(Precision Vaccinations News)
The board of directors of CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Limited announced on July 11, 2024,that the mRNA Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) vaccine candidate (SYS6016) has obtained approval from the National Medical Products Administration of the Peoples Republic of China to conduct human clinical trials in China.
Currently, there is no vaccine available in China that protects people fromRSV infection.
In preclinical studies, SYS6016translatedinto the prefusion conformation F-protein in vivo and induced high titers of long-lasting neutralizing antibodies.
CSPC wrote that this vaccine candidateexhibits good protection against RSV-A and RSV-B subtype viral strains and has a good safety profile.
CSPC confirmed it would endeavor to advance the clinical research and market SYS6016 as soon as possible to create value for society and shareholders.
As of July 13, 2024, three RSV vaccines and one monoclonal antibody for infants (Beyfortus) were approved for use in the United States.
Thursday 11 July 2024 15:46, UK
Pregnant women have been advised to get vaccinated against whooping cough after nine young babies died as cases of the illness surged in England.
Whooping cough, which affects the lungs and breathing tubes and spreads very easily, according to the NHS, is responsible for the deaths of nine babies between November and the end of May.
In January, there were 555 confirmed cases but by May it was 2,591, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
From January to May there were 7,599 cases, while in the whole of last year, there were only 858, the UKHSA said.
The agency has also told parents to check their youngsters are up to date with all their immunisations.
Also known as pertussis, whooping cough is a bacterial infection affecting the lungs, causing bouts of coughing that are typically worse at night, with babies under three months at the greatest risk of contracting it.
Its name comes from a distinctive "whoop" noise sometimes made by young babies, who may also have difficulty breathing.
Pregnant women are offered the whooping cough vaccine in every pregnancy, ideally between 20 and 32 weeks, which offers 92% protection against babies dying from the disease.
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All babies are given three doses of the six-in-one combined vaccine at eight, 12 and 16 weeks of age to protect against whooping cough and other serious diseases such as diphtheria.
From January to May this year, while most cases (53% or 4,057) were in people aged 15 or older who usually get a mild illness, some 262 were in babies under three months who are at greatest risk from infection, the UKHSA said.
Whooping cough is known to peak every three to five years, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic means there is reduced immunity to the disease in the population.
Other figures show declining numbers of women accepting the jab in pregnancy, with a little less than 60% having the vaccine in March.
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Dr Mary Ramsay, director of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: "Vaccination is the best defence against whooping cough and it is vital that pregnant women and young infants receive their vaccines at the right time."
She said the jab "passes protection to their baby in the womb so that they are protected from birth in the first months of their life when they are most vulnerable and before they can receive their own vaccines."
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Dr Ramsay added: "With cases continuing to rise and sadly nine infant deaths since the outbreak began last November, ensuring women are vaccinated appropriately in pregnancy has never been more important."
Kate Brintworth, chief midwifery officer for England, said women "can access the vaccine, which also protects against diphtheria and tetanus, through their GP or some antenatal services, and parents should also ensure that their children get protected in the first few months after birth as part of the routine NHS vaccine offer."
The Suffolk County Department of Health Services will offer free mpoxvaccines on Saturday on Fire Island, as New York is seeing an increase of cases two years after an outbreak took hold largely among gay and bisexual men.
Northwell Health Physician Partners Immediate Care, 153 Doctors Walk in Cherry Grove, will provide the vaccine, a two-dose regimen called JYNNEOS, to those at risk from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, Suffolk Countys Health Commissioner. We encourage all people who are at risk to protect themselves and their loved ones by getting two doses of the mpox vaccine.
Last month,New York City had 258 probable and confirmed cases of the virus formerly known as monkeypox, up from 55 in 2023, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, which spanned through the week ending June 15. The rest of the state in the same period had roughly 30 cases this year, up from nine at the same time in 2023.The Nassau and Suffolk health departments both said they have not seen an uptick in mpox cases as of June 28.
Dr. Cynthia Friedman, Suffolk's director of public health, said the clinic is a way of trying to prevent an anticipated rise in mpox cases on Long Island this summer.
We do have a lot of city residents, and people from other states as well, who have summer homes on Fire Island or rent homes on Fire Island for the summer, Friedman said. New York City is not the only jurisdiction that's seen an uptick in mpox, so we're trying to stay ahead of it.
The clinic will accept walk-ins as well as appointments. Those who cannot visit the clinic but wish to get the vaccine can also make an appointment at one of Suffolk Countys many mainland clinics.
If one does contract mpox, they should try to isolate themselves as much as possible and avoid sharing things like towels or sheets with other people, Friedman said. They should also notify anyone in their close contact so other can obtain a vaccine.
The vaccine is recommended up to four days after exposure, as then it will be most effective Friedman said, but can be given up to 14 days after exposure.
JYNNEOS is also not 100% effective, but it can lessen the severity of symptoms if contracted, she said.
For the best protection against mpox, both doses of the vaccine are recommended, and the second dose should be given four weeks after the first.
Those who cannot get the second dose on time should get it as soon as possible to complete the series. Maximum protection is reached two weeks after the second dose.
Mpox is a viral illness related to the virus that causes smallpox and is characterized by fever, blistering rash and swollen lymph nodes, the department said. It can be spread through close contact with an animal or person infected with mpox and through contact with contaminated materials.
The virus, which had long been endemic to central and West Africa, broke outin the United States in the early summer of 2022, and 30,000 cases were reported that year, most of them spread throughsexual contact between gay and bisexual men. About 40 people died, The Associated Press reported.
To see if you are at risk, visit the health departments website.
Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.
While flu vaccine effectiveness varies year-to-year, research shows that flu vaccines are typically between 40% and 60% effective during years when the most prevalent flu strains match the strains in the vaccine. This means the vaccine reduces your risk of catching the flu by 40% to 60%.
The vaccine also reduces the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Because of this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone ages 6 months and over gets the flu vaccine (with very rare exceptions).
There are nine different flu vaccines available for the 20232024 flu season. All of them protect against the same four strains of flu. Heres what you should know about flu vaccine effectiveness and types of flu vaccines.
Verywell / Theresa Chiechi
Each year, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the flu strains that scientists believe will be most common. However, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine depends on which flu strains are most prevalent and how they compare to the strains that the vaccine protects against.
Because of this, flu vaccine effectiveness varies from year to year. Scientists dont yet have final estimates for the effectiveness of the flu vaccine for the 20222023 season, but preliminary data show a range of 39%-44% effectiveness in adults.
The CDC tracks seasonal flu vaccine effectiveness each year. Over the past 17 years, the highest effectiveness was in the 2010-2011 season, when it was 60% effective.
Here are the effectiveness rates over the past five seasons for which data are available:
During the 20202021 flu season, the CDC didnt estimate the effectiveness of the vaccine because transmission of the flu was historically low, likely due to COVID-19 precautions that also protect against the flu.
The flu vaccine (flu shot or nasal spray vaccine) significantly reduces the risk of contracting the flu. Consider the 20192020 season: People who had the vaccine were 39% less likely to get the flu than those who did not.
In addition to preventing illness, the flu vaccine also reduces the risk of hospitalization and death. Heres what researchers have found about the flu vaccine:
In addition to protecting you, getting the flu vaccine can keep you from contracting the flu and passing it to others, including infants and the elderly, who are at higher risks for complications.
Pregnant people who get the vaccine help protect their baby from the flu (passing on the protective antibodies developed by the vaccine), which can be valuable during the first six months of life when a child is not able to be vaccinated.
There are a number of factors that influence how effective the flu vaccine is every year. The most important is strain matchingwhether the strains that the vaccine protects against match the most widely circulating flu strains during a given season.
In addition to the construction of the vaccine, there are more personal factors that influence vaccine effectiveness.
To decide which strains are covered by the flu vaccine, data on flu infections are collected from around the globe. Using that, the World Health Organization (WHO) meets twice a year to decide which strains to focus on in the vaccines.
For the Northern Hemisphere, the WHO makes a recommendation in February. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has the final say in which strains are included in the vaccine.
The decision about which strains to include is based on projections that are made using past data. This gives time to manufacture the vaccine.
It takes two weeks for the flu vaccine to become optimally effective. Because of that, the CDC recommends that all people get the flu vaccine during September or October, before flu infections become widespread.
Getting the vaccine too late can leave you exposed to early infection from the flu. On the other hand, vaccine protection begins to wane after several months. Adults ages 65 and older are generally not vaccinated early (July or August) due to this.
The CDC recommends the vaccine (even later in the season) for people who didn't get vaccinated in by October since flu can spread throughout the spring.
CDC data show that within a given year, the protection that the flu vaccine offers can vary based on age due to immune changes over time. Theres no way to predict which age groups the flu vaccine will be most or least effective for in a given season.
The CDC recommends that people age 65 and older receive a higher-dose or adjuvanted flu vaccine.
Vaccines rely on a person's immune system responding to the vaccine by producing antibodies, which are proteins that have specific targets, in this case on the influenza virus.
If a person has an impaired immune system due to a health condition, they may not mount the desired immune response, reducing the vaccine's effectiveness. There are a wide variety of health conditions that can impair your immune system response.
This is one reason that everyone should be vaccinated. By having less risk of getting and spreading the flu, they protect those who have impaired immunity and, therefore, can't benefit as much from vaccinating themselves.
There are nine types of flu vaccines (shots and nasal spray) available for the 2022-2023 season. All nine protect against the same four strains of flu. Because they protect against four they are called quadrivalent vaccines.
The CDC doesnt recommend one type of vaccine over the others. However, some people, including people under the age of 2, over the age of 65, who have allergies, or are pregnant, have special considerations and should talk to their doctor about which vaccine is best.
Some studies indicate that a higher-dose vaccine or an adjuvanted flu vaccine (one with an additional substance called an adjuvant that enhances the body's immune response to an antigen) creates a stronger immune response) produce a stronger immune response and are therefore more effective for this population.
The CDC recommends people age 65 and older receivea higher-dose vaccine or an adjuvanted flu vaccine (one with an additional substance called an adjuvant that enhances the body's immune response to an antigen). Three vaccines are specifically recommended for this population:
According to the CDC, people who have severe allergies to an ingredient in the flu vaccine or who have had a severe reaction to the flu vaccine should not get a flu shot.
Most flu vaccines are made using eggs or egg protein, but the CDC states that people with egg allergies can get any flu vaccine, regardless of the severity of their allergy. The CDC previously had recommended that people with egg allergies should get their flu shots in an inpatient or outpatient setting. For those interested in an egg-free flu shot, the two egg-free vaccine options are:
Pregnant people can get any flu vaccine except for FluMist, which contains a live virus.
FluMist Quadrivalent is a vaccine administered via a nasal spray. It is approved for people ages 2 through 49. However, its the only vaccine that contains a live, weakened virus, and it should not be used by pregnant or immunocompromised people. Talk to your healthcare provider about whether FluMist is safe for you.
There are five flu vaccines approved for babies 6 months and older. They are:
The flu vaccine needs two weeks to become fully effective, and protection is thought to last for at least six months. But a person's antibody levels in response to the vaccine can decrease over time, and different flu strains may be circulating.
Because of that and because each year the vaccine is tailored to the most concerning flu variants, people should get a flu vaccine annually.
Side effects of the flu vaccine are usually mild and go away without treatment in a few days. Common side effects include:
Rarely, allergic reactions occur, often within minutes of the vaccine being administered. If you experience swelling, racing heart or trouble breathing, seek medical attention immediately. Extremely rarely (no more than one or two cases per million people who receive the flu vaccine) a person may develop Guillain-Barr syndrome, an autoimmune disease.
The flu vaccine can prevent illness, hospitalization, and death. The CDC recommends that everybody aged 6 months and older get the vaccine every year (with very rare exceptions). The effectiveness of the vaccine varies since the vaccine only protects against certain strains of flu. Over the past five years, the effectiveness of the flu vaccine has ranged from 29%40%.
Deciding whether to vaccinate can be a big decision. Although the flu is a common illness, it can be deadly, particularly for people over the age of 65. The flu vaccine isnt 100% effective, but it does significantly reduce the risk of illness, hospitalization, and death.
If you have questions about the vaccine, talk to your doctor about whether it is right for you or your children.
The flu vaccine first became available in the 1930s, and it became widely available in 1945.
Flu vaccine effectiveness varies from year to year. It depends on how well the strains in the vaccine match the strains that are most prevalent in a given year.
Yes, the CDC says that the flu vaccine and COVID-19 vaccine, including boosters, can be administered at the same time.
The flu shot is made with either killed or weakened flu virus. The shots also contain inactive ingredients, including preservatives.
Summary
What CDC knows
Vaccines are an effective tool for protecting Americans against the most severe effects of many infectious diseases. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is an advisory panel made up of external experts who advise CDC on the use of vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases. ACIP met June 26-28 and voted unanimously on several recommendations.
What CDC is doing
The CDC director adopted all the vaccine recommendations that ACIP voted on. These are now official CDC public health guidance for the safe use of the vaccines in the United States and will be published as official recommendations in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). CDC will communicate these recommendations to the public, healthcare providers, and public health professionals to ensure everyone has the information needed to protect their health from vaccine-preventable diseases.
CDC relies on an external advisory panel of medical experts to make recommendations that shape policy for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in the United States.
The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), typically meets in Atlanta at least three times a year. ACIPs decisions on vaccines are important. The CDC director reviews each decision and they become official agency policy once adopted, helping protect the health of all Americans.
At its most recent meeting June 26-28, 2024, ACIP reviewed data on disease burden and vaccine effectiveness and safety, among other data. ACIP voted on vaccine recommendations for the upcoming respiratory virus season, as well as for recommendations for vaccines to protect against some bacterial diseases. The following decisions have now been adopted by the CDC director.
ACIP offered clearer guidance around the use of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for older adults. RSV vaccines for older adults became available for the first time in the United States last year.
Older adults are at higher risk of developing severe RSV. The initial recommendations called for adults 60 years and older to receive one dose of the RSV vaccine based on shared clinical decision making, that is, a conversation between patient and healthcare provider about whether the shot was appropriate for them based on their health conditions. In the context of new data that are now available on RSV vaccines for older adults, the recommendations were updated to be more specific and streamlined.
The updated RSV vaccine recommendations for adults 60 years and older are age- and risk-based. ACIP now recommends all adults 75 years of age and older receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. Adults 60 to 74 years of age should get a single dose of RSV vaccine if they are at increased risk of severe RSV disease. Adults ages 60 to 74 are at higher risk if they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or if they live in a nursing home or long-term care facility.
RSV vaccination is currently recommended as a one-time dose. If you have already received RSV vaccination, another dose is not recommended for you at this time.
RSV immunization recommendations to protect infants, either through maternal vaccination or RSV antibody given to the baby after birth, stayed the same. CDC continues to recommend RSV immunizations to protect all babies from severe RSV.
Data continue to show the importance of vaccination to protect against COVID-19. ACIP recommends new 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines as authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for everyone 6 months of age and older. FDA recently recommended that vaccine manufacturers use the KP.2 variant of the JN.1 lineage, if feasible, for fall vaccines, to more closely match circulating variants. This recommendation will take effect as soon as the new vaccines are available, which is anticipated in early September.
ACIP reaffirmed its recommendation for routine annual influenza vaccination of all people ages 6 months and older who do not have contraindications. Updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines will all be trivalent and will protect against an A(H1N1), an A(H3N2), and a B/Victoria lineage virus.
For solid organ transplant recipients aged 18 through 64 years who are taking immunosuppressive medication regimens, ACIP now recommends high-dose (HD-IIV3) and adjuvanted (aIIV3) inactivated influenza vaccines as acceptable options for influenza vaccination, without a preference over other age-appropriate inactivated or recombinant influenza vaccines.
As for pneumococcal disease, ACIP recommends a new vaccine that provides protection against serotypes of the bacteria that commonly cause disease in adults. A new 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV21) is now an option for adults ages 19 years and older who currently have a recommendation to receive a dose of PCV.
PCV21 includes eight new pneumococcal serotypes that are not contained in currently available pneumococcal vaccines. It no longer includes certain serotypes that used to be common before the introduction of PCV but are now infrequent among the general adult population.
The recommendation for the new vaccine comes at a time when an increase in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in the United States has been reported after reduction in incidence early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease is a rare but serious bacterial infection that disproportionally affects American Indian and Alaska Native infants. Until now, PedvaxHIB was the only Hib vaccine preferentially recommended over other Hib vaccine options for these infants because it provides a protective antibody response after the first dose.
ACIP voted to recommend that Vaxelis be included in the preferential recommendation for American Indian and Alaska Native infants based on the Hib component. New immunogenicity dataafter the first dose of Vaxelis are available now and supported the recommendation.
For more information on what was discussed and voted on at the ACIP meeting, click here.
Three people who worked with infected poultry in Colorado are believed to have contracted avian influenza, state health officials said Friday, potentially bringing the number of U.S. cases identified in humans since April to seven.
The workers contracted mild symptoms after culling infected poultry at a farm with a commercial egg operation and tested presumptive-positive for the flu, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a statement.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will confirm the testing and will send a team to Colorado to investigate how the workers might have contracted the virus, the agency said Friday. The CDC will also analyze the virus sequences to determine whether the virus has mutated.
The virus which has caused outbreaks in dairy cattle and poultry this spring and summer has posed a low risk to the general public because its unlikely to be spread from person to person. It could pose a higher risk if it mutates to spread easily between people, however, so the virus has a pandemic potential that makes human cases concerning, the CDC said.
These preliminary results again underscore the risk of exposure to infected animals, the CDC said. Historically, most human cases of bird flu infection have happened in people who are not wearing recommended personal protective equipment.
The agencys low-risk assessment for the public remained unchanged after the report of presumed cases. There has been no sign of increases in flu activity in the states affected by outbreaks in poultry and cows, the CDC said Friday.
The three presumed cases would be the first confirmed in humans in the United States exposed to infected birds; the four already confirmed this spring were all in people exposed to cattle. The first was in a Texas dairy worker, followed by two separate cases in Michigan and a fourth this month in a Colorado dairy farm employee.
The three newly affected workers developed cold symptoms and pinkeye; none was hospitalized, state health officials said. The other four infected workers also reported eye inflammation or pinkeye.
The bird flu outbreak has affected more than 99 million poultry and 151 dairy herds in the United States. The virus has also been detected in more than 9,500 wild birds, according to the CDCs latest count.
Poultry outbreaks have been identified nationwide, while 12 states have had outbreaks in dairy cows. In the past month, the virus has been detected in poultry flocks in Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The federal government has offered money to dairy farmers with infected herds in exchange for testing their cattle, trying to incentivize testing and security measures that could help control the outbreak. The U.S. government has also planned to make bird flu vaccine available as soon as this month and awarded money to Moderna to develop an mRNA-based vaccine.
An early federal response that was slow and fractured drew frustration from some officials and experts, The Washington Post reported in April, and some have called for more robust testing of cattle.
People should avoid exposure to sick or dead animals, including birds and cows, and avoid animal feces and litter, the CDC said. Anyone who becomes sick after working with cows or poultry that could be infected should call their doctor or the state health department, Colorado officials advised.
Proper cooking kills bird flu virus; health officials say it remains safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry and eggs. Commercially available milk, which is pasteurized, is also considered safe, though the CDC recommends avoiding unpasteurized, or raw, milk.
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MINNEAPOLIS The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the dismissal of a religious bias suit brought by a Christian 3M employee who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Affirming the district courts ruling, the court concluded that there was no causal connection between the employees Christianity and 3Ms conduct.
Thomas Clobes worked at a 3M manufacturing plant in Hutchinson. 3M mandated that salaried employees get vaccinated for COVID-19 by Dec. 8, 2021, or face termination. Clobes, a practicing Christian, stated that he had a religious objection to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
However, Clobes stated that the reason he objected was between God the Almighty Father and [him]self. Clobes also generally objected to the COVID-19 vaccine, due to a family tragedy where his infant grandchild died two days after receiving vaccines given to children in her age.
In November 2021, Clobes submitted a religious accommodation request to 3M. In lieu of vaccination, he asked instead to socially distance, wear a mask when unable to be six feet from others, clean his work area, and stay home if ill.
The request was not immediately granted. 3M asked Clobes follow-up questions, including why the COVID-19 vaccine was different from other vaccines that Clobes had received and how his religious beliefs specifically prevented him from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
As he was not vaccinated, Clobes was required to wear a mask. The mask was a precaution that Clobes himself offered in his accommodation request. He also noted how, for a few months, there were company-wide emails and loudspeaker announcements about the vaccination requirement. Clobes was warned that he could be terminated if he did not company with company policy.
A month after the religious accommodation request was submitted, 3M emailed Clobes, explaining that the Federal Contractor Mandate was enjoined and that the vaccine requirement was lifted. Regardless, Clobes filed suit against 3M, claiming religious discrimination and hostile work environment under Title VII and the MHRA.
In his complaint, Clobes stated that he had continual fear of termination for declining to get the vaccine. He also reported that he felt that his Christian beliefs were on trial and he had to justify not taking the vaccine. He characterizes these experiences as emotionally traumatizing, Judge Bobby Shepherd noted.
Clobes asserted that his workplace was decidedly hostile and anxiety-inducing and that the coerciveness of 3Ms actions causes distress and harms the psychological well-being of an employee.
Lets imagine a scenario where someone goes to work for a company, they work there a long time, they get pregnant, the company says, We dont want people who are mothers, so youre going to have to get an abortion to stay working here, said Robert Barnes, of Barnes Law LLP, who represented Clobes. And they tell you that every single day for days, weeks, and months. Ultimately, they dont punish you and fire you for not getting the abortion, but you have to live through that mental torture for months.
There nothing in this complaint that comes even close to alleging a severe and pervasive workplace thats replete with ridicule and intimidation, said Patrick Martin, office managing shareholder of Ogletree & Deakins, who represented 3M. There is nothing that would show that somebody might objectively see this as severe and pervasive.
Shepherd agreed that Clobes was only able to articulate his subjective feelings. This conduct is not objectively intimidating, offensive, or hostile, Shepherd wrote. Clobes fails to meaningfully develop an argument as to why 3Ms conduct was objectively intimidating, offensive, or hostile.
Nor did the court agree with Clobes that 3Ms vaccination policy was related to his Christianity.
Simply put, nothing in Clobess complaint attempts to connect 3Ms motivation in enacting its vaccination policy to Clobess Christianity, Shepherd stated. Far from suggesting conduct motivated by discriminatory animus, these allegations strongly suggest that 3M implemented a neutral policy unconnected to Clobess Christianity. In other words, no facts alleged in Clobess complaint suggest that his Christianity was a but for cause of 3Ms conduct.
Recent research published in JAMA Network Open suggests that states with higher COVID-19 vaccination rates among individuals aged 5 and up may experience benefits beyond controlling the virus itself. The study explores a potential correlation between vaccination rates and improved outcomes for pediatric asthma patients.
For every 10% increase in COVID-19 vaccination coverage, there was a corresponding decrease of .36 percentage points in parent-reported childhood asthma symptoms. States with the highest vaccination rates saw the most significant improvements, with asthma symptom decreases of 1.7 percentage points. This effect was nearly 3 times greater than in states with the lowest vaccination rates, where symptom reductions were only .6 percentage points.1
Matthew M Davis, MD, MAPP, executive vice-president, enterprise physician-in-chief, and chief scientific officer of Nemours Children's Health, along with his coauthor Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, chief clinical officer of Endeavor Health, highlight two potential mechanisms linking higher vaccination rates to improved asthma outcomes,
First, higher population-level vaccination coverage might indicate that children with asthma are more likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19, themselves, compared with children with asthma in other states with lower COVID-19 vaccination coverage. Second, higher population-level vaccination coverage might mean that adults and other children essentially provide a protective community around children with asthma, by making it less likely that viruses will spread from person to person in the community. This protection would be especially important for children with asthma who were not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The study suggests that community-level immunity from higher vaccination rates may have contributed to reducing children's risk of contracting COVID-19 and potentially easing asthma symptoms. Furthermore, it indicates that COVID-19 vaccinations might mitigate other respiratory illnesses associated with coronaviruses, suggesting broader protective benefits.
Herd immunity against COVID-19 may help reduce the chances of person-to-person transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which may help prevent children with asthma from contracting COVID-19 illness and having a higher likelihood of developing a flare of asthma symptoms," Davis and Halasyamani explain further. "In addition,COVID-19 vaccination may protect against other coronavirus infections through cross-reactive antibodies, so the benefits for children through vaccination of themselves and/or others may not be limited to protection against SARS-CoV-2.
The limitation of this study is that it relied on parent-reported data rather than clinical measures like hospitalizations or emergency department visits to assess asthma outcomes. Additionally, it did not specifically measure vaccination rates among children with asthma, which could provide more targeted insights.
Childhood vaccination against influenza,pneumococcus, and COVID-19 is already recommended universally in the United States for children, based on their ages, because of the morbidity and mortality associated with respiratory illnesses caused by these organisms at the population level among children and adults. The findings in our study may help encourage vaccination against COVID-19, especially for children with asthma or their close contacts, according to Davis and Halasyamani.
During the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting held on June 27, 2024, voting members recommended the authorized 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines for those 6 months of age and older and reaffirmed the influenza vaccination guidelines.2
Davis finalizes his thoughts by sharing, "With the pandemic in our rearview mirror, I know with my patients, there is less importance of vaccinating against COVID-19. What this study reminds us, is that we may still get benefit from the COVID-19 vaccine. We keep developing the latest version of the vaccine to protect against the latest circulating strains of the virus, along with other common cold viruses, and that is the benefit developers have been seeking for years, only now because of the pandemic we developed a vaccine that accomplishes that goal."
References
Levels of COVID-19 in the Bay Areas wastewater are continuing to rise and now, those numbers are as high as they were during the last winter surge of infections.
Data from Stanford Universitys WastewaterSCAN project, which monitors the presence of COVID-19 and other viruses in human sewage across the U.S., indicates that COVID-19 levels are still on the rise across 48% of the sites monitored around the Bay Area.
WastewaterSCANs Amanda Bidwell told KQED by email that COVID-19 has been detected in 100% of Bay Area sewage samples theyve collected over the last three weeks. (If you have COVID-19, the virus will show up in your feces soon after youre infected.)
Keep reading for what to know about this rise in Bay Area COVID-19 levels, or jump straight to:
The Bay Areas own COVID-19 wastewater levels are higher than where they were this time last year and on average as high as we saw during the winter peak earlier this year, said WastewaterSCANs Bidwell.
In the last weeks, the Stanford team has observed a particularly pronounced rise in San Franciscos wastewater. Back on June 4, Bidwell told KQED that we are seeing some [of the] highest concentrations weve ever measured at the Oceanside SF and Southeast SF wastewater sites.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health told KQED in a June 11 email that its difficult to determine an exact cause of why COVID-19 detections have increased locally, noting that it can be the result of various factors, including waning immunity, the increase in travel and gatherings associated with the summer season, and the emergence of new subvariants.
The agency also pointed to the seasonal behavior of the virus in previous years, notably the increase in COVID-19 activity around late spring to late summer, followed by another increase during the winter.
Nationally, COVID-19 wastewater levels have kept rising across the country, and levels of the virus are currently classified as High on WastewaterSCANs dashboard of all its sites around the United States, due to what Bidwell called an upward trend.
You can check the COVID-19 levels in your own countys wastewater according to WastewaterSCANs monitoring:
San Francisco | Alameda | San Mateo | Santa Clara | Contra Costa | Solano | Marin | Sonoma |Napa
In 2023, late June is when we started to see a summer increase, said WastewaterSCANs Bidwell but this 2024 swell started several weeks earlier than that.
Its undoubtedly become harder in 2024 to materially track COVID-19 levels in a certain area. As of May 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer requires hospitals nationwide to report the number of patients admitted with COVID-19. This had been one of the remaining indicators of rising COVID-19 levels in an area, along with PCR tests. Now, health officials must rely on a combination of wastewater data and hospital deaths of patients with COVID-19.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the states seven-day test positivity rate the average percentage of people each week who get a positive diagnostic test result from a lab after taking a PCR test has kept rising since April 27 (from 1.9% to 10.6%, with the last available data from July 1).
However, since this data doesnt include at-home antigen testing, it doesnt represent the full picture of COVID-19 positivity around the state.
Of course, its hard to use wastewater to tell you how many people that represents, said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), of the recent observed rise in sewage. But nevertheless, the trend is important.
As for why the Bay Area could now be seeing a summer rise in COVID-19 wastewater levels over a month earlier than it did in 2023, Chin-Hong said a big factor is our collective waning immunity against the virus.
One year ago, last year, many more people had gotten additional vaccines, he said. They had additional immunity that was more recent.
But in 2024, we only have about 22% or so of Americans vaccinated nationally, Chin-Hong said. In California, only 14.9% of people statewide are up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines. So if someone hasnt been infected with COVID-19 recently and they havent gotten the latest vaccine, theyre left extra-vulnerable to rising COVID-19 levels in their community.
You might hear about new COVID-19 variants informally called FLiRT: KP.1.1, KP.2 and KP.3.
These latest omicron descendants, nicknamed for the letters used for their mutations, have risen in prominence recently around the country, overtakingthe previous leading variant, JN.1 the one that was ruling the roost for a lot of the winter and spring, Chin-Hong said. Now, KP.3 has become the most dominant strain nationwide.
In the Bay Area, WastewaterSCANs Bidwell said that KP.2 is still the dominant variant in the three Bay Area wastewater sites where the Stanford team sequenced this data on specific variants.
The new variants matter because each new one brought increased transmissibility during the pandemic. This means that although much of the general population will not get particularly sick with these new COVID-19 variants when they become dominant, there will still be higher-risk groups that will get seriously ill, Chin-Hong said.
Maybe thats the fact of life, but my point is: It shouldnt be the fact of life because we have so many tools to reduce COVID-19 spread and treat infectious people, Chin-Hong said.
The CDC has also stated that based on current data, there are no indicators that KP.2 would cause more severe illness than other strains.
As for the reformulated seasonal COVID-19 vaccine, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended on June 5 that the new, updated COVID-19 vaccine that will be offered in the fall should in fact be based on the JN.1 variant.
During a rise in COVID-19 levels locally, this might include bringing a well-fitting N95 mask along to indoor spaces that you know could be crowded, like the grocery store or BART during rush hour. Or, if youre hosting people indoors in your home, ensure the space has good ventilation by taking measures like opening windows. If the weather allows, you might also consider favoring outdoor hangouts and meetups with friends and family at this current time.
And if youre at higher risk for serious illness or hospitalization from COVID-19, its an especially good idea to take extra precautions against the virus during a rise in COVID-19 locally. These groups can include older people, immunocompromised and disabled folks.
It also includes people who arent up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines, so if you havent already gotten the latest vaccine, you can still find a free COVID-19 shot near you. Remember, people 65 and older are also eligible for an extra COVID-19 vaccine dose.
One more reason you might consider being extra cautious about COVID-19 right now is if youve got upcoming travel plans. Even if your symptoms are mild, a COVID-19 infection can require isolation from other people for well over a week. And you can double that timeline if you get a rebound (i.e., second) infection, which is surprisingly common even in people who dont take the antiviral treatment Paxlovid.
Know the 2024 symptoms of COVID-19
Chin-Hong confirms that there dont appear to be any surprising wild card symptoms expected for a COVID-19 infection in 2024, either for JN.1 or the FLiRT variants. Rather, they seem to largely be the same COVID-19 symptoms youre used to hearing about from previous variants.
According to the CDC, possible symptoms of COVID-19 include, but arent limited to, fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat and congestion or runny nose.
They can also include gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, which Chin-Hong told the New York Times can often confuse people experiencing them, who initially assume they have a condition like norovirus rather than COVID-19.
Find a reliable test (and keep testing)
Incubation periods for COVID-19 the time between exposure and testing positive have shortened during the pandemic. It went from a five-day average in 2020 to as soon as a few days in 2024. So, if youre having symptoms even two days after an exposure, it makes sense to test.
But if your first test is negative, you should absolutely test again in the next 48 hours if symptoms persist and again after that if youre still negative. Its been suggested that COVID-19 symptoms can start much earlier in 2024. This is due to the average immune system being more primed to detect and react to a COVID-19 infection as we navigate the fifth year of this pandemic.
So dont assume a negative result means you dont actually have COVID-19: If youre feeling sick, play it safe, stay home as much as you can and wear a well-fitted mask if you cant. Also, be sure to take another antigen test soon. You could also seek out a more sensitive PCR test.
Remember, if youve been stockpiling COVID-19 tests in the last year, make sure the one youre using hasnt expired. And if it has, you can still check the list of manufacturers whove had their test expiration dates extended by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
If you have health insurance, you can still request reimbursement from your health insurer for up to eight at-home tests per month. You can also read more about how to find free COVID-19 tests near you.
In March, the CDC officially revised their national COVID-19 isolation guidance, saying that COVID-positive people could now return to work or regular activities once symptoms are improving overall and theyve been fever-free for at least 24 hours without use of a fever-reducing medication.
The CDCs new guidelines now mostly resembleCalifornias own updated COVID-19 isolation recommendations, which the state revised back in January. Read more about current isolation guidance for COVID-19.
If youve been infected, consider asking your health provider for the COVID-19 medication Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment in pill form that is still available free by prescription in California. Read more on requesting a prescription for Paxlovid, with or without health insurance.
At KQED News, we know that it can sometimes be hard to track down the answers to navigate life in the Bay Area in 2024. Weve published clear, practical explainers and guides about COVID, but also how to cope with intense winter weather and how to exercise your right to protest safely.
So tell us: What do you need to know more about when it comes to COVID or anything else? Tell us, and you could see your question answered online or on social media. What you submit will make our reporting stronger, and help us decide what to cover here on our site, and on KQED Public Radio, too.
Earlier versions of this story were originally published on June 12, June 5 and May 23.
