The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), today announced it awarded more than $1.4 billion for Project NextGen.
This award supports the development of a new generation of tools and technologies to protect people against COVID-19 for years to come.

As the 2023 RSV season begins to accelerate in the United States, pregnant women have two options to protect their child from the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).
Over the past month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an RSV monoclonal antibody (mAb) and vaccine to protect infants from RSV.
On August 21, 2023, the FDA approved the first vaccine for pregnant women to prevent lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD) and severe LRTD caused by RSV in infants from birth through 6 months.

As the summer of 2023 comes to a close in sunny Florida, its dengue outbreak shows no signs of fading before New Year's Eve.
The Florida Health Department reported during week #32, there were 15 new dengue cases confirmed.
As of August 12, 2023, Florida's southern counties have reported most of the 204 travel-associated dengue cases and eleven locally acquired dengue cases this year.
Recently, two locally acquired dengue cases were confirmed in Broward County. 

Over the past two years, various avian influenza outbreaks have led to the deaths of millions of birds. And a recent study reported the H3N8 avian influenza virus (AIV) in a woman who died of severe disease in Guangdong Province, China.
According to the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China, this was the first confirmed human death after avian influenza (A/H3N8) infection.
As of August 2023, there have been three cases of human infection of avian influenza A (H3N8) virus in China.

A recent study found that during the 2018–2020 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), healthcare workers (HCWs) were very receptive to taking an experimental vaccine.
On July 25, 2023, the journal Frontiers published Original Research that found about 99% of HCWs received the Ervebo® Ebola Vaccine (rVSV-ZEBOV-GP, rVSV-ZEBOV, v920) live, recombinant, replication-competent vaccine during the DRC's 10 Ebola outbreak.

Over 125 years ago, a British doctor discovered that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit malaria to humans. To commemorate this moment in history, World Mosquito Day (WMD) was founded.
Each year, WMD is an opportunity to raise awareness of the dangers posed by mosquito-borne diseases.
Today, mosquito-borne diseases kill more than one million people and infect up to 700 million yearly – almost one in ten people, says the WMD.

GSK plc today announced that AREXVY™, an approved Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine, is now available at major retail pharmacies in the U.S.
AREXVY is currently indicated for preventing RSV-lower respiratory tract disease in individuals 60 years and older. An estimated 76.5 million people aged 60 and older in the U.S. may benefit from this RSV vaccine.
RSV is a seasonal disease, and an outbreak was recently in Florida 

Over the past few years, around 60% of vaccination during flu season took place at local pharmacies, which were rated very high in a July 2023 survey. 
More than half of respondents confirmed that pharmacies are easy to access and time efficient to get an annual flu shot.
And based on new services announced by Walgreens, this percentage may increase during the 2023-2024 flu season in the U.S.

The number of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in women has been well documented, but less is known about this cancer-causing virus's prevalence in men.
A new study published today in The Lancet Global Health (September 2023 early release) estimates the frequency of men harboring genital HPV infections.
These resarchers estimated the overall HPV prevalence of any type among men was 31% (95% CI 27–35), with study-specific prevalences ranging from 1% to 84%

A new Original Investigation published today supports new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) preventative interventions, including long-lasting monoclonal antibodies in infants and maternal vaccination.
RSV infections can negatively impact infants under three months of age and those born prematurely, as it is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) and infant hospitalization worldwide.