Good Day BIO: National Immunization Awareness Month

It’s National Immunization Awareness Month, an initiative highlighting the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. And in the middle of a pandemic, it matters more than ever.

COVID-19 disrupted routine vaccinations among children worldwide,found a recent study funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

From January-December 2020, 30 million children missed doses of the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine, and 27.2 million missed doses of the measles vaccine, the study says.

COVID is responsible for at least 17 million of the missed doses: “The estimates represent about 8.5 million more children without DTP third doses and about 8.9 million more children without a dose of measles vaccine than were estimated to miss doses if the pandemic hadn't happened,” CNN explained. 

With the school year just around the corner, advancing routine vaccination is critical so we don’t see outbreaks of preventable diseases, we explained last week. 

Meanwhile, with COVID cases rising and kids under 12 still ineligible for the vaccine, it’s important adults and teens get the COVID-19 vaccine to prevent spread to young children and stop the pandemic in its tracks. 

ICYMI: BIO’s Dr. Michelle appeared on MSNBC to discuss the importance of COVID-19 vaccines and the need for full approval:

Questions about routine vaccines? Visit the CDC’s National Immunization Awareness Month resource center or Stronger, an initiative to stop the spread of vaccine misinformation. 

Questions about COVID vaccines? Visit www.COVIDVaccineFacts.org.  

More Health Care News:

Science: The overlooked superpower of mRNA vaccines
“They prevent symptomatic disease, curb hospitalization, and reduce death. But for public health purposes, a vaccine's mastery at something less obvious is equally important: the ability to prevent even asymptomatic infection.”

The BIO member is producing Atlantic salmon more sustainably—and creating new jobs, too. 

AquaBounty Technologies produces genetically engineered Atlantic salmon that’s more efficient and sustainable to grow, “free of disease and antibiotics, resulting in a reduced carbon footprint and no risk of pollution to marine ecosystems as compared to traditional sea-cage farming,” explains the company.

In June, AquaBounty completed its first commercial-scale harvest, with plans to bring the salmon to at least three markets worldwide.

Now, the company’s expanding to Pioneer, Ohio, bringing new jobs and economic benefits to the community. 

The new farm will incorporate “recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology and will be the company’s first large-scale production facility,” reports SeafoodSource. 

What they’re saying: “This investment will bring 112 new jobs to northwest Ohio, further solidifying the region’s role as a national leader in agribusiness production and distribution,” says J.P. Nauseef, President and CEO of JobsOhio. 

The big picture: As the first of just two biotech animals approved for food in the U.S., AquaBounty’s salmon is a great example of how biotechnology can make our food supply more sustainable and resilient—and why we need modernized animal biotech regulations to get there.

More Agriculture and Environment News:

Chemical & Engineering News: Biomanufacturing draws hundreds of millions in investments
“Fundraising at Bota Bio, Genomatica, and Antheia signals an upshift for commercial-scale synthetic biology.”

President Biden’s Monday: Receiving a briefing from the White House COVID-19 Response Team, with a press conference to follow at 4 PM ET. He’ll attend a virtual fundraising reception for the DNC at 6:45 PM ET. 

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The Senate introduced the text of the long-awaited bipartisan infrastructure package last night, reports NBC News. Meanwhile, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee will mark up the FY22 budget for USDA, FDA, and related agencies.