These are still early days – more data is needed – but the results point to a potential shift in how flu vaccines are made and updated.

The full story: bit.ly/4pveMhh

Current flu vaccines take months to grow in eggs and can struggle when circulating strains shift mid-season.

mRNA vaccines can be redesigned and manufactured much more quickly, increasing the chance of matching the strains actually in circulation.

A clinical trial of > 18,000 adults found that Pfizer’s new mRNA flu vaccine was 34.5% more effective than a standard flu shot at preventing influenza A illness. Early estimates suggest protection could rise from about half to roughly two thirds.

Here's why mRNA could transform flu prevention 👇

So that pull to be alone, curled up on the couch? It’s not just sickness talking. It’s evolution helping stop the spread. #scienceiscool 🙌
🔗: bit.ly/4ojfRb5

And while vaccines create a much milder response, this same biology might explain that temporary craving for rest after a shot.

In mice, turning those brain cells on made them seek solitude, even without an infection. Turn them off, and the urge to withdraw vanished.

Researchers from MIT just found a single immune signal, IL1 beta, that talks directly to the brain. When it switches on, it activates a small cluster of serotonin-producing cells that flip you into isolation mode.

Tanzania acted and now has built a model for grassroots health transformation at the community level that others across Africa can learn from.

🔗: bit.ly/44xmUFY

"I used to warn people about disease outbreaks but I knew little on how to protect myself and what that meant for my community." - Chiku Abdallah, 20

Now, she serves 15 households daily , helping detect disease early with diagnostic tools, checking vitals and providing health education.

After the outbreak waned, Tanzania decided to act by transforming their community healthcare. Now, 3,600 newly-trained community health workers are serving their communities equipped with tablets, blood pressure monitors and real-time reporting systems.

Cervical cancer still accounts for 37% of new cancer cases among Malawian women, with an estimated 2,300 women dying from the disease each year.
But for many families this new campaign is a fresh chance to protect their girls from a disease that has taken far too many lives.

🔗: bit.ly/4pNRXpx

Today, coverage has started to recover. By 2023 rates rose to 68% but many older girls had already aged out of eligibility and were left unprotected. This new campaign is closing that gap by reaching girls aged 9-18, including those who missed their first chance.

HPV vaccination was introduced into Malawi’s routine immunisation programme in 2019, reaching 73% coverage that year. But COVID-19 came and disrupted services nationwide, and the devastating Cyclone Freddy caused additional setbacks.

By 2022, just 13% of eligible girls had received a dose.

To counter this, the @WHO’s report recommends stronger universal health coverage, improved social protection and more resilient services overall, so that the communities most vulnerable to drug-resistant infections are less exposed.

Read more: bit.ly/3XgEr1j

Dangerous drug-resistant bacteria like Klebsiella and Acinetobacter are also on the rise. These infections often resist the last line antibiotics which were once reserved for the sickest patients, widening the gap between what patients need and what medicines can actually do to help them.