WHO: World immunization Week (April 24-30, 2026).
Published: April 2026.
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-immunization-week
Lower-income countries investing record amount in immunisation programmes.
Against a backdrop of aid cuts, lower-income countries contributed a record US$ 302 million towards Gavi-supported vaccines for 2025. Over the last five years, countries have mobilized US$ 1.1 billion for immunization, matching the total raised over the previous 13 years combined.
Published: April 16, 2026.
International Vaccine Institute (IVI) Annual Report 2025.
IVI’s 2025 Annual Report captures progress across our scientific portfolio—from early discovery to clinical development and final delivery—alongside the partnerships, capacity-building, and global collaboration that help ensure vaccines reach those who need them most.
Published: April 22, 2026.
https://www.ivi.int/ivi-annual-report-2025/
WHO: World Malaria Day 2026.
Published: April 25, 2026.
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-malaria-day/2026
University of Maryland (UMD) Study: Declining measles vaccinations could cost the U.S. economy $7 billion by 2030.
Published: April 22, 2026.
WHO: Global hepatitis report 2026.
Published: April 28, 2026.
https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240122383
Eight vaccines linked to a lower risk of dementia.
A growing body of research is beginning to reveal the impact that regular routine vaccines could be having on the likelihood of conditions like dementia. Here are the jabs with the strongest evidence so far. Multiple large observational studies have found that routine adult vaccines are associated with a reduced risk of dementia, with some showing risk reductions of 25% to 40%. The strongest evidence exists for shingles, flu, RSV, pneumococcal and diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis-containing (DTP) vaccines. Researchers believe vaccination may reduce dementia risk by preventing infections that cause brain inflammation, though some evidence points to a more general immune effect.
Published: April 28, 2025.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/eight-vaccines-linked-lower-risk-dementia
Andes hantavirus outbreak in cruise ship, 14 May 2026.
ECDC was notified on 2 May 2026 of a cluster of severe respiratory illness on MV Hondius, a Dutch-flagged cruise ship with passengers and crew from 23 countries, including nine EU/EEA countries.
Published: May 14, 2026.
WHO’s response to hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, briefed media today on a cluster of hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship, the MV Hondius. Eight cases have been reported so far, including three deaths. Five of the 8 cases have been confirmed as hantavirus. The hantavirus involved is the Andes virus, the only species known to be capable of limited transmission between humans, linked to close and prolonged contact. Describing the situation, Dr Tedros said, “While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.” He noted that given the incubation period, “it’s possible that more cases may be reported.” WHO is coordinating closely with multiple countries under the International Health Regulations or IHR, rules that define the rights and obligations of countries and WHO in responding to public health events. This event demonstrates why the IHR exists, demonstrating the importance of global cooperation and solidarity in responding to health threats that have no borders.
Published: May 7, 2026.
https://www.who.int/news/item/07-05-2026-who-s-response-to-hantavirus-cases-linked-to-a-cruise-ship
Message by the WHO Director-General to the people of Tenerife regarding the hantavirus response.
“To the people of Tenerife. My name is Tedros, and I serve as the Director-General of the World Health Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for global public health. It is not common for me to write directly to the people of a single community, but today I feel it is not only appropriate, it is necessary. I want to speak to you directly, not through press releases or technical briefings, but as one human being to another, because you deserve that. I know you are worried. I know that when you hear the word “outbreak” and watch a ship sail toward your shores, memories surface that none of us have fully put to rest. The pain of 2020 is still real, and I do not dismiss it for a single moment. But I need you to hear me clearly: this is not another COVID. The current public health risk from hantavirus remains low. My colleagues and I have said this unequivocally, and I will say it again to you now. The virus aboard the MV Hondius is the Andes strain of hantavirus. It is serious. Three people have lost their lives, and our hearts go out to their families. The risk to you, living your daily life in Tenerife is low. This is the WHO’s assessment, and we do not make it lightly.”
Published: May 9, 2026.
South Africa secures Europe-backed $90 million vaccine plant deal amid hantavirus outbreak fears, 7,000 jobs expected.
South Africa has secured a Europe-backed $90 million deal to build Africa’s first fully integrated vaccine plant, a project expected to create over 7,000 jobs amid growing hantavirus outbreak fears.
Published: May 8, 2026.
Preliminary analysis of Orthohantavirus andesense virus sequences from a cruise-ship related cluster, May 2026
The overall high level of genetic similarity — with a maximum of one detected SNP per individual — strongly suggests that the outbreak most likely originated from a single zoonotic spillover event, or a very limited number of closely related spillover events. The limited and consistent variation observed in the L segment is interpreted as true viral mutations rather than methodological artifact. Taken together, these findings support a scenario of initial zoonotic introduction followed by subsequent humantohuman transmission during the outbreak. The lack of diversity observed in the outbreak is similar to that observed during a cluster of human-to-human transmission in the Epuyén 2018 outbreak, in Argentina. The genomic data cannot exclude the possibility that the initial environmental exposure involved more than one passenger infected from the same source.
Published: May 10, 2026.
Large tuberculosis outbreaks in US doubled from 2017 to 2023, CDC reports.
Analyzing national surveillance and genomic data, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified 50 large TB outbreaks (defined as 10 or more related cases within a three-year period) across 23 states from 2017 through 2023. Together, the outbreaks accounted for 1,092 of the 61,993 cases reported during that period. The number of large outbreaks is a sharp increase from the 24 identified from 2014 to 2016, suggesting that transmission within family and social networks is an ongoing issue, despite the United States having one of the lowest TB incidence rates in the world.
Published: May 1, 2026.
ASCO: Moderna, Merck melanoma vaccine set for phase 3.
Moderna’s move into personalized cancer therapy continues to proceed at a rapid pace, with Merck & Co-partnered melanoma vaccine mRNA-4157 heading for a pivotal phase 3 program after a phase 2b data drop at ASCO.
Published: May 6, 2026.
https://pharmaphorum.com/news/asco-moderna-merck-melanoma-vaccine-set-phase-3
Systematic review reaffirms HPV vaccine safety, supports single-dose regimen potential.
According to a news release from the University of Minnesota, the university’s Vaccine Integrity Project announced a comprehensive review of peer-reviewed evidence for human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines, finding they remain safe and effective in preventing cervical cancer, precancerous lesions, and persistent HPV infection. Additionally, evidence continues to emerge supporting the potential efficacy of a single-dose regimen for women.
Published: May 5, 2026.
Could nasal vaccines replace syringes?
Evidence is emerging that nasal vaccines could be more effective than previously believed, boosting a crucial form of immunity hiding in plain sight.
Published: May 5, 2026.
https://www.gavi.org/vaccineswork/could-nasal-vaccines-replace-syringes
Hantavirus is on the rise in Argentina, where a stricken cruise ship began its journey.
Officials and experts in Argentina are scrambling to determine if their country is the source of a deadly hantavirus outbreak that has gripped an Atlantic cruise. The health emergency aboard the ship that’s moored across the ocean comes as Argentina sees a surge of hantavirus cases that many local public health researchers attribute to the recently accelerating effects of climate change. Argentina, where the cruise to Antarctica departed, is consistently ranked by the World Health Organization as having the highest incidence of the rare, rodent-borne disease in Latin America. Higher temperatures expand the virus’ range because, in part, as it gets warmer and ecosystems change, rodents that carry the hantavirus can thrive in more places, experts say. People typically contract the virus from exposure to rodent droppings, urine or saliva.
Published: May 7, 2026.
https://apnews.com/article/argentina-hantavirus-cruise-ship-5841c25be9aa6dd3cd6edc81c74609de
More than 100 sickened in norovirus outbreak aboard Caribbean Princess cruise.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak was reported Thursday during the ship’s April 28 to May 11 voyage through the Caribbean.
Published: April 9, 2026.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/caribbean/norovirus-outbreak-princess-cruise-caribbean-rcna344359
IVI Board of Trustees convenes in Helsinki, appoints Prof. Helen Rees as new Chair and advances global health priorities.
The Board of Trustees of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) convened in Helsinki this week, advancing key priorities for the international organization’s next phase of growth and global health impact.
Published: May 8, 2026.
From Hantavirus to HPV: Understanding Risk and Following the Science.
Published: May 12, 2026.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/from-hantavirus-hpv-understanding-risk-following-science-gavi-rzste/
Whooping cough surge exposes gaps in adult vaccination.
Cases of whooping cough (pertussis) have surged across Europe, with England recording a 1,600% increase in 2024 alone, according to a review of the evidence from the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC).
Published: May 1, 2026.
https://www.vaccinestoday.eu/stories/whooping-cough-surge-exposes-gaps-in-adult-vaccination/
Africa CDC: Africa CDC Launches the African Strategic Advisory Group on Genomics.
Africa CDC today announced the launch of the African Strategic Advisory Group on Genomics (ASAG), a new continental advisory mechanism established to provide independent, multidisciplinary, and trusted technical guidance on the strategic governance and implementation of genomics across Africa.
Published: May 4, 2026.
Confederation of Meningitis Organizations (CoMO). A worldwide network driven by a shared purpose to defeat meningitis.
Meningitis has profoundly affected our lives. Some of us survived and live with lifelong disabilities. Some live with the shock and grief of losing a friend or family member. Some of us are healthcare professionals or researchers, working to support people affected or to advance medical science. Some are organizations dedicated to prevention and awareness.
We are civil society representatives determined that no more families go through what we have. We won’t stop until this disease is defeated within our communities and countries.
https://www.meningitis.org/como/
Tracking Measles and the World’s Vaccine-Preventable Diseases.
This weekly map visualizes outbreaks of nine childhood diseases in collaboration with the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/vaccine-preventable-disease-a-global-tracker
