Media/Policy Watch
This section is intended to alert readers to substantive news, analysis and opinion from the general media on vaccines, immunization, global; public health and related themes. Media Watch is not intended to be exhaustive, but indicative of themes and issues CVEP is actively tracking. This section will grow from an initial base of newspapers, magazines and blog sources, and is segregated from Journal Watch above which scans the peer-reviewed journal ecology.

We acknowledge the Western/Northern bias in this initial selection of titles and invite suggestions for expanded coverage. We are conservative in our outlook in adding news sources which largely report on primary content we are already covering above. Many electronic media sources have tiered, fee-based subscription models for access. We will provide full-text where content is published without restriction, but most publications require registration and some subscription level.

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Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 13 June 2015
Vaccine Kicked Rotavirus To The Curb In A Few Short Years
Within six years of the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine, hospitalizations for the diarrheal illness had dropped by 94% and hospitalizations for overall gastrointestinal illnesses were cut in half. Those are the findings of CDC-funded research published in JAMA today. The first vaccine, RotaTeq by Merck, was introduced in 2006, followed […]
Tara Haelle, Contributor Jun 09, 2015

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 13 June 2015
A Chinese Ebola Drug Raises Hopes, and Rancor
Chinese government issued a directive last summer that helped inspire the production not only of MIL77 but also of an Ebola vaccine, which is in human safety studies; rapid Ebola diagnostic tests; and copies of antiviral drugs made
June 12, 2015 – By SHERI FINK – World – Print Headline: “A Chinese Ebola Drug Raises Hopes, and Rancor ”
New Bird Flu Cases Slow, Focus Turns to Preventing Repeat
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESSJUNE 12, 2015, 12:44 P.M. E.D.T.
DES MOINES, Iowa — No new bird flu cases have been reported in nearly a week on commercial farms in Minnesota and Iowa, giving government officials, scientists and farmers hope that the worst U.S. outbreak of the bird flu is, though not over, winding down.
As such, farms are focused on disposing of the poultry carcasses, disinfecting barns and preparing to restock their flocks. Meanwhile, laboratories continue to intensely study the virus in hopes of developing an effective vaccine, determining how it evaded biosecurity measures and establishing what can be done to prevent a repeat.
Here are some questions and answers about the bird flu:
WHERE DOES THE OUTBREAK STAND?
The frequency of new cases has slowed as temperatures in the Midwest rise — up to 90 degrees in Iowa and 70s and 80s in Minnesota. It follows scientists’ predictions that temperatures in the 70s and above would neutralize the H5N2 virus so it would no longer infect birds…

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Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Accessed 13 June 2015
California lawmakers pass vaccine bill amid emotional debate
California lawmakers on Tuesday approved a hotly contested bill that would impose one of the strictest vaccination laws in the country, after five hours of highly emotional testimony that brought hundreds of opponents to the Capitol.
SB277 is intended to boost vaccination rates after a measles outbreak at Disneyland that sickened more than 100 in the U.S. and Mexico. It has prompted the most contentious legislative debate of the year with thousands of opponents taking to social media and legislative hearings to protest the legislation.
The Assembly Health Committee approved the legislation 12-6 Tuesday evening with one lawmaker abstaining, sending it to the full Assembly for its final legislative hurdle.
If the bill becomes law, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia as the only states with such strict requirements…
…The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sens. Richard Pan of Sacramento and Ben Allen of Santa Monica, would only allow children with serious health problems to opt out of school-mandated vaccinations. School-age children who remain unvaccinated would need to be home-schooled…
Julia Horowitz | AP | Health & Science | Jun 9, 2015
Experts: California vaccine bill would increase immunization
A hotly contested California bill to impose one of the strictest vaccination laws in the nation would boost immunization rates by changing parents’ behavior, according to immunologists and people who have researched the impact of such requirements.
Julia Horowitz | AP | Health & Science | Jun 9, 2015