​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: […]

Black adolescents living in the United States tend to receive the influenza vaccine at significantly lower rates than their white and Hispanic counterparts, according to Florida State University researchers. A new study, led by former FSU graduate student Noah Webb, along with current graduate student Benjamin Dowd-Arrow and Associate Professors of Sociology Miles Taylor and […]

Money is just the obvious obstacle. A few diseases, like H.I.V., so far have outwitted both the immune system and scientists. Credit Jens Mortensen for The New York Times By Donald G. McNeil Jr. Vaccines are among the most ingenious of inventions, and among the most maddening. Some global killers, like smallpox and polio, have been totally […]

By Lena H. Sun December 7 A national shortage of a new vaccine to protect against the painful rash known as shingles is worsening, even as the manufacturer announced plans this week to boost deliveries. Demand for the two-dose Shingrix vaccine has skyrocketed since it became broadly available in the United States in the spring, say pharmacists. The […]

LONDON (Reuters) – A global coalition set up to fight disease epidemics is investing up to $8.4 million to develop a synthetic vaccine system that could be tailor-made to fight multiple pathogens such as flu, Ebola, Marburg and Rabies. The deal, between the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and a team of scientists at […]

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – A private school in Ohio says its no longer accepting religious beliefs as an excuse for refusing to have a child vaccinated. In November, the Hebrew Academy of Cleveland sent a letter to parents, saying exceptions would only be made to children who are allergic to vaccines. “We recognize that there […]

CHICAGO, Oct. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — With the number of cases of HPV-associated cancers on the rise, the American Dental Association (ADA) has adopted a policy that urges dentists to support the use and administration of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. The combined estimate by the American Cancer Society is that there will be more than 50,000 […]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a supplemental application for Gardasil 9 (Human Papillomavirus (HPV) 9-valent Vaccine, Recombinant) expanding the approved use of the vaccine to include women and men aged 27 through 45 years. Gardasil 9 prevents certain cancers and diseases caused by the nine HPV types covered by the vaccine. “Today’s […]

Vaccines and schools — a public health power couple By: Avi Wolfman-Arent August 23, 2018 Listen 12:23 <img src=”https://whyy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/bigstock-204060037-768×509.jpg” alt=”In all 50 states, children are required to receive certain vaccinations in order to attend public school. (Bigstock/borgogniels)” title=”” width=”640″ height=”424″/>In all 50 states, children are required to receive certain vaccinations in order to attend public […]