Vaccines

The drug is already sold to treat HIV infections and Gilead plans to seek approval soon to use it to guard against infections.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has promoted claims about vaccines that contradict the overwhelming consensus of scientists.

After a summer surge in COVID cases in California, medical professionals are once again urging the public to get vaccinated against the latest variant of the virus as well as the flu.

Updated COVID-19 vaccines are on their way. The Food and Drug Administration approved new shots from Pfizer and Moderna on Thursday, and the companies are set to begin shipping millions of doses.

Moderna already has a bird flu vaccine in very early-stage testing that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19.

Merck’s shot protects against 21 strains of that bacteria to prevent a severe form of pneumococcal disease and a lung infection called pneumonia.

The new research underscores the importance of vaccination for both sexes, experts say.