Latest news with #immunization
The Independent
17 hours ago
- Health
- The Independent
Pakistan's latest polio case deals blow to eradication campaign
Northern Pakistan has reported its first Polio case in almost seven years, dealing a blow to the South Asian nation's campaign to eradicate the infectious disease. The virus was detected in a 23-month-old child from Diamer district in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to the country's polio eradication programme. This is Pakistan 's 11th case since January this year, despite the launch of several immunisation drives. The case was reported after a polio eradication team came under fire on Sunday, police said. According to local police, unknown armed men opened fire on the polio team in Sheikho village of the Tangir Valley, accusing them of 'ruining the environment' through the health campaign. The vehicle of the team was stopped at the RCC bridge. 'You all are ruining the environment here by bringing [unveiled] women from Gilgit in the name of the polio campaign. If you do this again, you won't be able to escape,' the armed gunmen said, according to Dawn. The shots fired by them punctured the tyres of the polio team's vehicle, the police said. Regional officials said they were aware of the incident and had ordered strict action. Faizullah Faraq, spokesperson for the Gilgit-Baltistan administration, said the chief minister had taken note of the firing. He added that the polio monitoring team was moved to a safe location immediately after the incident. He said the incident occurred because the polio team had gone to the area 'without informing the police'. Authorities were still trying to determine how the poliovirus, initially found in the southern port city of Karachi, had infected the child in Diamer, Mohammad Iqbal, a director at the polio programme in the northwest, said. Thousands of tourists from Karachi and elsewhere visit resorts in Gilgit-Baltistan during the summer season. The latest case emerged after Pakistan wrapped up its third nationwide polio vaccination drive of the year on Sunday, aiming to immunize 45 million children. Pakistan and its neighbour Afghanistan are the only two countries where the spread of the wild polio virus has not been stopped, according to the World Health Organization. There are ongoing outbreaks of polio linked to the oral vaccine in 10 other countries, mostly in Africa. Pakistan has faced vaccine hesitancy and misinformation campaigns which have slowed progress in eradicating the disease. Healthcare workers and police assigned to protect them are sometimes targeted by gunmen who falsely claim the polio vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilise children. Since the 1990s, attacks on polio vaccination teams in the country have killed over 200 workers and security personnel.
Washington Post
19 hours ago
- Health
- Washington Post
Pakistan's anti-polio drive suffers a blow after a northern enclave reports first case in 7 years
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Pakistan efforts to eliminate polio suffered another blow on Monday after a northern enclave reported its first case in seven years. Overall, it was the country's 11th case since January, despite the launch of several immunization drives. The virus was detected in a child from the district of Diamer in the Gilgit-Baltistan region, according to the country's polio eradication program.
Arab News
20 hours ago
- Health
- Arab News
Pakistan reports first-ever polio case in northern Gilgit-Baltistan, bringing 2025 tally to 11
KARACHI: Pakistan has detected the first-ever polio virus case in the northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, bringing this year's tally to 11 cases, the polio eradication program said on Monday. Polio is a paralyzing disease that has no cure. Multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of 5 are essential to provide children high immunity against the disease. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two countries in the world where polio remains endemic. The country reported 74 polio cases in 2024. 'The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed a new case of wild poliovirus in District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan,' the polio eradication program said in a statement. 'This is the first case of wild poliovirus reported from Gilgit-Baltistan and the eleventh confirmed case in Pakistan this year.' Pakistan concluded a nationwide polio vaccination campaign on June 1. The drive had aimed to inoculate 45 million children under the age of five across 159 districts of the country. In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 polio cases annually. By 2018, that number had dropped to just eight. In 2021, only one case was reported, and six cases were recorded in 2023. Pakistan's polio eradication program began in 1994, but efforts have been repeatedly undermined by misinformation and resistance from some religious hard-liners. These groups claim that immunization is a foreign plot to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western espionage. Militant groups have also frequently attacked polio vaccination teams and the security personnel assigned to protect them. Last week, a Pakistani police officer was killed when gunmen opened fire on a team of health workers conducting a door-to-door polio vaccination campaign in the southwestern Balochistan province.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Caitlin Clark's quads, Trump-Musk bromance and 'Duck Dynasty': Your week in review
COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced. National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, joining Kennedy for the announcement posted in a video on X, called the change 'common sense and good science." Traditionally, immunization guidance is voted on by a CDC advisory committee; then the CDC director makes the final call. The CDC panel has not voted on Kennedy's change. COVID-19 protocols: Changes are happening. Here's what to know Could there be some cooling in the Trump-Musk bromance? The president's crusade to pass his "big, beautiful" tax and spending bill through Congress took some flak from his former right-hand man, who said he was "disappointed" with the cost of the bill and complained that it "undermines the work the DOGE team is doing." (Musk has also criticized Trump's tariffs.) Asked about Musk's remarks on the spending bill, Trump cited politics: "I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it. … It's got a way to go." At least one break is official, however: Musk's turbulent 130-day run as a "special government employee" is now over. It's the end of the line for free checked bags on Southwest. For the first time, the airline is now charging for the service: $35 for a first checked bag and $45 for a second bag (overweight and oversized baggage costs more). Tickets booked or changed on or before May 28 don't apply, and for some customers, new fare categories and membership perks will still earn them free checked bags. The new fees are the latest major change for Dallas-based Southwest, including a farewell to its open seating policy of more than 50 years. In a news release, the airline acknowledged that "preferences have evolved." Phil Robertson, the bushy-bearded and plainspoken patriarch of the colorful Louisiana family featured on A&E Network's 'Duck Dynasty," has died. He was 79 and had battled Alzheimer's disease and other health problems, his family said. His family-run hunting products business, Duck Commander, was the epicenter of "Duck Dynasty," which ran from 2012 to 2017 on the back of the clan's three core tenets: "faith, family and ducks.' The duck call will not go silent, however; a spinoff, "Duck Dynasty: The Revival," premieres June 1. Call it the Caitlin Clark effect − in reverse. The Indiana Fever's star guard is out for at least two weeks after she strained her left quad in a loss to the New York Liberty, which meant she would be sidelined for at least the next four games. The WNBA is feeling the pain, too: Ticket prices have plunged since news of Clark's injury. It's especially disappointing for the Fever's road game June 7 against the Chicago Sky − the latest Clark vs. Angel Reese clash − which had been moved to the 23,000-plus-seat United Center to meet demand for tickets. − Compiled by Robert Abitbol, USA TODAY copy chief This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Caitlin Clark's quads, Trump-Musk and 'Duck Dynasty': Week in review
CNN
3 days ago
- General
- CNN
Covid-19 shots for kids remain on CDC vaccine schedule with slightly different designation
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its immunization schedule for children, days after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that Covid-19 vaccines would be struck from the list of recommended shots for healthy children and pregnant women. Children will be able to get the vaccines after consulting with a health care provider — what's known as 'shared decision-making.' For pregnant women, there's less guidance; spaces advising that group on the Adult and Child Immunization Schedules are now shaded gray for Covid-19 vaccines 'to reflect no guidance/recommendation,' according to an email sent by the CDC on Friday. But the changes — posted two days after Kennedy's surprise 58-second social media announcement that the vaccines would be dropped from the CDC's recommended immunization schedules — have created more confusion as doctors, parents and vaccine experts try to parse the new language. The updates also underscore the fine line Kennedy is walking as he tries to appease vaccine-averse supporters while listening to guidance from the doctors and career scientists who report to him — as well as the majority of Americans who want access to vaccines. HHS insisted Friday that the vaccines had been removed from the CDC's recommended vaccine schedule, as Kennedy had pledged. Two people who are familiar with the nuances of the schedule's designations and language said the Covid-19 vaccines for children remain on the schedule, just as other vaccines available for 'shared decision-making' are still considered to be on the schedule. Covid-19 vaccines remain on the schedule for adults too, but with no specific recommendation for pregnancy. 'All this demonstrates that DHHS doesn't understand how the vaccine schedule works,' one person said. What the vaccine schedule says On the updated Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule posted Friday, Covid-19 vaccines are no longer listed as 'recommended' by the CDC, but they are listed as 'recommended vaccination based on shared clinical decision-making,' meaning children can get the shots after consulting with a health care provider. Other vaccines listed as recommended after shared clinical decision-making, such as human papillomavirus for adults 27 through 45 and meningococcal B vaccines for some adolescents 16 through 23, are also considered to be on the CDC's immunization schedule, the source said. 'Yes, absolutely they are still on the schedule,' said a person familiar with the agency's vaccine recommendations who asked not to be named as they were not authorized to share details of the government's deliberations. In meetings with HHS officials over the past two days, CDC officials had gone out of their way to be deferential and professional, and there was no confrontation about the recommendations, the source said. In announcing the update Friday, HHS aligned with Kennedy's language from earlier in the week, when he said, 'As of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule.' 'The old COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children under 18 and for pregnant women have been removed from the CDC vaccine schedule,' HHS press officer Emily Hilliard said in a statement Friday when the changes were posted. 'The CDC and HHS encourage individuals to talk with their healthcare provider about any personal medical decision. Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy, HHS is restoring the doctor-patient relationship. If a parent desires their healthy child to be vaccinated, their decision should be based on informed consent through the clinical [judgment] of their healthcare provider,' the statement said. HHS doubled down in a social media post later in the day, when it fired back at several media outlets over headlines suggesting that the CDC was keeping the Covid-19 on its vaccination schedule for kids in defiance of Kennedy. 'WRONG AGAIN' the post said. 'The vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women. The vaccine is not recommended for healthy children. Any decision by a parent to vaccinate their child outside the CDC recommended schedule should be made in consultation with their healthcare provider.' Andrew Nixon, director of communications for HHS, emphasized to CNN that the recommendation would come from a health care provider. 'All CDC is recommending is, 'go talk to health care provider.' If the health care provider recommends that the child get a Covid-19 vaccine, that's fine. That's the physician's recommendation. That's not CDC recommendation,' he said. What the changes mean for children Under shared clinical decision-making, patients must first consult with a health care provider about the benefits and risks of the vaccine. Kennedy has said he wants patients to give 'informed consent' before getting vaccines, and the new recommendation puts that into practice. According to the CDC, such a provider would be anyone who routinely administers vaccines, including doctors, nurse practitioners, nurses and pharmacists. A vaccine listed on the schedule in this category is required to be covered by insurance with no cost-sharing, meaning no co-pays for patients, according to the CDC. An email sent by the CDC on Friday said the change from 'recommended' to 'shared clinical decision-making' on shots for kids applies to all children ages 6 months through 17 years, 'including those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised.' The email also says children eligible for free vaccines through the Vaccines for Children program will be able to get Covid-19 shots after a conversation with their health care provider. Kids can become severely ill with Covid-19, especially if they're younger than 5. Data presented at the last meeting of the CDC's independent vaccine advisers showed that children 4 and under were hospitalized with Covid at roughly the same rate over the past two respiratory seasons as they were with the flu, even during a severe influenza season. Fewer than 5% of children hospitalized with Covid-19 last season were up to date on their Covid-19 vaccinations. Immunization experts said that they were relieved that kids could still get the shots but that shared clinical decision-making can present hurdles to vaccination because it requires doctors to consult with patients first. 'With shared clinical decision-making, historically, it has been harder to get people vaccinated,' said Dr. Michelle Fiscus, a pediatrician who is chief medical officer for the Association of Immunization Managers. Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the updated recommendation – which preserves insurance coverage for the vaccines – was a relief. 'After confusing, mixed messages from leaders at Health and Human Services (HHS) earlier this week, we are relieved to see today that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its schedules for child and adolescent immunizations to allow families to maintain the choice to immunize their children against Covid in consultation with their doctor,' Kressly said in a statement. 'However, the deeply flawed process to reach the recommendation raises serious concerns about the stability of the nation's immunization infrastructure and commitment by federal leaders to make sure families can access critical immunizations, whether for Covid or other infectious diseases,' she added. Fatima Khan, co-founder of the nonprofit grassroots group Protect Their Future, which advocated for kids' access to Covid-19 vaccines throughout the pandemic, said Kennedy's initial announcement was disheartening. 'A lot of parents right now have been doing everything they can. They've been calling their representatives, their health departments, anyone who will listen, anyone who is accountable to the public. And it just felt like today we were heard even if it was in a small way,' Khan told CNN. Uncertain access for pregnant women However, the future of Covid-19 vaccine access for people who are pregnant is less clear. Many of the agency's information pages continue to recommend the Covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women, but the adult immunization schedule has been changed to specify that the recommendation applies only to adults who aren't pregnant. 'That's very concerning,' Fiscus said. The lack of guidance for pregnant women seems to conflict with what US Food and Drug Administration officials wrote in a recent New England Journal of Medicine editorial, in which they said the agency expected that vaccines would continue to be approved for adults with underlying conditions. Pregnancy continues to be listed as a condition that places at person at higher risk for a severe Covid-19 infection. 'If pregnancy is removed as a high-risk condition, what is that decision based upon?' Fiscus asked, saying the agency hasn't given any evidence to support recent changes. Pregnancy is a risk factor for severe Covid-19 infections. Early in the pandemic, CDC studies found that pregnant women with Covid were three times more likely to need ICU care and nearly twice as likely to die compared with those who weren't pregnant. Covid infections during pregnancy have also been linked to fetal complications such as stillbirth and preterm delivery. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said it would continue to recommend that people who are pregnant be vaccinated against Covid-19. 'Maternal immunization remains the best way to reduce maternal, fetal, and infant complications from COVID-19 infection, and is safe to be given at any point during pregnancy. Maternal immunization is also associated with improved infant outcomes and decreased complications, including maternal and infant hospitalizations,' the group said in a statement.
