As measles makes a comeback, Colorado vaccination rates are ‘an accident waiting to happen’

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Measles is making a comeback globally and in the U.S. And not enough Coloradans, especially youngsters, are vaccinated against it to prevent it from hitting the state with a vengeance.

“We’re an accident waiting to happen,” said Susan Lontine, executive director of Immunize Colorado, which works to protect Coloradans from vaccine-preventable diseases. “I mean, we thought we eradicated all these things.”

One big warning sign: Just 88 percent of kindergarteners have gotten the MMR shot which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. That’s according to the latest data from the state health department.

Though that figure is an increase from last year, a percentage above 95 percent is considered ideal to provide community protection.

Read more at CPR.

Stay Current with Tetanus Vaccines and Boosters and Stay Healthy

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Have you found yourself spending more time outdoors lately? You’re not alone. Recent weather has Coloradans from the eastern plains to the western slope clamoring for more time in the sun hiking, biking, gardening, and taking in all our great state has to offer. These activities mean more opportunities for scrapes, wounds, and injuries. Did you know that tetanus bacteria live in our environment? People often associate tetanus with rusty nails or barbed wire fencing, but it’s actually more often transmitted by dust or soil that enters the body through a wound or cut. Today on the Team Vaccine blog, we showcase the often deadly disease and what you can do to protect yourself and the ones you love.

What is tetanus?

Tetanus (also called “lockjaw”) is a serious infection caused by Clostridium tetani bacteria. The bacteria produce a toxin which causes painful tightening of the muscles. This can lead to “locking” of the jaw and leave a person unable to open their mouth or swallow. Unlike many other diseases we vaccinate for, tetanus is not a communicable disease that you can catch from another person. Tetanus bacteria live in our environment and we can get tetanus from wounds and cuts. The following are types of wounds that pose greater risk for tetanus infection:

  • A wound that gets dirty with soil, feces, or saliva (from either animal or human bites)
  • Puncture or penetrating wounds
  • Wounds that cause skin tissue to die including compound fractures, crush injuries, burns, and frostbite

There is no cure for tetanus. Proper wound care combined with vaccination are the best ways to prevent tetanus. If you or a loved one experience any of the above types of wounds, consult a medical provider who can help assess the risk of tetanus infection, discuss treatment, and also help determine your vaccination status to decide if further tetanus vaccination is necessary. 

What are the signs, symptoms, and complications of tetanus infection?

Symptoms of tetanus infection typically occur between 3 to 21 days from exposure. Often, the first sign is spasms of the jaw. After that, symptoms progress and worsen, working down throughout the body. Other symptoms may include trouble swallowing, muscle spasms, headache, stiffness throughout the body, fever, changes in blood pressure and heart rate, and seizures.

Complications from tetanus infection can include difficulty breathing, tightening of the vocal cords, blood clots in the lungs, lung infection, and bone fractures. Once tetanus spreads throughout the body, there is a chance of death. Between 10 and 20% of tetanus cases result in death.

Those older than 60, people who have diabetes, and those who are immunosuppressed are at greater risk if they get a tetanus infection. Tetanus infection in pregnant people and newborn babies is extremely dangerous.

What vaccines protect against tetanus and when should they be given?

Tetanus infection does not lead to immunity; people who survive a tetanus infection can get reinfected. Vaccination is the best way to protect against tetanus. Tetanus vaccines have been in use since the 1940s. They are safe and while they are effective, protection does wane over time. That’s why it’s important to stay current with both vaccinations and booster doses of DTaP and Tdap vaccines which protect against not only tetanus, but also diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough). The vaccines are recommended for: 

  • Infants and children, who should get 5 total doses of DTaP vaccine, 1 dose at each of the following ages: 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15-18 months, and 4-6 years. Colorado law requires the 5th dose of DTaP for kindergarten entry.
  • Teens, who should get 1 dose of Tdap vaccine between 11 and 12 years. Colorado law requires the Tdap vaccine for entry into 6th grade.
  • Pregnant people, who should get 1 dose of Tdap vaccine during each pregnancy at 27-36 weeks. This provides passive immunity to their baby at birth and for the first two months of life while they are too young to receive the DTaP vaccine. It’s also important to make sure that those in close contact with infants are up to date with Tdap vaccines. This helps shield or “cocoon” them from whooping cough which is also extremely dangerous for babies.
  • Adults, who should receive the Tdap vaccine if they have never had it. After that, adults should receive a Tdap booster every ten years. 

While you and your loved ones enjoy the great Colorado outdoors this summer and beyond, ensure that tetanus doesn’t ruin the fun by ensuring everyone is protected with DTaP and Tdap vaccines. Talk to your medical provider, local public health department, or pharmacist if you have questions about tetanus or tetanus vaccines. 

Immunize Colorado was formed in 1991 in response to alarmingly low vaccination rates across the state. At the time, only about 50% of Colorado’s children were adequately vaccinated. A group of physicians and other concerned individuals came together to strategize how to protect Coloradans from vaccine-preventable diseases and increase vaccine uptake. Much work remains. Discover ways to support our commitment to healthy Colorado communities at our website or make a donation today!

Colorado’s school vaccination rate hovers below level needed for herd immunity

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Colorado’s vaccination rate held steady in the most recent school year, but pockets of the state remain vulnerable to outbreaks of measles and other diseases.

Last school year, 92.1% of children from kindergarten to 12th grade had all of their required shots or a valid exemption, which was virtually unchanged from the 2022-2023 school year. Kindergarteners had lower compliance rates, with 90.1% either up to date on their shots or holding an exemption.

About 93.6% of all schoolchildren had their combined measles, mumps and rubella shots, which are among the most important because a person with measles can infect nine out of 10 unvaccinated people they come across, said Susan Lontine, executive director of Immunize Colorado. Only 88% of kindergarteners had been vaccinated against measles, though.

Read more at The Denver Post.

COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy lowers risk of cesarean section, hypertension

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Pregnant women who have been vaccinated against Covid-19 are less likely to have a cesarean section or experience hypertension, according to a study.

A meta-analysis funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre of 67 studies which included more than 1.8m women found that being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 had a protective benefit against infection and hospitalization, while vaccination with at least one dose lowered the risk of adverse pregnancy-related and neonatal outcomes.

Read more at News Medical.

FDA advises Covid vaccine makers to target KP.2 for fall shots

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The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it had advised drugmakers to update the Covid vaccines to target the KP.2 strain, a descendant of the highly contagious JN.1 variant that began circulating widely in the U.S. this winter. 

The announcement came just over a week after an FDA advisory panel voted unanimously to recommend that the Covid vaccines for the fall be updated to target the JN.1 variant or one of its descendants. 

Following the vote, there was a disagreement between panel members and Dr. Peter Marks, the agency’s top vaccine regulator, about which strain the agency should choose. Most panel members expressed a preference for JN.1, while Marks preferred selecting a newer strain, such as KP.2.

Read more at NBC.

What do we do once there is trust? Addressing post-pandemic barriers to vaccine uptake in minoritized communities

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“Do you have the COVID-19 vaccines here with you today?” was a question I received from a community member during a vaccine education session in San Bernardino, California, in September 2023. Sadly, I had to inform the congregant that I did not have the vaccines on hand as a previous vaccinating partner had recently jilted me.

This question marked a turning point in my three-year journey to promote vaccine uptake within Black communities in San Bernardino County. Gone were the questions heavily riddled with vaccine mistrust and weariness, and in their place was the intent to be immunized. This brings forth a harsh reality: We cannot address trustworthiness without addressing the ever-present accessibility barriers to preventative health across minoritized populations in the United States.

Read more at Science Speaks.

It could cure the incurable, revolutionize vaccines and immortalize cells: RNA explained

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Ask a friend what DNA is and, chances are, they have a general idea.

Seventy years after scientists discovered the two-stranded helix, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is widely understood as the keeper of our genetic information and a window into our ancestry. It has become a household word.

Not so with RNA.

“RNA was never the star of the show,” writes Tom Cech, a distinguished professor of biochemistry at CU Boulder who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989 for his research on RNA. “It was like a biochemical backup singer slaving away in the shadows of the diva.”

As Cech reveals in his new book “The Catalyst: RNA and the Quest to Unlock Life’s Deepest Secrets,” RNA (ribonucleic acid) is having its moment, with research surging globally and more than 400 RNA-based drugs in development.

Read more at CU Boulder Today.

A Combined Flu and COVID-19 Shot May Be Coming

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As much as we’d like to think that COVID-19 is behind us, the virus isn’t going anywhere. Health officials continue to recommend that people get vaccinated for both COVID-19 and influenza every year for the foreseeable future, and high hospitalization rates for COVID-19 in the past winter were a reminder that SARS-CoV-2 can still cause serious disease.

Soon, that may be possible with one shot instead of two. On June 10, Moderna reported that its combination COVID-19/influenza shot generated even better immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza than those elicited by existing, separate vaccines.

Read more at Time.

New Report Underscores the Seriousness of Long Covid

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One of the nation’s premier medical advisory organizations has weighed in on long Covid with a 265-page report that recognizes the seriousness and persistence of the condition for millions of Americans.

More than four years since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, long Covid continues to damage many people’s ability to function, according to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, a nongovernmental institution that advises federal agencies on science and medicine.

Read more at The New York Times.

FDA advisers urge targeting JN.1 strain in recipe for fall’s COVID vaccines

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Government advisers Wednesday said it’s time to update the recipe for the COVID-19 vaccines Americans will receive in the fall — targeting a version of the ever-evolving coronavirus called JN.1.

While COVID-19 cases currently are low, more surges are inevitable and manufacturers need time to brew shots for fall. Moderna, Pfizer and Novavax all have tested doses updated to match the JN.1 variant that became dominant last winter.

But just a few months later, numerous offshoots of JN.1 already are on the rise, prompting Moderna and Pfizer to also test a slightly different vaccine formula targeting what’s now the most common U.S. subtype, called KP.2.

Read more at ABC.

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