Malaria vaccine achieves striking early success

Apr 30 2021

Summary After decades of disappointing results, new findings have revived hopes for an effective vaccine against malaria, which kills some 400,000 people every year, most of them children. An experimental vaccine that targets the most dangerous form of the malaria parasite was found to have an efficacy of 71% to 77% after 1 year. The results come from a trial of a vaccine developed by researchers at the University of Oxford involving 450 toddlers in Burkina Faso. During the 12 months after vaccination, 27% of children who received vaccine with a high dose of an immune-boosting compound called an adjuvant developed malaria; in a control group that didn't receive the malaria vaccine, the number was 72%. The study investigators are now planning a trial enrolling 4800 children in Burkina Faso, Mali, Kenya, and Tanzania. Scientists not involved in the trial caution that the current trial was small and add that the duration of the vaccine's protection remains to be proved.

Source: Science Mag

Few young adult men have gotten the HPV vaccine, study finds

Apr 30 2021

The COVID-19 vaccine isn't having any trouble attracting suitors. But there's another, older model that's been mostly ignored by the young men of America: the HPV vaccine. Using data from the 2010-2018 National Health Interview Surveys, Michigan Medicine researchers found that just 16% of men who were 18 to 21 years old had received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine at any age. In comparison, 42% of women in the same age bracket had gotten at least one shot of the vaccine.

Source: Eurek Alert

Connecticut Ends Non-Medical Vaccine Exemptions for Schools, Daycares

Apr 30 2021

Connecticut has removed all non-medical vaccine exemptions for children in schools and daycares. The state legislature’s vote came after three years of debate and record-breaking hours of public testimony. Connecticut now joins five other states that only allow medical exemptions to school entry requirements: California, Maine, Mississippi, New York, and West Virginia. All children currently enrolled in kindergarten through high school will, however, keep their non-medical vaccine exemptions.

Source: Shot of Prevention

Joe Rogan wades into the anti-vaccination narrative on his Spotify podcast

Apr 30 2021

New York (CNN Business)Joe Rogan, one of the world's highest paid and most popular podcast hosts, is giving air to anti-vaccine narratives. On his Spotify (SPOT) exclusive podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," Rogan told listeners that if a 21-year-old asked him if they should get vaccinated, he would suggest no. "People say, do you think it's safe to get vaccinated? I've said, yeah, I think for the most part it's safe to get vaccinated. I do. I do," Rogan said on the podcast. "But if you're like 21 years old, and you say to me, should I get vaccinated? I'll go no. Are you healthy? Are you a healthy person?"

Source: CNN

Children as young as 6 months old now in COVID-19 vaccine trials

Apr 30 2021

As nearly 140 million American adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and we inch closer to herd immunity, vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna have moved on to the next phase of the fight against the virus: studying to see if the vaccine will be safe and effective for children. “Children under 18 make up 85 million people in [the] U.S. – about 20% of the population,” Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and population health at Stanford University, told ABC News. “Getting them vaccinated is a major contribution to reducing transmission of virus.”

Source: ABC News

U.S. to give India raw materials for vaccines, medical supplies to help fight Covid surge

Apr 29 2021

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration said that it will immediately make raw materials needed for India’s coronavirus vaccine production available as the country works to counter the surge of Covid-19 infections. In recent weeks, India has grappled with a staggering rise in new coronavirus infections. Over the weekend, India set another global record for daily cases, bringing the nation’s cumulative total to 16,960,172 cases, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins.

Source: CNBC

Private Florida School Won't Employ Vaccinated Teachers

Apr 29 2021

MIAMI (AP) — A private school founded by an anti-vaccination activist in South Florida has warned teachers and staff against taking the COVID-19 vaccine, saying it will not employ anyone who has received the shot. The Centner Academy in Miami sent a notice to parents on Monday informing them of a new policy for its two campuses for about 300 students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Teachers or staff who have already taken the vaccine were told to continue reporting to school but to stay separated from students.

Source: US News

Men lag behind women in coronavirus vaccinations, especially in Black communities

Apr 29 2021

DJ Quicksilva was on the fence about getting vaccinated. The radio host, who lives in Prince George’s County, Md., had been eligible since January because he teaches at his DJ school in person. His doctor was pushing him to get the shot. But he did not trust a medical system he felt had too often failed Black men like him. When his wife got vaccinated in March, the pressure mounted. “It is creating that separation in the house,” he said during a forum he hosted with doctors. “Like: ‘Okay, baby, I’m vaccinated. What you going to do?’ I’m like: ‘Ugh.’ ”

Source: WP

In Colorado, COVID Case Rates Are The Lowest Where Vaccination Rates Are The Highest (And Vice Versa)

Apr 29 2021

Vaccinations are limiting the spread of the coronavirus in the Colorado communities where they are being most accepted. Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state’s epidemiologist, compared vaccination rates in the state's 10 largest counties with COVID-19 case rates. At a Tuesday COVID-19 update, she said case rates are highest in locations where vaccination rates are lowest and vice versa. "What we're really seeing here is our first clear sign, our first promising indication, that we're seeing community-level protection from vaccination," Herlihy said.

Source: CPR

These Aurora Doctors Are Fighting Racial Inequities in Vaccine Distribution

Apr 29 2021

As members of BIPOC communities still face barriers to getting the COVID-19 vaccine in Colorado, pop-up clinics and other efforts have sought to promote equality in the vaccine distribution process. One ongoing clinic in Aurora has been particularly effective in reaching these communities — having provided around 2,000 shots in two months. Notably, this project isn’t run by the government or a medical facility. It’s managed completely by a local couple and their friends. Dr. Cynthia Hazel, research manager at the OMNI Institute, and Dr. Kweku Hazel, a surgical fellow with UCHealth, have been on a years-long journey to bring important health information and resources to the Black community. Both originally from Ghana, Kweku moved to the U.S. as a high schooler and went on to attend medical school in Texas. While he was a med student, he noticed that members of the Black community often had questions and uncertainties about getting medical care due to their experiences with systemic racism. So he started a program to encourage his classmates to visit barbershops and salons in Black communities, where they could answer questions and hear more about the Black experience with medical care. Meanwhile, after studying public health policy in the UK, Cynthia worked for years to provide health education to the elderly population and rural women in Ghana, later moving to the Aurora area when she and Kweku got married in 2014.

Source: 303 Magazine