From birth through age 18, children in the United States are routinely immunized against a host of preventable childhood diseases. These include measles, mumps, rubella, polio, human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis A and B, tetanus, diphtheria, and other diseases. Routine childhood immunization is highly effective at preventing disease over a lifetime, reducing the incidence of all targeted diseases, and, for the U.S. population in 2019, preventing more than 24 million cases of disease.1 Yet despite this success, childhood vaccination rates have seen a troubling decline in this country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening preexisting gaps in vaccination participation. The decline in routine childhood vaccinations is concerning from health, equity, and economic perspectives.
Federal Officials Hatch a Three-Pronged Defense Against Another ‘Tripledemic’
To prevent a repeat of last winter’s “tripledemic” of respiratory illnesses, Americans will be encouraged to roll up their sleeves not just for flu shots but for two other vaccines, one of them entirely new.
Federal health officials have already asked manufacturers to produce reformulated Covid vaccines to be distributed later this year. Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took an additional step, endorsing two new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus for older Americans.
The three shots — flu, Covid and R.S.V. — may help to reduce hospitalizations and deaths later this year. But there are uncertainties about how the vaccines are best administered, who is most likely to benefit, and what the risks may be.
CDC to Reduce Funding for States’ Child Vaccination Programs
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing funding to states for child vaccination programs, according to an agency email obtained by KFF Health News.
The funding cut “is a significant change to your budget,” said the email to immunization managers, dated June 27 and signed by two CDC officials.
The immunization managers who received the message are public health officials who direct state, territorial, and local programs to promote vaccinations against a variety of infectious diseases, such as measles and chickenpox.
The reduction comes from a federal immunization grant — totaling about $680 million in the latest year — that supports vaccination programs for children, according to the Association of Immunization Managers.
COVID-19 Vaccination Reduced Disease Disparities Between Low- and High-Income Communities
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).
What’s the best timing for the next covid booster?
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?”
Older Americans can get RSV vaccine this fall after consulting their doctor, CDC says
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.
Measles—Once An Afterthought In The U.S.—Is Making A Comeback
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.
Is Your College-Bound Student Protected Against Meningitis?
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
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.
Health officials launch new vaccination campaign as mpox makes a comeback in Colorado
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.
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