It was only a matter of time. As pediatricians, we are concerned by the first measles case in Colorado since 2019. We have anxiously watched for three years as measles vaccination rates have fallen in our state while cases have risen around the world.

Colorado was spared in 2019 during our nation’s largest measles outbreak in 30 years. However, 1 in 8 Coloradan kindergarteners are not fully vaccinated against measles today, and our state is overdue for an outbreak.

Measles is extremely dangerous.

Read more at The Denver Post.

Colorado has a confirmed case of measles for the first time since 2019,

Public health experts immediately sounded the alarm and are working to prevent a large outbreak since measles is so infectious.

The infected patient, whom health officials described as “an adolescent,” traveled through Denver International Airport on Dec. 13 and may have been infectious while attending a large gathering in Colorado Springs and later while visiting Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora on Dec. 18, according to experts at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

The patient’s vaccination status is unknown, according to CDPHE experts.

Measles is one of the world’s most dangerous illnesses because it so contagious.

Read more at UC Health Today.

The coronavirus subvariant JN.1 is now the fastest growing strain of the virus in the United States. The strain now constitutes about 20% of new Covid-19 infections, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the Northeast, JN.1 has become the dominant variant.

Meanwhile, the CDC has issued an alert to clinicians about the need to increase immunizations for influenza, Covid-19, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The public health agency reported that in the past four weeks, hospitalizations across all age groups increased by 200% for influenza, 60% for RSV and 51% for Covid-19.

Read more at CNN.

Colorado has its first confirmed case of measles in four years, and unvaccinated people who visited Denver International Airport or the emergency room at Children’s Hospital Colorado may need to look out for symptoms.

Vaccination is highly effective, so people who completed the sequence of the measles, mumps and rubella shot don’t need to worry, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In some cases, giving the shot to an unvaccinated person within 72 hours of exposure can prevent them from getting sick. While most people recover from measles without complications, it can cause brain damage or death.

Read more at The Denver Post.

The World Health Organization on Tuesday declared coronavirus subvariant JN.1 a variant of interest “due to its rapidly increasing spread.”

It made up about 3 percent of all coronavirus cases in early November, but 27.1percent a month later globally, the WHO said. It anticipates JN.1’s emergence may cause an increase in cases, especially in countries experiencing winter.

The WHO designation came after emergency room visits in the United States for covid-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus collectively reached their highest levels since February, The Washington Post reported last week, ahead of the holiday period.

Read more at The Washington Post.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says there is an “urgent need” for vaccinations to fight respiratory illnesses this winter.

Earlier this week, the organization issued a health alert to doctors across the United States, calling on them to encourage their patients to get shots to protect them from COVID, the flu and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) for the remainder of the season.

“Low vaccination rates, coupled with ongoing increases in national and international respiratory disease activity caused by multiple pathogens, including influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and RSV, could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks,” the CDC said.

Read more at People.

Colorado is so far experiencing its most typical respiratory virus season since the start of the pandemic, but no one knows whether the bugs have any tricks to pull over the winter months.

In the winters of 2020 and 2021, COVID-19 raged while influenza and respiratory syncytial virus — or RSV — essentially took some time off.

Last year, with most precautions gone, the other viruses made their seasonal appearance earlier than they usually do, and RSV overflowed pediatric hospital beds as young children went through their first bout with it. While most people only develop a cold when they get RSV, it can be severe for babies, toddlers and older adults.

Read more at The Denver Post.

Not enough Americans are being vaccinated against Covid, the flu and RSV to stem rising numbers of the respiratory illnesses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The agency issued a health alert to doctors across the country, warning that low vaccination rates amid “ongoing increases in national and international respiratory disease activity” could strain U.S. health care systems in the coming weeks, and called on doctors to encourage their patients to get the shots immediately to protect them for the remainder of the season.

Read more at NBC.

With respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) season in full swing, newborn babies and infants are at risk of getting very sick from this virus.

Each year in the United States, RSV leads to approximately 100 to 300 deaths in children younger than 5 years old and up to 80,000 hospitalizations among that age group, accordingTrusted Source to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Today, CDC officials sent out a warning about low vaccination rates, which could mean more people will be exposed to flu, COVID-19, and RSV this winter. Officials released a Health Alert Network Health Advisory warning healthcare providers about the low vaccination rates and encouraging them to administer flu, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines to eligible patients. The CDC reports that hospitalizations for RSV have increased 60% in the last four weeks for all age groups.

Read more at Healthline.

The global anti-vaccine movement and vaccine hesitancy that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic show no signs of abating.

According to a survey of U.S. adults, Americans in October 2023 were less likely to view approved vaccines as safe than they were in April 2021. As vaccine confidence falls, health misinformation continues to spread like wildfire on social media and in real life.

I am a public health expert in health misinformation, science communication and health behavior change.

Read more at The Conversation.