Latest news with #FrankBeard
ABC News
16-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
The HPV vaccine can prevent genital cancers, but fewer teens are getting the jab
Christine Walters was diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer when her daughter was just a baby. "I just remember looking at her and saying, you need to buy me more time. I literally do not care what I have to do to stay alive long enough that she will remember me," she said. Doctors gave Christine 12 months to live. That was 10 years ago. She counts her survival to date as a "miracle", despite not knowing how much time she has left. Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). Had the HPV vaccine been around when Christine was young, she believes she would have avoided her cancer diagnosis. As a secondary teacher, Christine now encourages her students to get the jab as part of the vaccine program rollout in schools. "They go, 'but it's a needle, Miss, it hurts'… I don't think a lot of people see that one little needle can protect you for something so significant as a cancer," she said. "I just tell them you are so lucky to have this available to you and without it, you could end up like me." It's a timely and cautionary message with experts revealing the uptake rate of the HPV vaccination is at its worst in almost a decade, according to the most recent data. "We're going in the wrong direction," said Frank Beard, associate director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS). The HPV vaccine, delivered in schools, is the frontline defence in shielding the body from HPV infection. HPV causes cervical cancer, genital, anal and oral cancers — as well as genital warts. It's the most common sexually transmitted viral infection and about 85 per cent of people who have been sexually active will get HPV at some stage of their life. Dr Beard said the most recent data should serve as a "reality check". "HPV vaccine coverage has decreased year on year for the last four years so that we're now back to where we were around a decade ago," he said. To achieve its cervical cancer elimination target, Australia needs to boost HPV vaccination coverage to at least 90 per cent of all adolescents, aged 15 years, by 2030. "The coverage has decreased by around 6 percentage points and we're now down to around 81 per cent for teenage girls and around 78 per cent for teenage boys," Dr Beard said. Overall, that means two in 10 adolescents have not had the vaccine by the time they should have. And for First Nations teens, it is three in 10. "We're not on track to meet our goals at this rate," he said. There are several barriers to young people getting the jab, including vaccine hesitancy and diminished accessibility, according to Megan Smith, chair of the Cancer Council's Cervical Cancer and HPV Group. School attendance rates have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, which, in part, explains the drop in vaccine coverage. But Associate Professor Smith said schools are not the only place to get the vaccine and if teenagers have missed out, they can "catch-up". "It is challenging getting teenagers to think ahead. But we want to talk to both the teenagers and to their parents and explain to them that this is a really effective and safe vaccine." Dr Beard said two years ago, Australia moved from two doses to a single dose of the vaccine, meaning there are now fewer chances for young people to get a catch-up jab. He said other barriers include parents with poor literacy or English skills, which can prevent consent forms from being signed, people living in rural and remote areas and socio-economic disadvantage. "Certainly, questions and concerns [about vaccines] are a significant part of the equation that need to be addressed in an appropriate and respectful manner," Dr Beard said. Christine is encouraging parents to make sure their teenagers get the vaccine. "I just say to everyone you need to do this for your children, it can save their life," she said. Immunotherapy has stopped Christine's cancer from progressing for longer than experts ever thought possible. She has so far defied her terminal diagnosis with the help of her daughter Mia, 12, husband Neil and their eight horses on their property two hours west of Brisbane. "I will probably die from cancer and that is the reality that we live with. And we live with it every day. My daughter lives with it, my husband lives with it, our family lives with it." And she will be making sure her daughter gets the vaccine as soon as she is eligible. "I think giving her the vaccine is just going to give her that armour and that peace of mind that she won't have to go through what she saw her mum go through," she said.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ZZ Top's Frank Beard to Miss Australian Tour on Medical Advice
Over a month since ZZ Top announced drummer Frank Beard would be sitting out a number of tour dates over an unspecified 'health issue,' it's been confirmed that his absence will now extend to the band's forthcoming Australian tour. In a statement issued on Thursday (April 24), promoters Live Nation explained that Beard will not be joining his bandmates on the forthcoming trek, 'as recommended by medical personnel.' More from Billboard Ye Disses Kendrick Lamar & Tyler, the Creator Again: 'The Two Most Overrated So-Called Artist' Benson Boone Drops 'Mystical Magical' New Song After Its Live Debut at Coachella Chappell Roan's 'Casual' Reigns on Top Movie Songs After 'Novocaine' Appearance The Texas trio revealed on March 15 that Beard would be absent from the group's current Elevation tour due to the need to undergo an unspecified health procedure. 'Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top's management, has announced the band's drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term,' a social media post from the band read. 'Beard, along with fellow ZZ Top members Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim.' Douglas has long maintained a close relationship with both Beard and his bandmates, having previously sat in for the drummer during a Paris performance in October 2002 when he underwent an emergency appendectomy. 'Beard's continued physical therapy has shown to be very effective in dealing with the issue that caused him to leave the recent US leg of the tour,' Live Nation's statement continued. 'While cheered by the positive news, band and management believe that his total recovery must be priority #1. 'Beard's attending physicians have suggested more physical therapy over a longer period would potentially achieve better and longer lasting results, and this will now be his focus.' Beard has been the drummer of ZZ Top since 1969, when he took over from co-founder Dan Mitchell. Alongside vocalist and guitarist Billy Gibbons, Mitchell and bassist Lanier Greig had founded the band that same year. Following Grieg's replacement by Billy Ethridge, Dusty Hill assumed the role of bassist in 1970, with their lineup remaining unchanged for 51 years until Hill's death at 72 in 2021. Elwood Francis has since served as the group's bassist. The group will embark upon their first Australian tour since 2013 on Saturday, April 26th. The ten-date tour will conclude in mid-May, with a handful of New Zealand tour dates to be followed by an additional North American trek in June. The band's 51-date trek will run through until October. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ZZ Top to play Northwest Washington Fair
Rock band ZZ Top will headline the Northwest Washington Fair this summer in Lynden. The band was formed in Houston, Texas, in 1969 and is known for hits such as 'Sharp Dressed Man' and 'Gimme All Your Lovin.'' The band's members are Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, and new bassist Elwood Francis, who joined in 2021 after longtime member Dusty Hill died. ZZ Top will perform on Saturday, Aug. 16 at 7 p.m. Concert tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 26, for the fair's email list subscribers. You can subscribe by clicking here. Tickets for the general public go on sale Friday, March 28. Tickets cost $50 for grandstand reserved seats, $65 for grandstand preferred, and $75 for preferred chairs. Ticket prices do not include fair admission. This year's fair runs from Aug. 7 to 16. For more information about this year's fair, click here.
Fox News
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard leaves tour to address 'health issue'
ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard is taking a leave of absence due to an upcoming medical procedure. On Sunday, the band's official Instagram account announced that Beard, 75, will be stepping away from their Elevation Tour to tend to "a health issue." "Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top's management, has announced the band's drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term," the message read. "Beard, along with fellow ZZ Top members Billy F Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim." "Mr. Douglas has maintained a close relationship with Beard and bandmates, having served with the group in the past." "He is looking forward to a speedy recovery," the post concluded. This isn't the first time a health concern has affected the band and its members. In 2021, the band announced the sudden death of their longtime guitarist, Dusty Hill. "We are saddened by the news today that our Compadre, Dusty Hill, has passed away in his sleep at home in Houston, TX," the band said in a statement to Fox News at the time. "We, along with legions of ZZ Top fans around the world, will miss your steadfast presence, your good nature and enduring commitment to providing that monumental bottom to the 'Top.'" "We will forever be connected to that 'Blues Shuffle in C,'" the statement continued. "You will be missed greatly, amigo." At the time, Hill had been dealing with a health concern related to a hip issue, the band had previously revealed, adding that they were awaiting "a speedy recovery" and hoping to "have him back pronto."
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why Is ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Leaving Tour? Health Issue Explained
Frank Beard, longtime drummer and co-founder of ZZ Top, has stepped away from the band's Elevation Tour due to a health issue, according to a statement from the band. A core member of the Texas trio since 1969, Beard has played on all 15 of ZZ Top's studio albums. He played a key role in their rise as one of rock's most enduring bands. Here are the key details surrounding Frank Beard's absence from the tour. ZZ Top drummer Frank Beard has temporarily left the band's Elevation Tour to focus on a health issue. A statement from the band's representatives on March 16, 2024, confirmed that Beard had 'temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend a health issue requiring his focus in the near term' and is 'looking forward to a speedy recovery.' The specific nature of the health issue was not disclosed (via Deadline). John Douglas, a longtime drum technician and musician, has stepped in as Beard's replacement. Douglas previously played with ZZ Top in 2002, when Beard had an emergency appendectomy in Paris. The band launched its Elevation Tour on March 5, 2024, in Alabama and plans to continue performing until April 12, 2024, in Arkansas. Billy Gibbons (guitar, vocals), Dusty Hill (bass, vocals), and Frank Beard formed ZZ Top in 1969 in Houston, Texas. The band gained recognition for its blues-rock sound and signature image, with Gibbons and Hill sporting long beards and sunglasses. Their popularity surged in the 1980s as MTV frequently aired their music videos. After Dusty Hill died in 2021 at age 72, ZZ Top continued touring with Elwood Francis on bass. The band has released 15 studio albums, including the half-live, half-studio Fandango!. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) reports that ZZ Top has sold over 25 million records in the U.S. Seven albums have earned platinum or multi-platinum status, while four hold gold certification. ZZ Top's most famous songs include 'La Grange,' 'Tush,' 'Cheap Sunglasses,' 'Sharp Dressed Man,' and 'Legs.' The 2019 documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas detailed their journey to stardom. The post Why Is ZZ Top Drummer Frank Beard Leaving Tour? Health Issue Explained appeared first on - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
