The United States is experiencing an alarming measles outbreak, with 626 cases in 22 states as of mid-April. The majority have been among residents of New York state, where the situation is so grave that it has prompted two separate public health emergency declarations this month in an attempt to curtail the spread of this highly infectious disease. Thirty […]

As the number of measles cases spirals upward – spread mostly by those who refuse to vaccinate – the FDA took the unusual step Monday of reminding the public that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine is safe and effective. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday that there were an additional 71 cases last week, bringing […]

The flu has caused as many as 40.1 million illnesses and 54,800 deaths this season, according to CDC estimates based on the agency’s most recent FluView report. During the 2017-18 flu season, an estimated 80,000 people died. Six things to know: 1. The percentage of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness decreased to 2.8 percent for the week ending April 6. However, […]

(Reuters Health) – – Young women who received human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines as adolescents had significantly lower rates of a condition that’s a precursor to cervical cancer, in a nationwide study in Scotland. “The magnitude of the effect is greater than expected,” study author Dr. Tim Palmer from the University of Edinburgh told Reuters Health […]

College students are at risk for this disease since the MenB vaccine is not integrated into standard vaccination schedules, said this study. A recent survey demonstrated that only 2 percent of universities require MenB vaccination for students prior to matriculation. During 2013–2018, between 1 to 4 university-based MenB outbreaks occurred annually. These outbreaks varied in size and duration […]

As measles outbreaks grow, the AAP is taking aim at vaccine misinformation online. AAP President Kyle E. Yasuda, M.D., FAAP, sent letters today to the CEOs of Google (which owns YouTube), Facebook (which owns WhatsApp and Instagram) and Pinterest requesting that they partner with the Academy to make sure parents using their platforms are seeing credible, science-based information. “Right now, pediatricians […]

​A young boy in Oregon spent 47 days in an intensive care unit (ICU), resulting in more than $800,000 in medical costs, because he was not vaccinated against tetanus, according to a case study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Case study co-author Dr. Carl Eriksson, an associate professor of pediatric […]

​Facebook is taking another stand against fake news. On Thursday, the social media giant said that it had removed more than 150 Facebook and Instagram accounts, pages and groups – 137 stemming from the United Kingdom, and an additional 31 from Romania – that pushed “coordinated inauthentic behavior” to spread hate speech and divisive comments […]

(Reuters) – A measles outbreak that has stricken at least 225 people in New York state since October began with a traveler who visited Israel during the Jewish high holidays and returned to a predominantly ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Rockland County. A similar pattern unfolded three months later and nearly 3,000 miles (4,800 km) away […]

A new bill would ban the Texas health department from tracking vaccine exemptions — a move medical experts say would curb their ability to identify outbreaks. State Representative Bill Zedler, R-Arlington  PATRICK MICHELS Texas state Representative Bill Zedler doesn’t understand the fuss over the resurgence of infectious diseases. “When I grew up, I had a […]

Chelse Spinner, Lili Ding, David I. Bernstein, Darron R. Brown, Eduardo L. Franco, Courtney Covert, Jessica A. Kahn Abstract BACKGROUND: Clinical trials of the 4-valent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine demonstrate high efficacy, but surveillance studies are essential to examine the long-term impact of vaccine introduction on HPV prevalence in community settings. The aims of this study were to determine during the 11 […]

AAP adds LAIV to 2019 immunization recommendations AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases. Pediatrics. 2019;doi:10.1542/peds.2019-0065. February 5, 2019 H. Cody Meissner The AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases has updated its childhood and adolescent immunization recommendations for 2019 to include the use of a live-attenuated intranasal influenza vaccination, or LAIV, in instances in which a child would otherwise […]

Rates of HPV-positive tumors are increasing among patients with oropharyngeal cancer in the U.S., regardless of sex or race, according to a retrospective cohort study published in Cancer. Additionally, gender and race are independently associated with survival in HPV-negative — but not HPV-positive — tumor status, researchers observed. “The ability to examine sex- and race-based differences […]

BY ROBERT PREIDT, HealthDay Reporter MONDAY, Jan. 28, 2019 (HealthDay News) — HPV vaccination rates for younger American adolescents are alarmingly low, researchers say. “While we have seen gains in HPV vaccination coverage, we are still falling behind at the younger ages,” said study lead author Robert Bednarczyk. He’sassistant professor of global health and epidemiology at […]

Flu Shot Beats Nasal Spray for Effectiveness in Children by Gail Connor Roche A flu shot was more effective than nasal spray in protecting children aged 2 to 17 years old against a widely circulating type of influenza, according to a recent study that included more than 17,000 young people from 42 US states. To reach […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named people who oppose vaccination among the top 10 “threats to global health” this year. “Vaccine hesitancy — the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines — threatens to reverse progress made in tackling vaccine-preventable diseases,” such as measles, polio and cervical cancer, the WHO, the […]

HPV vaccine effective in reducing strains of the virus over 10 years by Peter Bidey, D.O., Updated: January 21, 2019 The old adage “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” could be changed to “A vaccine TODAY, can help keep cancer away” when it comes to new findings about the effectiveness of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) […]

‘Tis the season for gathering with friends and family to share latkes and gingerbread, but also for those dreaded colds and bouts of the flu. As temperatures drop, both illnesses start to tick up, as does the risk of taking you, your co-workers and loved ones down one-by-one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention […]

A one-month old baby in Pacific island nation Vanuatu became the first person ever to receive a vaccination delivered to medical personnel by drone. Australian tech firm Swoop Aero was contracted by the nation’s government to trial the system. Vaccines are typically difficult to transport around the island nation due to storage constraints and poor […]

Each year, influenza-associated pediatric deaths are reported. Young children have the highest death rates, especially infants aged <6 months. Increasing vaccination among children, pregnant women, and caregivers of infants may reduce influenza-associated pediatric deaths. Full article here. 

By Cary Burke Wednesday, December 12, 2018 On December 7, 2018, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an employee who was terminated for refusing to take a rubella vaccine was not discriminated or retaliated against, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (“ADA”).  See Hustvet v. Allina Health System, Case No. 17-2963. […]

By Emily Sohn December 17 My kids and I tried something different for our flu shots this year. Instead of making separate visits to my doctor and their pediatrician, we all went to the same place: our local Target, where the in-store clinic offered us each a $5 gift card for getting vaccinated. The visit was convenient: […]