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Britain Pledges $485 Mln To Global Vaccine Project

(World health - EU Monitor 13/06/2009)

Britain will invest almost $500 million in an international scheme to encourage pharmaceutical firms to develop vaccines against some of the common diseases which plague poorer nations (pneumococcal diseases). The Advance Market Commitment, a pilot project launched on the sidelines of the G8 finance ministers meeting this weekend, guarantees to buy vaccines at fixed prices once they have been developed, giving drug companies an incentive to produce them.

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Vaccinating older people against pneumonia is a 'waste of time'

(Daily Mail 06/01/2009)

Giving jabs to older people against an infection which causes pneumonia is a waste of time, say researchers. Millions of pensioners have been vaccinated with a one-off jab as part of a Government campaign launched five years ago. But it does not cut the risk of pneumonia in people aged 65 and over, according to researchers who re-evaluated results from 22 previous trials.

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Pneumonia jab could stop heart attacks, a new study suggests

(Daily Mail 14/10/2008)

Vaccines already used in the UK to prevent pneumonia could also halve the risk of heart attacks in some patients. An expert at the Texas Heart Institute, said scientists first suspected infections such as pneumonia might play a part in triggering heart attacks nearly 100 years ago, but evidence showed that high blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity were the greatest risk factors.

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