The current state of MEDICINE in the world and US

Vaccine deal could save lives of 4 million children
For the first time ever in many of the world's poorest countries, the rotavirus vaccine, among others, will be made available to children under an agreement between several drug companies and the GAVI alliance -- which over the next five years aims to vaccinate 50 million children, potentially saving up to 4 million lives. "This tremendous milestone means that we'll be able to save the lives of millions of children regardless of how poor they are," writes Melinda Gates, of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a GAVI partner. The Huffington Post (6/6)

Tweak to malaria vaccine could boost effectiveness
Clinical trials of an enhancement to a new malaria vaccine were scheduled to begin this summer in a bid to increase the effectiveness of the drug 80%. The trials would measure the effects of an amended version of the current vaccine, to which scientists have added an engineered common cold virus intended to generate a stronger response by the immune system. Reuters (6/6)

New cancer treatments are unaffordable for many in U.S.
Cancer patients in the U.S. increasingly are unable to afford new advances in treatment, and are even abandoning medical care altogether as costs continue to spiral over the country's second-leading cause of death. "We're thrilled with what we consider to be breakthroughs and wonderful new therapies ... yet the barriers for some patients to get them is insurmountable. It is an indictment of how we take care of patients in the United States," says a pediatric oncologist. AlertNet/Reuters (6/6)