In a recent study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, researchers used a large, binational cohort (total n = 4,731,778) to investigate the short- and long-term associations between SARS-CoV-2 infections and subsequent adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes. They used exposure-driven propensity score matching to compare their samples’ outcomes against the general population and individuals with a non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection.

Read more at News Medical.

lu is generally a health concern in the fall and winter, but this spring and summer, influenza—specifically avian influenza, or bird flu—is dominating headlines and weighing heavily on the minds of health experts.

H5N1 is infecting chickens in at least 48 U.S. states and cows in at least 12. So far, only three people—all dairy workers—have had recorded infections, but health officials are keeping a close eye on whether the virus is getting better at infecting humans. Preparing for that possibility includes readying a vaccine.

Here’s what to know—along with if, and when, you might be recommended to get immunized.

Read more at Time.

In an unusual move, federal health officials revised their recommendations for who should receive the vaccine against the respiratory syncytial virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last year that adults age 60 or older could receive a single lifetime dose of an R.S.V. vaccine, in consultation with their health care providers.

On Wednesday, scientific advisers to the agency reframed that guideline. Based on recent safety and effectiveness data, they unanimously recommended that all Americans age 75 and older receive one dose of an R.S.V. vaccine.

Read more at The New York Times.

Colorado is seeing a rising number of highly pathogenic avian flu cases in cows. State officials told CPR Friday they’re working with the dairy industry to curb the spread.

The first case in dairy cows in the state was in April. Since then, the state has reported another 18 cases. Colorado recorded 15 just this month, adding six cases Friday to a state website tracking positive cases in dairy cows.

All confirmed cases have been in northeast Colorado. 

Currently, there have been a total of 10 Colorado livestock herds, mostly dairy milking cows, affected during the last 30 days as of the middle of this week, according to a website from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Read more at CPR.

There are a dizzying number of tips, hacks and recommendations on how to stay healthy, from dietary supplements to what color of clothes promotes optimal wellness. Some of these tips are helpful and based on good evidence, while others are not.

However, one of the easiest, most effective and safest ways to stay healthy is rarely mentioned: vaccination.

We are a preventive medicine physician and an immunologist who want people to live the healthiest lives possible. Among the many research-backed ways to live healthier, we encourage people to eat well, exercise regularly, get good sleep and care for their mental health.

Read more at The Conversation.

Earlier this week, Moderna announced positive results for its phase 3 clinical trial of a combined vaccine against COVID and influenza.

So what exactly did the trial find? And what sort of impact would a two-in-one COVID and flu vaccine have on public health? Let’s take a look.

Combination vaccines are already used for other diseases

Combination vaccines have been successfully used for several decades in Australia and around the world.

Read more at Science Alert.

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, a different virus threatens to cause widespread illness and death, bring the global economy to its knees and throw us back into the chaos that we seemingly just emerged from with the virus SARS-CoV-2. That pathogen is, of course, bird flu or avian influenza, especially the H5N1 strain.

While we’re not there yet, nearly all the conditions are ripe for a new pandemic. H5N1 is seemingly everywhere we look. It’s in wild birds, factory farm birds, cats, mice and traces of it have shown up in milk thanks to hundreds, if not thousands, of dairy cows that have become the new focal point in this unwinding crisis. But a lot of open questions remain, including if we have the capacity to stop it in time.

Read more at Salon.

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.

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.