Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Low Vaccination Rates Before Holidays Concern Public Health Experts
The Washington Post: Americans Are Not Getting Seasonal Vaccines Ahead Of The Holidays
As the holiday season approaches, public health experts are sounding the alarm about low vaccination rates against the coronavirus, flu and RSV. With gatherings and travel on the rise, many people are heading into the next few months unprotected against these respiratory illnesses, which typically peak from December to February. As of this month, about 37 percent of adults 18 and older had received a seasonal flu shot, while 19 percent had received updated coronavirus vaccines and 40 percent of adults 75 and older — the group at greatest risk — got an RSV vaccine. (Malhi, 11/27)
The Mercury News: Few Californians Have Gotten Updated COVID, Flu Vaccines As Thanksgiving Nears
While the chance of a heated political discussion at your Thanksgiving table might be extra high this year, the chance of getting COVID at your family gathering is lower than it has been in the past several years. That’s even with millions of Californians expected to travel for the holiday. “The bottom line is that we’re in a very, very good place at this moment,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley. (Blair Rowan, 11/26)
KGW.com: Vaccine Hesitancy Continues To Rise In Oregon And Washington, Concerning Health Care Providers
Dr. Ben Hoffman is a pediatrician with Doernbecher Children's Hospital at OHSU and the director of two hospital programs focused on children. He's currently the national president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. We asked him why those numbers had been growing, and in Oregon especially."I think there are a lot of reasons," Hoffman began. "So first of all, there has always been an undercurrent of vaccine hesitancy in Oregon that's different than in a lot of other places. I practiced in New Mexico for 15 years before I moved to Oregon in 2011, and the concerns about vaccines and some of the beliefs about vaccines, they're very different in Oregon. I think some of it comes from the history of libertarian ideals; what I've learned to appreciate as the Oregon frontier spirit." (Dooris and Parfitt, 11/25)
CIDRAP: Survey: Doctors Rank Pertussis Vaccine Less Important Than Those For Other Respiratory Diseases
An online survey of physicians in the United States, France, and Germany reveals that they consider pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines less important than those against COVID-19, influenza, and pneumococcal disease, although they recognize that adults with weakened immune systems and chronic respiratory illnesses are at elevated risk. (Van Beusekom, 11/26)
CIDRAP: Sluggish Gas Exchange In The Lungs May Be Involved In Long-COVID Brain Fog
Lower rates of gas exchange in the lungs may contribute to impaired cognitive function ("brain fog") tied to long COVID, according to a small study to be presented at next week's Radiological Society of North America's (RSNA's) annual meeting in Chicago. Pulmonary gas exchange is the movement of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream and carbon dioxide from the bloodstream to the lungs. (Van Beusekom, 11/26)
On bird flu —
CIDRAP: Canadian Probe Into Teen's Critical H5N1 Infection Finds No Clear Source
As a Canadian teen remains in critical care with an H5N1 avian flu infection in a British Columbia hospital, health investigators said today they haven't identified the source, but have found other clues such as virus changes that may have led to a more severe lower respiratory infection. ... Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's health officer, said the teen, sick since November 2 and hospitalized since November 8, remains seriously ill and requires breathing assistance, but is stable and has shown progress over the past few days. (Schnirring, 11/26)
San Francisco Chronicle: Bird Flu Is Up In California, But Eating Thanksgiving Turkey Is Safe
The spread of H5N1 avian flu — which has killed millions of chickens, sickened hundreds of herds of dairy cows and infected dozens of people in the United States — has prompted some to wonder whether eating turkey, the quintessential Thanksgiving staple, is safe or advisable. The short answer is yes, according to food safety regulators and infectious disease experts. Despite avian flu having infected many turkey flocks since the virus began circulating in the U.S. in 2022, consuming cooked turkey should be safe. (Ho, 11/26)
On mpox and Ebola —
Reuters: New Mpox Vaccines For Congo's Children Held Up By Old Problem
Adults started getting vaccinations against mpox in Democratic Republic of Congo's capital this week. But there were no shots available for children, the most vulnerable group, after a key dose donation was held back by an old legal hurdle: who pays if there are unexpected side effects caused by the vaccine. (Rigby, Kasongo and Rolley, 11/26)
The Guardian: Ten Years Ago Ebola Tore Through Sierra Leone. Can A Vaccine Drive Stop History Repeating Itself?
Ten years ago, the Ebola virus tore through west Africa, killing more than 11,000 people, including nearly 4,000 in Sierra Leone – around 40% of those infected in the country. When the outbreak began, there was no vaccine. Today, the world has a stockpile of half a million doses. This is sufficient for use in preventive vaccination programmes for frontline workers in countries with a history of Ebola, with some kept in reserve as emergency jabs in case of an outbreak. Sierra Leone will this week become the first country to launch a nationwide preventive Ebola vaccination campaign for people at the highest risk. (Lay, 11/27)
