The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and Denver Department of Public Health & Environment (DDPHE) announced on June 12, 2023, new mpox patients and outbreaks are possible, as demonstrated by three recent mpox cases.

Unfortunately, two of the three Colorado patients involve people fully vaccinated with two doses of the JYNNEOS® (MVA-BN) vaccine.

“While (mpox) cases remain low in Colorado and nationally compared to last year’s outbreak, now is a great time to get vaccinated if recommended for you,” said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, Colorado state epidemiologist, in a press release.

Read more at Precision Vaccinations.

The COVID-19 vaccines are on track for a big recipe change this fall.

Today’s vaccines still contain the original coronavirus strain, the one that started the pandemic — even though that was long ago supplanted by mutated versions as the virus rapidly evolves.

Thursday, the Food and Drug Administration’s scientific advisers said the next round of shots in the U.S. should only include protection against the newest variants that are now dominant worldwide — a branch of the omicron family tree named XBB.

The FDA will make the final decision. Vaccine makers said during the meeting that they could have updated vaccines available within months, depending on the strain.

Read more at AP News.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging travelers to practice enhanced precautions when going to places such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Madagascar and Indonesia due to the circulating poliovirus. 

The agency identified 30 countries where travelers are at risk for the disease in a recently updated advisory with a Level 2 notice advising travelers to “practice enhanced precautions.” 

The virus was eradicated in the western hemisphere in 1994 but exists in some polio-endemic countries, and it has been detected in other places worldwide. 

The following destinations have circulating poliovirus, according to the CDC:

Read more at USA Today.

Lack of testing, rationed vaccine doses, and weeks of painful quarantine characterized last year’s outbreak of mpox, then known as monkeypox.

But a recent cluster of cases in Chicago, which triggered an alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was quickly controlled with ample testing and vaccinations.

“The fact that this (Chicago) outbreak did not spread … shows that we’re in a very different place than a year ago,” said Dr. Jason Zucker, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia University.

Health officials urge Americans to protect themselves against mpox this summer, but unlike COVID-19 and influenza, not everyone is eligible to get vaccinated.

Read more at USA Today.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — There’s a push to recognize a medical pioneer in Washington on Wednesday. Henrietta Lacks is known around the world for her remarkable contributions to medicine.

Now, some lawmakers are suggesting a more concrete reward.

A congressional honor is being considered for Henrietta Lacks. That many feel is long overdue.

“We are so glad that finally, the world is getting to know all about Henrietta Lacks,” Kim Lacks said.

More than 70 years after her death, Henrietta Lacks’ mark on medical research lives on. A remarkable impact that her family and a group of lawmakers want to honor with the congressional gold medal.

Read more at CBS.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two separate vaccines to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in older adults aged 60 and up.

GSK’s vaccine, Arexvy, was the first-ever RSV vaccine to be approved in the United States when it earned approval in early May. Pfizer’s RSV vaccine, called Abrysvo, followed suit just a month later.

Both vaccines show promising results in preventing severe RSV—a highly contagious virus that causes cold and flu-like symptoms. While RSV causes mild illness in most people, it can be deadly for young children and older adults, especially those with underlying medical conditions.

Read more at Verywell Health.

Starting at about age 7 through age 18, children and teens need a number of important vaccines to protect them.

The vaccines that are recommended for them help prevent major health problems, including infertility, muscle paralysis, brain damage, blindness, deafness and cancer.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other medical groups all agree on the schedule of recommended immunizations. They recommend these vaccines at specific ages. Why? It is the age when the vaccine works the best with your child or teen’s immune system. It is also the time when your child or teen needs the protection the most.

Read more at Medical Xpress.

LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) – Childhood immunisation rates began to recover last year in the world’s poorest countries after being badly hit by COVID-19 disruptions, according to the global vaccine alliance Gavi.

Last year, 80% of children got their diptheria, tetanus and pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine, known as DTP3, according to early data from Gavi. That compares to 78% in 2020 and 77% in 2021. Before the pandemic hit, coverage rates had reached 82%.

Global health groups have called the pandemic’s impact on routine immunisation for children “the largest backslide in a generation”.

Read more at Reuters.

Public health officials have spent the past two years urging people to get vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, but despite free and available vaccines, many have yet to take their advice. Now, we are entering a new phase. With the end of the federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, the government will no longer pay for COVID-19 tests or vaccines. In addition, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced earlier this month that his organization will lift the COVID-19 emergency status.

Even so, COVID-19 persists with new variants emerging and infections in the U.S. still numbering more than 77,000 per week. We need a new public health framework that can safeguard our communities, especially those most at risk, from the ravages of the virus. In healthcare, we talk about a community-based approach often, which is especially necessary when trying to reach those most at risk, including African Americans.

Read more at AFRO news.

A vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. It sounds amazing, even fantastical – but we are a lot closer to this goal than you might think. As well as providing a new and innovative therapeutic option for a disease that has been notoriously difficult to treat, vaccination could unlock the door to that most elusive of objectives: prevention. We’ve dived into the latest science and spoken to an expert at the cutting edge of this field to bring you the lowdown on where this research is headed, with the aim of answering the all-important question, “Just how close are we to a vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease?”

Read more at IFL Science.