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Tag: centers for disease control

  • Montgomery Co. health officer stresses importance of flu shots for personal, community protection – WTOP News

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    The Centers for Disease Control is recommending flu shots for everyone 6 months and older as flu season approaches.

    The Centers for Disease Control is recommending flu shots for everyone 6 months and older as flu season approaches.

    According to the CDC, the 2025-26 fall and winter season for illnesses like influenza, RSV and COVID-19 starts in October and runs through mid-May.

    Dr. Kisha Davis, the Montgomery County Health Officer, explains that the benefit of getting a flu shot is twofold: “So there’s the benefit to the individual, of decreasing the chance of getting the flu. … There’s also the benefit to the community. So when more people are vaccinated, it’s harder for that virus or illness or whatever the vaccine is for, to jump to other people.”

    “That’s why we encourage folks to get the flu vaccine, both to help themselves, but also to help community spread,” Davis added.

    She said that’s especially important for older citizens, immunocompromised people and infants who are too young to vaccinate.

    Florida recently elected to eliminate all childhood vaccine mandates, making it the first state to do so.

    “I will say that it’s concerning to see what Florida is doing in terms of rolling back vaccine mandates,” Davis said.

    Noting the high rates of vaccination among residents in the District, Maryland and Virginia, she said, “I do not anticipate that there will be a rollback because of the evidence we have seen” on the effectiveness of vaccine mandates.

    Davis said measles cases provide a good example of the protections of vaccine mandates.

    “In Maryland, we have a vaccine mandate that kids who are going to school need to have that vaccine,” she said.

    When there have been isolated cases of measles, mostly from people who have traveled abroad, “it hasn’t spread and that’s because the vaccine rates are so high in this area. And so we know that those mandates work,” she said.

    Asked about coverage for the different vaccines for respiratory illnesses, Davis said, “For flu vaccine, we feel pretty comfortable that insurance companies will continue to cover it,”

    But when it comes to COVID-19 vaccines, “the question is around the COVID vaccine and other vaccines where we haven’t gotten that clear guidance from (the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) what insurers will do in terms of coverage,” Davis said.

    The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to meet on Sept. 18.

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    Kate Ryan

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  • CDC Issues Food Safety Alert Over Salmonella Infected Eggs – KXL

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    ATLANTA, GA – The Centers for Disease Control has issued a food safety alert over Salmonella infections linked to recalled eggs.  The federal health agency says 95 people from 14 states have gotten sick from the same strain of Salmonella.  18 people have been hospitalized but the CDC says no deaths have been reported.

    Country Eggs, based in California, recalled its Large Brown Cage Free “Sunshine Yolks” eggs on Wednesday.

    More than 70 of the Salmonella cases reported are from California with three each in Washington, Nevada, and Minnesota.

    The CDC is warning people not to eat, sell or serve recalled eggs.  The agency is also advising you to call your healthcare provider if you have any severe Salmonella symptoms.

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    Tim Lantz

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  • Key Republican Almost Annoyed Enough at RFK Jr. to Act

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    Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is in turmoil after Susan Monarez, the newly confirmed director of the public-health agency, was abruptly fired on Wednesday night following a reported behind-the-scenes clash with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. Monarez’s ouster was followed by other top CDC officials resigning due to the agency’s direction under the Trump administration.

    With the nation’s top public-health agency appearing to spiral out of control, many Democrats called for an investigation into Monarez’s ouster, and some demanded Kennedy’s resignation. But Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana senator and licensed physician, whose key vote ensured Kennedy’s confirmation to lead HHS, was a bit less forceful.

    In the immediate aftermath of Monarez’s firing, Cassidy wrote on social media that “These high profile departures will require oversight by the HELP Committee,” referring to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which he is the chairman of. But Cassidy notably gave no indication of what that oversight might look like in practice.

    On Thursday, Cassidy issued a call for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC panel that determines vaccine recommendations, to postpone its upcoming meeting in September, saying in a statement that “serious allegations” have been made about the committee membership as well as the “lack of scientific process being followed” for the scheduled gathering. Back in June, Kennedy fired all 17 members of ACIP, writing in a Wall Street Journal editorial that the panel “has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”

    But Cassidy previously called for the ACIP to postpone an upcoming meeting back in June, citing the lack of scientific experience of some of the newest appointees as well as the lack of a CDC director at the time. The panel simply rebuffed Cassidy’s call and went ahead anyway.

    According to the Washington Post, Monarez contacted Cassidy after Kennedy handed her an ultimatum to either resign or support changes to the nation’s COVID-19 vaccines policies. Sources tell the outlet that Cassidy contacted Kennedy to push back against his demands of Monarez, which further angered the HHS secretary. When Cassidy first announced his plans to support Kennedy’s confirmation, he said the two would work closely together and that he would use his role as HELP chairman to act as a check on the agency. However, Kennedy has continue to reshape the country’s public-health landscape to his making with seemingly little impact from Cassidy’s voiced concerns.

    Monarez, who was nominated by President Donald Trump earlier this year, had held the role of CDC director for a little less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate in late July. Kennedy had said in March that he had “handpicked” Monarez, calling her a “longtime champion of MAHA values.

    Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, the independent ranking member on the HELP committee, issued a letter calling for a bipartisan investigation into Monarez’s firing and the resignation of top CDC officials, urging Cassidy to convene a hearing on the matter. “Yesterday, you called for oversight of the firings and resignations at the agency. I agree. As a start, the American people should hear directly from Secretary Kennedy and Dr. Monarez, and every member of our committee should be able to ask questions and get honest answers from them. I urge you to call a hearing immediately on these actions,” he wrote.

    Some of the remaining employees of the CDC voiced their support of Monarez and the other outgoing officials on Thursday by staging a “clap out” at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. for their departing colleagues.


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    Nia Prater

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  • It’s National HIV Testing Day. Here’s how to check your status

    It’s National HIV Testing Day. Here’s how to check your status

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    More than a million people live with HIV in the United States, and more than 18,000 of them call Arizona home. Today, on National HIV Testing Day, public health experts want to encourage testing so people can know their status and get the care they need…

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    Alex Gonzalez | Public News Service

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  • A new COVID variant, HV.1, is now dominant. These are its most common symptoms

    A new COVID variant, HV.1, is now dominant. These are its most common symptoms

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    As the United States enters respiratory virus season and health officials roll out updated COVID-19 vaccines, a new COVID variant HV.1 has emerged and is currently sweeping the country.

    The new omicron subvariant has rapidly overtaken other strains, including EG.5 aka Eris, to become the dominant variant in the U.S. As of late October, HV.1 is responsible for more than a quarter of all COVID-19 cases, and health officials are monitoring the new variant amid concerns of a winter COVID-19 surge.

    HV.1 accounted for an estimated 25.2% of new COVID-19 cases during the two-week period ending Oct. 28, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    After HV.1, the next most common variant in the U.S. was EG.5, which made up 22% of cases, followed by FL.1.5.1 or “Fornax,” and XBB.1.16 or “Arcturus.” (Globally, EG.5 is still the dominant strain, according to the World Health Organization.)

    All of the most prevalent COVID-19 strains in the U.S. are offshoots of omicron, which first emerged in November 2021.

    Although COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been trending downward after a late summer surge, HV.1 is continuing to pick up speed around the country.

    Cases are expected to increase again this winter as was the case the past three years, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, tells TODAY.com.

    As HV.1 spreads, many are curious if the new subvariant is more contagious or severe, whether it could cause different symptoms, and if the new COVID-19 vaccines will provide protection. Here’s what we know about HV.1 so far.

    What is HV.1, the new COVID variant?

    HV.1 is part of the omicron family. “You can almost think of HV.1 as a grandchild of omicron,” says Schaffner. HV.1 is a sublineage of omicron XBB.1.9.2 and a direct descendent of EG.5, according to the CDC’s SARS-CoV-2 lineage tree.

    “The COVID family of viruses likes to mutate. We’ve all learned that by now,” says Schaffner. While HV.1 is mutated, it’s still very close to the existing omicron subvariants, Schaffner explains.

    For the most part, scientists are not concerned about new variants like HV.1, which look very similar to strains we’ve already seen before, NBC News reported.

    However, there are a few highly mutated strains which have set off alarm bells. These include BA.2.86 or Pirola, which has an extra 36 mutations that differentiate it from XBB.1.5., and a newer variant called JN.1, which has one more mutation than Pirola.

    Fortunately, neither BA.2.86 nor JN.1 are common in the U.S. right now, according to the CDC — JN.1 is so rare that it makes up fewer than 0.1% of SARS-CoV-2 cases.

    As for HV.1, it rapidly gained steam after it was first detected this past summer. In late July, HV.1 accounted for just 0.5% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., CDC data show. By Sept. 30, HV.1 made up 12.5% of cases, and by November, it was the dominant strain.

    Is HV.1 more transmissible?

    “One of the characteristics of this entire omicron family is that they are highly transmissible,” says Schaffner. Sometimes, mutations can enable a new variant to spread more effectively or quickly, per the CDC.

    Right now, it appears that HV.1 could be slightly better at spreading from person to person than previous strains, NBC News reported. The increased transmissibility of HV.1 likely explains how it became dominant so quickly in the U.S., Schaffner notes.

    It appears that HV.1 could also be slightly better at escaping prior immunity to COVID-19, but not enough to cause alarm, Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told NBC News.

    Although it is more transmissible, HV.1 does not appear to produce more severe disease or lead to more hospitalizations, Schaffer says.

    What are HV.1 symptoms?

    The symptoms caused by infection with HV.1 are similar to those caused by recent variants, says Schaffner, which include:

    • Sore throat

    • Congestion or stuffiness

    • Runny nose

    • Cough

    • Fatigue

    • Headache

    • Muscle aches

    • Fever or chills

    “Congestion, sore throat and dry cough seem to be the three most prominent symptoms right now,” says Schaffner.

    Increasingly, doctors report that COVID-19 symptoms appear to follow a pattern of being concentrated in the upper respiratory tract, starting with a sore throat and followed by congestion or a runny nose, NBC news reported.

    Coughing isn’t typically a primary symptom, but it can persist. “The virus seems to produce a kind of a chronic bronchitis, so that you can have a cough syndrome that lasts beyond the period where you’ve recovered from other symptoms,” says Schaffner.

    Another trend is that COVID-19 seems to be causing milder infections, likely because people have some prior immunity. “By milder, we mean it doesn’t require hospitalization even though you can feel quite miserable for several days,” says Schaffner.

    Do COVID-19 tests detect HV.1?

    All COVID-19 tests — including PCR tests performed by a health care provider and rapid at-home antigen tests — will detect HV.1, says Schaffner.

    Testing is a crucial tool to protect yourself and others from COVID-19. The symptoms of HV.1 and other COVID-19 variants can look very similar to other viruses, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and rhinovirus, which usually causes the common cold.

    “The only way to distinguish (COVID-19) from RSV and flu, both of which are now gaining steam, is by testing,” says Schaffner.

    Experts encourage anyone who has symptoms to get tested, especially those in high-risk groups — people over the age of 65, who are immunocompromised or who have underlying health conditions.

    “We have treatments that can prevent more serious disease,” says Schaffner, but early detection is key. COVID-19 antivirals such as Paxlovid are effective against HV.1 and other variants, but they work best when within five days of symptom onset, TODAY.com previously reported.

    Testing has significantly diminished in the U.S. in the last year, which is concerning, says Schaffner.

    When the U.S. federal public health emergency for COVID-19 ended in May, so did the guarantee of free testing for many people.

    However, every American can still get COVID-19 tests for free or low-cost right now. One way is to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests from the government, which will be delivered by mail via the U.S. Postal Service. To order your free tests, go to COVIDTests.gov.

    In addition, all health insurance plans are required to reimburse eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. State Medicaid programs are also required to cover at-home tests, and Medicare beneficiaries and uninsured individuals can access free tests provided by Health & Human Services at thousands of community health centers, clinics and pharmacies.

    If you still have a stockpile of tests sitting around, remember to check the expiration date and whether it’s been extended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Does the new COVID-19 vaccine protect against HV.1?

    The updated COVID-19 vaccine is recommended by the CDC for everyone ages 6 months and older. It is now widely available at pharmacies, doctor’s offices and other locations around the U.S., says Schaffner.

    The new boosters have been reformulated to target omicron XBB.1.5, which was the dominant COVID variant for most of 2023. While XBB.1.5 has since been overtaken by HV.1, Eris, Fornax and Arcturus, it is still closely related to these newer strains.

    The updated vaccines seem to be well-matched to the variants currently circulating and making people sick, Andrew Pekosz, Ph.D., virologist at Johns Hopkins University, previously told TODAY.com.

    “Laboratory studies indicate that the updated booster will protect against serious disease caused by HV.1,” says Schaffner. Vaccination also significantly lowers the risk of becoming hospitalized or dying, per the CDC.

    However, only 23 million Americans or 4.5% of the population had received the updated shots by Oct. 27, Reuters reported.

    The first phase of the new booster rollout hit several speed bumps, including supply delays, high demand, cancelled appointments and insurance obstacles. Some parents have been unable to get their kids vaccinated as some pharmacies and pediatrician’s offices have struggled to secure enough child-size doses.

    Although many of these initial issues have been resolved, says Schaffner, uptake is still slow. “We’ve underutilized this updated vaccine, and we anticipate that COVID will once again increase even more during the winter season,” says Schaffner.

    It’s not too late to take advantage of the new booster, Schaffner adds, and people should get the shot as soon as they can.

    The FDA has authorized three vaccine options for 2023-2024: one mRNA shot each from Moderna and Pfizer, and a protein-based non-mRNA shot from Novavax.

    Insurance plans should cover the updated booster, says Schaffner, and those without insurance should still be able to get the shot for free, according to the CDC.

    “We’re in a good place because for a considerable time now, we have not had a new variant that causes more severe disease or evades the protection of currently available vaccines,” says Schaffner.

    How to protect yourself from HV.1

    As the winter and holiday season approaches, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself from COVID-19 and prevent transmission to others, especially the most vulnerable. These include:

    • Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines

    • Getting tested if you have symptoms

    • Isolating if you are testing positive for COVID-19

    • Avoiding contact with sick people

    • Improving ventilation or gathering outdoors

    • Washing your hands with soap and water frequently

    • Wearing a mask in crowded, indoor spaces

    This article was originally published on TODAY.com

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  • CDC to Switch From Daily to Weekly COVID Data Updates

    CDC to Switch From Daily to Weekly COVID Data Updates

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    Oct. 8, 2022 — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will start updating COVID-19 case and death counts on a weekly instead of a daily basis starting Oct. 20.
    “To allow for additional reporting flexibility, reduce the reporting burden on states and jurisdictions, and maximize surveillance resources, CDC is moving to a weekly reporting cadence for line level and aggregate case and death data,” the CDC said Thursday.
    The CDC is still providing daily data on COVID hospitalizations, using information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It’s unknown if that will change when the National Healthcare Safety Network takes responsibility for the collection of COVID hospital data mid-December, the CDC said.
    The CDC has been publishing daily COVID data for more than two years. The CDC’s COVID community level ratings are already updated once a week, on Thursdays. State and local governments use community level ratings in deciding when and where citizens should be advised to wear masks.
    The change is another sign of a de-escalation in COVID response as the major pandemic statistics drop. The New York Times reported that on Oct. 7 the United States was averaging 40,186 new COVID cases a day (a 26% drop over two weeks), 26,994 COVID-related hospitalizations (an 11% drop), and 380 COVID-related deaths (an 11% drop). Health experts say the case counts are actually higher because many home testing results are not reported to health agencies.
    Earlier this week, the CDC announced it would no longer maintain a list of travel advisories for foreign countries because “fewer countries are testing or reporting COVID-19 cases,” The New York Times reported. Instead, the CDC will publish health notices when only for “a concerning Covid-19 variant” in a particular nation.
    Anthony Fauci, the White House chief medical advisor, said Tuesday that COVID cases may rise this winter, especially if a new COVID variant emerges.
    “Although we can feel good that we’re going in the right direction, we can’t let our guard down,” Fauci said in a discussion hosted by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism. “We are entering into the winter months, where no matter what the respiratory disease is, there’s always a risk of an uptick.”
     

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