Florida Plows Ahead on Push to Roll Back Certain Vaccine Mandates for Schoolchildren
Florida officials are plowing ahead with a proposal to roll back certain vaccine mandates for the state’s schoolchildren, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis called for the state to become the first in the nation to eliminate all school vaccination requirements. Pediatricians, infectious disease physicians, and teachers have decried the push to undermine vaccines, which for […]
COVID-19 Vaccine Update Statement by Dr. Cassius, Lockett, District Health Officer
LAS VEGAS—The Southern Nevada Health District does not yet have the updated COVID-19 vaccine available in our clinics. We do continue to have the previous formulation for people who are eligible. Per ongoing guidelines, there should be at least two months in between any COVID-19 booster vaccines. We will notify the public when the updated […]
153 Houston Hospital Employees Resign Or Fired Over Refusal To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
DALLAS (AP) — More than 150 employees at a Houston hospital system who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine have been fired or resigned after a judge dismissed an employee lawsuit over the vaccine requirement. A spokesperson for Houston Methodist hospital system said 153 employees either resigned in the two-week suspension period or were terminated […]
White House: 70% Of Americans 30 Or Older Have Received Coronavirus Vaccine
More than 70% of Americans age 30 or older have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the White House said, even as President Joe Biden is set to fall short of reaching his goal of giving a shot to the same percentage of all American adults by Independence Day. The Biden administration is releasing […]
Published Data Show Why GSK Bailed on Its Maternal RSV Vaccine
GSK’s abandoned maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine protected infants from severe RSV, final results of a phase III trial indicated, but those positive outcomes came at the expense of an unexplained higher risk for preterm birth. For newborns up to 6 months of age, efficacy with the RSV prefusion F protein-based vaccine (RSVPreF3-Mat) during […]
AMA Punts on Vaccine Strategy for Immigrants
Members of the American Medical Association (AMA) weighed the risks and benefits of the U.S. implementing a vaccine mandate for immigrants and examined policy recommendations around short-term medical trips during the House of Delegates annual meeting. Sarah Mae Smith, an alternate delegate from California who spoke on behalf of AMA’s Medical Students Section, said that […]
Older Adults Should Get Another COVID Booster, CDC Advisors Say
Adults ages 65 and older should receive an additional dose of the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine this spring, according to CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Eleven members of the committee voted in favor of the recommendation, one member voted no, and one abstained from voting. Shortly after the meeting, CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, […]
Novel Hepatitis E Vaccine Protects for at Least a Decade
A three-dose vaccine regimen prevented hepatitis E virus (HEV) infections with high efficacy in adults over the course of 10 years, a phase III trial from China found. The HEV239 vaccine, sold under the name Hecolin outside the U.S., had an efficacy rate of 83.1% (95% CI 69.4-91.4) in the study’s modified intention-to-treat analysis and […]
Moderna’s mRNA RSV Vaccine Effective in Older Adults
Moderna’s mRNA-based RSV vaccine was effective at preventing RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease in adults ages 60 and older, according to results of the randomized ConquerRSV trial. The mRNA-1345 vaccine was 83.7% effective (95.88% CI 66%-92.2%) in preventing RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease with at least two signs or symptoms, and similarly effective (82.4%) against […]
The Case for a Yearly COVID Booster Shot
BOSTON — A yearly booster with an mRNA-based COVID vaccine may provide the best protection against catching the pandemic disease, a new analysis of the phase III COVE trial suggested. “Interestingly, we found that the longer duration between boosting actually provides better protection against COVID-19,” Dean Follmann, PhD, of the National Institute of Allergy and […]