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A four year trial found that the RTS,S/AS01E malaria vaccine was only 16.8% effective.

In highly variable results, vaccine efficacy declined over time — from 43.6% in the first year to almost zero in the fourth year — and with increasing exposure to malaria.

For every 100 vaccinated children, 65 cases of clinical malaria were averted. Multiple episodes of malaria were common, with 551 cases among 118 of the 223 children who received the vaccine.

The influenza pandemic in 2009 led to the vaccination of high-risk groups with new vaccines targeting swine flu, when only limited information about the safety of the vaccines was available.

Researchers at UCL and vaccine manufacturers GSK found that Pandemrix had an acceptable safety profile in all age and risk groups studied.

The researchers analysed side effects reported within 6 months in more than 8500 people, aged 7 months to 97 years, who had received at least one dose of the adjuvanted H1N1 pandemic vaccine during the national pandemic influenza vaccination campaign in the UK.

The observed number of adverse events of special interest was below the expected number for Bell’s palsy, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and demyelination, but above the expected number for neuritis (1 case within 31 days), and convulsions (8 cases within 181 days).

The European Commission has approved Bexsero Meningococcal Group B Vaccine for use in individuals 2 months of age and older.

MenB disease is a bacterial infection and is the leading cause of meningitis across Europe, particularly in infants. The disease is rare but can strike rapidly and prove fatal, so prevention through vaccination is important.

The Meningitis Trust welcomed the licensing of Bexsero and is urging governments to include the vaccine in national immunization programmes.