New York Times (January 8)
“Given the century of medical progress” since 1918, one would assume “that we are far better prepared today to deal with such a worldwide catastrophe. Unfortunately, the opposite is true…. A 1918-type influenza pandemic could cause ruin on the order of what the Black Death did to 14th-century Europe, but on a global scale.” To escape such catastrophe, urgent priority needs to be placed on developing “a universal vaccine that effectively attacks all influenza A strains, with reliable protection lasting for years, like other modern vaccines.”
Tags: 1918, Black Death, Catastrophe, Europe, Influenza, Pandemic, Progress, Protection, Vaccine, Worldwide
New York Times (October 14)
Malaria “kills some 600,000 people a year, mostly children under the age of 5” and there is now “hope for a malaria vaccine” based on trials sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. “If the results hold up after further follow-up, the vaccine will be the first ever shown to be effective on a large scale against a disease-causing parasite, an organism that is much harder to neutralize than viruses or bacteria.”
Tags: Bacteria, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, GlaxoSmithKline, Malaria, Parasite, Vaccine, Viruses
