Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New York Polio Case Prompts People To Check Their Vax Status
Slate: Wait, Have I Been Vaccinated Against Polio?
The majority of adults in the US are vaccinated against polio, thanks in large part to the fact that most schools have polio vaccine mandates. But the virus can still find places to spread. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Rockland County has a polio vaccination rate of about 60 percent among two-year-olds (the age by which kids should have had three doses). This is much lower than the statewide average of nearly 80 percent, and the national average of 93 percent. In New York City, 86 percent of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old have gotten a full course of the polio inoculation. (Docter-Loeb, 8/12)
CBS News: Did I Get The Polio Vaccine? How To Know If You Are Protected Against The Virus
To double-check which immunizations you have received, the CDC suggests asking parents or caregivers, locating old documents from your childhood, or even asking former schools, doctors and employers, as they may have kept a record of proof of immunization. ... Most adults do not need the vaccine, as they were likely vaccinated when they were children. But the CDC says some adults at higher risk for polio — including health care workers who may be exposed to the virus, lab workers and people traveling to certain parts of the world where polio occurs — may want to consider vaccination. And of course, unvaccinated adults are considered high-risk. (O'Kane, 8/12)
BuzzFeed News: Polio Is In New York, So Now People Are Texting Their Parents Asking If They Are Vaccinated
As if we don't already have enough to deal with, the announcement Friday that the virus that causes the potentially deadly disease polio was detected in New York wastewater has sent a lot of people scrambling to find out if they have been vaccinated. And that meant a whole lot of text messages to moms. (Skinner, 8/12)
San Francisco Chronicle: Polio Threat Virtually Nonexistent To Vaccinated People In Bay Area
Despite concern over a case of polio being found in New York state in July, Bay Area infectious disease experts say the risk to the vaccinated public is virtually nonexistent — although the fact that any case at all popped up underscores the need to make sure people, particularly children, have had their shots. (DiFeliciantonio, 8/13)
More on the spread of polio —
Los Angeles Times: U.S. Polio Case Sparks Alarms From New York To California
Delays in getting children vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic and antivaccination sentiment in general may be fueling the most serious threat of polio in the U.S. in years, raising alarms from New York to California. (Lin II and Money, 8/13)
AP: What To Know About Polio Spreading In New York
U.S. children are still routinely vaccinated against polio and the shots are considered to be highly effective. Federal officials recommend four doses: to be given at 2 months of age; 4 months; at 6 to 18 months; and at age 4 through 6 years. Some states require only three doses. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s most recent data, about 93% of 2-year-olds had received at least three doses of polio vaccine. (8/12)
Financial Times: Polio Virus Reappears In Rich Economies, Exposing Gaps In Immunization
Its re-emergence in Europe and the US, along with the disruption of inoculation programmes — by the Covid-19 pandemic, and by war in places such as Ukraine and Afghanistan — have caused public health officials to raise the alarm. “There has been a huge dip globally in the routine immunisation coverage, as countries were engaged in the Covid-19 pandemic response. If you scratch the surface, this shows the vulnerability of countries’ immunisation systems,” said Siddhartha Datta, the World Health Organization’s regional adviser for vaccine-preventable diseases in the European region. (Smythand Gilbert, 8/14)
