The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is recommending new vaccines for adults and kids in 2024, according to its latest annual guidelines finalized Jan. 11. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a collection of medical and public-health experts who regularly review evidence and research about vaccines, compiled the new guidelines.

Like it does every year, ACIP recommends that American adults receive an annual flu shot and several standard vaccinations, such as those for chickenpox (if they haven’t had it already) and tetanus. For infants and children, the pediatric immunization plan that includes shots such as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine remains mostly the same.

Read more at Time.

Fresh off the holidays, and now in the heart of winter, respiratory viruses are making their seasonal rounds through Colorado. And much like a lingering guest, the crud is sticking around longer than anyone wants.

“We’re seeing a lot of flu,” said Dr. Michelle Barron, Senior Director of Infection Prevention at UCHealth. “So certainly, if you’re down for the count, and you’re feeling it, it might be the flu.”

She said COVID, RSV, and the common cold are also circulating.

Read more at 9 News.

More than three years into the pandemic, hundreds of Americans are still dying from COVID-19 every week.

For the week ending Dec. 9, the last week of complete data, there were 1,614 deaths from COVID, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The last four weeks of complete data show an average of 1,488 weekly deaths.

By comparison, there were 163 weekly deaths from the flu for the week ending Dec. 9, according to CDC data.

Read more at ABC.

A measles outbreak in Philadelphia has expanded to eight confirmed and three suspected cases with three patients hospitalized, city health officials said Monday. Vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles and polio remain a public health threat. And with childhood vaccine hesitancy on the rise, the problem could get worse.

Officials at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health are now warning the public about several known exposure sites across the city, including healthcare facilities and a daycare center.

Read more at Forbes.

The field of public health has seen numerous significant achievements throughout history, but one that particularly stands out is the development of the measles vaccine. This vaccine has not only played a crucial role in reducing the spread of measles but also in preventing serious complications associated with the disease. Its impact is most notable among vulnerable populations, especially children, whom it has helped protect from the harmful effects of measles. The widespread use of the measles vaccine has undoubtedly contributed to the decline in measles-related deaths and has been a key component in global efforts to eradicate the disease. The development and successful implementation of the measles vaccine have been recognized as a major public health milestone.

Read more at Medriva.

In most U.S. states, respiratory illness levels are currently considered “high” or “very high,” according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A few respiratory viruses have been driving the upward trend. “The influenza virus is the thing that’s really skyrocketing right now,” says Dr. Steven Stack, public health commissioner for the state of Kentucky and president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “Influenza is sharply escalating and driving more hospitalizations.”

Read more at NPR.

Have you ever wondered why babies get vaccines starting from the day they’re born? One big reason: The youngest are most at risk of diseases. It’s also the time in your child’s development that their immune system learns the most from vaccines.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, a good time to check whether your child is up to date on vaccines, which help to provide immunity before kids are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases. Of all age groups, babies are more often hospitalized, and sometimes die, from diseases we can prevent with vaccines. That’s why most of the childhood vaccines are recommended during your baby’s first 12 to 18 months of life.

Read more at Chicago Tribune.

At least 200 million people worldwide have struggled with long COVID: a slew of symptoms that can persist for months or even years after an infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. But research suggests that that number would likely be much higher if not for vaccines.

A growing consensus is emerging that receiving multiple doses of the COVID vaccine before an initial infection can dramatically reduce the risk of long-term symptoms. Although the studies disagree on the exact amount of protection, they show a clear trend: the more shots in your arm before your first bout with COVID, the less likely you are to get long COVID. One meta-analysis of 24 studies published in October, for example, found that people who’d had three doses of the COVID vaccine were 68.7 percent less likely to develop long COVID compared with those who were unvaccinated. “This is really impressive,” says Alexandre Marra, a medical researcher at the Albert Einstein Israelite Hospital in Brazil and the lead author of the study. “Booster doses make a difference in long COVID.”

Read more at Scientific American.

Personal health is often among the top New Year’s resolutions each January. Beyond diet and exercise, Dr. John Presutti, a Mayo Clinic family medicine physician, says the start of a new year is a good calendar reminder to update adult vaccinations.

Whether it’s the annual flu shot, latest COVID-19 booster, or milestone shots that cover pneumonia, shingles or tetanus, staying up to date on immunizations is just one way to protect your health.

Read more at Medical Xpress.

Only 4.5% of a cohort of pediatric COVID-19 patients admitted to US hospitals during the period of Omicron predominance had completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series, and 7.0% had started but didn’t finish the series, The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal reports.

The study team, led by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers, enrolled 597 vaccine-eligible COVID-19 inpatients aged 8 months to 4 years at 28 hospitals participating in the Overcoming COVID-19 network from September 2022 to May 2023. A total of 62.1% of patients were aged 8 months to 1 year, and 37.9% were aged 2 to 4 years.

Read more at CIDRAP.