Latest news with #MMR
Gulf Today
17 hours ago
- Health
- Gulf Today
Many older people are really eager to be vaccinated
Paula Span, Tribune News Service Kim Beckham, an insurance agent in Victoria, Texas, had seen friends suffer so badly from shingles that she wanted to receive the first approved shingles vaccine as soon as it became available, even if she had to pay for it out-of-pocket. Her doctor and several pharmacies turned her down because she was below the recommended age at the time, which was 60. So, in 2016, she celebrated her 60th birthday at her local CVS. 'I was there when they opened,' Beckham recalled. After getting her Zostavax shot, she said, 'I felt really relieved.' She has since received the newer, more effective shingles vaccine, as well as a pneumonia shot, an RSV vaccine to guard against respiratory syncytial virus, annual flu shots and all recommended COVID-19 vaccinations. Some older people are really eager to be vaccinated. Robin Wolaner, 71, a retired publisher in Sausalito, California, has been known to badger friends who delay getting recommended shots, sending them relevant medical studies. 'I'm sort of hectoring,' she acknowledged. Deana Hendrickson, 66, who provides daily care for three young grandsons in Los Angeles, sought an additional MMR shot, though she was vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella as a child, in case her immunity to measles had waned. For older adults who express more confidence in vaccine safety than younger groups, the past few months have brought welcome research. Studies have found important benefits from a newer vaccine and enhanced versions of older ones, and one vaccine may confer a major bonus that nobody foresaw. The new studies are coming at a fraught political moment. The nation's health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has long disparaged certain vaccines, calling them unsafe and saying that the government officials who regulate them are compromised and corrupt. On June 9, Kennedy fired a panel of scientific advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and later replaced them with some who have been skeptical of vaccines. But so far, Kennedy has not tried to curb access to the shots for older Americans. The evidence that vaccines are beneficial remains overwhelming. The phrase 'Vaccines are not just for kids anymore' has become a favorite for William Schaffner, an infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. 'The population over 65, which often suffers the worst impact of respiratory viruses and others, now has the benefit of vaccines that can prevent much of that serious illness,' he said. Take influenza, which annually sends from 140,000 to 710,000 people to hospitals, most of them seniors, and is fatal to 10% of hospitalized older adults. For about 15 years, the CDC has approved several enhanced flu vaccines for people 65 and older. More effective than the standard formulation, they either contain higher levels of the antigen that builds protection against the virus or incorporate an adjuvant that creates a stronger immune response. Or they're recombinant vaccines, developed through a different method, with higher antigen levels. In a meta-analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 'all the enhanced vaccine products were superior to the standard dose for preventing hospitalisations,' said Rebecca Morgan, a health research methodologist at Case Western Reserve University and an author of the study. Compared with the standard flu shot, the enhanced vaccines reduced the risk of hospitalization from the flu in older adults, by at least 11% and up to 18%. The CDC advises adults 65 and older to receive the enhanced vaccines, as many already do. More good news: Vaccines to prevent respiratory syncytial virus in people 60 and older are performing admirably. RSV is the most common cause of hospitalization for infants, and it also poses significant risks to older people. 'Season in and season out,' Schaffner said, 'it produces outbreaks of serious respiratory illness that rivals influenza.' Because the FDA first approved an RSV vaccine in 2023, the 2023-24 season provided 'the first opportunity to see it in a real-world context,' said Pauline Terebuh, an epidemiologist at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and an author of a recent study in the journal JAMA Network Open. In analysing electronic health records for almost 800,000 patients, the researchers found the vaccines to be 75% effective against acute infection, meaning illness that was serious enough to send a patient to a health care provider. The vaccines were 75% effective in preventing emergency room or urgent care visits, and 75% effective against hospitalisation, both among those ages 60 to 74 and those older. Immunocompromised patients, despite having a somewhat lower level of protection from the vaccine, will also benefit from it, Terebuh said. As for adverse effects, the study found a very low risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition that causes muscle weakness and that typically follows an infection, in about 11 cases per 1 million doses of vaccine. That, she said, 'shouldn't dissuade people.' The CDC now recommends RSV vaccination for people 75 and older, and for those 60 to 74 if they're at higher risk of severe illness (from, say, heart disease). As data from the 2024-25 season becomes available, researchers hope to determine whether the vaccine will remain a one-and-done, or whether immunity will require repeated vaccination. People 65 and up express the greatest confidence in vaccine safety of any adult group, a KFF survey found in April. More than 80% said they were 'very 'or 'somewhat confident' about MMR, shingles, pneumonia, and flu shots. Although the COVID vaccine drew lower support among all adults, more than two-thirds of older adults expressed confidence in its safety. Even skeptics might become excited about one possible benefit of the shingles vaccine: This spring, Stanford researchers reported that over seven years, vaccination against shingles reduced the risk of dementia by 20%, a finding that made headlines. Biases often undermine observational studies that compare vaccinated with unvaccinated groups. 'People who are healthier and more health-motivated are the ones who get vaccinated,' said Pascal Geldsetzer, an epidemiologist at the Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at Stanford and lead author of the study. 'It's hard to know whether this is cause and effect,' he said, 'or whether they're less likely to develop dementia anyway.' So the Stanford team took advantage of a 'natural experiment' when the first shingles vaccine, Zostavax, was introduced in Wales. Health officials set a strict age cutoff: People who turned 80 on or before Sept. 1, 2013, weren't eligible for vaccination, but those even slightly younger were eligible. In the sample of nearly 300,000 adults whose birthdays fell close to either side of that date, almost half of the eligible group received the vaccine, but virtually nobody in the older group did. 'Just as in a randomized trial, these comparison groups should be similar in every way,' Geldsetzer explained. A substantial reduction in dementia diagnoses in the vaccine-eligible group, with a much stronger protective effect in women, therefore constitutes 'more powerful and convincing evidence,' he said. The team also found reduced rates of dementia after shingles vaccines were introduced in Australia and other countries. 'We keep seeing this in one dataset after another,' Geldsetzer said. In the United States, where a more potent vaccine, Shingrix, became available in 2017 and supplanted Zostavax, Oxford investigators found an even stronger effect.
Ottawa Citizen
18 hours ago
- Health
- Ottawa Citizen
Ontario measles outbreak slowing in most regions
Article content The measles outbreak that has infected record numbers of Ontario residents this year appears to be losing steam in most parts of the province, according to the latest numbers from Public Health Ontario. Article content But measles cases are continuing to climb in parts of northern Ontario. Article content Article content In the past week there were 33 new cases of measles recorded in the province, bringing the total in an historically large outbreak that began late last fall to 2,212. Article content Article content Measles cases appear to have stabilized in parts of the province that have been the epicentre of the outbreak — mainly in southwestern Ontario. There were just a handful of new cases in the areas that have seen the highest number of cases, mainly among unvaccinated infants, children and youth. Article content Article content But in the Algoma region, which includes Sault Ste. Marie, Blind River, Elliot Lake and Wawa, there were 22 new cases in the past week. There were no new cases in Eastern Ontario. Article content The large outbreak has sent 149 people to hospital, 11 to intensive care and played a role in the death of a premature infant who was infected in utero. Article content Article content Measles is one of the most contagious illness known and can lead to serious complications or death. The measles vaccine — which is part of the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) shot – is part of routine childhood immunizations required for entry to school in Ontario, unless students have an exemption for medical or philosophical reasons. Article content
BBC News
21 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Measles outbreak in Knowsley as vaccine rates drop
A borough on Merseyside is dealing with an outbreak of measles amid concerns over falling vaccination rates. Knowsley has recorded 13 probable cases of the virus including 11 children, although that number is expected to rise as some are still awaiting test of measles have become a concern across the country, a problem many believe is associated with falling uptake of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, usually administered in two doses. Dr Sarah McNulty, director of public health at Knowsley Council, said about a third of people between the ages of two and 30 in the borough had not had either dose of the MMR jab. She said about a fifth of children and young people in Knowsley, including 14% of two to five-years-olds, had not had a dose. Merseyside measles outbreak fear over low vaccine uptake Dr McNulty told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Because we haven't seen measles for a while, I think people forget that measles can be a serious illness. "It's not pleasant to have and it can have some quite severe complications, it can cause things like pneumonia"People who get measles sometimes end up in hospital. It's not an illness that you would want to have if there is, as there is, a pretty good preventative intervention that you can take." Measles infections usually start with cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose and coughing and sneezing, according to the NHS. This is followed within days by a distinctive blotchy rash, which usually starts on the face and spreads to the rest of the body. Dr McNulty said further outbreaks were likely across the country unless "we get really good population coverage of the MMR vaccine". She said the reason for falling vaccination rates was a "mixed picture"."I think some of it is that people tend to forget that it's a serious illness and so don't necessarily prioritize the vaccination for their children," she said. Deliberate "anti-vaccination sentiment" was another reason, she said, adding: "I think that there is misinformation that people are maybe grabbing hold of and not, you know, using other sources of trusted information to try and debate that."Dr McNulty said the MMR vaccine "has a lot of evidence around its safety" and urged anyone with concerns to speak to their GP or healthcare providers. Children are usually given an initial dose of the MMR jab just before their first birthday, with the second administered after they turn three. However, Dr McNulty said that was in the process of changing, and children born within the last year would be eligible to get a second dose at about 18 months who has not already received the vaccine can also request it from their GP at any age. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram, and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Toronto Star
a day ago
- Health
- Toronto Star
B.C.‘s Interior health authority confirms additional measles cases
A dose of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine awaits the next patient during a vaccine clinic at Southwestern Public Health in St. Thomas, Ont. on Tuesday, March 4, CANADIAN PRESS/Geoff Robins flag wire: true flag sponsored: false article_type: : sWebsitePrimaryPublication : publications/toronto_star bHasMigratedAvatar : false :
Mint
2 days ago
- Health
- Mint
Robert F. Kennedy Jr-revamped vaccine panel to re-examine childhood immunization schedule, raising alarm
A federal vaccine advisory committee is preparing to re-evaluate the childhood vaccination schedule and reexamine long-standing immunizations, a move that has triggered alarm over concerns about potential changes to established vaccine recommendations. On Wednesday (June 25), the newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) met for the first time under its new chair, Martin Kulldorff. Kulldorff announced the creation of two new work groups: one to scrutinize the cumulative effects of all recommended vaccines in children and adolescents, and another to review vaccines that have not been evaluated in more than seven years. 'The number of vaccines that our children and adolescents receive today exceeds what children in most other developed nations receive and what most of us in this room received when we were children,' Kulldorff said during the meeting. He added: 'In addition to studying and evaluating individual vaccines, it is important to evaluate the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. This includes interaction effects between different vaccines, the total number of vaccines, cumulative amount of vaccine ingredients, and relative timing.' Kulldorff explained that among the topics the committee could consider is whether hepatitis B shots should continue to be administered to newborns before hospital discharge. The group may also weigh the possibility of recommending separate measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and varicella vaccines instead of the combined MMRV shot, and look at adjusting the timing of MMR doses to address certain religious objections. 'This was supposed to be a regular practice of the ACIP, but it has not been done in a thorough and systematic way,' Kulldorff said. 'We are learning more about vaccines over time, and to stay true to evidence-based medicine, we have a duty and a responsibility to keep up to date with scientific research.' Earlier this month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. removed all 17 members of the previous ACIP and appointed eight new members, many of whom have voiced skepticism about childhood vaccines. 'When I was a kid I got three vaccines,' Kennedy said. 'Today they get 69 to 92 jabs of vaccines between conception and when they are 18 years old.' Kennedy has frequently claimed that today's vaccination schedule is excessive and not sufficiently scrutinised. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) swiftly condemned the developments. In a video statement, the AAP said: 'Immunization policy through ACIP is no longer a credible process.' The group pledged to continue publishing its own independent vaccine recommendations for children, regardless of ACIP deliberations.
