News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – A cheap new vaccine for bacterial meningitis debuted today with the launching of an immunization drive in the West African country of Burkina Faso, in the first stage of an effort that could rid sub-Saharan Africa of the primary cause of meningitis, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced.

(CIDRAP News) – A large prospective study from Hong Kong raises the possibility that elderly people with chronic illnesses can significantly reduce their risk of stroke and heart attack by getting vaccinated against influenza and pneumococcal disease at the same time, but other researchers are greeting the findings with a mix of caution and skepticism.

(CIDRAP News) – One third of US adults aged 65 and older are not vaccinated against pneumonia, according to a national report that describes them as representative of millions of adult Americans who are vulnerable to diseases that can be forestalled by vaccines.