Scientists seek ‘super vaccine’ for newborns

Researchers have discovered a compound that could help protect the health of newborns when they are most vulnerable to infection. The compound — a vaccine additive — could make immunizations more effective, potentially saving the lives of millions of babies around the world every year. Every year, bacterial and viral infections, including rotavirus, whooping cough and pneumonia, kill more than two million infants under six months of age. These newborns are especially vulnerable, experts say, because their immune systems are too immature to respond adequately to vaccines. That’s why immunizations are generally not given to babies less than two months old. These include vaccinations to guard against rotavirus — which can cause severe diarrhea — and polio, which older infants receive in a series. Yet in many resource-poor countries, birth might be the only time a child will have contact with a health care provider. Ofer Levy, who studies infectious diseases at Harvard...