Media/Policy Watch  [to 16 January 2016]
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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Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/home/uk
Accessed 16 January 2016
January 13, 2016
Suicide bomber kills 14 at Pakistan polio vaccination clinic

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Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/
Accessed 16 January 2016
With First Texas Zika Case, Vaccine Desperately Needed, Expert Says
A recent U.S. case of Zika, a tropical disease linked to serious birth defects in the children of infected pregnant women, was diagnosed in the Houston area of Texas two days ago. This case was an imported case, so the individual arrived in the U.S. from Latin America with the illness…
Tara Haelle, Contributor
Jan 13, 2016

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The Guardian
http://www.guardiannews.com/
Accessed 16 January 2016
HPV vaccine rates higher in poor and Latino communities, study finds
:: Findings unusual as underserved typically have limited healthcare access
:: HPV is most common sexually transmitted infection in US
Thursday 14 January 2016 06.00 EST
Rates for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the US are highest in communities that are predominantly Latino and poor, according to a report released Thursday that depicts a sharp turn in public health trends.

In high poverty communities, 61.1% of girls were given the first shot in the series, compared with 52.4% in low poverty communities, according to the American Association for Cancer Research’s report, the first to look at geography in relation to HPV vaccination rates.

“You’re finding everything is inverse essentially,” said Kevin Henry, lead author of the study, which is being published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “You’re finding that the wealthier people have less vaccination yet they have more resources so in some respects they should be higher.”
The HPV vaccination rate was found to be higher among black people, American Indian/Alaska natives and Latinos compared with caucasian and Asian people. And girls whose families live below the poverty line also started taking the vaccination more frequently than women above the poverty line.

This is unusual because underserved communities typically have limited access to healthcare and take up public health initiatives like preventive screenings and immunizations at a lower rate…

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New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/
Accessed 16 January 2016
Brazil to Fund Development of Vaccine for Zika Virus
January 16, 2016 – By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS SAO PAULO — The Brazilian government announced it will direct funds to a biomedical research center to help develop a vaccine against a virus linked to brain damage in babies.
Health Minister Marcelo Castro said Friday that the goal is for the Sao Paulo-based Butantan Institute to develop “in record time” a vaccine for Zika, which is spread through mosquito bites.
Institute director Jorge Kalil said that is expected take 3 to 5 years.
Brazil is currently experiencing the largest known outbreak of Zika. The virus has been linked to a recent surge in birth defects including microcephaly, a rare condition in which newborns have smaller than normal heads and their brains do not develop properly.
The Health Ministry says 3,530 babies have been born with microcephaly in the country since October. Fewer than 150 such cases were seen in all of 2014.
Most have been concentrated in Brazil’s poor northeast, though cases in Rio de Janeiro and other big cities have also been on the rise, prompting people to stock up on mosquito repellent.
Some women of means have left the country to spend their pregnancies in the United States or Europe to avoid infection.
The Zika virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can also carry dengue and chikungunya…

Suicide Bomb Near Polio Center in Pakistan Kills at Least 16
By IHSANULLAH TIPU MEHSUDJAN. 13, 2016
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — At least 16 people were killed on Wednesday in a suicide bombing outside a polio vaccination center in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials and witnesses said.
Thirteen of the victims were police officers, said Syed Imtiaz Shah, a senior official with the Quetta police. He said the officers were there to guard polio workers, who are often targeted by Islamist militants in Pakistan.
The attack came on the third day of a vaccination campaign in the province of Baluchistan, of which Quetta is the capital. The bomber, who was also killed, walked up to police officers and detonated what Mr. Shah said amounted to more than 20 pounds of explosives.
A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, Muhammad Khurrasani, claimed responsibility for the attack on the militants’ behalf. Two civilians and a paramilitary police officer were also killed, and 10 police officers and nine civilians were wounded…

Zuckerberg Wades Into Vaccine Debate With Baby Shots Photo
Facebook founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has dropped himself into the riotous social media debate over childhood vaccines after posting photos of himself taking his newborn daughter to get immunization shots at the doctor’s office.
January 11, 2016 – By REUTERS –