Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Flu Shots Are 'Very Good Match'; Fewer White Children Are Getting Them
CBS News: Flu Shots Are A "Very Good Match" To This Season's Strains, CDC Says
"We look in real time as to how well we think the influenza match is to what's circulating. And right now, the good news is that it looks like it is a very good match," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told reporters at a briefing on Monday. (Tin, 12/5)
Bloomberg: Flu Rates Surge Before Holidays As White Kids’ Shots Lag
US health officials are struggling to address flagging influenza vaccination rates among kids that appear slowed primarily by decreases among White children. (John Milton and Baumann, 12/5)
St. Louis Public Radio: Washington University Conducts Clinical Trial For MRNA Flu Shot
Scientists at Washington University are seeking participants for a trial that would test if the same kind of vaccine used for the coronavirus could also work on the flu. If an mRNA vaccine method could work with the flu virus, it could mean scientists could respond to illnesses more quickly, creating more effective vaccines better matched to different viral strains, researchers said. (Fentem, 12/5)
More on the spread of flu, RSV, and strep —
AP: Some Indiana Hospitals Restrict Visitors Over Flu Rates
The hospitals in Indiana’s largest health system and in its most populous county have begun visitor restrictions because of a rise in reported cases of flu and other respiratory viruses, they announced Monday. The restrictions will go into effect by Tuesday at all IU Health hospitals. They began Monday at all hospitals in Marion County, home to Indianapolis. (12/5)
USA Today: Doctors Warn Flu Season Is 'Fierce' And Is Getting Worse. Here's What To Know
Though the “tripledemic” – COVID-19, RSV and influenza – remains a problem in many places, experts say the flu is beginning to hit the country hard. Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said he has seen the first signs that RSV infections may be stabilizing after an early jump, while COVID-19 is “smoldering.” (Rodriguez, 12/6)
USA Today: Strep Throat Symptoms: What Are The First Signs And How To Treat It?
While the United Kingdom has reported the deaths of six children due to strep A, U.S. health officials on Tuesday said there hasn't been a "notable increase" in streptococcal disease here. Regardless, it's always good to be prepared. Here's everything you should know about strep throat, from symptoms to treatment to spread. (Kaufman, 12/5)
On drug shortages —
CIDRAP: Shortages Of Drugs To Treat Kids' Respiratory Illnesses Troubling Doctors, Parents
Experts worry that the lack of acetaminophen and ibuprofen to relieve symptoms could force parents to seek care for their children at urgent-care centers and emergency departments. "It's a huge problem," Kristina Powell, a Virginia pediatrician, told the Washington Post. "Parents run to Walmart or Target, the shelves are empty. … This is going to be a long fall and winter of viral infections." (12/5)
CIDRAP: FDA Leader Wants Pharma Firms To Warn Of Demand Spikes Ahead Of Shortages
A US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official wants pharmaceutical companies to start reporting spikes in demand for drugs in an effort to prevent or ease shortages, Endpoints News reports. In a webinar last week hosted by the nonprofit Alliance for a Stronger FDA, Valerie Jensen, RPh, associate director of the FDA's Drug Shortage Staff, noted increasing quality-related issues and demand for certain drugs over the past decade—but particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. She called on drug companies to report demand spikes, although they are currently required only to report supply disruptions. (12/5)
Also —
The Atlantic: The Year Without Germs Changed Kids
In the spring of 2021, Brett Finlay, a microbiologist at the University of British Columbia, offered the world a bold and worrying prediction. “My guess is that five years from now we are going to see a bolus of kids with asthma and obesity,” he told Wired. Those children, he said, would be “the COVID kids”: those born just before or during the height of the crisis, when the coronavirus was everywhere, and we cleaned everything because we didn’t want it to be. (Wu, 12/5)
