Don Sapatkin

Researchers have spent a century trying to develop a vaccine against malaria, one of the world’s biggest killers. The first shot to be approved, two years ago, is 30% effective. A new one, in the works for three decades, has a reported 77% efficacy and a licensee with the capacity to produce 200 million doses a year.

Children aged 10 to 14 who identify as sexual minorities (or weren’t sure about their sexual orientation) have more trouble sleeping. Depression and family issues such as conflict with their parents explained part of that difference, according to a new study.

The federal government is hoping that newly simplified vaccination guidelines will lead more Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In other pandemic news, HHS announced plans to keep vaccines and treatments free for the uninsured, and an appellate court sided with the Biden administration's disputed vaccination requirement for federal contractors.

Insomnia is responsible for a lot of angst — and worse. Treatment is fairly straightforward. But for one cause of insomnia, the mechanism of treatment — and whether it works — remains elusive.

Despite decades of research, no available vaccine targets respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a disease that causes hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide among young children and older adults. Interim results of two late-stage trials of Pfizer’sRSV prefusion F vaccine suggest the vaccine is efficacious, although the low RSV infection rates during the high COVID-19 pandemic years limited some of the findings.

Vaccine hesitancy has many causes. A new study examined how the nocebo effect — beliefs that negative side effects will occur — may be a factor in people’s response to COVID-19 vaccination and could play into hesitancy dynamics.

Although it’s not likely to pass, at least not this year, opponents say the proposal is already accelerating the spread of false claims and sowing distrust of physicians.

Global polio eradication efforts have reduced cases of the deadly disease by 99.99% in 35 years. Yet it continues to circulate in over 30 countries. The most dangerous form is endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan, where it seeds outbreaks elsewhere.

Increasing numbers of adults are getting vaccinated at pharmacies. But many states limit pharmacists’ ability to immunize children. Pharmacist participation in the federal Vaccines for Children program is even more restricted.

Vaccination rates are struck below levels needed to eradicate measles. Members of three generations of a family with expertise in vaccines propose a novel approach to improving measles vaccination rates. It could include a whistle.