Category: Vaccines
Measles: 10 things to know about immunization and prevention
Infectious disease specialists answer questions about the measles vaccine for adults and children
Continue reading
CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies
The CDC began as a small branch of the U.S. Public Health Service in 1946 as an outgrowth of successes fighting malaria in southern states during World War II and before. Its founder, Dr. Joseph W. Mountin, envisioned that it would come to serve all states, addressing all communicable diseases. Since that time, the CDC has evolved into the nation’s premier public health organization, leveraging both clinical and population health sciences to prevent and mitigate challenges to the nation’s health.
Continue reading
US dodged a bird flu pandemic in 1957 thanks to eggs and dumb luck
With a new strain spreading fast, will Americans get lucky again?
Continue reading
Measles cases surge worldwide, infecting 10.3 million people in 2023
An estimated 107,500 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2023.
Continue reading
Scientists Fear What’s Next for Public Health if RFK Jr. Is Allowed To ‘Go Wild’
Should Kennedy win Senate confirmation, his critics say a radical antiestablishment medical movement with roots in past centuries would take power, threatening the achievements of a science-based public health order painstakingly built since World War II.
Continue reading
Bird flu detected in pigs – here’s why virologists are concerned
We don’t yet know if the pig was actually infected or if it had just snuffled up some contaminated material from the birds. At the moment, this particular outbreak doesn’t seem to have spread into any other pigs.
Continue reading
CDC Recommends Second Dose of 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine for People 65 Years and Older and for People Who are Moderately or Severely Immunocompromised
The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults and those who are immunocompromised, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness and year-round circulation of COVID-19.
Continue reading
Health News Headlines
Marburg virus outbreak – Time to get flu and COVID-19 shots – Fake meds online pose overdose risk, CDC – School vaccination rates fall – Long-term deaths from hurricanes
Continue reading
Florida’s New Covid Booster Guidance Is Straight-Up Misinformation
In what has become a pattern of spreading vaccine misinformation, the Florida health department is telling older Floridians and others at highest risk from covid-19 to avoid most booster shots, saying they are potentially dangerous.
Clinicians and scientists denounced the message as politically fueled scaremongering that also weakens efforts to protect against diseases like measles and whooping cough.
Continue reading
Health News Headlines
Covid cases surge – Measles in Oregon – OTC continuous glucose monitoring – Lower your cholesterol without a statin?
Continue reading
How did polio reemerge in Gaza after a quarter of a century? Q&A with a virologist
We asked a virologist to explain how the virus emerged in the region after all this time, and how it will be dealt with._
Continue reading
Health News Headlines.
Price cut for weight-loss drug – US heat deaths hit record high – Back-to-school shots fall – DEET safe?
Continue reading
The New Covid Vaccine Is Out. Why You Might Not Want To Rush To Get It.
The FDA has approved an updated covid shot for everyone 6 months old and up, which renews a now-annual quandary for Americans: Get the shot now, with the latest covid outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave?
Continue reading
Infectious diseases spike when kids return to school − here’s what you can do about it
Ready or not, back-to-school season is here, and kids will be bringing home more than homework. They’ll be carrying germs, too.
Continue reading
Mpox cases are soaring in Africa – what must be done to prevent a global pandemic
Alarmed by the surge in mpox cases, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has taken the unprecedented step of declaring the outbreak sweeping through African countries a continental public health emergency. The World Health Organization (WHO) is also meeting to decide whether to trigger its highest global alert level over the epidemic.
Continue reading