brief detections do not require any public health action, as these are generally one-off findings due to:

Individuals being vaccinated overseas with the live attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV) enter the UK and ‘shed’ traces of the ‘vaccine-like’ poliovirus in their feces. Immunosuppressed individuals may also shed the virus for an extended period.

And visitors entering the UK from a country where vaccine-derived polioviruses have been circulating.

The same circulating VDPV2 strain has also been recently found in sewage samples from sites in other European countries in 2024. Several countries offer OPV on exit as part of their response to polio outbreaks.

The UK switched from the OPV to the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) in 2004.

In the United States, the IPV has been offered since 2000.

The U.S. CDC recommends that international travelers be fully vaccinated against polio before visiting countries of concern. In 2025, travel clinics and pharmacies will offer the IPV.

Merck today announced China's National Medical Products Administration approved GARDASIL® Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (HPV) for use in males 9-26 years of age to help prevent certain HPV-related cancers and diseases.

This approval makes GARDASIL the first HPV vaccine approved for use in males in China as of January 8, 2025.

GARDASIL is now indicated in China to prevent anal cancers caused by HPV Types 16 and 18, genital warts (condyloma acuminata) caused by HPV Types 6 and 11, and the following precancerous or dysplastic lesions caused by HPV Types 6, 11, 16, and 18: grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3 anal intraepithelial neoplasia.

Joseph Romanelli, president, Human Health International, Merck, commented in a press release, “Since first approval, our HPV vaccines have helped protect over 50 million females in China from certain HPV-related cancers and diseases. With this expanded approval, we look forward to helping protect this new population of Chinese males from certain HPV-related cancers and diseases.”

Gardasil and other HPV vaccines will be in use by various countries in 2025.

The U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) today announced new advice against all travel within 20km of the Arab Republic of Egypt-Libya border, except for El Salloum, where it advises against all but essential travel.

On January 8, 2025, the U.K. confirmed travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the FCDO. 

Previously, the U.S. Department of State issued a Travel Advisory on October 15, 2024, indicating visiting Egypt was a Level 3, Reconsider Travel status due to the U.S. Embassy’s limited ability to assist dual national U.S.-Egyptian citizens.

And some areas in Egypt have increased risk, such as:

The Northern and Middle Sinai Peninsula,

The Western Desert,

Egyptian border areas.

The State Department advised keeping travel documents up to date and easily accessible and making contingency plans to leave the country without U.S. government assistance.

If you visit Egypt in 2025, enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts and make locating you in an emergency easier.=

From a health perspective, the U.S. CDC advises awareness of current health issues in Egypt, such as Variant Poliovirus Type 2.

The WHO’s International Travel and Health recommends that all travelers to polio-affected areas be fully vaccinated against polio. Residents (and visitors for more than four weeks) from infected areas should receive an additional dose of OPV or inactivated polio vaccine within one to twelve months of travel.

In the U.S., polio vaccinations are offered at travel clinics and pharmacies in 2025.

ModeX Therapeutics Inc. today announced the dosing of the first participant in the Phase I clinical trial of an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) vaccine candidate, MDX2201.

The U.S. CDC says EBV, a member of the herpes virus family (human herpesvirus 4), is one of the most common human viruses. Most people (90%) are infected with EBV at some point during their lives. EBV infection can affect a person's brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

As of January 8, 2025, there are no U.S. FDA-approved vaccines or treatments for EBV or herpes infections.

This EBV vaccine is based on ModeX’s ferritin nanoparticle platform. Its surface can express as many as 24 copies of a recombinant antigen, enhancing the presentation of key virus components and stimulating durable protective immunity.

MDX2201 presents antigens from four viral proteins involved in viral entry into host cells. These include a recombinant antigen designed from the proteins gH, gL, and gp42 and an antigen derived from gp350.

This combination, using ModeX’s multi-targeted approach, inhibits infection in two cell types: B and epithelial cells. This contrasts with efforts previously focused on gp350 alone.

“EBV infection can cause serious illness and pose long-term risks of cancer and autoimmunity..... Our nanoparticle vaccine aims to stimulate protective immunity in patients and prevent these diseases,” said Gary Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ModeX and Chief Innovation Officer of OPKO, in a press release on January 7, 2025.

This study's (V350-001) estimated completion date is November 18, 2026.

MDX2201 is being developed in collaboration with Merck.

The Lunar New Year, commonly known as the Chinese New Year, is celebrated in various ways by different cultures worldwide.

This year, the year of the Snake, official celebrations begin on January 29, 2025. Numerous festivals are expected to attract many international visitors through mid-February.

However, travelers must be aware of unique health issues in every destination, even in different areas of the same country.

Lunar New Year is an important festival observed by Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean communities. Celebrations retain traditional customs such as feasts, gift exchanges, lantern lighting, and offers to ancestors.

For example, the Penn Museum winds into the Year of the Snake with its 44th annual CultureFest on January 25, 2025.

"Over the years, our collaboration has brought the richness of Asian heritage to diverse audiences, creating opportunities to learn, connect, and celebrate together," commented Holly Meng, President and CEO of the American Center for Asian Students, in a press release.

According to the U.K. Travel Health Pro reporting on January 6, 2025, when large gatherings occur, infectious diseases such as measles and respiratory infections can easily spread, quickly affecting large groups.

Additionally, the U.S. CDC says illnesses spread by mosquitoes, such as chikungunya, dengue fever, and Japanese encephalitis, are common throughout Asia and countries in the Pacific, so it is essential to prevent mosquito and insect bites. 

The CDC suggests that anyone attending these celebrations speak with a travel vaccine expert before boarding an airplane.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recently announced that pertussis (whooping cough) cases are increasing throughout the state. It urged pregnant women and infant caregivers to receive tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis vaccinations.

CDPH reported receiving reports of more than 2,000 patients, including 62 infants hospitalized during the last ten months of 2024. One of the hospitalized infants died from the pertussis infection.

This data represents about a 500% increase in cases than in 2023 when 400 pertussis cases were confirmed.

Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Public Health Officer stated in a press release on January 3, 2025, "Infants are particularly vulnerable (the bacterial disease), and that's why CDPH especially encourages people who are pregnant to receive the Tdap vaccine in their third trimester, which will pass along protective antibodies to the baby." 

Throughout the USA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) note that six times as many pertussis cases were reported in 2024 compared to 2023.

Caused by Bordetella pertussis, people with whooping cough have severe coughing attacks that can last for months, according to the CDC. Infants too young for vaccination are at the most significant risk for hospitalization and death. Early signs of whooping cough are similar to common cold symptoms, such as a runny or stuffy nose and low-grade fever. Babies with whooping cough may have trouble breathing, turn blue, or stop breathing. 

The CDC and CDPH recommend speaking with your doctor or pharmacist in 2025 about which vaccines are right for you and your family. 

SIGA Technologies announced that its antiviral treatment TEPOXX (tecovirimat 200 mg capsules, TPOXX) had received regulatory approval in Japan for the treatment of smallpox, mpox, cowpox, as well as complications following smallpox vaccination in adults and pediatric patients weighing at least 13 kg. TEPOXX is the first antiviral therapy approved for the treatment of orthopoxviruses.   

As of January 2, 2025, SIGA has delivered an order of TEPOXX to help build Japan’s strategic national stockpile.

TEPOXX is a highly targeted small-molecule antiviral that inhibits the VP37 protein found on the surface of all orthopoxviruses. By preventing the virus from exiting infected cells, TEPOXX slows the spread of the infection, enabling the immune system to clear the virus.

TPOXX is approved in the U.S. and Canada for the treatment of smallpox. In the European Union and the United Kingdom, marketed as Tecovirimat-SIGA, it is approved for treating smallpox, mpox, and cowpox and to treat complications following smallpox vaccination.

The Japanese approval is based on data from 15 clinical trials of oral TEPOXX in over 800 healthy volunteers, including a pivotal repeat-dose phase 1 pharmacokinetics (PK) trial involving 20 healthy volunteers conducted in Japan. TEPOXX has also been studied in NHPs infected with the variola virus, which causes smallpox, where TEPOXX demonstrated improved survival and reduced lesions.

In 2024, the U.S. NIH announced unsatisfactory results regarding mpox usage.