Richard Ward, local Cincinnatian, is an inventor of a vaccine that protects young children from rotavirus, a major cause of severe diarrhea and death worldwide. This vaccine, licensed by GlaxoSmithKline under the name Rotarix, began to be used routinely throughout the world after 2005 and has since greatly reduced the 500,000 deaths due to rotavirus expected each year. Today in the USA almost no children are hospitalized due to the rotavirus. A recent global agreement will deliver Rotarix to children living in humanitarian crises, click here to learn more.
