The Washington Post (3/29) reports, “Older adults can get second booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines, federal agencies announced Tuesday as they expanded access to additional shots to help shore up protection against severe illness.” The Food and Drug Administration authorized the second mRNA booster doses “for people 50 and older at […]
Reuters (3/22) reports, “About one-in-three COVID-19 cases in the United States are now caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant of the coronavirus, according to government data on Tuesday that also showed overall infections still declining from January’s record highs.” Despite the “rise of the extremely contagious sub-variant also seen in other countries, U.S. health experts say […]
Healio | Infectious Disease News (3/24) As of late February, just 64.5% of Americans were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and less than half of eligible people had received a recommended booster dose. Paul A. Offit, MD, director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, fears those figures will remain stagnant.
The Washington Post (3/25) reported, “With another pandemic surge possibly on the way, vaccination for the coronavirus in the United States has all but ground to a halt, with initial doses and boosters plummeting to the lowest levels since the program began in late December 2020.” On March 23, “the seven-day average of vaccinations fell […]
Influenza Surveillance – For week 9, ending on March 5, CDC’s Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report, FluView summary reports that seasonal influenza activity in the United States is low but continues its gradual increase in parts of the country. The levels of acute respiratory illness reflected in the national map include both influenza and non-influenza […]
HARRISBURG, PA – (03/25/2022) Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus has been detected in a wild bald eagle found dead in East Marlborough Township, Chester County. This marks the first detection of HPAI H5N1 in birds within the Commonwealth since the virus was first identified in North America in December 2021. In addition to the bald […]
HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — As of data checked at 2:10 p.m. on March 25, 2022, there were 2,791 additional cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania from Monday, March 21, through Thursday, March 24, for a statewide cumulative total of 2,302,857 confirmed cases and 475,129 probable cases, according to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. COVID in […]
Cleveland Clinic: Journal of Medicine (May 2021 study) – The percent of US children who are not vaccinated has been increasing, and so have the rates of communicable diseases. As the unvaccinated and undervaccinated population ages, practitioners are likely to see more adult patients who have never been vaccinated. This article reviews the recommendations for […]
Reuters (March 16, 2022) – The BA.2 Omicron lineage was estimated to be 23.1% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of March 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Tuesday.
The Washington Post (15 March, 2022) – Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, filed Tuesday for emergency authorization of a second booster shot of their coronavirus vaccine for people 65 and older, an effort to bolster waning immunity that occurs several months after the first booster, the companies announced. Pfizer and BioNTech seek […]