* ►January 1, 2009 - Epidemiology of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease among Adult Patients in Barcelona Before and After Pediatric 7-Valent Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine Introduction, 1997–2007 - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases) - "Rates of IPD among adults increased in Barcelona in the late PCV7 period, coinciding with a clonal expansion of non-PCV7 serotypes."

* ►January 1, 2009 - Encephalitis after Secondary Smallpox Vaccination (free full text) - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

* ►January 1, 2009 - Diagnostic Testing or Empirical Therapy for Patients Hospitalized with Suspected Influenza: What to Do? - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

* ►January 1, 2009 - Developing New Antiviral Agents for Influenza Treatment: What Does the Future Hold? - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

* ►January 1, 2009 - Guillain-Barré Syndrome and Influenza Virus Infection - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

* ►January 1, 2009 - The Risk of Seasonal and Pandemic Influenza: Prospects for Control - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

►January 1, 2009 - Bad Bugs, No Drugs: No ESKAPE! An Update from the Infectious Diseases Society of America - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

►January 1, 2009 - Babesia Infection through Blood Transfusions: Reports Received by the US Food and Drug Administration, 1997–2007 - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

►January 1, 2009 - Tuberculosis and Illicit Drug Use: Review and Update - journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

►January 1, 2009 - Unpasteurized Milk: A Continued Public Health Threat (free full text)- journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

►January 1, 2009 - Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome: A Reappraisal- journal article (Clinical Infectious Diseases)

* ►January 2009 - Clinical Trial of Standing-Orders Strategies to Increase the Inpatient Influenza Vaccination Rate - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

►January 2009 - Active Tuberculosis in a Healthcare Worker: Are You Ready? - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

►January 2009 - A Double-Edged Sword and a Golden Opportunity for Healthcare Epidemiology (free full text) - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

►January 2009 - Study of Blood Contact in Simulated Surgical Needlestick Injuries With Single or Double Latex Gloving - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

►January 2009 - Review of Current Literature on the Economic Burden of Clostridium difficile Infection - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

►January 2009 - Skin and Environmental Contamination With Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci in Patients Receiving Oral Metronidazole or Oral Vancomycin Treatment for Clostridium difficile–Associated Disease - journal article (Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology)

* ►December 11, 2008 - Prevention and Treatment of Seasonal Influenza (free full text) - journal article (NEJM)

►December 11, 2008 - A Trial of Combination Antimalarial Therapies in Children from Papua New Guinea (free full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►December 11, 2008 - Smuggled fertilised eggs dodging bird flu control measures, say trade sources - South China Morning Post

►December 11, 2008 - Progress and challenges in genome-wide association studies in humans - journal article (Nature)

►December 11, 2008 - A History of Multiple Sclerosis (book review) - journal article (NEJM)

►December 11, 2008 - A shot in the arm - Hindustan Times - "RTS,S/AS is the leading candidate in a global effort coordinated by the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) to develop a malaria vaccine."

►December 11, 2008 - Ebola in Pigs Shows Deadly Virus Can Infect Domestic Livestock - Bloomberg

►December 11, 2008 - Boy's death in Beawar has medical dept in tenterhooks - Times of India - "AJMER: The death of a five-year-old boy in Beawar town of Ajmer district has put the officials of medical and health department on the wrong foot as some suspect it as a case of polio."

* ►December 10, 2008 - NVIC Vaccine E-Newsletter

Gardasil Deaths, Injuries & Money by Barbara Loe Fisher

At the same time that more Gardasil injuries and deaths are being reported every day, those promoting mass use of Gardasil are busy denying the significance of vaccine reactions while Merck is making plans to increase its market share by asking young boys to roll up their sleeves as well.

The discussion in states about whether or not Gardasil should be mandated is still taking place even though all but two state legislatures (Virginia and D.C.) rejected mandates in 2007. It makes it easier for pro- forced vaccination proponents to keep proposed Gardasil mandates on the table when the CDC insists all of the health problems, hospitalizations, injuries and deaths that have been reported to the government's Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) after Gardasil vaccination are just a "coincidence."

Through the end of October 2008, the government has published a list of 9,762 Gardasil- related adverse events, including 30 deaths, that have been reported to VAERS. This number does not include the Gardasil vaccine-related health problems which have been reported to the VAERS but not yet published. It is estimated that only between one and 10 percent of all serious health problems following administration of pharmaceutical products are ever reported to the government. This gross underreporting of vaccine- related hospitalizations, injuries and deaths means that there potentially could be nearly one million health problems following Gardasil vaccination that have actually occurred since the vaccine was licensed in 2006.

But who needs to count if it is all just a "coincidence?" It is good for business to downplay the significance of vaccine reactions and so researchers associated with Glaxo Smith Kline (GSK), who are perhaps looking toward the lucrative U.S. market for GSK's new HPV vaccine (Cervarix), are doing just that.

Waiting for approval at the FDA, Cervarix contains a powerful adjuvant (ASO4) that has not been licensed for use in the U.S. That adjuvant is designed to send the immune system into overdrive. Will it also swell the numbers of VAERS Gardasil adverse events reports that can be conveniently written off as a coincidence by doctors, government and drug company officials?

When perfectly healthy, bright teenage girls and young women get an HPV vaccination and collapse, have seizures, become paralyzed, are left with crippling fatigue and joint pain or suddenly die, their mothers and fathers deserve more than a "coincidence" explanation from doctors, government health officials and vaccine manufacturers. Until the public stands up to the Big Lie and calls it for what it is, those in charge of the U.S. vaccination system will continue to get away with putting policy and profits before good science every time a new vaccine is licensed and recommended for use by millions of Americans.

VIDEO: On Gardasil deaths click here

VIDEO: On Gardasil reactions click here

VIDEO: On Gardasil reactions click here

For Facts about HPV Infection click here

"Emily Tarsell has several paintings done by her daughter, Chris, hanging throughout her Baltimore County home. Chris Tarsell was a talented and aspiring artist, but she suddenly and inexplicably died in June at the age of 21. "No one heard from her," Tarsell said. "They went into her bedroom and found her in the bed, dead." Tarsell said she learned of her daughter's death when police officers knocked on her door. "It was about, I don't know, maybe eight o'clock. I was alone, and then they told me," she said. During an autopsy, a pathologist searched for the cause of Chris's death, but found none. Her final report listed cardiac arrest, cause undetermined, Miller reported. "They could not find anything. All the tests came back negative, so it's still unknown," Tarsell said. Weeks later, a family member mentioned to Tarsell news reports about Gardasil. "My sister and I were stunned," Tarsell said...."It's basically written off as a coincidence -- not connected," said Barbara Loe Fisher, a safety watchdog for the National Vaccine Information Center. She said she is critical of the CDC, FDA and Gardasil in particular, arguing the vaccine was put on the market too fast. "You cannot have the same people who are regulating, making policy for and promoting mass use of vaccines also in charge of making sure they're safe," Fisher said. She said a big shortcoming is the VAERS reporting system. "It's a very passive, voluntary system," she said." - Jayne Miller, WBAL-TV (Baltimore), November 21, 2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZNhOclixc

"Across the country different states including Arkansas have looked at mandating gardasil for school aged girls. It's a vaccine that helps prevent certain strains of HPV, the Human Papillomavirus which is a sexually transmitted disease that can lead to cervical cancer. But do the benefits outweigh the risks? Jesalee Parsons was 13 when her mother signed off on her to get the Gardasil vaccine at school. Now nearly two years later she says she is still in pain. Jesalee says she was diagnosed with Acute Pancreatitis and since getting one only dose of Gardasil has spent close to 100 days in the hospital, and had two surgeries to remove Pseudocysts. While doctors cannot explain why she has had health problems she and her mother are convinced the vaccine is to blame....Barbara Loe Fisher--President of the National Vaccine Information Center--wants parents to be informed before they allow their daughters to get the three dose vaccine. "We are seeing girls who are collapsing and then having seizure activity when they come to consciousness, continuing seizure disorders. We are seeing arthritis, chronic fatigue, paralysis. Some of these who are going in are perfectly healthy girls going in to get this vaccine and walk out and are chronically ill." The vaccine manufactured by Merck was tested on thousands of females in clinical trials prior to being approved but Fisher says it was not studied thoroughly enough in children. ""If your read the reports you can see certainly a number of them are related to that shot. These are healthy girls, healthy women who are going in and then dying, sometimes within hours, sometimes within days of getting this injection and often the autopsy reports come back with no known cause." - KATV-11 (Little Rock), November 6, 2008
http://www.katv.com/news/stories/1108/567520_video.html?ref=newsstory

"A study of Merck & Co Inc's cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil found that allergic reactions were uncommon and most young women can tolerate subsequent doses, Australian researchers said on Wednesday. The research involved 25 Australian girls with suspected hypersensitivity to the vaccine which was administered as part of a national immunization program to all females aged 12 to 26 in the country beginning in 2007.....Choo and colleagues noted some components of Merck's treatment -- such as aluminum salts and yeast -- have been associated with allergic reactions.." - Reuters, December 2, 2008 http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4B202320081203

"Expected sluggish sales for some top products also is playing a role. Merck predicts sales of Gardasil to be flat in 2009 at $1.4 billion to $1.6 billion, a marked slowdown from the product's first couple of years. Merck said Gardasil already has achieved a high rate of vaccinations among girls 13 to 18 years old, and indicated it would be difficult to further boost the rate in this age group. The company also is trying to increase immunizations among women 19 to 26 years old, whose vaccination rate has been lower than expected. Merck has applied for U.S. regulatory approval to market Gardasil to women up to age 45 years old, and plans to file for approval by the end of December to market the vaccine to males ages 9 to 26, for the prevention of external lesions caused by the same virus that causes cervical cancer. It's also possible Gardasil will face new competition in the U.S. next year because GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is awaiting regulatory decision on its own cervical- cancer vaccine, Cervarix." - Peter Loftus, Dow Jones Newswire (December 4, 2008)
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812041031DOWJONESDJONLINE000733_FORTUNE5.htm

* ►December 10, 2008 - Report: State discriminates against autistic children - Newsday

* ►December 10, 2008 - Memory study on mice offers new insights into understanding autism, NYU, Baylor scientists conclude - New York University via EurekAlert!

* ►December 10, 2008 - Autism, other disorders linked to post-natal factors: study - AFP via Google - "Autism and obsessive-compulsive disorders may be linked to factors other than genetics, despite widely held beliefs otherwise, according to a study published Wednesday in the American journal Neuron."

* ►December 10, 2008 - Defending Vaccines: Actress Dispels Link To Autism - Morning Edition via NPR - "Amanda Peet, who starred in films including The X-Files: I Want To Believe and Syriana, is working with Paul Offit, the chief of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Their goal is to counter the assault on vaccines led by celebrities including Jenny McCarthy, Jim Carrey and Holly Robinson Peete."

* ►December 10, 2008 - Health risks stack up for students near industrial plants - USA Today

* ►December 10, 2008 - Maple Syrup for Everyone! Vermont Ranks #1 in Health. By Kim Stagliano - Age of Autism

►December 10, 2008 - Aide tells of teacher's excessive force to control autistic students - Trial hears of ways he tried to control autistic students (requires registration) - Chicago Tribune

►December 10, 2008 - Autism, from a sibling's view - The Massachusetts Daily Collegian

►December 10, 2008 - Life 101: Learning To Live With Autism - Young Adults With Autism Take Classes to Learn Life's Daily Skills - ABC News

►December 10, 2008 - School seeks support to help kids with autism - North Fort Myers Neighbor

►December 10, 2008 - Barbara Fischkin "The Autism Holiday Gift Conundrum" - Age of Autism

* ►December 10, 2008 - Advisory Panel Weighs Conflict on Asthma Drugs (requires registration) - The New York Times - "One federal drug official told a panel of experts on Wednesday that more than 14,000 people may have died since 1994 after taking popular asthma drugs, while another suggested that even more might have died without the medicines. Dr. David Graham, a safety official in the Food and Drug Administration, strongly recommended that the drugs, Advair, Symbicort, Serevent and Foradil, no longer be used to treat asthma in adults or children because they provide few benefits over simple steroid treatment and have serious risks. He said their use in children was particularly problematic."

* ►December 10, 2008 - 2 Diabetes Drugs Double Fracture Risk in Women (requires registration) - HealthDay via Washington Post

* ►December 10, 2008 - Drugmakers to note actors, make other ad changes - Reuters

* ►December 10, 2008 - Drug Cos Tighten Ad Guidelines In Wake Of Scrutiny - Dow Jones via CNNMoney

* ►December 10, 2008 - Audit leads to enrollment halt in research at veterans hospital - The VA Puget Sound Health Care System has stopped enrolling new patients for all its medical research after a federal audit found deficiencies in the documentation of safeguards for patient safety. - Seattle Times

►December 10, 2008 - Flu vaccine recommended for baby boomers - Call Newspapers

►December 10, 2008 - Thousands at UW-Madison receive flu vaccine - University of Wisconsin-Madison University Communications

►December 10, 2008 - Indonesia Reports New Bird Flu Death - Voice of America

* ►December 10, 2008 - Mid-Season Flu Immunization Rates are Too Low - First of its kind survey cites misperceptions regarding need for vaccination and a lack of time as main reasons adults avoid getting immunized against influenza - PRNewswire-USNewswire via UK.sys-con.com

►December 10, 2008 - Families Fighting Flu And CDC Encourage Parents To Vaccinate Kids Against Flu - Families Fighting Flu via Medical News Today

* ►December 10, 2008 - Why Flu Vaccine Rates Lag - Majority of Americans Have No Intention of Getting Vaccinated, Survey Finds - ABC News - "Less than one-third of Americans have been vaccinated against the flu so far this season, and more than half of Americans don't intend to get shots, according to a survey conducted by the Rand Corp. and released today by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases."

* ►December 10, 2008 - Rand releases midseason flu vaccination status report - CIDRAP News - "The survey was conducted with funding from GlaxoSmithKline, maker of Fluarix and FluLaval influenza vaccines."

* ►December 10, 2008 - NACCHO to Support Influenza Vaccination Efforts With Donation of Up to One Million Doses of FluMist(R) - Program Emphasizes National Influenza Vaccination Week Platform to Continue Influenza Vaccination into the Winter Months - press release - The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) via PRNewswire

►December 10, 2008 - Keeping Health Care Workers Healthy During the Flu Season - American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) via Newswise

►December 10, 2008 - APIC Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week - Infection Control Today

* ►December 10, 2008 - Drop the Excuses; Get a Flu Shot - Wall Street Journal

►December 10, 2008 - Study lauds state's disease watch system, but faults vaccine supply - Rocky Mountain News

* ►December 10, 2008 - Is Hong Kong's Bird Flu Vaccine Failing? - TIME Magazine

* ►December 10, 2008 - Hong Kong studies effectiveness of vaccine after bird flu outbreak - AFP via Google - "Because of the mutation of the virus, we have asked the University of Hong Kong and the mainland to conduct research to find out if there is a need to (replace the H5N2 vaccine) by the H5N1 vaccine."

►December 10, 2008 - Ind. officials report spike in whooping cough (requires registration) - The Indianapolis Star via Chicago Tribune

►December 10, 2008 - Shingles vaccine hard to obtain this year - AP via Forbes

* ►December 10, 2008 - Vaxin wins grant to continue tests for anthrax vaccine - Birmingham Business Journal - "Vaxin Inc. has received a $1.4 million federal research grant to further develop an anthrax vaccine."

►December 10, 2008 - HK to review flu vaccine - The Straits Times

►December 10, 2008 - Inhaler technology license - The Engineer, UK - "The technology can be used in a range of devices, from multi-unit dose treatments to single-dose mass inoculations, and will add to 3M’s existing inhaler technology platform."

* ►December 10, 2008 - Univ. to open ‘better’ biosafety lab - Yale Daily News - "Despite the numerous physical precautions in place, things can go awry. In 1994, a virologist, whose name was withheld from the press, left the Yale BSL-3 lab after he had contracted the Sabia virus when a centrifuge bottle containing tissue cracked and leaked, releasing aerosolized virus particles. Though he recovered after 15 days, the University stopped research on the virus following the incident. Still, when told about the new lab and the 1994 accident, students interviewed were not overly concerned. “The benefits outweigh the costs,” Annie Creager ’11 said. “There are clearly dangers but the potential for furthering the understanding of the diseases and creating vaccines and treatments makes them pale in comparison.”

►December 10, 2008 - A Vioxx Verdict For Merck Is Reversed In Texas - Pharmalot

►December 10, 2008 - Boot camp aims to boost biotech industry - The News & Observer

* ►December 10, 2008 - Why ME remains a mystery to doctors and their patients - The term Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) entered the International Classification of Diseases in 1969 and described a baffling, medically unexplained cluster of symptoms that includes widespread muscle and joint pain, chronic, severe exhaustion and difficulties with concentration and memory. - Telegraph, UK

►December 10, 2008 - Influenza Virus Vaccine 2008-2009 Season - FDA/CBER

* ►December 10, 2008 - Officials vow air near schools will be tested for toxics - USA Today

* ►December 10, 2008 - Striking the special needs balance of child, family, work - Think you have mommy guilt? Parent with special-needs children struggle to strike best balcance between caring for their families and having a career-but help is available - The Buffalo News

* ►December 10, 2008 - About 1 in 9 US kids use alternative medicine - Asheville Citizen-Times - "Vitamin and mineral supplements were not counted as alternative medicine, nor were folk medicine practices or religious healing. The adults most likely to report using alternative medicine include women, those with advanced college degrees and those who live in the West. Among non-elderly adults, it was used about equally by those with private insurance and those with no health insurance at all. Kids were five times more likely to use alternative therapies if a parent or other relative did. And those covered by private health insurance were more likely to use it than children who were uninsured or covered by public programs, the government study found."

►December 10, 2008 - Blocking Immune Inhibitor Improves Response To HIV-like Virus, Prolongs Survival In Monkeys - By blocking PD-1 (programmed death-1), an immune receptor molecule known to inhibit the immune response to chronic viral infections, scientists have safely and significantly reduced the plasma viral load and also prolonged survival of rhesus macaque monkeys severely infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the nonhuman primate version of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The therapeutic strategy worked by boosting the function of anti-viral killer cells (CD8 T cells) and improving antibody response to the virus. - Emory University via ScienceDaily

* ►December 10, 2008 - Massachusetts To Limit Some Payments To Docs - Pharmalot

* ►December 10, 2008 - Pharma Trade Group Has New DTC Guidelines - Pharmalot

►December 10, 2008 - Where The Jobs Aren’t: The Latest Layoff Tally - Pharmalot

►December 10, 2008 - Merck: Same Plan, With a Twist - The Motley Fool

►December 10, 2008 - UC gets $4 million from Gates foundation for new global health school - The Mercury News

►December 10, 2008 - Discover This: Now, Biotechs Want A Bailout - Pharmalot

►December 10, 2008 - AIDS Groups Have Roche Patent In India Revoked - Pharmalot

►December 10, 2008 - Epilepsy Drug Shows Potential For Alzheimer’s Treatment - A drug commonly used to treat epilepsy could help clear the plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers at the University of Leeds. The plaques are known to lead to the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain linked to many forms of dementia. - University of Leeds via ScienceDaily

►December 10, 2008 - Researchers aim to develop cancer vaccines - Aliasger Salem, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmaceutics in the UI College of Pharmacy, has received a two-year $240,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute to optimize vaccines used to treat and prevent solid tumors such as melanoma. - Media Newswire

►December 10, 2008 - Accelerating Progress in the Development of Vaccines - This week the Elsevier Journal Vaccine, the most comprehensive and pre-eminent journal for those interested in vaccines and vaccination, organized the 2nd Vaccine Global Congress in Boston MA, USA. - innovations report

►December 10, 2008 - Study first to show that RNA interference can facilitate vaccine development - EurekAlert! via Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

►December 10, 2008 - Nobel Prize winner teams with Houston doctor - The Nobel Prize represents a life's work or a discovery that has changed the world. On Wednesday in Stockholm, the scientist who linked HIV to a virus and paved the way for AIDS treatment was awarded a Nobel Prize in medicine. (includes video) - ABC 13 KTRK

►December 10, 2008 - Intercell Reports Study Showing Japanese Encephalitis Vaccine is Safe and
Immunogenic in Children at ASTMH Meeting in New Orleans - Presentation at ASTMH Meeting Underscores Safety and Immunogenicity of Vaccine in a Phase II trial in children » Additional Presentation Demonstrates Excellent Safety during 6-Month of Follow-Up across Phase III trials in adults » Marketing approval for the adult vaccine in the U.S., Europe and Australia expected for 2008 - euro adhoc

►December 10, 2008 - FDA test guidelines under fire - A critic of the agency questions whether a next-generation heart defibrillator will be properly tested before approval for use. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

►December 10, 2008 - Vaccination could save pet from euthanasia - Shelbyville Times-Gazette

►December 10, 2008 - Big cat bites Santa during photo shoot at NJ store - AP via The Press of Atlantic City via Yahoo!

►December 10, 2008 - Feed the Immune System for the Cold and Flu Season - ARAcontent via Imperial Valley News

* ►December 9, 2008 - Survey Shows Mothers See Value In Influenza Vaccination For Their Families Through The Winter And Spring - American Lung Association via Medical News Today

►December 9, 2008 - Colorado State University Breaks Ground on Research Innovation Center, Biotech Research Innovation Center, Biotech Business Incubator on foothills Campus - Colorado State University - "The top floor will serve as a biotechnology incubator, fostering startup companies that will help translate university research into new products that address unmet medical needs. The facility will be built to standards that allow scientists to produce vaccines against infectious diseases for human clinical studies."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Terminator: Biological Warfare - Discover Magazine

►December 9, 2008 - Mymetics Corporation Retains Lazard Bank to Further the Company's Merger, Acquisition and Expansion Activities - GlobeNewswire via COMTEX via MarketWatch - "Mymetics' corporate objective is to develop vaccines and therapies to prevent and treat the effects of certain retroviruses and other infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS and Malaria."

►December 9, 2008 - WHO: Child death in Indonesia linked to bird flu - AP via KGAN CBS 2

►December 9, 2008 - When it's more than the 'terrible twos' - We all know how infants can act up during their terrible twos, but when these behaviors are accompanied by developmental setbacks, they could point to something more serious. - Temple University via Physorg

►December 9, 2008 - Fewer HIV-Infected Americans Passing the Virus On - HealthDay News via The Washington Post

►December 9, 2008 - New directions for drug discovery? (requires registration) - The Scientist

►December 9, 2008 - Officials say air near schools will be tested - Detroit Free Press

* ►December 9, 2008 - FDA Calls Off Ban on Animal Antibiotics (requires registration) - The Wall Street Journal

►December 9, 2008 - New Research Reveals How Giardia Parasite Changes Its Appearance - Howard Hughes Medical Institute

►December 9, 2008 - Merck Wants Right to Pollute the Chesapeake Bay - BNET Pharma

►December 9, 2008 - Clinical Assessment of Core Competencies in ADHD CME (requires registration) - Medscape

* ►December 9, 2008 - Chicken pox outbreak renews vaccination debate - New Hampshire Union Leader - "About 10 elementary schoolchildren who have not been vaccinated against chicken pox were ordered to stay home this week, after an outbreak of the disease hit Rindge Memorial School. Citing state regulations, school officials said the unvaccinated children cannot attend school for 21 days after the last case of chicken pox is identified."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Parents Of Autistic Students: Keep Kids On L.I. - Tired Of Seeing Their Children Bussed All Over Tri-State Area, Long Island Parents Take Stand Against Schools (includes video) - wcbstv.com

►December 9, 2008 - Parents want autism school rules changed - A group of parents is fighting a battle against New York state. They say the state is spending millions of taxpayer dollars sending autistic students out of state when they should be going to schools in their own districts. (includes video) - WABC ABC 7

►December 9, 2008 - Schaumburg teacher on trial for allegedly abusing autistic students - Prosecution, defense disagree on methods used in special-ed classroom (requires registration) - Chicago Tribune

►December 9, 2008 - Relieved autism sufferer finds a home - Illawara Mercury

►December 9, 2008 - Autism drugs head into human clinical trials - FierceBioResearcher

* ►December 9, 2008 - Mother arrested over 'mercy killing' faced with long wait - A mother arrested on suspicion of killing her daughter in a 'mercy-killing' may have to wait four months to find out if she is charged with murder. - The Telegraph, UK - "Miss Gilderdale contracted ME, also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, after suffering a reaction to a tuberculosis vaccination in 1991. She was diagnosed with the disease in 1992 and lost the ability to speak in August of that year."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Lung cancer vaccine to be evaluated at Siteman Cancer Center - Washington University in St. Louis

►December 9, 2008 - Malaria Vaccine Is Given a Good Shot as Big-Money Donors Boost Research - Wall Street Journal

►December 9, 2008 - Mymetics Corporation Retains Lazard Bank to Further the Company's Merger, Acquisition and Expansion Activities - press release - Mymetics Corporation via GlobeNewswire via COMTEX via MarketWatch

►December 9, 2008 - Experts say it's still not too late to get a flu shot - Newsday

►December 8, 2008 - Confessions of an autism mother: Despite the harebrained theory behind it, I’m trying GF/CF - Examiner.com

►December 8, 2008 - Push For Better Insurance Coverage For Autistic Children - WQOW.com

►December 8, 2008 - Molecular farming targets magic bullets - Guelph Mercury

►December 8, 2008 - ImmunoGen, Inc. Announces Genentech’s Fifth TAP Technology License - press release - ImmunoGen, Inc. via Business Wire

►December 8, 2008 - BioWa Licenses POTELLIGENT(R) Technology to GlaxoSmithKline for Use in Antibody Development and Commercialization - press release - BioWa Inc. via PRNewswire via International Business Times

►December 8, 2008 - Get yourself, your children vaccinated for the flu - “The shot is a whole lot better than getting the flu.” - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

►December 8, 2008 - Don't get stuck without a flu shot - The Wellesley Townsman

* ►December 8, 2008 - Family fears they'll lose 'Extreme Makeover' home - AP via Yahoo! - "Four years ago, millions of television viewers watched as a deaf couple marveled at the renovations to their home that would help them better accommodate their blind, autistic son."

►December 8, 2008 - UC Davis Researchers Exploring Gene Therapy to Fight AIDS - Case of American cured of AIDS in Germany generates enthusiasm in stem cell approaches - University of California - Davis - Health System via Biocompare

►December 8, 2008 - Democrat backs advertising limits for medicines - Reuters

►December 8, 2008 - People With Peanut Allergy Can React To Lupin - Lupin is a legume belonging to the same plant family as the peanut. Lupin seeds are used for flour production and in various types of commercial foods. People afflicted with peanut allergy may also react to lupin, and the EU has recently introduced compulsory labelling of all products containing lupin. - Norwegian School of Veterinary Science via ScienceDaily

►December 5, 2008 - Long-Term Effect of Gluten-Free Diet on Growth Velocity in Turkish Children with Celiac Disease - journal article (Digestive Diseases and Sciences)

►December 4, 2008 - Serotoninergic receptor 1A in the sudden infant death syndrome brainstem medulla and associations with clinical risk factors - journal article (Acta Neuropathologica)

►December 4, 2008 - Genetic Breakdown in Fanconi Anemia May Have Link to HPV-Associated Cancer - Cincinnati Children's study shows possible new cancer risk and path to testing treatments - Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center via Biocompare

* ►December 4, 2008 - Maghull schoolgirl paralysed after mystery illness - Ormskirk & Skelmersdale Advertiser - "Ashleigh Cave, 12, has been bed-bound in Alder Hey children’s hospital since October after collapsing during a family trip to London. The Year 8 pupil at Maghull’s Maricourt Catholic high school fell ill with a severe headache within minutes of having her HPV cervical cancer jab. She developed nausea before collapsing two days later and being taken into hospital, where she has remained ever since. Ashleigh is currently undergoing intensive physiotherapy and hydro- therapy to help her regain movement in her legs. Doctors ruled out a link between the jab and Ashleigh’s current condition, saying she demonstrated 'no pathological reaction' to her vaccination."

* ►December 4, 2008 - Suspected Adverse Reaction Analysis - CERVARIX Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine - 04 December 2008 (pdf download) - www.mhra .gov.uk - "This report summarises the adverse reactions suspected to have been caused by Cervarix human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the UK. This includes reports received between 14 April 2008 and 3rd December 2008."

►December 3, 2008 - America's Healthiest and Unhealthiest States - Rankings based on factors such as binge drinking, pollution and disease. (includes video) - Forbes via MSN Health

* ►December 3, 2008 - New vaccine theory aimed at ticks and mosquitoes to prevent disease transmission - The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene

►December 3, 2008 - Novel Basis Identified For Tamoxifen Failure - BioMed Central via Biocompare

►December 3, 2008 - Broccoli Compound Targets Key Enzyme in Late-Stage Cancer - University of California - Berkeley via Biocompare

►December 2, 2008 - Source: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology - New article in the FASEB Journal shows that the 'genetic impact' of a pregnant woman's diet has a profound effect on her child - Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology via Biocompare

►December 1, 2008 - FDA Warning Letter: Perich, Larry M Clinical Investigator - FDA

* ►December 2008 - Estimating Influenza Vaccine Efficacy From Challenge and Community-based Study Data (free full text) - journal article (American Journal of Epidemiology)

* ►December 2008 - Geographic Clustering of Nonmedical Exemptions to School Immunization Requirements and Associations With Geographic Clustering of Pertussis - journal article (American Journal of Epidemiology) - "Geographic pockets of vaccine exemptors pose a risk to the whole community. In addition to monitoring state-level exemption rates, health authorities should be mindful of within-state heterogeneity."

* ►December 2008 - Influenza vaccination coverages among children, adults, health care workers and immigrants in Spain: Related factors and trends, 2003–2006 - journal article (Journal of Infection)

* ►December 2008 - The role of a whole blood interferon-γ assay for the detection of latent tuberculosis infection in Bacille Calmette–Guérin vaccinated children - journal article (Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease)

►December 2008 - Antibiotic treatment delay and outcome in acute bacterial meningitis - journal article (Journal of Infection)

►December 2008 - Clinical disease and viral load in children infected with respiratory syncytial virus or human metapneumovirus - journal article (Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease)

* ►December 2008 - The detection of early weight faltering at the 6-8 week check and its association with family factors, feeding and behavioural development - journal article (Archives of Diseases in Childhood)

►December 2008 - Towards a cure for food allergy - journal article (Current Opinion in Immunology)

►December 2008 - Immunomodulatory therapy of eosinophil-associated gastrointestinal diseases. - journal article (Clinical and Experimental Allergy)

►December 2008 - Allergy and eosinophil-associated gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) - journal article (Current Opinion in Immunology)

►December 2008 - The IL-17 cytokine family and their role in allergic inflammation - journal article (Current Opinion in Immunology)

►December 2008 - Reducing The Stigma of Mental Illness Among Adolescents and Young Adults: The Effects of Treatment Information - journal article (Journal of Health Communication)

►December 2008 - Referring to complementary and alternative medicine–A possible tool for implementation - journal article (Complementary Therapies in Medicine)

►November/December 2008 - Recent advances in vaccine research against schistosomiasis in Brazil - journal article (Acta Tropica)

►November 28, 2008 - Serous otitis media and allergy. - journal article (Archives de pédiatrie)

* ►November 26, 2008 - Vaccination in patients with systemic diseases. - journal article (Presse Medicale)

►November 25, 2008 - HLX1 gene variants influence the development of childhood asthma. - journal article (The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)

►November 21, 2008 - Mom, Others Question Gardasil's Safety - video - YouTube

►November 2008 - Polypharmacy With Second-Generation Antipsychotics: A Review of Evidence. - journal article (Journal of Psychiatric Practice)

►Adjuvant Systems - Next stage of rational vaccine design - Although vaccines helped in improving healthcare globally, significant disease challenges still remain. As such, new solutions are required where classical vaccine approaches are insufficient to provide optimal protection for specific populations and against certain diseases. (pdf) - www.pharmafocusasia.com

►The Smokestack Effect - Toxic Air and America's Schools - USA Today Special Report

* ►December 10, 2008 - Patterns of Abuse Among Unintentional Pharmaceutical Overdose Fatalities (full text) - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession, and the Pharmaceutical Industry - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - Industry Funding - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - Physicians in Congress - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - Foreign Inspections - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - FDA Preemption - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - The Advance and Retreat of Medical Standards. - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 - Dexamethasone and Risk of Nausea and Vomiting and Postoperative Bleeding After Tonsillectomy in Children - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 - Alzheimer Researchers Focus Efforts on Early Development and Earlier Detection - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 - Contaminated Heparin Seized by FDA - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 - Malaria in Refugees From Tanzania—King County, Washington, 2007 - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 -  Moss and Adams’ Heart Disease in Infants, Children, and Adolescents: Including the Fetus and Young Adult - journal article (JAMA)

►December 10, 2008 - Preventive Services Task Force Endorses Breastfeeding Support in Primary Care - journal article (JAMA)

* ►December 10, 2008 - Cambridge professor calls for healthy adults to use Ritalin 'to boost brain power' - Daily Mail, UK

►December 10, 2008 - Feeling ill? It may not be the flu - Holiday feasting gone wrong can lead to similar symptoms (requires registration) - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

►December 10, 2008 - Vaccines are waning, says HKU professor (requires subscription) - South China Morning Post - "A University of Hong Kong investigation into the bird flu outbreak at four wet markets earlier this year has found that vaccines used locally are failing. ..."

►December 10, 2008 - Enugu votes N17m for children's immunisation - Vanguard, Nigeria

►December 10, 2008 - Anambra targets 2.3m children for immunisation - Vanguard, Nigeria

►December 10, 2008 - Non-commitment to routine immunisation - The Punch, Nigeria

►December 10, 2008 - Cancer test company in global drive - The Age, Australia - "The company behind a self-administered test for human papillomavirus is hoping to raise up to $10 million as part of an initial public offering to take the product global."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Children go unvaccinated as insurers refuse to pay - New Scientist - "The combined cost of recommended vaccines trebled between 2000 and 2008, to $1500 per child, and health insurance schemes now seldom cover the full cost (Pediatrics, DOI: 10.1542/peds.2008-2033). 'The market does not seem to be responding well to the immunisation needs of our country,' says Stephen Berman of the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora."

* ►December 9, 2008 - DTaP Side Effect: Autism. Now You See It. Now You Don't. - Age of Autism - "The Vaccine Healthcare Center’s Network (VHCN), a collaboration of the Department of Defense (DoD) and Center’s for Disease Control (CDC), decided on December 5, 2008 between 5:35pm and 6:21pm (EST), that the original VHCN webpage (now a cached version) listing autism as an adverse event associated with the DTaP vaccine needed some revision. Click here to see autism listed as a side effect of DTaP. It's right there between and hypersensitivity and demyelinating diseases. Click here to see the page now "under revision"."

* ►December 9, 2008 - On Media: Why I Hate the British Press By Anne Dachel - Age of Autism

* ►December 9, 2008 - MMR Exonerated? Once again… not yet - Absolutely Unherdof

* ►December 9, 2008 - AutismActionPlan.org Launches Doctor-Driven Biomedical Autism Treatment Website - Autism Intervention Doctor Uses Innovative Technology to Help Parents Treat & Recover Their Children From Autism - press release - AutismActionPlan.org via PRNewswire via The Earth Times

►December 9, 2008 - Mayor Chavez Donates $85000 for UNM Autism Center - UNM Today

►December 9, 2008 - Autism: Extreme Wallet Makeover - Age of Autism

►December 9, 2008 - Finding a way to play - Playsense is 'a godsend' for family of autistic triplets - Guelph Mercury
 
* ►December 9, 2008 - Merck Wants Right to Pollute the Chesapeake Bay - BNET

►December 9, 2008 - 4th UPDATE: Merck Launches Unit To Sell Biotech Drugs - Dow Jones via CNNMoney

►December 9, 2008 - Scientists See Progress on a Dengue Vaccine - The disease may cause 50 million infections worldwide each year, and it is spreading to new areas. - Voice of America

►December 9, 2008 - New vaccine policy recommended for older Americans - Adults wondering whether they should get the shingles vaccine - Harvard Health Letters via Buffalo News

►December 9, 2008 - Shingles vaccine hard to obtain this year - AP via Nebraska.tv

►December 9, 2008 - Dressed to Kill: From Virus to Vaccine - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) via Newswise - "Researchers at NIST and the University of Queensland have demonstrated that they can count, size and gauge the quality of virus-like particle-based vaccines much more quickly and accurately than previously possible. Their findings could reduce the time it takes to produce a vaccine from months to weeks, allowing a much more agile and effective response to potential outbreaks."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Hi-tech Vaccine Designed By Students Shows Promise Against Ulcer Causing Bacteria - Almost half of the world population is infected with bacteria Helicobacter pylori which colonizes stomach, causing gastritis and ulcers and is recognized by WHO as a type I carcinogen. Current antibacterial treatment, implemented after the seminal discovery that H. pylori infection is the underlying cause of ulcers, which brought the discoverers the Nobel Prize in 2005, requires combination of at least three different drugs to eliminate bacteria. - National Institute of Chemistry, Slovenia, via AlphaGalileo via ScienceDaily

* ►December 9, 2008 - SARS Vaccine Achieves Neutralizing Responses in First U.S. Human Trial - press release - Vical Incorporated via PRNewswire

►December 9, 2008 - Why a malaria vaccine? - Booster Shots Blog via Los Angeles Times

►December 9, 2008 - New Vaccine Plant in Cuba - Cuba Headlines

* ►December 9, 2008 - Your Letters, 9th December 2008 - Liverpool Echo - "Plea for HPV info - My 12-year-old daughter Ashleigh was featured in the ECHO (Dec 4), after suffering an 'unknown illness' which has left her paralysed, very soon after having her first HPV vaccine injection. Sheer desperation led me to search the internet to see if this drastic reaction has happened before. We, her family, have been absolutely gobsmacked by the volume and severity of officially reported reactions, recorded in the US and others, where the programme has been running around 12-18 months, longer than here in the UK."

►December 9, 2008 - Allergic Reactions Uncommon with Cervical Cancer Vaccine - CancerConsultants.com
 
►December 9, 2008 - HPV Vaccination Program Underway - Saskatoonhomepage.ca

* ►December 9, 2008 - Avian flu strikes Hong Kong poultry farm - CIDRAP News

* ►December 9, 2008 - Hong Kong on bird flu alert, 80,000 chickens killed: report - MarketWatch - "The Hong Kong government has shut down all poultry farms and markets, killed 80,000 chickens and halted chicken imports from mainland China after the dreaded bird flu virus was detected at a local poultry farm, according to reports. The H5 virus, which causes avian or bird flu, killed 200 chickens at the farm, including vaccinated as well as unvaccinated birds, the South China Morning Post reported."

* ►December 9, 2008 - WHO: Child death in Indonesia linked to bird flu - AP via USA Today

►December 9, 2008 - Families urged to get flu vaccine (requires registration) - Sacramento Bee

►December 9, 2008 - Don't take the flu lightly -- be sure to get vaccinated - The Detroit News

* ►December 9, 2008 - Letter: The list of ingredients is scarier than having flu - University Daily Kansan

* ►December 9, 2008 - Video: Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition Supports Second Annual Children's Flu Vaccination Day - press release - The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases' (NFID) Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition (CIIC) via PRNewswire - "The Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition initiatives are made possible through an unrestricted educational grant to NFID from sanofi pasteur."

►December 9, 2008 - Flu shots save lives, prevent complications - letter - The Journal Gazette

►December 9, 2008 - Health chiefs in flu jabs appeal - Bolton News, UK

* ►December 9, 2008 - Leaders in Innate Immunity Launch Latest Biotech Venture - Kineta Inc. Developing New Drug Classes for Viral and Autoimmune Diseases - Kineta via Business Wire via  MarketWatch - "The Kineta team is focused on developing additional therapies that bolster and modulate the human immune system in pursuit of medicines applicable to a range of viral and autoimmune diseases. Diseases targeted include: Influenza, West Nile virus, Hepatitis C, Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis and Rheumatoid Arthritis. Kineta is also planning to advance additional therapies to treat "orphaned diseases."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Is Too Much Safety Information A Bad Thing? - Pharmalot - “Too much information about drug safety - disseminated through media, online alerts from consumer watchdog groups and even by the Food and Drug Administration itself - might overwhelm patients and raise undue alarm,” according to some medical professionals who spoke with the paper. The problem - consumers may forget about benefits if they focus only on risk. And the consequences of stopping a med, particularly for a chronic condition, may be worse than the chance of a side effect."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Roche Rep Fired For Refusing To Promote Off-Label - Pharmalot

* ►December 9, 2008 - Waxman Renews Call To Ban Ads For New Drugs - Pharmalot

* ►December 9, 2008 - Where, Oh Where, Have All Those Ads Gone? - Pharmalot

* ►December 9, 2008 - Rule change for human grants sparks spat at NIH - Bid to extend length of certain applications draws fire. - news (Nature)

* ►December 9, 2008 - Nature to retract plant study (requires registration) - The Scientist

* ►December 9, 2008 - New NIEHS leader looks ahead (requires registration) - The Scientist

►December 9, 2008 - Migraine with Aura, Gene Polymorphisms, and Stroke Risk - In this analysis from the Women’s Health Study, the twofold increased risk for stroke associated with migraine with aura was increased to four-fold in patients with a common polymorphism of the MTHFR gene. - journal article (Journal Watch Neurology)
 
►December 9, 2008 - Once Detected, HIV Can Be Manageable - The Washington Post

►December 9, 2008 - FDA Announces Permanent Injunction Against Wilderness Family Naturals LLC - Company used Internet to claim its unapproved products treat serious health conditions - FDA

►December 9, 2008 - Editing cancer with the immune system - Mark Smyth is investigating a long-suspected but previously unproven role of the immune system – keeping cancer development in a holding pattern such that it neither grows nor gets ‘cured’. - Life Scientist

►December 9, 2008 - Ascent Enters $200M Pact With Novartis - Seeking Alpha

►December 9, 2008 - Merck moves into emerging markets and generic biotech - Reuters

►December 9, 2008 - Merck's Pipeline And Press Progress - CNBC

►December 9, 2008 - Red Meat and Dairy not Kosher for the Immune System - Scienceline

* ►December 9, 2008 - Health officials rule out meningitis in death of Los Gatos preschool student - San Jose Mercury News - "And while she appeared somewhat lethargic to her parents Sunday, a health official said, she was otherwise healthy. She was found dead in her bed Monday morning. Because of the unexpected nature of her death, health officials first thought the girl might have died from a bacteria that causes meningitis. They notified Stratford School of that possibility Monday afternoon. But after the autopsy and preliminary lab report, 'we are 95 percent sure' that it was a 'very common infectious pathogen,' Namkung said. Only 100 children a year die in the United States of this infection, she said, which is 'highly unusual.' Health officials said they didn't want to name the suspected bacteria until lab tests are conclusive."

►December 9, 2008 - New Cases Of Whooping Cough Reported - Vaccine Can Help Prevent Illness (includes video) - WLWT.com

►December 9, 2008 - Hib Vaccine Shortage Leads to Heightened Disease Surveillance - CDC Continues to Recommend Deferring Most Booster Doses - AAFP News Now

►December 9, 2008 - Decrease of measles a victory for public health - Great Falls Tribune

►December 9, 2008 - Jabs help Teessiders to avoid measles increase - Evening Gazette, UK

►December 9, 2008 - York offers free mumps immunization clinics - 680News

►December 9, 2008 - Health officials warn of rise of whooping cough cases - The Courier-Journal

►December 9, 2008 - Leeds research points to new therapy for hepatitis C treatment - University of Leeds via EurekAlert!

►December 9, 2008 - Fewer HIV-Infected Americans Passing the Virus On - Transmission rates have fallen 88% since 1984, study finds - HealthDay via U.S. News & World Report

►December 9, 2008 - While "White Powder" Hoaxes Hit Governors of Six States, BioDefense Corporation's MailDefender® Only System That Kills All Known Pathogens, Including Anthrax, Ricin, Smallpox and More - press release - BioDefense Corporation via Marketwire

* ►December 9, 2008 - Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2008 - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

►December 9, 2008 - Prepared for disaster? Report gives Georgia a good grade (requires registration) - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - "The report, entitled 'Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism,' found, among other things, that Georgia has adequate plans to distribute medicine and vaccines."

►December 9, 2008 - Report: Utah fairly prepared for health emergencies - Flu outbreak »But state has purchased only 25 percent of medications needed. - Salt Lake Tribune

* ►December 9, 2008 - Diabetic Eye Disease Rates Soaring - CDC study projects that by 2050, up to 16 million people will have vision problems - HealthDay via U.S. News & World Report

* ►December 9, 2008 - Low-Dose Mercury Exposure From Fillings, Vaccines and Fish Linked to Heart Disease - NaturalNews.com

►December 9, 2008 - What you need to know about vitamin D (requires registration) - Booster Shots Blog via Los Angeles Times

►December 9, 2008 - CDC: U.S. Dodged a Bullet with Heparin - InjuryBoard Los Angeles

►December 9, 2008 - CDC studies trend of painkiller overdose - WRAL.com

►December 9, 2008 - Despite a Drop in the US, Cancer Rates Grow Worldwide - TIME Magazine

►December 9, 2008 - Four Studies: Increased Cancer Risk in Immunity-Suppressed Organ Transplant Recipients - NaturalNews.com

* ►December 9, 2008 - High Doses of Vitamins Fight Alzheimer's Disease - Why Don't Doctors Recommend Them Now? - press release - Orthomolecular Medicine News Service

►December 9, 2008 - Personal care products might contain harmful chemicals - Now we're really getting personal. We're focused on your private place - the bathroom. That's generally where you use all that soap, body wash, shampoo and lotion. And deodorant, perfume, shaving cream, lip balm, lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, hair gel, mousse, hairspray, anti-aging serum ... - PhysOrg.com

►December 9, 2008 - Healthcare Reform Daunting But High Priority for Obama Administration - MedHeadlines

* ►December 9, 2008 - Docs Talk the Talk, But Do They Take Flu Shots? - Some Doctors and Other Health Care Professionals Steer Clear of Flu Shots (includes video) - ABC News

* ►December 8, 2008 - Providence workers issued vaccine ultimatum - Get a flu shot by Dec. 31 or find a new job (requires registration) - Anchorage Daily News - "Many of us debate whether to get flu vaccines every year, but at Providence Alaska Medical Center, workers have no choice: The hospital is requiring all employees to get flu shots by year's end or face dismissal. ... Doctors, though, are not hospital employees and so far aren't covered. ... Nurses continue to question the effectiveness of the flu vaccine. Some Providence nurses say they won't get the flu shot, even if it comes down to their job. 'I'm constantly bombarded so I have a natural increased immunity to the flu,' said nurse Roamy Kilmer."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Is the FDA Seeking to Ban All Dietary Supplements Examined in Scientific Studies? - NaturalNews.com

►December 8, 2008 - FDA Safety Scientists Warn About Deaths - 4 Asthma Drugs - Alliance for Human Research Protection

►December 8, 2008 - Los Gatos preschool student dies at home from possible meningitis - San Jose Mercury News

* ►December 8, 2008 - Oberthaler: I have no excuse to have the flu - The University Daily Kansan

►December 8, 2008 - National Children's Flu Vaccination Day - WDBJ7.com

►December 8, 2008 - Human Genome Rises as Hepatitis-C Drug Meets Goal - Bloomberg

►December 8, 2008 - Glaxo extends offer for Genelabs - Philadelphia Inquirer

* ►December 8, 2008 - Profectus BioSciences Awarded $21.6 Million in NIH Contracts to Develop a HIV Preventative and a HIV Therapeutic Vaccine - Business Wire via PharmaLive

* ►December 8, 2008 - Biederman Denies Conflict Of Interest Charges - Pharmalot

* ►December 8, 2008 - Landmark Study: Autism Recognized as Medically Treatable - Autism - Day by Day

►December 8, 2008 - Meeting of the Blood Products Advisory Committee - FDA/CBER

►December 8, 2008 - The Vytorin Hangover - Why a small study doesn't provide any cover for the Merck/Schering cholesterol drug. - Forbes

►December 8, 2008 - UK DNA database needs overhaul - Inventor of DNA fingerprinting welcomes a ruling that will keep the innocent out of genetic databases. - news (Nature)

* ►December 8, 2008 - Sympathy, but no help for a rare disorder - An Ontario man's plight underlines the need for a national policy on so-called orphan diseases - The Globe and Mail - "Mr. Troy was refused the enzyme-replacement drug, called Myozyme. In rejecting his request, the Ontario Ministry of Health said in a Sept. 12 letter that there is a lack of evidence concerning the efficacy of the drug in adults - but that it extended its "full sympathy" to Mr. Troy."

►December 8, 2008 - REGiMMUNE Receives $12 Million in Grants to Develop Transplant and Allergy Drugs - Regimmune via Market Wire via COMTEX via Market Watch

►December 8, 2008 - Gluten Sensitivity: Celiac Disease is the Tip of the Iceberg - Whole Health Source

►December 8, 2008 - Cystic Fibrosis Treatment: A Review of Antibiotics' Mechanism of Action and Efficacy for Pseudomonas aeruginosa CME/CE (requires registration) - Medscape

►December 7, 2008 - Scientists pinpoint immune-system targets in complex pathogens - Our immune cells have an amazingly intricate recognition system to detect invading pathogens. Often, the intricacies have overwhelmed scientists who want to know exactly what gives an alarm signal to T cells, a class of white blood cells that recognizes invaders. - Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research

* ►December 7, 2008 - DTaP = Autism “Under Revision”: Something is Rotten at the DoD and CDC - Autism Salutes

* ►December 6, 2008 - Obama team seeks your input on healthcare reform - Borrowing a community organizing technique, the incoming administration is asking Americans to host meetings to come up with ideas. They'll send discussion packets to anyone who signs up. (requires registration) - Los Angeles Times

* ►December 5, 2008 - Jabs support group backs tragic toddler's parents - This is Gloucestershire, UK - "The parents of an 18-month-old boy who died 10 days after having his MMR jab lost a 'David and Goliath' battle against the establishment, a vaccines pressure group said last night. ... JABS spokeswoman Jackie Fletcher said after the verdict in Gloucester that the tests carried out before MMR was licensed were too limited and that surveillance of the drug’s safety was currently based on only a ’tiny’ sample. ... 'I am surprised the DoH said there was no evidence of a seizure being linked with a child’s death following MMR as our Government’s Vaccine Damage Payment Unit has made a number of payments to families whose children have died following MMR including after seizures. Measles virus was found in the child’s lungs."

* ►December 5, 2008 - Vaccine group disputes inquest finding - The Herald, UK - "Jabs (Justice Awareness and Basic Support), which supports 'vaccine-damaged' children, claimed baby George Fisher's inquest found he died of natural causes because only 'inadequate' data about the drug was available. George was discovered dead in his cot in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on January 19, 2006, by his mother, Sarah Fisher, hours after he was heard 'chatting away on the baby monitor'."

►December 5, 2008 - Bio-defense lab could benefit state - Harris News Service via Salina Journal

►December 5, 2008 - Pharma Must “Continue to Take Chances” in Policy - Merck VP Ian Spatz urges his colleagues to take risks in public policy, and reflects on the lessons of Vioxx - The RPM Report

►December 5, 2008 - Roche’s Burns Lambasts DTC - Roche’s top pharmaceutical exec says DTC has done far more harm than good. - The RPM Report

►December 5, 2008 - Study Links Genetically Engineered Corn to Infertility - Institute of Science in Society, Center for Food Safety via Beyond Pesticides

* ►December 4, 2008 - PATH Invests $3M in Flu Vaccine Candidate - Xconomy

* ►December 4, 2008 - Professor scrutinized for alleged conflict of interest - The GW Hatchet - "A GW research professor is under scrutiny for allegedly violating another employer's conflict of interest policies by receiving at least $1.3 million from drug companies while hosting a public radio program about psychiatric drugs. The New York Times reported on Nov. 22 that Frederick Goodwin, a research professor of psychiatry, received millions from drug companies for participating in marketing lectures, which was discovered during an investigation conducted by Sen. Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa."

►December 2, 2008 - Brain Waves May Help in Diagnosing Autism - Health News

* ►December 1, 2008 - Fractional Dose of Scarce Meningitis Vaccine May Be Effective in Outbreak Control - PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases via Biocompare

►December 1, 2008 - New Study Links Fungicides to Parkinson’s Disease - Beyond Pesticides

* ►November 29, 2008 - New surgeon general should back alternative medicine - The Buffalo News

►Diagnosing Lyme Disease (includes audio) - Oprah.com

►Autism Action Plan - website

* ►December 15, 2008 - Speaking the language of vaccines (ICAAC and IDSA joint meeting) - Easing parents' fears about vaccine safety may mean moving beyond answers couched with scientific caveats. - www.ama-assn.org - "But the more difficult cases involve parents who have been "bombarded by the media," Dr. Dobson said. "They just don't know what to do and are paralyzed by indecision." He, too, recommends cutting back on scientific evidence when discussing vaccine benefits. "I would go on and on about the benefits of the vaccine and the risk of the disease, and parents would get a glazed look."

* ►December 15, 2008 - HHS sets rules for confidential medical error reporting system - Some patient safety organizations are still figuring out the scope of their analytical services and who will pay their bills. - www.ama-assn.org

* ►December 15, 2008 - Many doctors say they offer OTC meds or other placebos - Few physicians offer sugar pills or saline, but many recommend medicines that have no pharmacological effect on patients' conditions, a study found. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Economy sends physicians to hospitals for help - Increasingly cash-strapped hospitals are willing to listen to physicians' requests. But experts say that doesn't mean doctors can expect to have leverage in negotiations. - www.ama-assn.org

* ►December 15, 2008 - Courts in 2 states rule on reach of HIPAA in medical liability cases - Some experts say the decisions point to ongoing confusion over the federal privacy statute in legal proceedings. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Medicare e-prescribing: How to receive your 2% bonus - A new CMS guide gives doctors information on the bonus initiative. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Illinois high court hears challenge to state medical liability cap - Meanwhile, Georgia's award limit remains intact after a case contesting the law settled. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Preparing for disaster: How would your practice cope? - Emergencies happen. A preparedness plan that accounts for business operations as well as patient safety can make your response smoother. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Google uses online queries to see where flu interest is peaking - The search engine's tracker is updated on a daily basis to help inform doctors and public health officials about influenza trends. -  www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Make sure your patient's consent is truly informed - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - AMA's Strategic Plan: 6 core commitments for action - The Association's agenda for the coming year focuses on health care's regulatory environment, clinical excellence, public health, physician practice viability, professionalism and education, and a sustainable AMA. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Preparing for 2009: Lessons from a successful 2008 - A message to all physicians from AMA president Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - COPD awareness is growing, but information gap persists - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S., but a survey reveals that more public health educational efforts are needed. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Research urged for medication overuse headaches - The problem is common, and advocates are seeking additional investigation into causes and treatments. - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - Letters to the Editor - Physician-assisted suicide will stir public mistrust of the profession - Pa. needs liability reform to keep its doctors -- and their economic benefit - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - News in brief: Health & Science - FDA opens oversight offices in China - www.ama-assn.org

* ►December 15, 2008 - News in brief: Government & Medicine - Tort reform advocates talk health courts - www.ama-assn.org

►December 15, 2008 - News in brief: Professional Issues - Singapore considers paying expenses of kidney donors - FSMB names interim CEO - www.ama-assn.org

* ►December 9, 2008 - Many faces of the same gene - ScienceAlert, AU - "The mutation in this gene is unstable across generations, she says. At its very worst, it causes Fragile X Syndrome which presents with severe intellectual disability and behavioural problems such as autism – hence its name: the Fragile X Mental Retardation (FMR1) gene. These serious problems occur, says Dr Loesch, because the gene is shut down and does not produce protein essential for brain development."..."In a ten year study funded by the US National Institutes of Health, conducted in collaboration with Professor Randi Hagerman and her team from the University of California at Davis, Dr Loesch has been studying people with genes in between these two extremes which represent a less serious form of the mutation.  Their early findings showed that these small expansions were associated with some behavioural or learning problems. Then in 2000, Dr Loesch received a call from Professor Hagerman. ‘She called and asked if I saw many people with Parkinson’s Disease in my Fragile X families, because she had come across a few in hers. I said yes, amongst grandparents of children with Fragile X Syndrome."

* ►December 9, 2008 - Vanishing vaccines - Serious Threat To Public Health - The Statesman - "Unfortunately the global vaccine industry is today more interested in selling high-profit vaccines, rather than ensuring a bulk supply of the most-needed vaccines at a low cost. As a recent editorial in the Indian Journal of Medical Research noted, 'In the face of the burgeoning and aggressive marketing of vaccines of doubtful utility, we have a widening demands-supply gap in the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) vaccines.'"

* ►December 9, 2008 - Fading claims of MMR link to autism - letter - The Guardian, UK

* ►December 8/22, 2008 - Half- vs Full-Dose Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccine (2004-2005) - journal article (Archives of Internal Medicine)

* ►December 8/22, 2008 - Half-Dose Influenza Vaccine - Stretching the Supply or Wasting It? - journal article (Archives of Internal Medicine)

►December 8/22, 2008 - Human Metapneumovirus Infections in Adults - journal article (Archives of Internal Medicine)

►December 8/22, 2008 - Effect of Electronic Prescribing With Formulary Decision Support on Medication Use and Cost - journal article (Archives of Internal Medicine)

* ►December 8, 2008 - Heavy Metal Standards: USP’s Abernethy Explains - The current standard for testing for metals in pharmaceuticals is about 100 years old. So US Pharmacopeia, the standards-setting organization, wants to replace the method and revise permissible limits that will require pharma to implement new and potentially expensive methodology and, perhaps, be held to higher standards (see Chemical & Engineering News for some technical insights into the changes). The goal is to have the new methodology finalized by early 2010, although implementation will take several years. We spoke with Darrell Abernethy, USP’s chief science officer, about the need for the revision and metals testing in foreign markets, given recent scandals emanating from Asia. This is an excerpt… - Pharmalot

* ►December 8, 2008 - A Hopeful Beginning for Malaria Vaccines (full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►December 8, 2008 - Efficacy of RTS,S/AS01E Vaccine against Malaria in Children 5 to 17 Months of Age (full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►December 8, 2008 - Safety and Immunogenicity of RTS,S/AS02D Malaria Vaccine in Infants (full text) - journal article (NEJM)

* ►December 8, 2008 - Malaria vax passes hurdle (requires registration) - The Scientists

* ►December 8, 2008 - Current FDA leaders “have lined their pockets,” Obama told - PharmaTimes

* ►December 8, 2008 - Sinovac’s Hepatitis A Vaccine Suspected After Child’s Death - The Epoch Times - "A 20-month-old infant in Fengtai died two days after receiving the company’s vaccine against Hepatitis A. As a result, the Health Services Bureau of Fengtai in Beijing suspended use of the vaccine. Another girl from Chaoyang District resident died after a two-day fever, immediately following her injection with the same type of vaccine, the report stated, quoting the local newspaper Jinghua Times."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Malaria vaccine may be available in 2012 - RTS, S more than halved malaria cases in field trials and could be safely given with other childhood inoculations, two studies have reported. (requires registration) - Los Angeles Times

* ►December 8, 2008 - Promising trials of malaria vaccine lead to calls for Phase 3 development - Potential for vaccines to be integrated into existing infant vaccination programs in sub-Saharan Africa - London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine via EurekAlert!

* ►December 8, 2008 - Gates, PATH work closer to effective malaria vaccine - Seattle Post-Intelligencer - "The Gates Foundation, in entering this partnership with GSK to push forward this malaria vaccine, required the company to agree that price would not be a barrier to access. Asked why GSK didn't just develop its vaccine without the Gates money, Cohen said it wouldn't have been possible for the drug firm to do it on its own as if this just another drug for the profitable markets of Europe or the U.S."

►December 8, 2008 - A Vaccine That Could Help Wipe Out Malaria - TIME Magazine

* ►December 8, 2008 - Plenty of Guidelines, but Where’s the Evidence? - essay (requires registration) - The New York Times

* ►December 8, 2008 - German TV-Documentary: Big Pharma SSRI Marketing Push - Alliance for Human Research Protection

* ►December 8, 2008 - Roche Chief Warns of a Likely Shakeout (free preview) - Wall Street Journal - "As the global pharmaceutical market gets tougher, some drug makers probably will fail because they won't have enough innovative medicines that health insurers will be willing to pay for, the chief executive of Roche Holding AG, Severin Schwan, said in an interview. Some drug makers might be forced into bankruptcy in coming years, Mr. Schwan said. Others could be forced into mergers, or to diversify into other businesses."

►December 8, 2008 - AstraZeneca Was Aware of Seroquel Risks in 2000, Records Show - Alliance for Human Research Protection

►December 8, 2008 - Emergent Biosolutions spent $575K lobbying in 3Q - AP via Forbes

►December 8, 2008 - Genentech spent $570,000 lobbying government in 3Q - AP via Forbes

►December 8, 2008 - Drug Czar Controversy - TierneyLab Blog via New York Times

►December 8, 2008 - Abuse of medical system by lawyers hurts patients (requires registration) - Atlanta Journal-Constitution

* ►December 8, 2008 - Rice researchers say they've discovered clue to roots of epilepsy, autism - KHOU.com - "Rice doctoral student Eric Howlett was studying the peripheral nerves of the Drosophila, aka the fruit fly, when he made an unexpected discovery. Howlett found a connection between glutamate -- an amino acid and neurotransmitter in much of the food we eat -- and an enzyme called P13K that, Howlett found, regulates the activity of neurons."

* ►December 8, 2008 - CU study suggests environmental trigger for autism - Ithaca Journal - "Two Cornell researchers' study suggesting a link between autism and precipitation has drawn international attention and criticism."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Cornell Study: Autism Linked To Precipitation (includes video) - WENY.com - "'At some point I was looking at the map of autism rates across the United States, and I saw a pattern,' said economics professor Michael Waldman. Waldman noticed more autism cases in Northern states than Southern states.  So the past five years, he's been researching if precipitation has anything to do with it."

►December 8, 2008 - Drug Trials May Point the Way to Treating Autism Spectrum Disorders - Autism Blog via http://autism.about.com

►December 8, 2008 - Alabama worst in mercury pollution - The Auburn Plainsman

►December 8, 2008 - New push for autistic kids to be educated locally - Newsday

►December 8, 2008 - Majority of local authorities failing adults with autism - For the first time, all local authorities in England have been rated and ranked on their approach to adults with autism. The online table, published by The National Autistic Society (NAS), reveals an astounding postcode lottery where only one local authority has a system to find out how many adults with autism are in their area. - National Autistic Society (NAS) via eGov Monitor

►December 8, 2008 - Foreclosure possible for ``Extreme Makeover'' family (requires registration) - AP via Chicago Tribune - " Now, the Vardons are swamped by a mortgage payment that has almost doubled since the makeover, and their medical insurance doesn't cover autism treatments for 16-year-old Lance."

►December 8, 2008 - Autism Sibling Finalist in CMT Contest: We're Mad about Maddie! - Age of Autism

►December 8, 2008 - Group seeks volunteers to raise service dogs for autistic children - Greenville News

►December 8, 2008 - Students see autism traits firsthand - A handful of students at Radford High have the disorder - Honolulu Star-Bulletin

* ►December 8, 2008 - “What Would One Want From A National Vaccine Plan?" By Kelli Ann Davis - Age of Autism

* ►December 8, 2008 - Anderson Cooper Feels a Chill? - Age of Autism

* ►December 8, 2008 - Finding fault with vaccine insurance - editorial - Calgary Herald via Canada.com - "Any move in Canada to add vaccine compensation to the costly burden of our already extended health-care system must ensure the link between adverse effects and vaccines is proven beyond doubt. ... society must first deter-mine whether it should bear the costs when an individual suffers for the benefit of the community. At least one judge, Supreme Court Justice Julien Chouinard, rejected this argument in 1985.He ruled vaccinations are part of the 'pitiless game of chance.' Better research is needed to determine those odds. Short of reliable statistics indicating the frequency of vaccine-related adverse events, provinces should not accept the financial burden."

* ►December 8, 2008 - IAC Express Issue number 769 - Immunization Action Coalition - "4.  New Q&A sheet addresses parents' concerns that receiving recommended vaccines can overwhelm a young child's immune system - The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has developed a new tear sheet, "Q&A: Too many vaccines? What you should know." It addresses parents' concerns that a child's immune system could be compromised if the child receives all recommended vaccines on schedule....To access the English version of the tear sheet, go to:
http://www.chop.edu/vaccine/images/vec_tomany.pdf
 
►December 8, 2008 - GNA offers free vaccine program - Students needing immunizations would be able to receive shots at school with parents’ permission. - The Times Leader

* ►December 8, 2008 - A shot in the arm - Mobile unit helps program provide children with critical vaccinations - New Orleans CityBusiness

* ►December 8, 2008 - High costs forcing some doctors to drop shots - Local physicians vow to continue vaccinations - Dubuque Telegraph Herald

* ►December 8, 2008 - FDA Approves GlaxoSmithKline Tetanus, Diphtheria, Whooping Cough Vaccine, BOOSTRIX®, for Adults - New Indication for Booster Vaccine Expands Disease Protection to Individuals Aged 10-64 Years - press release - GlaxoSmithKline via Marketwire

* ►December 8, 2008 - Crucell Announces Registration of Hepavax-Gene® in China - press release - Crucell N.V. via Marketwire - "Hepavax-Gene® possesses two decisive advantages; its production is based on Crucell's hansenula polymorpha patented technology and it is 100% free of thiomersal. Thiomersal is a mercury based compound which, in several countries, is being phased out from vaccines given to children to avoid potentially adverse effects."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Dynavax Presents Preclinical Data Supporting Its Novel Universal Flu Vaccine Candidate -- Poster at Vaccine 2nd Global Congress - press release - Dynavax Technologies Corporation via Business Wire

* ►December 8, 2008 - Novavax Announces Preclinical Data for Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine Candidate - Novavax's first vaccine candidate for the prevention of RSV - press release - Novavax, Inc. via PRNewswire-FirstCall

* ►December 8, 2008 - GeoVax Labs and VGX International Announce Agreement at the Las Vegas "International Society of DNA Vaccines" Conference - GeoVax's Dr. Harriet Robinson - a key conference speaker on "the State of the Art Session" - press release - VGXI, Inc. via Business Wire via MarketWatch

* ►December 8, 2008 - Vaccine Trade Show Benefits From Virtual Participants - All Headline News

* ►December 8, 2008 - Baltimore Boy's Death Raises Concerns Over Cold Virus - Cold Virus Can Wreak Havoc on Weak Immune Systems - ABC News - "The sudden death of a young boy in Baltimore on Nov. 30 alarmed his community and highlighted the potential dangers of common viruses. Anthony Scott, 9, a third grader at Dr. Bernard Harris Sr. Elementary School in East Baltimore, Md., got sick over Thanksgiving. According to his mother, Lataye Scott, the boy was fine at the beginning of the holiday meal but became ill as it went on. He became short of breath and had an asthma attack. Despite treatment at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, the boy died. Blood tests showed that Anthony, who long suffered from asthma, had an adenovirus, a common, seasonal virus that can cause a range of ailments from a simple cold to diarrhea and pneumonia."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Half a Flu Shot May Work in a Pinch - Archives of Internal Medicine via MedPage Today

* ►December 8, 2008 - Flu shot half dose just as good for younger adults - Reuters - "The study involved about 1,100 U.S. adults, about half of whom were given a half dose of influenza vaccine in November and December 2004 and the rest were given a full dose. Blood samples given three weeks after vaccination showed that the immune systems in those ages 18 to 49 were stimulated at similar levels whether they got a half or full dose. And both groups got flu symptoms at similar rates, the researchers wrote in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Survey Shows Mothers See Value in Influenza Vaccination for Their Families Through the Winter and Spring - American Lung Association Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week, December 8 - 14; Urges Immunization into December, January and Beyond - press release - The American Lung Association via PRNewswire - "The American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza educational initiative is made possible through a collaboration with sanofi pasteur."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Houston Mother Who Nearly Lost Her Daughter to Influenza Joins American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza Campaign to Promote Annual Vaccination - American Lung Association Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week (December 8-14); Urges Immunization Throughout the Winter and Spring - press release - The American Lung Association via PRNewswire

* ►December 8, 2008 - Sacramento Mother Dee Dee Abdur-Rahim and Deputy District Attorney Robin Shakely Join the American Lung Association's Faces of Influenza Campaign to Promote Annual Vaccination - American Lung Association Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week (December 8-14); Urges Immunization Throughout the Winter and Spring - press release - The American Lung Association via PRNewswire
 
 ►December 8, 2008 - The American Lung Association of Ohio Encourages Cleveland Residents to See Themselves Among The Many 'Faces' of Influenza - Local Community Leaders Join the Faces of Influenza Campaign to Promote Annual Vaccination - American Lung Association Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week (December 8-14); Urges Immunization Throughout the Winter and Spring - press release - The American Lung Association via PRNewswire

►December 8, 2008 - The American Lung Association of the Central States Encourages Kansas City Residents to See Themselves Among the Many 'Faces' of Influenza - Local Community Leaders Join the Faces of Influenza Campaign to Promote Annual Vaccination - American Lung Association Supports National Influenza Vaccination Week (December 8-14); Urges Immunization Throughout the Winter and Spring - press release - The American Lung Association via PRNewswire

►December 8, 2008 - American Lung Association of Minnesota: Get a Flu Shot This Week -- It's National Vaccination Week - press release - The American Lung Association of Minnesota via PRNewswire

►December 8, 2008 - CVS/pharmacy and MinuteClinic Reach Goal of Delivering One Million Flu Vaccinations - Flu Shots Continue at MinuteClinic Health Care Centers in 55 Markets as CDC Kicks Off National Influenza Vaccination Week - press release - CVS Caremark via PRNewswire

►December 8, 2008 - Walgreens Reminds Customers That It’s Not Too Late to Protect Against Flu - press release - Walgreens via Business Wire via The Earth Times

►December 8, 2008 - Experts say it's still not too late to get a flu shot - Newsday

►December 8, 2008 - First Flu Cases Reported In State - State Says Vaccine Is Plentiful - TheBostonChannel.com

►December 8, 2008 - State health officials promote flu vaccination - AP via Boston Herald

►December 8, 2008 - National Flu Vaccination Week Begins Monday - Central Illinois Proud

►December 8, 2008 - Flu drug supply for pregnant women - The Press Association via Google

►December 8, 2008 - Minorities lag in flu-shot coverage for elderly - CIDRAP News

►December 8, 2008 - Flu Immunizations Critical For Kids, Say Health Officials - Wake County MyNC.com

►December 8, 2008 - Ask health workers: Had your flu shot? - Memphis Commercial Appeal

►December 8, 2008 - Minnesota health officials say plenty of vaccine remains for those who have yet to get a shot this year - West Central Tribune

►December 8, 2008 - For Kids, the Flu Can Be Severe, Even Deadly - Families Fighting Flu via HealthNewsDigest.com

* ►December 8, 2008 - Woman hopes to renew flu awareness - Greeley Tribune - "The baby who was normally joyful and energetic became extremely fussy and irritable when her temperature spiked to 101. Cover, who was living in Aurora at the time, couldn’t reach her doctor because of the holiday. She called Children’s Hospital and gave the child over-the-counter medication. She said she was instructed to not bring her in unless her fever reached 104 degrees. Though the fever broke the next day, it was too late. Elizabeth died from flu-related compilations that led to bilateral pneumonia."

* ►December 8, 2008 - The Flu Vaccine - TIME Magazine

* ►December 8, 2008 - WHO Renews Delicate Effort On Pandemic Influenza Virus-Sharing - Intellectual Property Watch

►December 8, 2008 - Novavax to Present Seasonal Influenza Data Results in an Investor Conference Call on December 11, 2008 - press release - Novavax, Inc. via PRNewswire-FirstCall

* ►December 8, 2008 - New Gardasil findings about clinical trials By Cynthia A. Janak via Renew America

* ►December 8, 2008 - No ifs or buts over MMR jabs for children - After years of dithering, Richard McComb explains why he finally pressed ahead with MMR jabs for his children. - Birmingham Post

* ►December 8, 2008 - Drop in meningitis rate a boost for vaccination - 'Really exciting data'; Benefits of immunization often forgotten: doctor - National Post - "As for the meningitis vaccine, a report just published in the Public Health Agency publication discusses the case of a 14-month-old child in Southern Ontario who developed meningitis, despite having been vaccinated. The patient ended up having the 19a serotype of the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria, which is not included in the pediatric vaccine and has been on the rise of late."

* ►December 8, 2008 - Meningitis woman told by doctors 'she had cold' - Evening Post via This is Bristol, UK - "Michelle organised a Ladies Night for Handprints playgroup, last week, which raised about £100 Meningitis UK's Search 4 a Vaccine Campaign, which was launched last year to help raise £7million to fund vital research into developing a vaccine against Meningitis B - the most common form of meningitis in the UK."

►December 8, 2008 - Health Department Urges Whooping Cough Booster Shots - Lex18

►December 8, 2008 - How Victorian diseases are sweeping back - Diseases more often associated with Victorian slums are taking hold again in Britain. - Daily Express, UK

►December 8, 2008 - Swiss Rotarians stage National Polio Day - Rotary International

►December 8, 2008 - Incidence and Impact of Lyme Disease on the Rise - With roughly 20,000 new cases reported each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne infection in the United States. As infections increase, the need for research becomes clear. - Time for Lyme via PRWeb

►December 8, 2008 - Fort Dodge and Colorado State work together to get 10,000 tetanus vaccines to Ethiopia - http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com - "Colorado State University is working to make a difference a world away, by organizing a donation of 10,000 tetanus vaccines -- enough for about 5,000 working horses and donkeys in Ethiopia."

►December 8, 2008 - Improved Testing for Hepatitis B Virus From Roche - A sensitive and fully automated platform improves viral load testing in serum and plasma - press release - Roche Molecular Diagnostics via PRNewswire via COMTEX via MarketWatch

►December 8, 2008 - Tulane University Completes Biodefense Lab - NTI: Global Security Newswire

►December 8, 2008 - Properties of unusual virus revealed in research - EurekAlert! via Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

►December 8, 2008 - Tick Bite Causes Girl's Lung to Collapse - An Australian toddler is recovering from a collapsed lung after she was bitten by a tick. - FOX News

►December 8, 2008 - FDA nixes proposed 'prescription pistol' - The Associated Press via Google

* ►December 8, 2008 - Getting high on HIV drugs in S Africa - Anti-retroviral drugs used to treat HIV/Aids are being bought and smoked by teenagers in South Africa to get high. - BBC

►December 8, 2008 - HIV/Aids Fairs to Encourage Testing Among School-Age Youths in Congo Republic - The World Bank

►December 8, 2008 - Public Health & Education | Los Angeles Times Examines Recommendations for HIV Testing as Part of Routine Medical Care - www.kaisernetwork.org

►December 8, 2008 - MedImmune starts phase 2 trial of antibody targeting IL-5 receptor - MedImmune has announced that it has initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with chronic asthma to determine the safety of subcutaneous dosing of a humanized monoclonal antibody (MAb) that targets the interleukin-5 receptor (IL-5R). - News-Medical.net

►December 8, 2008 - Call for applications: The impact of the environment on innate immunity: the threat of diseases - European Science Foundation via CORDIS Wire

* ►December 8, 2008 - The ignored vitamin - As more is learned about the importance of the 'sunshine vitamin,' doctors are finding that most of us aren't getting enough (requires registration) - Baltimore Sun - "She didn't always order the test. For more than two decades in private practice, in fact, Dr. Patricia Czapp almost never checked the vitamin D levels of her patients. Things have certainly changed. 'For the last two years, I've been testing virtually all of my patients,' said Czapp, a family doctor at Annapolis Primary Care. 'The vast majority are straight-out deficient or insufficient. It's frightening to think there's that many people walking around with that deficiency.'"

* ►December 8, 2008 - Men’s Vitamin D Levels Dipped Over Decades - BMI Changes, Less Milk Consumption, and More Sun Protection May Partly Explain the Decline, Study Shows - WebMD

►December 8, 2008 - Kit tightens leash on kids - You can get drug-test results in no time at all - Toronto Sun

►December 8, 2008 - Fibromyalgia can prove frustrating to both patient, doctor - Rochester Post-Bulletin

►December 8, 2008 - Anemia Rates Down for US Women and Children - But they remain disproportionately high for minority women, study finds - U.S. News & World Report

►December 8, 2008 - Hormone-Free Milk Labeling Battle Still Raging - Do You Think Artificial Hormones in Milk Should Be Hidden? - Daily Green

* ►December 8, 2008 - Researchers Put a Microscope on Food Allergies (requires registration) - The New York Times - "Up to 200 deaths each year are attributed to the most severe reaction, food-induced anaphylaxis, which also results in 30,000 trips to the emergency room. Some experts suggest that children in a culture smitten with antibacterial detergents and hand sanitizers are exposed to fewer germs, depriving the immune system of its germ-fighting job and leading it to misidentify certain foods as foreign."

►December 8, 2008 - CDC Says Kids' Food Allergies on Rise - Nurse.com

►December 8, 2008 - Scorpios Get More Asthma, but Astrology Isn’t to Blame (requires registration) - The New York Times

►December 8, 2008 - Secrets Of The Super-Healthy - Advice From People Who Never Seem To Get Sick - WebMD via CBS News

►December 8, 2008 - Elderberry is an Effective Treatment for Colds and Flu - NaturalNews.com

►December 8, 2008 - FDA Approves “Eyelash Fertilizer” - findingDulcinea

* ►December 8, 2008 - Letter in Support of the Latest Hearing on a Petition for a Moratorium on GM Crops Filed with the Supreme Court in India - Institute of Science in Society

* ►December 8, 2008 - Why Are So Many Kids Allergic to Peanuts? - Ask the experts at Popular Science - "We're bombarding the immune system with these [food-based] allergens, so it's attacking those instead." Indeed, food allergies in general are on the rise. But peanuts seem to trigger especially violent immune reactions. This might be because they contain several proteins not found in most other foods, posits Robert Wood, an allergy specialist at Johns Hopkins University, and the structure of these proteins stimulates a strong immune response. Research suggests that roasting peanuts, as American companies do, might alter the proteins' shape, making them an even bigger target."

►December 8, 2008 - Real-World Therapies and the Problem of Vivax Malaria (full text) - journal article (NEJM)

►December 8, 2008 - Woman hopes to renew flu awareness - The Tribune - "The influenza virus mutates rapidly, complicating vaccine developments from year to year. Labs all over the world track and analyze the sequencing of flu DNA, and the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make annual predicts about which strands will circulate. Based on these predictions, a vaccine is developed 6-9 months before flu season hits."

►December 8, 2008 - Europe Drops Plan To Ban Parallel Trade - Pharmalot

►December 8, 2008 - Should Everyone Use ADHD Pills As Brain Boosters? - Pharmalot

* ►December 8, 2008 - Samples and Professional Contact Favorably Impact Physicians Perceptions of Merck, According to a New Report from Decision Resources - Decision Resources via The Earth Times - "Merck has invested a great deal of promotional spending on samples and professional contact in the promotion of Januvia to physicians. According to the report, in 2007 Merck spent 72 percent of their total U.S. promotional spend on samples and 27 percent of total U.S. promotional spend on professional contact in the type 2 diabetes market."

►December 8, 2008 - A Checkup for Makers of Asthma Drugs - The Motley Fool

►December 8, 2008 - Lilly’s ImClone Cuts Nearly Half Its Sales Force - Pharmalot

►December 8, 2008 - Roche CEO: Mergers, Bankruptcies & Failures - Pharmalot

* ►December 7, 2008 - Doubts remain about Gardasil - Victoria Advocate - "Dr. Clayton Young, an obstetrician-gynecologist from The Woodlands, joins Richardson in opposition to the HPV vaccine and does not recommend it to his patients. 'The HPV virus is ubiquitous,' he said. 'Most people clear the virus on their own. Within two years, 90 percent go away.'"

* ►December 7, 2008 - Shots can fight cervical cancer - Victoria Advocate

►December 7, 2008 - Cervical cancer jabs: Irish north-south divide widens - Pharma Times

►December 7, 2008 - Rwanda: Voluntary Testing And ARC Provision Vital in Anti-Aids Campaign - The New Times via AllAfrica.com

►December 7, 2008 - Whooping cough cases on the rise - Rocky Mount Telegram

* ►December 7, 2008 - Refrigerator Mothers - Film of the Week | 12-07-2008 - Read It News - "Refrigerator Mothers paints an intimate portrait of an entire generation of mothers, already laden with the challenge of raising profoundly disordered children, who lived for years under the dehumanizing shadow of professionally promoted 'mother blame.'"

►December 5, 2008 - Plastics case brings local lawyers precious metal - Kansas City Business Journal

* ►December 4, 2008 - Latest GMO Research: Decreased Fertility, Immunological Alterations and Allergies - NaturalNews.com

* ►December 4, 2008 - Kansas picked for biodefense lab - Kansas State University site chosen for new $450 million biodefense lab - AP via Newsweek

►December 4, 2008 - State leaders gather to celebrate bio-defense lab (includes video) - KSN.com

►December 3, 2008 - Lewisburg Sunset Rotarians plan Purple Pinkie Project - The Daily Item - "For a donation of $1, children and their parents can have their pinkies painted purple as a reminder that they helped to protect other children from the wild polio virus."

►December 3, 2008 - Officials suggest: Change Ark. pet vaccination law - AP via WREG.com

►December 2, 2008 - The Visiting Nurse Association Announces National Influenza Vaccination Week December 8-14 - Business Wirevia Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

►November 28, 2008 - A PI3-Kinase–Mediated Negative Feedback Regulates Neuronal Excitability - journal article (PLoS Genetics)

* ►November 2008 - Immunization Works! November 2008 Issue - CDC

* ►Fall 2008 - Too Many Vaccines? - What you should know (pdf) - www.chop.edu

* ►Fall 2008 - Halachic Aspects of Vaccination - Jewish Action via www.ou.org

* ►Volume 8, Issue 8, 2008 - Here to Stay - ADVANCE's 2008 LPN of the Year is a nurse by choice and an LPN through perseverance and dedication - ADVANCE for LPNs - "Sonia Sheehan, LPN, CRC, considered walking away quietly. She was ready to pack up and find another job when the inpatient infant/children's ward on which she'd worked for 10 years went to an all-RN staff. ... Today, Sheehan is still part of the Montefiore staff, except now she's an accomplished research nurse in the newly built children's hospital. She's spearheading prestigious pediatric clinical trials, including those for childhood vaccinations being considered for FDA approval to treat rotavirus, meningitis and pneumococcal disease."

►43rd National Immunization Conference - March 30 – April 2, 2009 - Sheraton Dallas Dallas, Texas - CDC