The first study of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness in a large population of adult heart-failure patients suggests that vaccinated participants are 82% more likely to live longer than their unvaccinated peers, according to an analysis presented over the weekend at the Heart Failure 2024 scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) in Lisbon, Portugal.

More than 64 million global heart-failure patients

Researchers from the National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital in Goyang, South Korea, analyzed information on vaccinations and clinical outcomes among 147,118 heart-failure patients from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database, which covers nearly all Koreans. 

Read more at CIDRAP.

Don’t let COVID-19 be an obstacle to your health: your immune system needs exercise just like your body.

Running a Spartan Race is a test of both endurance and courage. If you haven’t experienced the adrenaline rush of conquering a Spartan Race, let me tell you that they are crazy fun: a grueling obstacle course, ranging from a 5K Sprint to a staggering 30-mile Ultra, with 20 to over 70 obstacles demanding feats of strength, mental stamina, and, of course, plenty of mud. To complete one has an unparalleled sense of accomplishment which requires hours and hours of proactive training to finish healthy and strong.

Read more at The Idaho Capital Sun.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is extremely common. About 296 million peopleTrusted Source worldwide are currently HBV-positive, and 0.7–0.9%Trusted Source of pregnant women in the United States have chronic HBV.

HBV is harmful and easily contracted via exposure to the blood or bodily fluids of someone who has the virus. If you have not been vaccinated and you have HBV, you are very likelyTrusted Source to transmit the infection to your baby

Universal childhood vaccination against HBV, which was introduced in 1991, has reduced the number of reported HBV infections by 90%Trusted Source. Universal prenatal testing for HBV, treatment for birthing parents who have HBV, and preventive care (prophylaxis) for their newborns can all help prevent birth-related transmission of HBV.

Read more at Healthline.

The bird flu has arrived in Colorado, and while it doesn’t represent anywhere near the threat that COVID-19 did at the beginning of the pandemic, people should take some precautions with animals that could carry it, experts say.

The Denver Post compiled the latest information on H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, the bird flu virus that has jumped to cows in at least nine states — including Colorado — and has infected a small number of people.

While the virus at this point is only a threat to people who work with animals, scientists are concerned that it could mutate enough to spread between people, possibly sparking another pandemic.

Read more at The Denver Post.

An expanding pipeline of vaccines is giving patients new hope against some of the deadliest cancers, by training the body’s immune system to attack malignancies.

Why it matters: This personalized approach could make conditions like melanoma and bladder, kidney, pancreatic and breast cancers treatable, and even potentially preventable, via infusion.

• But it still can take months to produce a personalized vaccine, giving the cancer more time to spread.

Read more at Axios.

Vaccines have transformed children’s lives by protecting them against debilitating and life-threatening illnesses. But they could have a similarly transformative impact on healthy ageing, experts say.

Writing in Science Translational Medicine this week, an international group of scientists outlined how vaccines could be used to improve the health and well-being of older people – as well as the challenges that must be addressed to unlock their full potential.

Read more at Gavi.

A study by scientists at the University of Oxford, has unveiled crucial insights into the way that COVID-19 vaccines mitigate severe illness in those who have been vaccinated.

Despite the global success of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, concerns remain around the continued spread of this disease including in vaccinated individuals. For this reason, researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group conducted an extensive investigation into the human immune response to COVID-19, in both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.

Read more at Medical Xpress.

In the first half of 2023, COVID-19 killed 42,670 people in the United States, while the flu killed about half that amount. Yet half as many people received the updated COVID booster as those who got the flu shot — even though COVID is twice as deadly as influenza.

In all, around 22% of people have received the new COVID booster, while 47% of people have had a flu vaccine. Experts said much of that COVID-shot resistance is due to the continued polarizing nature of the pandemic and of the COVID vaccine, which has been shown to reduce the risk for long COVID as well as serious acute viral infections and deaths.

Read more at Medscape.

The U.S. has two vaccines ready should the strain of bird flu circulating in dairy cows begin spreading easily to people, federal health officials said Wednesday. They could begin shipping doses widely within weeks, if needed.

So far, there’s no evidence that H5N1 is spreading person-to-person, although one dairy worker in Texas who worked closely with infected cattle had a mild infection and developed conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, in April. 

Read more at NBC.

Extensive testing of pasteurized commercially purchased milk and other dairy products from 38 states has found no evidence of live H5N1 bird flu virus, Food and Drug Administration officials said at a press briefing Wednesday.

The results confirmed findings of earlier testing of a more limited number of samples and add weight to the FDA’s conclusion that pasteurized milk products are safe for consumption despite a widespread outbreak of cows infected with H5N1.

Read more at STAT News.