Latest news with #USCentresforDiseaseControlandPrevention
India Today
7 days ago
- Health
- India Today
Moderna Covid vaccine cleared in US for children aged 6 months to 11 years
The US Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval for Moderna's MRNA.O COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, in children aged 6 months through 11 years who are at an increased risk of the disease, the company said on shot was previously available for paediatric populations under emergency use authorisation. Moderna expects to make its updated vaccine available for eligible US population for the 2025-26 respiratory virus secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr had in May said the US has stopped recommending routine COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. However, the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said shots remain an option for healthy children when parents and doctors agree that it is agency recommended updated COVID vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following the guidance of its panel of outside who for decades has sown doubt about the safety of vaccines contrary to evidence and research by scientists, oversees the has been sued by several leading medical organizations, arguing that current policies on COVID-19 vaccines pose an imminent threat to public addition to the directive on COVID vaccines, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the independent panel of experts that advises on vaccine policy, and replaced them with seven new members, including several who have advocated against of the company rose 2 per cent to USD 33.45 in premarket trading.- EndsMust Watch
Straits Times
12-06-2025
- Health
- Straits Times
Kennedy replaces fired US CDC panel members, includes anti-vaccine proponents
US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr alleged that the prior panel members had conflicts of interest. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - US Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr named eight members to serve on a key panel of vaccine advisers on June 11, including several who have advocated against vaccines, after abruptly firing all 17 members of the independent committee of experts. They will sit on the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee for Immunisation Practices, which advises the agency on who should get the shots after they are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. The group of eight - the minimum number allowed by the ACIP founding charter - includes four who have previously worked on committees associated with either the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration, or both. Others have published papers, posted on social media, or written online biographies with anti-vaccine views, including against the mRNA vaccine technology used in some of the newest immunizations such as the Covid-19 vaccine. Among them is Mr Robert Malone, one of the most prominent voices opposing mRNA vaccines. He is aligned with Mr Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again movement. The group also includes Mr Joseph Hibbeln, Mr Martin Kulldorff, Mr Retsef Levi, Mr Cody Meissner, Mr James Pagano, Mr Vicky Pebsworth and Mr Michael Ross. Mr Kennedy, who has long questioned the safety of vaccines contrary to scientific evidence, alleged that the prior panel members, many of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden, had conflicts of interest, without providing evidence of specific members' conflicts. He said the move was necessary 'to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science'. Committee members said their ACIP work follows rigorous vetting of their financial ties and that they must abstain from votes on any vaccine for which they have a conflict. Mr Kennedy said on X that the panel would attend the committee's June 25 meeting. Advisers had been expected to deliberate and vote on who should receive a number of vaccines, including the flu shot and 2025-26 Covid-19 vaccine boosters, and the meeting had been slated for June 25-27. No agenda has been published yet. Shares of vaccine makers Moderna and Pfizer, which both produced mRNA Covid vaccines, fell marginally while those of Novavax, which did not utilise mRNA in its vaccine, rose marginally in after-hours trading. New members It is unclear how new members of the panel have been vetted for conflicts of interest, or when the vetting process began. Mr Meissner and Mr Pebsworth have served on the FDA's Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, and Mr Meissner also previously served on ACIP. Mr Pebsworth is now associated with the National Vaccine Information Centre, a group that advocates for vaccine exemptions and educates about vaccine injury. Mr Kulldorff is an architect of the Great Barrington Declaration, which called for a lighter public health response to Covid-19 in October 2020, and previously served on an ACIP vaccine safety subgroup. Mr Levi has in the past said mRNA vaccines can cause serious harm and death, especially among children, and called for their immediate withdrawal. Mr Ross, a professor at George Washington University, is an operating partner of Havencrest Capital Management, a firm focused on healthcare investments, according to its website. The FDA has found that the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines are generally safe and effective, but Commissioner Marty Makary has questioned the benefit of repeated annual shots for healthy, younger Americans. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
New Straits Times
07-06-2025
- Health
- New Straits Times
Brain-eating amoeba linked to camper's death
TEXAS: A woman from the United States (US) died from an infection after using tap water from a recreational vehicle's water system at a campsite in Texas with a nasal irrigation device. US news outlet CBS News reported that the 71-year-old woman had previously been healthy before developing severe symptoms, including fever, headache and altered mental status, within four days of using the device. According to a report published by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the rare but often fatal brain infection, called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), was caused by the Naegleria fowleri organism. Despite medical treatment for a suspected PAM infection, she developed seizures and died eight days after the onset of symptoms. The US news outlet also reported that PAM is typically associated with recreational water activities, as the amoeba thrives in warm freshwater lakes, rivers and hot springs. Infection may occur if water containing the amoeba enters the nose and reaches the brain. The CDC recommends using distilled, sterile, or previously boiled and cooled tap water for nasal irrigation. When engaging in freshwater activities, the agency also advises using a nose clip or keeping one's head above water. The agency noted that the infection cannot be spread by drinking contaminated water or through person-to-person contact.
NDTV
04-06-2025
- General
- NDTV
US Woman Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Using Tap Water For Nasal Rinse
A 71-year-old woman in Texas has died after contracting a rare but deadly brain infection linked to a nasal irrigation device, according to a report by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The woman, previously in good health, developed severe neurological symptoms days after rinsing her sinuses with water from an RV's supply at a campground in Texas. The water, which had not been boiled or sterilised, was likely contaminated with Naegleria fowleri - commonly known as the brain-eating amoeba, the People reported. According to the CDC, the woman began showing symptoms such as fever, headache, and confusion within four days of using the nasal rinse. Despite receiving treatment for primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), the infection progressed rapidly. She suffered seizures and died eight days after the first symptoms appeared. PAM is an extremely rare but almost always fatal infection caused by Naegleria fowleri, a microscopic amoeba that typically enters the body through the nose when people swim or bathe in warm freshwater. It can also infect individuals who use tap or untreated water for nasal rinsing. Although the amoeba was not directly found in the RV's water system, the CDC noted that the water was "inadequately disinfected." This case serves as a warning about the importance of using only sterile, distilled, or properly boiled and cooled water for nasal irrigation. The CDC has documented just 164 PAM infections in the US between 1962 and 2023. Only four people have survived. Health officials advise the public to avoid using untreated tap water for sinus rinses and to be cautious when swimming in warm freshwater lakes or hot springs, where the amoeba thrives.
AsiaOne
31-05-2025
- Health
- AsiaOne
US CDC continues to recommend Covid-19 vaccines for children, contradicts Kennedy, World News
The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said Covid-19 vaccines remain an option for healthy children when parents and doctors agree that it is needed, stopping short of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s announcement that the agency would remove the shots from its immunization schedule. In a schedule published late on Thursday (May 27), the CDC said any Covid-19 vaccination in healthy children aged 6 months to 17 years should follow "shared clinical decision-making" between a child's parents and their healthcare provider. It had previously recommended updated Covid-19 vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following the guidance of its panel of outside experts. "Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may receive Covid-19 vaccination, informed by the clinical judgment of a healthcare provider and personal preference and circumstances," the CDC notice said. It provides instructions for administering the shots to healthy children by age group, from infants to teenagers. Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, had said on Tuesday the recommendations would be dropped. "As of today, the Covid-19 vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule," Kennedy said in a video posted on the X platform. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said there was no contradiction between Kennedy's statement and the CDC schedule, which no longer provides a broad recommendation for healthy children. Kennedy's announcement prompted criticism from medical experts who said the health secretary circumvented the government's decision-making process on vaccines and could prevent health insurance coverage for Covid-19 shots to vulnerable Americans. The Infectious Diseases Society of America said on Tuesday that removing the recommendation "does the opposite of what Americans have been asking for when it comes to their health - it takes away choices and will negatively impact them." It added infants and children may "develop severe disease and may suffer from prolonged symptoms due to long Covid-19, which can negatively impact their development." [[nid:718567]] Nearly 1,900 children up to 18 years of age died of Covid0-19 in the US, according to CDC estimates updated in 2023. The makers of Covid-19 vaccines available in the US - Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax - did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Traditionally, the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices would meet and vote on changes to the immunization schedule or recommendations on who should get vaccines before the agency's director made a final call. The committee had not voted on the changes announced by Kennedy. Last week, the FDA said it plans to require new clinical trials for approval of annual Covid-19 boosters for healthy Americans under 65, effectively limiting them to older adults and those at risk of developing severe illness.
