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.

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.

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.

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.

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.