The New York Times (7/12) reports the Biden Administration “warned Americans on Tuesday that they must do more to protect themselves against COVID-19, as the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant known as BA.5 fuels a new wave of infections, re-infections and hospitalizations across the country.” The Administration recommended: “Get vaccinated or boosted even if you have […]
Whyy PBS (July 4, 2022) – Some Philadelphia-area parents say getting immediate appointments for their children hasn’t been easy. There aren’t many mass clinics for this age group, partly because demand isn’t high, and pharmacies in most states, including Pennsylvania, are only permitted to vaccinate kids over age 3. Some Philly parents still waiting for vaccine […]
MDLinx (June 15, 2022) – A new blood test that measures T cells may yield more accurate information about the body’s ability to control the coronavirus than tests that measure antibodies, researchers say. Unlike antibodies, T cells do not prevent infection from occurring, “but they protect from disease,” said study co-author Dr. Antonio Bertoletti of […]
Reuters (June 22, 2022) – The United States has delivered about 2.7 million doses of COVID vaccines for children below five years to administration centres while another one million shots will reach the sites soon, the Department of Health and Human Services said on Wednesday. Vaccine delivery to administration sites began on Friday, immediately after […]
Published June 23, 2022 | Originally published on Reuters Health Medical News Pfizer’s respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine RSVpreF has an efficacy of 86.7% in healthy adults ages 18 to 50, according to results from a small phase 2a study published in Thursday’s New England Journal of Medicine. Pfizer reports 87% efficacy for its RSV vaccine in adults […]
HealthDay News (June 17, 2022) — COVID-19 vaccination is associated with a significant reduction in mortality among patients with heart failure, according to a study published online June 9 in the Journal of Cardiac Failure. Noting that reports of vaccine-related cardiac complications may contribute to vaccine hesitancy in patients with heart failure, Kipp W. Johnson, […]
Lancaster Farming (June 21, 2022) – Pennsylvania is starting to scale back the number of people involved in its avian influenza cleanup as the two-month outbreak appears to near its end. “This incident is wrapping up, and with that, we need to start demobilizing resources and returning to more normal operations,” State Veterinarian Kevin Brightbill […]
AXIOS (June 18th, 2022) Pennsylvania children as young as 6 months old are now able to get COVID-19 vaccines. What’s happening: According to the state Department of Health, roughly 75,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine have been delivered to provider sites statewide following the CDC’s sign-off on the shots for most young children on Saturday. Approximately 83,000 doses of […]
Trib Live ( June 23, 2022) – Children younger than 5 are beginning to receive covid-19 vaccinations in Western Pennsylvania, offering a long-awaited shot of relief for some parents while others say it’s too soon for them to know whether it’s safe for their kids to get vaccinated. While shots have been widely available for […]
Philly Voice (June 24, 2022) Anon-fungible token created by the University of Pennsylvania to commemorate breakthrough research used by COVID-19 vaccine developers will be auctioned off by Christie’s next month. University of Pennsylvania’s first NFT honors research that led to COVID-19 vaccines | PhillyVoice
Times Leader (June 8, 2022) – The Pennsylvania Department of Health Wednesday provided a summary of COVID-19 information for May 2022. “COVID-19 trends can vary across communities that is why it is important to use the CDC’s community level tracker website to see the risk of COVID-19 by county and find recommendations to prevent spreading […]
Harrisburg, PA (06/07/2022) – Today the Pennsylvania Department of Health joined advocates and residents with lived experiences to highlight the importance of viral hepatitis awareness along with the success of syringe services programs. “Viral hepatitis is significantly reduced by having access to syringe service programs,” Dr. Wendy Braund, DOH Deputy Secretary of Health Preparedness and […]
WASHINGTON (AP) June 12th, 2022 — Federal health officials said Sunday that kid-sizes doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccines appear to be safe and effective for kids under 5, a key step toward a long-awaited decision to begin vaccinating the youngest American children. The Food and Drug Administration posted its analysis of the Pfizer shot ahead […]
PennMedicine News (June 13th, 2022) – Automated text messaging was as effective as direct phone calls in getting unvaccinated patients to seek out a COVID-19 shot, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that demonstrated the possibility of lower-cost alternatives to traditional patient outreach. The research […]
WHYY (Jun. 10, 2022) – Pennsylvania pharmacists and doctors are still at loggerheads over two bills that would allow pharmacies to continue administering pediatric vaccinations, as they’ve done throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2020, Pennsylvania pharmacies have benefitted from emergency flexibilities, which allowed them to more easily vaccinate both adults and children. Pa. pediatricians double down on opposition […]
The AP (6/20, Tanner, Wang) reports, “The nation’s infants, toddlers and preschoolers are finally getting their chance at COVID-19 vaccination as the U.S. rolls out shots for tots this week.” The FDA “greenlighted the Moderna and Pfizer kid shots on Friday and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended them Saturday.” The authorization makes […]
FDA (June 17, 2022) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include use in children down to 6 months of age. For the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine, the FDA amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) to include […]
The Washington Post (June 13, 2022) – More than two years into the coronavirus pandemic, familiar viruses are acting in unfamiliar ways. Respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, typically limits its suffocating assaults to the winter months. Covid is making flu and other common viruses act in unfamiliar ways – The Washington Post
PatientCare (May 24, 2022) – On Friday, May 20, the World Health Organization (WHO) held an emergency meeting to discuss the growing number of monkeypox infections. To date, there are now more than 100 confirmed or suspected cases across Europe. The virus, usually found in western and central Africa, has been reported in Belgium, France, […]
AAFP (June 1, 2022) – In 2020 the AAFP, through a cooperative agreement with the CDC, received funding to support two quality improvement projects designed to improve adult immunization rates: one that focused on minority populations in general, and another on African American adults in particular. Improving Adult Immunization Rates in Minority Communities (aafp.org)
NPR (June 2, 2022) The White House laid out the federal government’s plans to make the first COVID-19 vaccines available for very young children. COVID-19 vaccinations for kids younger than 5 could start right after the Juneteenth holiday. In a White House briefing on Thursday, Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said […]
WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) May 31, 2022 — An important consumer alert regarding strawberries. Food safety regulators are warning they could be linked to an outbreak of hepatitis A. According to the Food and Drug Administration, 17 cases of hepatitis A have a possible link to organic strawberries and 12 people have required hospitalizations. Hep A […]
NBC10 Philadelphia (June 2, 2022) – The first confirmed case of monkeypox, a disease similar to smallpox that is spread by person-to-person contact, was reported Thursday in Philadelphia. It’s also the first confirmed case for Pennsylvania. Monkeypox Case Reported in Philadelphia, 1st Confirmed for PA – NBC10 Philadelphia (nbcphiladelphia.com)
Centre Daily Times (June 7, 2022) All but one Pennsylvania county is in the red zone for community transmission of COVID-19, as the coronavirus continued to blaze across the state this week. On Friday, Juniata County was the only county in the state to remain outside of the “high” category for community transmission of COVID-19, […]
RheumatologyAdvisor (June 3, 2022) – Policy reforms and legislation to enhance the authority of pharmacists to administer vaccines may lead to increased immunization rates among individuals in low-income communities, especially older adults. These findings were published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. The Case for Expanding Pharmacists’ Authority to Administer Vaccines – Rheumatology Advisor