Adult Vaccinations

Though mask-wearing and other precautions we've been taking throughout the COVID-19 pandemic don't actually improve immunity, they can help protect you from exposure to viruses. "The flu essentially disappeared last year, which shows how effective these types of interventions are," says Fred Ko, MD, a geriatrician at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. And together, they can make a real difference. "While the flu vaccines are great, they still have some holes," says John Swartzberg, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Berkeley. "If you add masks, social distancing, and avoiding crowds, it really helps fill in those holes." Aside from needed vaccines, wearing masks in crowded indoor areas may be the most important step in preventing COVID-19 and flu, Swartzberg says. For example, older research found that wearing surgical masks led to roughly three times less aerosol shedding of the flu virus. In addition, avo...

Cholera is endemic in Benin with cases reported annually since 2016. In 2021, Benin reported its first epidemic wave of cholera between March and April, in the commune of So-Ava, Atlantique Department, with 103 cases including three laboratory-confirmed cases and no deaths.    A second epidemic wave began in September 2021, with 1430 cases and 20 deaths (CFR: 1.4 %) reported from 1 September 2021 to 16 January 2022. Of these, stool culture performed on 41 samples at the National Laboratory, Benin, were confirmed as Vibrio cholerae O1 serogroup. Of the cases reported during the second wave, 53% (n=758) were females and 62% (n=887) were between the ages of 16 and 45 years. Cases have been reported from nine departments in Benin including Alibori, Atacora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Donga, Littoral, Mono and Oueme. Borgou department, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported an increase in cholera cases from week 43 (ending on 31 October) to week 50 (endi...

The need for mental health care in children and adolescents has been surging; rates of suicide and self-harm are increasing, and, like hospitals, primary care practices are struggling with an influx of patients. Properly supported, these practices can provide behavioral health services to children and teens. But in a national study led by Alyna Chien, MD, research director in the Division of General Pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital, more than 85 percent of multi-physician practices caring for children reported difficulty in obtaining advice and consultations. The findings, published in the Annals of Family Medicine , draw on data from the National Survey of Healthcare Organizations and Systems (2017-2018). "Behavioral health care needs have spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic, so these figures likely underestimate how frequently practices are experiencing difficulty delivering services today," says Chien, the stu...

With new vaccine targets and more powerful delivery platforms, researchers are making inroads toward an influenza vaccine that could offer better, longer-lasting protection. When urgent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine development efforts began in earnest in early 2020, researchers were by no means starting from scratch. That's in part attributable to the decades of research dedicated to creating better influenza vaccines. Indeed, many flu vaccinologists pivoted to COVID-19 two years ago, bringing to bear the knowledge and tools they'd developed to fight a seasonal menace that has the potential to spark pandemics. But these vaccinologists haven't turned away from their longstanding goal: an influenza vaccine that protects against all strains. Such an achievement could save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. And COVID-19 vaccine efforts may end up helping to accelerate that work. A universal influenza vaccine represents a game changer that could take the t...

[unable to retrieve full-text content] Cocalico school board approves amendment to immunization exemptions at meeting    LNP | LancasterOnline

After close to 60 per cent of the population in the 15-18 age group have received the first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, the pace of vaccination in this group has slowed down considerably. In the last one week, just about 6.25 lakh people in this age group were vaccinated every day on average, a fraction of the over 40 lakh per day who got jabbed during the first week of this month after vaccination for adolescents below the age of 18 years was opened up. So far, more than 4.5 crore individuals in this age group have received their first doses. India is estimated to have between 7.5 crore to 8 crore adolescents in the 15-18 age group. The slowing down of the vaccination is not entirely unexpected. It is largely in keeping with the trends observed for the vaccination for adults as well. The progress of vaccination in any population group typically goes down once the vaccination level reaches the halfway mark. Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox ...

A staph infection occurs due to a bacterium called staphylococcus. This bacterium lives on the skin naturally, but if it enters the bloodstream through a wound, it can cause sepsis. It can also cause skin infections and boil-like sores that may be swollen, flushed, and painful. Staph infections are contagious through person-to-person contact. Staphylococcus is an umbrella term for more than 30 types of bacterium. This bacterium can also cause: In this article, we discuss how contagious staph infections are, their signs and symptoms, how to avoid them, and treatments. Staph infections are contagious through person-to-person contact. If an individual with staph has a wound that oozes, someone who comes into contact with this liquid can contract the infection. This includes the following transmission methods: close skin contact sharing objects such as towels or toothbrushes droplets in coughs and sneezes, though this is less common People with staph infections who prepare food for others ...

We are confident that with these results, we are close to achieving our goal of developing a safe, effective, and affordable vaccine with long-lasting immunogenicity to protect against typhoid fever" — Dr. Sushant Sahastrabuddhe, Associate Director General of IVI SEOUL, REPUBLIC OF KOREA, January 28, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- A new study shows that late booster dosing with Vi polysaccharide conjugated with diphtheria toxoid (Vi-DT), one of the typhoid conjugate vaccines (TCVs), at 27.5 months post-first dose is safe and elicits robust immune responses in children aged 6-23 months. The findings from this study newly published online in npj Vaccines support the use of TCV booster doses to confer long-term protection against typhoid fever in young children. This publication, co-authored by Drs. Birkneh Tilahun Tadesse and Maria Rosario Capeding, reports the results from the Phase II clinical trial of Vi-DT conducted by the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in collaboration with ...

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the rapidly-developed vaccines were hailed as the best way to defeat the virus. Most people were keen to get vaccinated as soon as possible. However, some declined it or decided to wait. Medical News Today investigates the history of vaccine hesitancy and speaks to experts and individuals on both sides of the vaccine debate. Share on Pinterest Why are people hesitant about COVID-19 vaccines, and how can experts tackle this issue? Image credit: Bettmann/Getty Images. Vaccination is one of the greatest success stories of modern medicine. Smallpox is now a distant memory, wiped out by a comprehensive vaccination program, and polio is on the way to joining it in the realms of history. But it was not always like this. Infancy used to be a time of peril, with many carried off by communicable diseases before their fifth birthday. In the United States, almost half of all babies born in 1800 would not reach the age of 5. By 2020, that figure had dropped to just ...

I've had both doses of an mRNA vaccine, plus a booster shot. At the end of December, despite taking a slew of preventative measures—while also, to a degree, "living my life"—I came down with a case of COVID-19. Now that I've completed isolation and recovered, I'm wondering, as I think many, many people might be right now: Having been triple-vaccinated, plus granted some immunity from my recent bout of COVID, am I now protected against another infection? At least for a little while? After speaking to a few experts, the best answer I have is: basically yes, with a few caveats. Experts I checked with were pretty much unanimous that people like me are very likely safe from reinfection for the near future. "I would think these individuals are protected for at least several months," says William Moss, executive director of the International Vaccine Access Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. We know that coronaviru...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend Shingrix (zoster vaccine recombinant, adjuvanted) for the prevention of herpes zoster (shingles) and its complications in adults 19 years of age and older who are, or will be immunodeficient or immunosuppressed due to disease or therapy. Shingrix is intended for intramuscular injection in 2 doses separated by 2 to 6 months in immunocompetent adults. In adults who are or will be immunodeficient or immunosuppressed due to known disease or therapy and who would benefit from a shorter vaccination schedule, the second dose may be administered 1 to 2 months after the first dose. The recommendation was based on data from clinical studies that assessed the efficacy and safety of Shingrix in adults 18 years of age and older who previously had an autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (auHSCT; N=1721) and in those undergoing ...

Today, CDC is updating our recommendation for when many people can receive a booster shot, shortening the interval from 6 months to 5 months for people who received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.  This means that people can now receive an mRNA booster shot 5 months after completing their Pfizer-BioNTech primary series.  The booster interval recommendation for people who received the J&J vaccine (2 months) or the Moderna vaccine (6 months), has not changed. Additionally, consistent with our prior recommendation for adults, CDC is recommending that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5–11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for children aged 5-11. The following is attributable to CDC Director, Dr....

Also, #FluVaxJax campaign has free flu vaccine vouchers For the fifth year, Florida Blue and Walgreens will offer a series of free COVID-19 and flu vaccine events in Jacksonville that are open to the public. The first event will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the Florida Blue Center at St. Johns Town Center, 4855 Town Center Parkway, and at the Family Winston YMCA at 221 Riverside Ave. YMCA membership is not required. Free shots will also be offered at the same time Wednesday Sept. 29, Oct. 16, Oct. 27, Nov. 3 and Nov. 13 at the same locations.  'So much death': Jacksonville-area physicians talk COVID-19, vaccines and community distrust Column: Real answers about the COVID-19 vaccines COVID-19 vaccines are available to anyone 18 and older, although some centers may have the Pfizer vaccine, which is for ages 12 and older. Flu shots are available for ages 3 and older. The two vacc...

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $4.3 million to the Wayne State University Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases. The funds will increase lab facilities to collect and analyze genomic data to address emerging infectious disease threats and enhance the state's ability to respond to those threats. The funding, part of $18.5 million provided to WSU, Michigan Tech University, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, will increase infectious disease sequencing capacity in the state, beginning with the COVID-19 virus. "Covid-19 has clearly demonstrated that we need more lab capacity in the state, and specifically in southeast Michigan," said Marcus Zervos, M.D., co-director of the WSU Center for Emerging and Infectious Diseases and Covid-19 advisor to ...