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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced it is preparing for co-circulating influenza virus, SARS-CoV-2, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during the 2023-2024 season.
The CDC stated on September 5, 2023, that vaccines can provide life-saving protection against all three viral respiratory diseases.
Furthermore, the CDC recommends these vaccines for older adults, who are at a higher risk of severe illness from these diseases.
For example, the CDC recently published a Health Advisory about increased RSV activity in the Southeastern United States, including Georgia and Florida.
During a Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity (COCA) Call on September 19, 2023, CDC presenters will provide updates about the latest recommendations and clinical considerations for administering influenza, COVID-19, and RSV vaccines to seniors this year.
This COCA Webinar link is https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1606020154, ID: 160 602 0154, and Passcode: 493303.
According to the CDC, clinicians play a vital role in ensuring that older adults protect themselves by encouraging them to stay up to date on vaccinations.
GSK and the YMCA today announced they are hosting GSK's Sideline RSV "Community Conversations" event series to raise awareness about respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in older adults.
This is an essential event since the U.S. CDC issued a Health Advisory on September 5, 2023, regarding the 2023-2024 RSV season.
The events will occur at four YMCA locations in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, and Phoenix, joined by GSK's campaign spokesperson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr., to help spark important conversations about RSV.
Kicking off in September 2023 and running through RSV Awareness Month in October, the private events will include perspectives from medical professionals and patients and convene public health leaders, media, and 60+ YMCA members.
"As a dedicated public health advocate, I'm excited to be able to visit older adults in their communities to talk about their risk for RSV infection," said Johnson in a press release.
"Like many of us, and being over 60 myself, I used to be unaware of RSV's effect on older adults."
"Now, I'm passionate about educating others and encouraging them to understand their risks and be proactive about their health."
For older adults, data suggest an increased risk for severe RSV infection that can lead to hospitalization.
RSV can exacerbate certain underlying medical conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and chronic heart failure, and can lead to severe outcomes, such as pneumonia, hospitalization, and death.
As of September 6, 2023, two RSV vaccines were approved by the U.S. FDA.
To learn more, visit www.SidelineRSV.com.
Earvin Johnson played for Michigan State in college in 1979, then for the Los Angeles Lakers, winning numerous championships.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today announced a Health Alert Network Health Advisory CDCHAN-00498 to notify clinicians and caregivers about increased respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity in the Southeastern United States.
Historically, such regional increases have predicted the beginning of the RSV season in the U.S.
Across both prepandemic and pandemic years, RSV circulation began in Florida, said the CDC on September 5, 2023.
The Florida Department of Health segmented reports into five RSV regions, each with its own RSV season.
As of week #35, September 2, 2023, Florida's RSV activity had increased admission, positivity, and emergency room rates, but no current outbreaks.
In anticipation of the onset of the 2023-2024 RSV season, the CDC encourages clinicians to prepare to implement new RSV prevention options.
A new monoclonal antibody product, Beyfortus™ (Nirsevimab-alip), protects infants and some young children at higher risk for severe RSV disease. Its availability in the U.S. is expected in October 2023.
Also, two new RSV vaccines are available to protect older adults from severe RSV disease: RSVPreF3 (Arexvy, GSK) or RSVpreF (Abrysvo, Pfizer), based on shared clinical decision-making between the healthcare provider and the patient.
Furthermore, the CDC recommends healthcare personnel, childcare providers, and staff at long-term care facilities should stay home and not go to work when they have a fever or symptoms of respiratory infection to reduce the spread of respiratory infections, including RSV.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) recently renewed a multi-year collaboration to accelerate the development of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases.
Under the renewed CEPI-IVI Implementing Partnership Agreement announced on September 1, 2023, IVI will provide technical services for CEPI-funded projects, leveraging IVI’s expertise and capabilities at their headquarters in Korea.
And help accelerate vaccine development against pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential, and in support of CEPI’s 100 Days Mission, a goal to reduce the time taken to develop safe and effective vaccines against pathogens with pandemic potential to 100 days.
To this end, IVI will support CEPI across a variety of projects, including providing strategic, technical, and scientific support for clinical development and manufacturing of vaccines, standards, and assay development, and capacity-building initiatives that strengthen local resources to help establish or improve research preparedness and emergency evidence generation for future outbreaks.
CEPI's 5-year plan lays out a $3.5 billion roadmap to compress vaccine development timelines to 100 days, develop a broadly protective vaccine against COVID-19 and other betacoronaviruses, and create a "library" of vaccine candidates for use against known and unknown pathogens.
CEPI has also invested in new platform technologies for rapid vaccine development against unknown pathogens (Disease X).
Before the recent pandemic, beginning in 2027, CEPI focused on developing vaccines against the Ebola, Lassa, MERS, Nipah, Rift Valley Fever, and Chikungunya viruses.
CEPI's plan is available at https://endpandemics.cepi.net.
The epidemiology of human papillomavirus (HPV) in men is less known than in women, according to research in a study published in The Lancet Global Health.
In early September 2023, a group of researchers published a global systematic review and meta-analysis assessing the prevalence of genital HPV infection in the male population.
They identified 5,685 publications from database searches, of which 65 studies were included from 35 countries.
The pooled prevalence was 31% (95% CI 27–35) for any HPV.
And 21% (18–24) for HR-HPV.
HPV-16 was the most prevalent HPV genotype (5%, 95% CI 4–7), followed by HPV-6 (4%, 3–5).
HPV prevalence was high in young adults, reaching a maximum between 25 and 29 years.
Pooled prevalence estimates were similar for the UN Sustainable Development Goal geographical regions of Europe and Northern America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania.
However, the estimates for Eastern and South-Eastern Asia were half that of the other regions.
Our findings show that HPV prevalence is high in men over the age of 15 years and support that sexually active men, regardless of age, are an important reservoir of HPV genital infection, wrote these researchers.
These estimates emphasize the importance of incorporating men in comprehensive HPV prevention strategies to reduce HPV-related morbidity and mortality in men and ultimately eliminate cervical cancer and other HPV-related diseases in women.
As of September 5, 2023, there are various HPV vaccines available.
This study was not funded by industry.
In the United Kingdom, 900,000 more adults have recently become eligible for a shingles vaccination. Those newly eligible for a shingles vaccine include all those turning 65 and 70 and those aged 50 and over with a severely weakened immune system.
Those aged 70-79 remain eligible for the vaccine.
Following the latest advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, the NHS announced on September 1, 2023, that the shingles vaccination program has tod been expanded to protect more people at an earlier age.
The Shingrix®, a non-live, adjuvanted recombinant vaccine, is available through GP surgeries in primary care and can be offered throughout the year.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, commented in a press release, "Shingles is an excruciating condition, and complications can be long-lasting. Older people and those with weakened immune systems are particularly vulnerable, so I'd encourage all those newly eligible from today to come forward."
According to the NHS, about 20% will develop shingles in their lifetime.
Shingles (herpes zoster) is a viral infection of an individual nerve and the skin surface served by that nerve.
Shingles can occur at any age, but the risk and severity of shingles increase with age, and complications are higher in individuals with severely weakened immune systems and those older.
Symptoms of the disease can include blindness, hearing loss, nerve pain and, in some cases, death.
In the first five years after a shingles vaccine was introduced in England in 2013, there were 45,000 fewer GP consultations and 1,840 fewer hospitalizations for shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia, showing the program's overall impact in protecting the public.
As India continues its battle against measles outbreaks, it has accelerated last-mile coverage for measles elimination across the country, reported the World Health Organization (WHO).
The good news is that both measles and rubella can be prevented through vaccination.
India is targeting a vaccination coverage of 95% with two doses of the Measles and Rubella vaccine to achieve measles and rubella elimination by 2023.
To achieve that goal, India is conducting three rounds of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 5.0 under the theme “A big leap towards measles and Rubella Elimination” – with an objective to identify and vaccinate all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children till five years of age.
Targeted districts in the states of West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Mumbai in Maharashtra vaccinated over 30 million children were vaccinated with the measles and rubella vaccine from November 2022 to May 2023.
India is not alone in confronting measles outbreaks in 2023, The WHO and the U.S. CDC have identified over 30 countries with measurable measles outbreaks this year.
As of early September 2023, the CDC reported 19 measles cases in the U.S., including recent cases in Chicago and Texas.
