HepB, coronavirus, polio among topics at CDC committee meeting - AAP News
HepB, coronavirus, polio among topics at CDC committee meeting - AAP News |
- HepB, coronavirus, polio among topics at CDC committee meeting - AAP News
- Coronavirus Travel Advisories: Map Shows CDC's Areas Of Concern : Goats and Soda - NPR
- Another View: Maine physicians ask for no vote on Question 1 - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel
- Polio-like illness may peak in 2020 - WOWT
| HepB, coronavirus, polio among topics at CDC committee meeting - AAP News Posted: 28 Feb 2020 03:22 PM PST The pediatric monovalent hepatitis B vaccine shortage is ending March 9 for the private sector, a bit of good news from the Feb. 26-27 meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Merck plans to begin distributing pediatric monovalent hepB vaccine in the private sector on March 9. The vaccine supply is projected to be sufficient to meet historical demand in the private and public sectors. For updates on shortages, visit https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/clinical-resources/shortages.html. Other infectious disease topics discussed were the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), polio eradication, dengue virus, Ebola virus and influenza. COVID-19 Nancy Messonnier, M.D., director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, emphasized the importance of readiness. "Prepare for something serious," she said. "Many of you have been planning for a pandemic for your whole careers. That planning is exactly what we're depending on here." Dr. Messonnier said first responders, health care providers and health care systems should do the following to prepare:
At the state and local levels, she urged readiness preparedness that includes monitoring health of travelers from China, assessing readiness to implement community mitigation measures, identifying and mitigating gaps in readiness, and linking public health agencies and health care systems to identify and mitigate stressors. Polio eradication Polio eradication efforts made some progress in 2019 but encountered "serious challenges," including circulation of wild poliovirus and outbreaks of community vaccine-derived poliovirus 2. A more genetically stable novel oral polio vaccine type 2 has been developed, according to Stephen L. Cochi, M.D., FAAP, senior adviser to the director, CDC Global Immunization Division. The vaccine is being evaluated for approval under the World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Use Listing and would replace monovalent type 2 oral polio vaccine. About 4 million to 8 million doses could be available for pilot use in mid-2020 and an estimated 200 million more by year's end. Dengue vaccine Despite low mortality rate, dengue is a public health priority and one of the top 10 threats in 2019, according to the WHO. In May 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Dengvaxia for 9- to 16-year-olds who live in an area where dengue is common and have laboratory-confirmed prior dengue virus infection. Ines Esquilin, M.D., of the University of Puerto Rico Department of Pediatrics, shared focus group study results on pediatrician and parent attitudes about the vaccine in Puerto Rico. The island's segmented system requires patients to make separate visits to the pediatrician, the laboratory for testing and the clinic for immunizations. Testing is required before receiving the dengue vaccine, because people who receive the vaccine and have not been infected with a dengue virus may be at risk of developing severe dengue. The committee agreed to revisit a possible recommendation if a laboratory test with acceptable specificity were available to document prior dengue infection. Other necessary steps would include lab test and vaccine insurance coverage and parent and physician education about the importance of the vaccine. Ebola vaccine The ACIP voted to recommend use of rVSV-ZEBOV (Ervebo), a single-dose vaccine against the Zaire ebolavirus species of ebolavirus. The vaccine was approved by the FDA in December for use in individuals 18 years and older. The ACIP voted to recommend the vaccine for those responding to an outbreak of Ebola virus disease, health care personnel at a federally designated Ebola Treatment Center in the U.S., and laboratorians and staff at biosafety level 4 facilities in the U.S. who are at potential risk for occupational exposure. If the CDC director approves ACIP's recommendations, they will be published as official recommendations in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The AAP reviews pediatric-relevant guidance and make its own recommendations. Influenza 2020-'21 Recommended strains for the 2020-'21 season's northern hemisphere influenza vaccines were not available from the WHO until after the ACIP meeting. The U.S. influenza strain selection will be voted on during the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee meeting on March 4. Practice guidelines Pediatricians with practice-related questions that are not directly addressed in vaccine recommendations can access the General Best Practice Guidelines for Immunizationat http://bit.ly/CDCbestpracticeiz. Three sections have been updated:
ACIP membership The ACIP is seeking membership applications for a four-year term beginning July 1, 2021. Candidates must have a broad range of expertise and interest in vaccines and immunizations and meet criteria listed in the online application. Apply by July 1, 2020, at http://bit.ly/ACIPmembers2021. The committee's next meeting is June 24-25. Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics  |
| Coronavirus Travel Advisories: Map Shows CDC's Areas Of Concern : Goats and Soda - NPR Posted: 29 Feb 2020 02:00 AM PST Updated at 9:05 a.m. ET, Feb. 29 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regularly issues "Travel Health Notices" that address disease outbreaks and other health-related matters in international destinations. The newly discovered coronavirus is now a topic of concern. The point of the warnings is to indicate countries where the CDC believes there is a risk of infection with COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. There are three levels of notices based on the risk presented by the outbreak and what precautions are needed to prevent infection. On Friday, Italy and Iran were moved into the highest notice level — "Warning Level 3" — joining China and South Korea. CDC advises travelers to avoid all nonessential travel to these countries. As part of the warnings, which were issued in late February, the CDC also cites limited access for visitors to adequate medical care. If travel is necessary, CDC advises travelers to discuss with their health-care provider. Hong Kong, Macau and the island of Taiwan are excluded from this notice. The only other country with a Warning Level 3 notice is Venezuela; CDC cites "outbreaks of infectious diseases" as well as the breakdown of the country's health-care infrastructure. During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, this warning level was issued to Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. The second notice level, "Alert Level 2," suggesting that potential travelers "practice enhanced precautions," has been issued for travel to Japan, which is experiencing person-to-person and community spread of COVID-19. This notice, according to CDC, is directed at older adults and those with "chronic medical conditions," who are at greater risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19 if infected. CDC advises them to consider postponing nonessential travel to any country with this alert level. The third notice level is "Watch Level 1." At this level, the CDC does not recommend canceling or postponing travel but advises potential travelers to practice general precautions such as avoiding contact with sick people and washing hands for 20 seconds with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with 60% to 95% alcohol. The CDC also currently has other travel health notices unrelated to COVID-19. For example, it has issued the Level 2 Alert for several countries in Africa and Asia because of polio and a Watch Level 1 for some parts of Central and South America for dengue. Many countries with confirmed cases of COVID-19 do not currently have travel advisories from the CDC. Dr. Lin Chen, president of the International Society of Travel Medicine, said when deciding to go to these countries, travelers should look into the country's health-care system and make sure they have travel medical insurance that will provide coverage in their destination. "I think it's important to identify what a traveler would do if they become sick," Chen said. "Having travel medical insurance is actually really important and gives you, perhaps, a peace of mind if you're going into a country that has some [confirmed] cases."   |
| Another View: Maine physicians ask for no vote on Question 1 - Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel Posted: 29 Feb 2020 01:00 AM PST Bad science, great marketing, and out-of-state financing is the dangerous truth behind the Yes on 1 campaign in Maine. We, the undersigned, Andrea Abrell, D.O., Grace Adamson, J.D., M.D., Katharine M.K. Anderson, M.D., John Barnes, M.D., Nathaniel Bowling, M.D., Nadine Byers, D.O., Michael Clark, M.D., Rachel Criswell, M.D., MS, Kathleen Dieckmann, M.D., Mary Jo Fisher, M.D., Lauren T. Hall, D.O., Lara Householder, D.O., Kathryn Hoffman, D.O., Jonathan Karnes, M.D., Kari Koch, M.D., Caroline LaFave, D.O., Amy Madden, M.D., Alane O'Connor, DNP, Jenny Pisculli, M.D., Kathleen Polonchek, M.D., Cheryl Seymour, M.D., Carlen Smith, M.D., Corey D. Smith, PsyD., Mark Sutherland, D.O., C-NMM/OMM, Rachel Thomas, M.D., MPH, Amy Trelease-Bell, M.D., FAAFP, JoAnn Wang, D.O., CM.D., and Megan Wei, PA-C, represent Maine physicians and clinicians who have practiced around the world. In our global health work, many of us have seen polio, measles, whooping cough, tetanus, and other preventable diseases ravage the lives of children and families. Polio is a highly contagious virus that can infect the brain and spinal cord causing paralysis. In the United States, most people have never witnessed the terror of a polio outbreak because a vaccine was invented in 1955 eradicating the disease in the U.S. by 1971. Ongoing vaccination efforts protect against this devastating disease, but, like the wildfire spread of coronavirus COVID-19, a global pandemic can easily recur. A "no" vote on Question 1 will also prevent another deadly disease: measles. Because of successful vaccination drives, measles was virtually eliminated from the U.S. by 2000. But, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 1,282 cases of measles were confirmed in 2019, the most since 1992. Pockets of unvaccinated children are vulnerable to devastating outbreaks. Is this referendum really about Big Pharma? Estimates place vaccines sales at 2-3% of "Big Pharma's" trillion-dollar bottom line. Vaccines are not moneymakers for pharmaceutical companies. Does Question 1 infringe on the right to education? Not at all, in fact, upholding the state mandate with a no vote ensures safe schools for all children, including those who cannot receive immunizations. Does the new law infringe on parental rights? No, this piece of legislation supports the sanctity of parents' relationship with their primary care clinician to discuss individual beliefs and appropriateness of medical care. Please stand on the side of science, public health, and common sense. Vote no on Question 1 to keep Maine's children and families safe. Julia McDonald, D.O., M.P.H., lives in Augusta. She submitted this Another View on behalf of the undersigned. filed under: Related Stories  Latest Articles  |
| Polio-like illness may peak in 2020 - WOWT Posted: 12 Feb 2020 12:00 AM PST (CNN) - A polio-like illness called acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, is affecting children at a higher rate, with cases increasing every two years.  A scary polio-like illness is affecting children with cases increasing every two years. If the current pattern holds, 2020 could be a peak year. (Source: CNN)While polio still exists today, cases have decreased by more than 99% since 1988, according to the World Health Organization. AFM has left children paralyzed and has been peaking every other year since 2014, according to new information released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If the pattern holds, 2020 could be another peak year. Doctors say most patients with AFM had a mild respiratory illness or fever consistent with a viral infection before they developed AFM. The CDC doesn't know why a small number of people develop AFM while most others recover. Researchers said the differences in each case offer clues as to what may cause AFM. They hope studying these will lead to new treatment and prevention strategies. According to the CDC, there were 237 cases of AFM in 2018. In comparison, there were 33 cases in 2019. Peak year cases were also more likely to affect the upper extremities and come after a fever or respiratory illness. About 90% of AFM cases have occurred in children in 48 states and D.C. Copyright 2020 CNN. All rights reserved.  |
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