Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Glaxo Weighing Feasibility Of Zika Vaccine
GlaxoSmithKline Plc is concluding feasibility studies evaluating whether its vaccine technology is suitable for the Zika virus, which has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies in Brazil, a spokeswoman told Reuters. There is no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which typically causes mild fevers and rashes, although about 80 percent of those infected show no symptoms. "We're concluding our feasibility studies as quickly as we can to see if our vaccine technology platforms might be suitable for working on Zika," Glaxo spokeswoman Anna Padula said in an email. (Grover and Penumudi, 1/25)
The virus has affected as many as 1.3 million in Brazil, reports the Associated Press, where Olympics venues in Rio de Janeiro will undergo daily inspections to prevent the virus from spreading at this summer's games. South American governments including Brazil and Colombia are asking also women to avoid pregnancy, according to AP. In El Salvador, authorities have asked women to not get pregnant until 2018. (Hafner, 1/25)
