News Articles
Joanne Sargent quoted in Lowell Sun
Read about why there are fewer Lowell police officers and firefighters collecting disability payments for on-the-job injuries today than any time in the last decade.
Latest Information on Vaccine Production -- May 2009
Flu Underlines Need To Make Vaccines Fast (BostonGlobe.com) - Every outbreak of a potentially fatal new infection such as swine flu prompts the same question: How long do we have to wait for a vaccine? Antigen Express, a subsidiary of Generex Biotechnology Corp., is developing so-called peptide flu vaccines, which contain enough components of a virus to train the body's immune system to recognize the real thing when it comes around. While not as effective as traditional vaccines, they can be produced quickly for mass distribution. However, this technology is five to 10 years away from being available.
Fewer Than a Third In U.S. Would Get Swine Flu Jab (Reuters) - Fewer than a third of U.S. adults would get a shot especially made to protect against the new H1N1 swine flu virus, according to a poll released on Thursday. Most are simply not that worried about the new flu. Only 36 percent said they got a vaccine against seasonal influenza this year, although virtually the whole population, especially everyone over 50, children, pregnant women and people with chronic conditions, are advised to get the immunization every year.
USA Ill-Equipped For A Swine Flu Pandemic, Experts Fear (USAToday.com) - Though health officials say the swine flu outbreak appears relatively mild, some medical experts say the USA is unprepared in many ways to handle a severe pandemic. Emergency rooms are already overwhelmed with patients, and experts fear that a vaccine may not be able to be produced at a rapid enough rate to supply the global population.
Vaccine Production News Flu Underlines Need To Make Vaccines Fast (BostonGlobe.com) - Every outbreak of a potentially fatal new infection such as swine flu prompts the same question: How long do we have to wait for a vaccine? Antigen Express, a subsidiary of Generex Biotechnology Corp., is developing so-called peptide flu vaccines, which contain enough components of a virus to train the body's immune system to recognize the real thing when it comes around. While not as effective as traditional vaccines, they can be produced quickly for mass distribution. However, this technology is five to ten years away from being available.
World Health Officials Meet On Flu Vaccine (Associated Press) - As H1N1 flu cases topped 6,600 world-wide, vaccine makers and other experts met Thursday at the World Health Organization in Geneva to discuss the tough decisions that must be made quickly to fight the evolving virus. Pharmaceutical companies are ready to begin making a flu vaccine - but as the virus constantly mutates, questions abound. Many experts believe that it is imperative to invest in developing a vaccine; however, drug companies do not have the manufacturing capabilities to make both an H1N1 vaccine and a seasonal flu vaccine.
No Decisions Yet On Pandemic Vaccine Development: WHO (Reuters) - Vaccine experts did not reach a conclusion about whether manufacturers should shift production to a H1N1 pandemic flu jab in their Thursday meeting organized by the World Health Organization, an official said. Keiji Fukuda, acting WHO assistant director-general, said the industry and health officials participating in the teleconference reached "no big decisions, no pronouncements" about a change from seasonal flu vaccines. He added that there will be additional meetings.
Joanne Sargent quoted on Boston.com in Boston Globe article on "Immigrant workers seen at increased risk"
Joanne Sargent Makes Workers’ Comp a Win-Win
Joanne Sargent featured in the December 2007 Women's Boston Business Journal.