Help Protect your pediatric patients from Influenza; Every office visit is an opportunity to advocate for influenza vaccination; Parents are more likely to vaccinate their children against the flu when their physicians say it is important.
A toolkit provided by Shots Heard Round The World, a grassroots nonprofit that defends social media pages against vaccine misinformation and social media reputation attacks. This specific toolkit instructs officer managers and practitioners on how to prepare, endure, and reorganize following a social media attack from an anti-vaccination movement. You can learn more about their mission and other resources through their website found here!
1. In a systematic review, in utero exposure to influenza vaccine was not associated with adverse health outcomes in children older than 6 months of age.
2. All-cause morbidity and mortality, infectious, autoimmune, atopic, and neurodevelopmental outcomes were examined in the study, which included data from over 750,000 children.
Evidence Rating Level: 2 (Good)
Study Rundown: Influenza while seemingly common, is a respiratory infection that can be life threatening, particularly in young children and pregnant women. Influenza vaccination of pregnant women has been shown to reduce the risk of serious illness in infants during the first 6 months of life. However, skepticism of adverse effects of the vaccine has led to low rates of immunization amongst pregnant women. This study is the first systematic review to assess long term health outcomes in children who were exposed to maternal influenza vaccine in utero. Studies that examined health outcomes of children between age 6 months and 5 years were included in the review, encompassing hundreds of thousands of children. No statistically significant association was found between in utero exposure to influenza vaccine and all cause morbidity and mortality as well as a number of infectious, autoimmune, and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Meta-analyses were not possible due to the small number of studies available. Generalization of the results is limited by the fact that most studies examined exposure to pandemic (not seasonal) influenza vaccines, and all of them were conducted in high income countries in North America or Europe. Nonetheless, the results provide further evidence that maternal immunization with influenza vaccine is unlikely to cause adverse childhood health outcomes and can confidently be recommended to pregnant women.
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As polling suggests that only half of America’s population would be willing to get the Covid-19 vaccine if it were available, a panel of scientific and academic experts on Thursdays released a set of recommendations for how to boost confidence in vaccines, including appointing community spokespeople and making the vaccine free to all and available at familiar places like centers for worship.
Coronavirus Pandemic Causes Climate Of Anxiety And Changing Routines In America
A protester holds an anti-vaccination sign as supporters of President Donald Trump rally to reopen … [+] DAVID MCNEW/GETTY IMAGES
The panel, comprising 23 experts in health, science, communications, bioethics, anthropology and more, organized by Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and Texas State Anthropology, made the recommendations in order to achieve the goal of universal vaccination against coronavirus, a public health objective threatened by Americans’ growing skepticism of vaccines.
As Vaccine Skepticism In U.S. Grows, Experts Recommend Strategies For Covid-19 Vaccination Campaign
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has updated its guideline for human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination. New recommendations are for healthcare providers to routinely offer the HPV vaccine series to boys and girls between ages 9 and 12.
For most children younger than 15, HPV vaccination is a series of 2 shots. Children who have weakened immune systems and those who get the first dose at age 15 and older need 3 shots.
For any kids who haven’t completed the series, the ACS guideline recommends healthcare providers offer “catch-up” HPV vaccination up to age 26. The ACS does not recommend vaccination after age 26.
These updates came from the ACS’s Guideline Development Group’s (GDG) review and adaptation of the 2019 update from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The ACIP is the main source for US immunization policy and part of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The full, updated guideline was published online July 8, 2020 in CA: Cancer Journal for Clinicians along with an informal patient page.
ACS Updates HPV Vaccination Recommendations to Start at Age 9
Face coverings, along with social distancing, staying home when you are sick and good hand hygiene, are vital tools in the fight against COVID-19. Wearing a face covering or mask has been shown to dramatically decrease the release of droplets from people’s mouths, which can carry infectious particles. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has created a Mask Up, New Jersey! toolkit to encourage everyone to wear a mask in outdoor public spaces. Please help us remind New Jerseyans to mask up by sharing these resources on social media channels and at your offices.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused healthcare providers to change how they operate to continue to provide essential services to patients. Ensuring immunization services are maintained or reinitiated is essential for protecting individuals and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases and outbreaks and reducing the burden of respiratory illness during the upcoming influenza season.
The following are a collection of federal resources designed to guide vaccine planning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read On
Senior Catholic leaders in the United States and Canada, along with other antiabortion groups, are raising ethical objections to promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are manufactured using cells derived from human fetuses electively aborted decades ago. They have not sought to block government funding for the vaccines, which include two candidate vaccines that the Trump administration plans to support with an investment of up to $1.7 billion, as well as a third candidate made by a Chinese company in collaboration with Canada’s National Research Council (NRC). But they are urging funders and policymakers to ensure that companies develop other vaccines that do not rely on such human fetal cell lines and, in the United States, asking the government to “incentivize” firms to only make vaccines that don’t rely on fetal cells. Full article HERE.
Don’t skip vaccinations: 8 things pediatricians want parents to know during the coronavirus pandemic
In addition to missing appointments, children in the U.S. are also missing vaccines. The number of vaccines administered for diseases including measles, mumps, whooping cough and HPV each dropped by at least 40% during the week of April 5, compared to a week in February of this year, according to data from PCC, a Vermont-based company that develops electronic health records for pediatricians.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which represents 67,000 pediatricians across the U.S., is now sounding the alarm to remind parents that annual pediatrician visits, as well as visits for other issues like flu or cold symptoms, should not stop during the pandemic.
“It’s really critical for parents to remember that their pediatricians and pediatric sub-specialists are out there and available to take care of kids,” Sally Goza, AAP president and a practicing pediatrician in Fayetteville, Georgia, told “Good Morning America.” “We are available to see patients, and yet we know it’s a scary time for parents.” Full Story HERE.
Potential breakthrough in search for a coronavirus vaccine as an Australian treatment is tested on COVID-19 for the first time
Australia could be one step closer to a coronavirus vaccine breakthrough.
A new vaccine developed by University of Queensland researchers will soon be tested on the live virus for the first time in a biosecurity facility in the Netherlands.
The School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences team has joined forces with Dutch company Viroclinics Xplore to conduct pre-clinical studies to get a better understanding of how the vaccine performs before it’s tested on humans.
It comes as testing of another potential coronavirus vaccine began at the CSIRO lab in regional Victoria last week.
As a service organisation, we have committed to realigning our resources, equipment and materials to initiatives to test promising vaccines, anti-virals and immune modulators in the battle against COVID-19 and we have developed a number of preclinical models of COVID-19 infection,’ Viroclinics spokesperson Dr Koert Stittelaar said.
University researchers used rapid response technology from the Epidemic Preparedness Innovations to develop a vaccine, which took three weeks to produce.
The vaccine was developed usinng molecular clamp technology that locks the ‘spike’ protein into a shape which allows the immune system to be able to recognise and then neutralise the virus.
The researchers announced earlier this year it hopes to develop the vaccine within six months through its recently invented rapid response technology. Read More.
Abbott Laboratories is unveiling a coronavirus test that can tell if someone is infected in as little as five minutes, and is so small and portable it can be used in almost any health-care setting.