Safety Report on Vaccines

Source: New York Times

A comprehensive evaluation of eight common childhood vaccines has found that any adverse effects from vaccines are very rare or very minor. The report, issued last week by a panel of experts assembled by the Institute of Medicine, said there is no evidence that childhood vaccines cause autism, diabetes, facial palsy or episodes of asthma, as some people fear.

Infant vaccination for rotavirus protects adults

Source: CBC News

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus can also prevent serious diseases in unvaccinated older children and adults, a new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases says.

Ambassador King Meets with Dr. Seth Berkley, new GAVI Alliance Head

Source: United States Mission

Ambassador Betty King met with Dr. Seth Berkley, the new Chief Executive Officer of the GAVI Alliance at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva August 26 to discuss the partnership between the United States and GAVI.

Impact investing: Harbinger of A Brighter Future and A Friendlier Bond Market?

Source: Forbes India Magazine

Economic historians, understandably occupied with efforts to understand the crisis we now know was around the corner, can be forgiven for overlooking an event that may well take the edge off future crises: the International Finance Facility for Immunisation's (IFFIm) inaugural offering of bonds, which took place on Nov.14, 2006, in London and succeeded in raising $1 billion.

The rotavirus vaccine continues to save children's lives in Mexico

Source: Los Angeles Times

The rotavirus vaccine introduced in Mexico in 2007 still appears to be preventing diarrhea-related deaths in children, despite speculation that years later the vaccine may not be as effective.

Straight Talk about Vaccination

Source: Scientific American

Parents need better information, ideally before a baby is born.

Innovations to save moms and babies

Source: Huffington Post | Dr Rajiv Shah

Six hundred grant proposals recently poured into U.S. Agency for International Development from around the globe. Each had the potential to become the next breakthrough in maternal and infant health -- the ultimate aspiration of an international partnership called Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge in Development with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada, the Government of Norway, and The World Bank.

Seth Berkley: A lifetime search for equity through vaccines

Source: The East African

The 55-year-old Dr Berkley, who founded the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, has this month taken the reins of another prominent organisation, the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisations (Gavi). Though he may not have planned it this way, Dr Berkley’s entire career has been a quest to close the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Eventually, his work achieved a clearly defined focus: The realm of vaccines and immunisation.

On the Ground in the Horn of Africa

Source: USAID impact blog | Rajiv Shah

Eighty kilometers from Kenya’s border with Somalia, the Dadaab Refugee Complex—already the world’s largest refugee camp—has seen on average 1,500 exhausted and starving men, women and children arrive each day.

The Next Billion: Measles Immunizations Reach Milestone

Source: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

A significant milestone in the global effort to eliminate measles has been reached: the Measles Initiative has immunized its one billionth child.

Q and A with Seth Berkley

Source: Times of India

Seth Berkley is CEO, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), which gave a record $165 million to India to induct the pentavalent vaccine into the universal immunisation programme. Penta combines protection against DPT, Hepatitis B and, for the first time, Hib, the leading cause of bacterial meningitis and second leading cause of bacterial pneumonia deaths among under-fives. Having rolled out in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Goa, it should ultimately cover 18 million children.

'Immunization is the most important health intervention'

Source: The Times of India | Erratica

Seth Berkley is the brand new CEO of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization(GAVI) which gave a record $165 million grant to induct the pentavalent vaccine into India's universal immunization program. I spoke to Dr Berkeley at the recent Pacific Health Summit in Seattle.