Following the outbreak of the deadly yellow fever in Paraguay, more than 1.27 million residents have now been vaccinated, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has reported. All of Paraguay's 18 departments have received vaccines, with as much as 83 percent of the population in Asuncion, the capital.

According to the last update issued by WHO on Friday, the number of confirmed cases across Paraguay has risen by six to 22. So far the disease has taken the toll of six lives while another 12 suspected cases are under investigation by health authorities

Scientists are hoping that a thrice-a-year vaccine that relaxes blood vessels to lower blood pressure might one day replace current blood pressure medications. A team from the Swiss biotechnology firm Cytos found the vaccine, which blocks so-called angiotensin II receptors, successfully lowered blood pressure in about many hypertension patients.

Vaccine inventor Martin Bachmann, of Cytos Biotechnology in Schlieren, Switzerland said, "We found the vaccine was well-tolerated, and it did lower blood pressure in hypertensive people

An additional dose of vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertusis (Tdap) will be required for North Carolina students. The Commission for Public Health authorized the new rules and also designates that all children before enrolling in school, college or university should get a second dose of vaccine for mumps. Immunization rules also encourage additional vaccine coverage for mumps and pertussis or whooping cough.

Most children are vaccinated against whooping cough before going to kindergarten but the immunity declines after 10 years. Outbreaks of mumps still happen in United States and other parts of the world and it was reported that 2006 Iowa and other Midwestern states outbreak begins on a college campus

Children aged 6 months to 18 years old should be given influenza shots every year to fight off new strains of the flu virus that also mutates continually. This is the new recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The recommendation, though not mandatory, would allow parents to understand that children can benefit from vaccines and it would be readily available to local physicians and administer to 30 million children nationwide

A federal advisory panel on Wednesday recommended that all children not just those under 5 but over the age of 6 months should be vaccinated for influenza every year. However, infants younger than 6 months and those with serious egg allergies are exempted.

The recommendation, which is expected to be formally adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would be one of the largest expansions in flu vaccination coverage in U.S. history since the 1940s. It would include around 30 million more children eligible for vaccination, although current vaccination rates suggest that only about 7 million would actually receive the shots