How the 1957 Flu Pandemic Was Stopped Early in Its Path

Mar 18 2020

On April 17, 1957, Maurice Hilleman realized a pandemic was on its way to the United States. That day, The New York Times reported on a large influenza outbreak in Hong Kong. One detail in particular caught the doctor’s eye: in the long waiting lines for clinics, the paper said “women carried glassy-eyed children tied to their backs.” He quickly got to work, putting out the word that there was a pandemic coming and pushing to develop a vaccine by the time school started again in the fall. The first case of the pandemic had appeared in the Guizhou Province of southwestern China in February 1957. By the time Hilleman read about it in April, the Times reported that an estimated 250,000 Hong Kong residents—or 10 percent of the region’s population—were receiving treatment for it.

Source: History

Texas Anti-Vaxxers Fear Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccines More Than the Virus Itself

Mar 18 2020

​On Friday, just after Governor Greg Abbott declared a statewide emergency in response to the coronavirus, Sarah posted a worried plea on a local anti-vaccine Facebook group. She worried that the declaration gives the government the right to “force vaccinations” on unwilling Texans. “If they fast-track some vaccine for coronavirus, how are all of us going to defend ourselves?” she asked. “I’ll let them vaccinate my daughter over my dead body.” Other members of the group, Tarrant County Crunchy Mamas, chimed in.

Source: Texas Monthly

Immunology 101 Series: The Process of Making Safe and Effective Vaccines

Mar 17 2020

As you may know from reading the first Immunology 101 Series post, vaccines train our immune systems to recognize and respond quickly to infection to keep us healthy. Reading the second Immunology 101 Series post, you learned that there are several different forms of vaccines, each created to produce the most effective vaccine possible based on the unique properties of each type of pathogen. In this post you will learn about the process of vaccine development. The process is lengthy and rigorous, just as it should be to prove that the end product is safe and effective!

Source: Team Vaccine Blog

Race, insurance status linked to lower cancer survival

Mar 17 2020

Nonwhite, uninsured patients with clinically favorable human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) have higher mortality than their white peers, according to a study published in the February issue of the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Luke R.G. Pike, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues used a custom Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database to analyze 4,735 patients with nonmetastatic SCCHN and known HPV status who were diagnosed between 2013 and 2014. The authors performed a multivariable logistic regression analysis to identify associations between patient characteristics and HPV status and cancer-specific mortality (CSM).

Source: Medical Xpress

Polio Epidemic Offers Guidance For Getting Through COVID-19

Mar 16 2020

Clues on how to fight the coronavirus lie within history’s past epidemics, including devastating outbreaks of polio. A vaccine was developed in 1955, the same year thousands were infected by the polio virus — including Here & Now host Robin Young and her siblings. In some states, 50 new cases popped up each day.

Source: WBUR

Coronavirus In Colorado: Top Doctor At Denver Health Medical On Vaccine: ‘Harder Than We Think’

Mar 16 2020

​Denver Health Medical Center, like a lot of hospitals is faced with planning right now for potentially being swamped with sick people from the coronavirus. Already, some hospitals in the nation are setting up tents for people seeking testing and treatment. “We are looking at setting up alternative care sites. Mostly for the assessment of fever and respiratory illness and the large number of people seeking evaluation for those symptoms,” said Dr. Connie Price, chief medical officer at Denver Health Medical Center. The problem for the hospital as for many health care sites, is testing kits.

Source: CBS Denver

When Promoting Knowledge Makes You a Target

Mar 16 2020

Online harassment is a serious, widespread, and growing issue that can affect anyone from all walks of life. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly four in 10 Americans have personally experienced online harassment and 62 percent consider it to be a major problem. Increasingly, both academics and health professionals are finding themselves to be the recipients of online harassment for their advocacy of established lines of research and evidence-based health care. Those in particular disciplines and areas of study are especially at risk, such as scientists who study vaccine safety and climate change, as well as psychiatrists and health professionals who promote evidence-based medicine.

Source: Scientific American

The Facts about the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

Mar 16 2020

As is the case with any medication, vaccines can have side effects. A serious side effect after vaccination is very rare, but if it does happen, a person can file a petition (also known as a claim) with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) for compensation. The VICP was created through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Act of 1986 to: Make sure that people injured by vaccines are provided with fair and adequate compensation. Make sure the U.S. has an adequate supply of vaccines and stable vaccine costs. In June 2019, The New York Times published an examination of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. As The New York Times pointed out, the VICP demonstrates that serious vaccine injuries are extremely rare.

Source: Shot of Prevetion

Parents' Top Questions About the Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Mar 16 2020

With the new coronavirus in the spotlight for media attention and public concern, we asked one of our experts to answer parents' common questions about the respiratory illness. Here's what Chris Nyquist, MD, an infectious disease specialist and Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Children's Hospital Colorado, had to say.

Source: Children's Hospital Colorado

Coronavirus has spared American children. The flu has killed 144 kids so far this season.

Mar 16 2020

​More than 3,700 Americans have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and at least 69 have died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and CBS News. However, U.S. health officials say a relatively small percentage of children have tested positive for COVID-19 and those who have it tend to show milder symptoms. No child deaths have yet been reported. By comparison, 36 million Americans have gotten the flu this season and about 22,000 have died. Children have been more vulnerable than years past with 144 pediatric deaths reported, according to the latest statistics from the CDC. Eight more child deaths were reported this week.

Source: CBS News