COVID-19 Vaccination Reduced Disease Disparities Between Low- and High-Income Communities

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COVID-19 vaccination helped reduce disparities in disease incidence between low- and high-income communities, according to a new analysis led by Cedars-Sinai investigators.

While lower-income communities had lower vaccination rates than higher-income communities, the impact of vaccination on disease incidence was larger in lower-income communities. As a result, investigators say, vaccination led to reduced income-related disparities in COVID-19 incidence. 

The findings were published today in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Read more at Cedars Sinai.

What’s the best timing for the next covid booster?

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Now that federal health officials have laid out a plan to switch out the bivalent vaccine for a new booster this fall, readers have many questions about timing. Specifically, for those who have yet to receive their second bivalent vaccine, should they wait to get the shot until the updated version targeting the now-dominant XBB variants becomes available?

“I’m 73 and have always been in good health,” Doris from New York writes. “I eat right and exercise regularly. High blood pressure, osteoporosis and thyroid disease are all well-managed. I am not immunocompromised. I have had mild covid once. I continue to mask in crowds. Should I get the second booster now or just wait for the fall?”

Read more at The Washington Post.

Older Americans can get RSV vaccine this fall after consulting their doctor, CDC says

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Americans 60 and older can get a new RSV vaccine but should discuss it with their doctor first, U.S. health officials recommended Thursday.

The newly approved vaccines are expected to be ready in the fall, a time when flu shots and updated COVID-19 shots also will be available. Those eligible for the RSV vaccine should talk with their doctor to see if it is right for them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

The CDC said adults with chronic heart or lung disease, weakened immune systems and those living in long-term care facilities are at higher risk for the respiratory infection.

Read more at ABC.

Measles—Once An Afterthought In The U.S.—Is Making A Comeback

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Imagine a time when an estimated 4 million people in the United States were infected with measles each year, of which nearly 50,000 required hospitalization and 500 died. Although it seems almost impossible today, that was reality in America in the 1950s. And the global numbers were even more staggering, with an estimated 30 million cases and 2 to 4 million deaths annually.

It was in 1963 that the first measles vaccine was licensed in the United States, and an improved version became available in 1968. The vaccine was so effective that by 2000, measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, memory can be short-lived, and over the past two decades, there has been a decreasing rate of childhood vaccinations in the U.S. and worldwide. This has once again opened the door for measles virus, with over 1,200 cases being reported in the U.S. in 2019 and nearly 200,000 measles deaths globally that year.

Read more at Forbes.

Is Your College-Bound Student Protected Against Meningitis?

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If you’re the parent of a recent high school graduate, you may be in the throes of your child’s transition to college. Your child is likely ready to pack up their bedroom for the cramped quarters of dorm life, chatting with their soon-to-be roommate, and you both are probably volleying between the excitement and anxiety that comes with this new chapter. But before the bitter-sweet farewell amid the campus chaos, we have to ask, are they fully protected against meningitis? There just might be one more thing you need to add to your already full to-do list, but it could save your child’s life!

It takes TWO different vaccines to be fully protected from meningococcal meningitis.

Your child has likely already been given the two-dose MenACWY vaccine which is typically started around 11 years of age and helps protect against meningococcal meningitis. At that age, they’ll likely have also gotten the Tdap and HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccines which protect against whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, and certain types of cancers caused by HPV. But many parents are not aware that it takes two types of vaccines to protect against meningococcal meningitis. The MenB vaccine, which is also a two-dose series and is given starting at age 16, is less known to parents and many providers don’t recommend it due to the disease’s rare occurrence. However, according to the Meningitis B Action Project, meningitis B makes up 70% of all meningococcal disease in 16-23-year-olds, and “meningitis B has been responsible for all US college outbreaks of meningococcal disease since 2011.”

What is meningococcal meningitis and how is it spread?

Before we go further, let’s look at what meningococcal disease is and how it spreads. Meningococcal meningitis is a rare but very serious bacterial infection that causes swelling of the protective membranes, or meninges, that cover the brain and spinal cord. It is caused mainly by the A, B, C, W, and Y types of meningococcal bacteria. While meningitis can also result from a viral infection, bacterial meningitis, while rarer, is much more serious and the onset of symptoms is more sudden. In fact, it can become deadly within hours of infection. 

The Meningitis B Action Project notes, “Meningococcal meningitis is the most common form of bacterial meningitis in adolescents and young adults.” Being in close proximity to others is a risk factor for catching meningococcal meningitis, so college students who live in dorms or other close quarters are at increased risk. It is very contagious and is spread through saliva from sharing drinks, kissing, or coming into contact with respiratory droplets from coughing or sneezing. While adolescents and young adults are most at risk, anyone can get meningococcal meningitis. 

What are the symptoms of meningococcal meningitis?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) include fever, headache, and neck stiffness as the most common symptoms of meningococcal meningitis. At first, these symptoms might be easily mistaken for the flu (which is also a serious disease). Symptoms of meningococcal meningitis can also include nausea and vomiting, sensitivity to light, and altered mental state or confusion. Another common symptom is a dark purple rash which is an indication that the disease has gotten worse and is infecting the bloodstream. This is called meningococcal septicemia. Complications from meningococcal meningitis can include brain damage, hearing loss, learning disabilities, and limb loss. Remember, the disease moves quickly and can become deadly within hours, so it is important to immediately seek medical attention if you develop symptoms of meningococcal meningitis!

Not worth the risk: parents whose children have had meningococcal meningitis encourage others to get their kids vaccinated.

Colorado parent Connie Ingram shared her son’s battle with meningococcal meningitis during an Immunize Colorado webinar titled “A Parent’s Perspective on Meningitis Awareness and Vaccination.” Ingram’s son, Jackson, became ill and unresponsive in the fall of 2017 when he returned home from college for the Thanksgiving holiday. He was transported to the hospital where doctors fought to keep him alive for several days. Once he was released, he had several months of recovery dealing with weakness, headaches, and slowed cognitive functioning. Jackson is lucky to be alive. Like many other parents, Ingram had Jackson vaccinated against meningitis, but only for the A, C, W, and Y strains of meningitis bacteria. Ingram was not aware there was a vaccine for meningitis B.

In 2007, Sierra Krizman, a 20-year-old aspiring elementary teacher, became ill with flu-like symptoms on the morning of Easter. Within 24 hours she was placed on a ventilator and within another day she died from meningococcal meningitis. Sierra’s father Jon Krizman recounts his final moments with his daughter, “Sierra’s last words were ‘Daddy am I going to be okay?’ and my response was a concerned ‘yes.’ I was scared to death because she looked so sick but as her daddy I wanted her to feel comforted. We were terrified, the ER doctors were grasping at straws, and I could see their concern and knew they were at a loss.”

Ingram now advocates for meningitis B awareness and Krizman and his wife, Lisa, began Sierra’s Race Against Meningitis, an annual 5K Run/Walk that provides education and testimonials, and offers the opportunity for community members to be vaccinated with both types of meningococcal vaccines. They along with many other parents and individuals urge parents to protect their children from this deadly preventable disease with both meningococcal vaccines. As Ingram recounted, “When your child is ill, how uncommon it is doesn’t matter. A friend’s pediatrician told her that her son didn’t really need the MenB vaccine before college because it’s so rare. She told him about my son’s experience and the pediatrician asked, ‘Did he survive?’” Ensure your child isn’t faced with “surviving.” Ensure they’re set up to thrive by getting vaccinated with BOTH meningococcal meningitis vaccines before they head off to college this fall!

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. You can donate or discover other ways to get involved in supporting our commitment to healthy Colorado communities today!

Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment starts vaccination notifications for children

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The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) will start to send out notifications to parents and guardians for children who may be due for certain routine vaccinations. 

The initiative starts this Tuesday, June 27, and text message and email notifications will start to be sent out to more than 1,300 children and adolescents ages 7-18 if they are due for updated vaccinations. 

Children whose records are in the Colorado Immunization Information System will be sent a notice for vaccines including Hepatitis A & B, Measles, Mumps, Chickenpox, Polio, Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Tetanus, amongst other vaccinations.

Read more at KRDO.

Health officials launch new vaccination campaign as mpox makes a comeback in Colorado

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Colorado health officials are launching a new vaccination campaign after a handful of cases of mpox, the viral disease formerly known monkeypox, have been identified in the state in recent weeks.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said three cases were identified in June and one in May. She said some of the cases involved out-of-state travel and two of the cases were linked to each other.

While the numbers are still small — and nowhere near what Colorado experienced last year — Herlihy said the state is hoping to get ahead of any case surge this summer, when people are more likely to congregate at events and potentially spread the virus.

Read more at The Colorado Sun.

CDC says infants should get extra measles vaccine prior to traveling abroad as cases rise

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Infants eligible for a measles vaccine should receive one prior to international travel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said amid rising cases of the highly contagious disease during the summer travel season.

The guidance came as part of a Health Alert issued by the CDC this week, warning Americans about rising measles cases linked to international travel. The agency says more than twice as many Americans are expected to travel abroad this summer compared to last.

The agency reinforced recommendations that all eligible Americans should be vaccinated against measles prior to international travel. This includes a recommendation that infants in the U.S. going abroad who are 6-11 months old should receive an extra measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR), regardless of the international destination.

Read more at ABC.

CDC panel recommends RSV vaccines for adults ages 65 and up

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Adults ages 65 and up may get one of the newly approved RSV vaccines, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided Wednesday.

The committee voted 9-5 to recommend two different RSV vaccines for adults ages 65 and up, from the pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and GSK. Thirteen members also voted to recommend the shots for adults ages 60 to 64 based on individual risk levels and in consultation with doctors, with one committee member abstaining.

Respiratory syncytial virus causes a lower respiratory illness that is generally mild for most healthy adults. But in serious cases, RSV can lead to pneumonia or bronchiolitis, which inflames airways and clogs them with mucus.

Older people are particularly vulnerable to severe outcomes: RSV kills up to 10,000 people ages 65 or older every year in the U.S. 

Read more at CNBC.

RFK Jr. pledges to gut agencies that regulate vaccines and order the DOJ to investigate medical journals if he becomes president

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted anti-vaccine activist who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, told NBC News that he would gut funding for federal health agencies that monitor and recommend schedules for childhood vaccines.

Kennedy told NBC News’ Brandy Zadrozny that he believes agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the advisory panels that recommend policies are “sock puppets” for the pharmaceutical and other industries they are tasked with regulating.

The son of US Attorney General Robert Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy also said that if he became president, he would order the Justice Department to investigate the editors and publishers of medical journals for “lying to the public.”

Read more at Insider.

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