Latest news with #Adalja
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. ends COVID shot recommendation for healthy kids, pregnant women
WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — The Trump administration is changing government guidelines for who should get the COVID-19 vaccine. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a video message on Tuesday that the CDC will no longer recommend the COVID vaccine for healthy kids or pregnant women. 'The COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,' Kennedy said. This reverses the previous CDC stance which had urged annual vaccination for anyone 6 months and older. 'It's common sense and it's good science' National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said. This change will likely limit access to the vaccine for those groups, because it will mean insurance no longer has to cover the shot. People who want it may have to go out of their way to access it, instead of getting it at a local pharmacy or clinic. Dr. Amesh Adalja is an infectious disease doctor with Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. He has major concerns about the change. 'It's not based on science and it's actually harmful,' Adalja said. He says there is scientific evidence that pregnant women are at high risk for complications if they catch COVID. Plus, newborn babies are high risk too and can be protected if their mothers get vaccinated. 'Pregnant women should be getting vaccinated with each of their pregnancies, for multiple reasons,' Adalja said. When it comes to healthy children, Dr. Adalja says it isn't clear if they need multiple rounds of COVID vaccination. Though he believes children should get it at least once. 'It is clear that children do benefit from the initial series of vaccination that they get when they become eligible,' Adalja said. Kennedy has long been an outspoken COVID vaccine skeptic, so Dr. Adalja wasn't surprised by Tuesday's announcement. But he is advising pregnant women and parents of young children not to follow it. 'They should completely ignore everything that came out of RFK Jr.'s mouth,' Adalja said. This CDC change comes just a week after the FDA announced a plan to limit approval of new COVID vaccines to just seniors and high-risk individuals, while others will have to wait for approval from lengthy clinical trials. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Texas measles outbreak hits 500 cases, but expert says it could be 4 times higher
The measles outbreak in Texas is likely four times the size of the reported numbers because of a lack of availability of testing and the lack of willingness to come forward to get tested, Dr. Amesh Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in a news briefing Tuesday. His estimate is based on the number of measles deaths compared with the number of cases reported. Two children have died, and 57 patients have been hospitalized, mainly because of high fever and breathing problems. "Two deaths would tell you it should be 2,000 cases in Texas," Adalja said. It probably means that this is a much bigger outbreak than we've seen in the past, he said. Texas State Health and Human Services is now reporting 505 cases in West Texas, and that includes a growing number of cases in urban areas, including Lubbock. Gaines County, which is the origin of this outbreak in a Mennonite community, still has the most cases. Of the 505 West Texas cases, 495 were in people who were unvaccinated or their vaccination status is not known. "What happened in Gaines County is really a lesson for the whole country," Adalja said. Second child dies of measles in West Texas outbreak Adalja expects the cases to continue to grow. "This is going to take maybe a year to contain," he said. Now with more cases in the Lubbock area, a faster spread is also possible, said Katherine Wells, director of Public Health for the city. Previously, Lubbock was helping to support the people in rural West Texas who were needing to be hospitalized. "Now we're actually seeing transmission within our community," she said of the 36 Lubbock County cases. "Now I'm worried about exposures in grocery stores and malls and those types of places that don't exist as much out in rural communities. ... One case can be exposing more individuals." Measles is one of the most contagious diseases. It spreads by airborne particles, and has a 90% infection rate among unvaccinated people if they are exposed to a person with measles. The virus can live on the surfaces of a room for two hours after the exposure. Lloyd Doggett demands answers from CDC: 'What are you doing about Texas measles outbreak?' There have been six cases in areas outside West Texas, including one in Travis County of an infant. That case has now resolved without any further infections. Texas has expanded the number of counties in the outbreak zone to 21 and changed the vaccine recommendations for that area, Wells said. All children in that area can now get vaccinated with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine beginning at 6 months old instead of at one year, and children ages 1 to 4 can get a second vaccine before they turn 4. The Lubbock area now has a day care facility with six to seven confirmed measles cases, Wells said, but more children from that day care are waiting to be tested. Any child who is not vaccinated at that center has been sent home for at least 21 days. Kids who have any of the early symptoms such as goopy eyes and runny nose are being sent home, she said. If they have measles, they cannot return until four days after the rash appears and they are symptom- and fever-free. Funding to fight measles outbreak in Texas hit by DOGE cuts Measles is now in 22 states and is actually six separate outbreaks, Adalja said. The Texas outbreak, which has expanded to New Mexico and Oklahoma, makes up the majority of the cases. After federal cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, public health departments have lost personnel on the ground to do the vaccination clinics and the epidemiologists to do contract tracing and control the spread, said Dr. Phil Huang, director of Dallas County Health and Human Services. Near Dallas, a person with measles recently traveled to Grapevine and the Great Wolf Lodge water park hotel, which is causing that area concern. Earlier San Marcos, New Braunfels and San Antonio were concerned about a person who later became positive with measles who had visited that area over Valentine's weekend, but no additional cases are known to have come from that. Most years, 100,000 deaths happen globally from measles, Adalja said, but not in the U.S. What is happening in the U.S. will affect other countries in South America and North America, he said. "It's not just the U.S. on the line here," he said. "It's the whole region of the Americas." That region had received elimination status for measles, but that might be lost, he said. Measles also has long-term consequences. "Measles is not just an acute illness," Adalja said. It causes "immune amnesia," which means people lose their immune protection to other diseases. They also can develop swelling of the brain and other complications years later. RFK Jr.: MMR vaccine 'most effective way' to prevent measles after 2nd Texas child dies After seven to 14 days of being exposed, measles starts with: Cough Runny nose Conjunctivitis Usually a fever of 103 to 104 Four days later: A rash starting at the head and working its way down the body appears. The rash can start as sore spots in the mouth. In severe cases: Inflammation of the lungs Pneumonia from a secondary infection Inflammation of the brain People born before 1957 are presumed to have immunity because of the amount of measles that was present during that time. People born after that time need to make sure they have been vaccinated with two doses. If you were born between 1957 and 1968, you might not have immunity because the vaccine at the time didn't use a live virus. Vaccine protection does wane over time. You can get a blood test to check your immunity level to be sure. If you have been pregnant in the last 30 years, you have already had your titer check for rubella, which is in the MMR vaccine and would have been told if you did not have immunity. For vaccinations, contact your primary care provider or you can go through Austin Public Health. You can get vaccinated as an adult if you have not been vaccinated previously. Austin Public Health offers vaccinations for free or at reduced rates for children and adults who do not have insurance, have Medicaid or are underinsured. The typical cost is $13 for children and $25 for adults. You can make an appointment at 512-972-5520 for the clinics at 405 W. Stassney Lane in South Austin or 7500 Blessing Avenue in Northeast Austin. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas measles cases hit 500, but expert says it could be 4 times that
Yahoo
15-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nearly 50 Texans infected with measles in growing outbreak
A growing measles outbreak in west Texas has infected 48 people, according to official state data released Friday -- the latest sign that the once-vanquished childhood disease is making a comeback as vaccination rates decline. The outbreak comes as vocal vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- who has repeatedly and falsely linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism -- was confirmed as the United States' health secretary, a position that grants him significant authority over immunization policy. The patients are overwhelmingly children, all were either unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, and 13 have so far been hospitalized. Health officials expect additional cases to emerge. Childhood vaccination rates have been declining across the United States, a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when concerns over the rapid deployment of mRNA vaccines, coupled with mountains of misinformation, further eroded trust in public health institutions. "There are pockets in the US that are susceptible, and it's not surprising to me that it's occurring in a county where there are the lowest rates of vaccination in the state -- these are kindling for such outbreaks," Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP. The bulk of the cases occurred in Gaines County, which reportedly has a high rate of exemptions to vaccines -- often granted on religious grounds. Nationwide, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners dropped below 93 percent during the 2023–24 school year, remaining under the federal target of 95 percent for a fourth consecutive year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The United States reported 285 measles cases last year, per the CDC. The worst recent outbreak was in 2019, when 1,274 cases -- largely concentrated in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey -- drove the highest national total in decades. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness best known for its rash, but it can also cause pneumonia, brain infections, and other severe complications. It remains a major global killer, claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. "It really is mind-boggling that people in the United States have decided not to take this vaccine," Adalja said. "When you think about infectious disease, there should be steady progress to make it less and less of an issue. But what we see in the case of measles is that it's see-sawing." Kennedy's confirmation as health secretary has alarmed many in the medical community, including Adalja. "Measles and RFK Jr. go together," he said. "When you have the chief propagandist for the anti-vaccine movement in the highest position of government power when it comes to health, the only thing that benefits from that is measles." ia/bgs
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Nearly 50 Texans infected with measles in growing outbreak
A growing measles outbreak in west Texas has infected 48 people, according to official state data released Friday -- the latest sign that the once-vanquished childhood disease is making a comeback as vaccination rates decline. The outbreak comes as vocal vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- who has repeatedly and falsely linked the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine to autism -- was confirmed as the United States' health secretary, a position that grants him significant authority over immunization policy. The patients are overwhelmingly children, all were either unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status, and 13 have so far been hospitalized. Health officials expect additional cases to emerge. Childhood vaccination rates have been declining across the United States, a trend that accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, when concerns over the rapid deployment of mRNA vaccines, coupled with mountains of misinformation, further eroded trust in public health institutions. "There are pockets in the US that are susceptible, and it's not surprising to me that it's occurring in a county where there are the lowest rates of vaccination in the state -- these are kindling for such outbreaks," Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins University, told AFP. The bulk of the cases occurred in Gaines County, which reportedly has a high rate of exemptions to vaccines -- often granted on religious grounds. Nationwide, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners dropped below 93 percent during the 2023–24 school year, remaining under the federal target of 95 percent for a fourth consecutive year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The United States reported 285 measles cases last year, per the CDC. The worst recent outbreak was in 2019, when 1,274 cases -- largely concentrated in Orthodox Jewish communities in New York and New Jersey -- drove the highest national total in decades. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness best known for its rash, but it can also cause pneumonia, brain infections, and other severe complications. It remains a major global killer, claiming tens of thousands of lives each year. "It really is mind-boggling that people in the United States have decided not to take this vaccine," Adalja said. "When you think about infectious disease, there should be steady progress to make it less and less of an issue. But what we see in the case of measles is that it's see-sawing." Kennedy's confirmation as health secretary has alarmed many in the medical community, including Adalja. "Measles and RFK Jr. go together," he said. "When you have the chief propagandist for the anti-vaccine movement in the highest position of government power when it comes to health, the only thing that benefits from that is measles." ia/bgs
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Experts warn flu season hasn't peaked yet, and will get worse before it gets better
If you haven't caught the flu this season, perhaps you know someone who has, or are concerned about the virus infiltrating your household. We are, by at least one measure, in the midst of the nation's worst flu season in recent decades. At least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 influenza-linked deaths—including 57 children—have plagued the U.S. this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Flu-related emergency department visits necessitated the CDC's most severe 'very high' ranking as of Feb. 7, as did influenza virus activity in national wastewater samples. What's more, the percentage of outpatient and emergency department visits concerning patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) hit a season high of 7.8% the week ended Feb. 1, greater than any other week since at least the 1997–98 flu season. Alarming though these numbers may seem, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, doesn't see a need for panic. 'We are in the midst of respiratory virus season, and influenza activity typically peaks in February,' Adalja tells Fortune. 'There has been a respite in influenza during the early COVID years and now the virus is back in its usual pattern.' From the 1982–83 through 2023–24 seasons, flu activity peaked in February 17 times, CDC records show. That's nearly double the nine times of runner-up December. Recently, as Adalja pointed out, COVID altered traditional patterns of flu spread. In 2020–21, the first full flu season of the pandemic, flu activity was so unusually low that the CDC couldn't discern a peak. But there's a downside to the coronavirus effect, according to Dr. Mark Mulligan, director of infectious diseases and immunology at NYU Langone Health. View this interactive chart on This story was originally featured on
