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Uptake of Latest COVID-19 Vaccine in Connecticut ‘Depressingly Low’
COVID-19 vaccination data can be unreliable but, so far as it can be trusted, the number of people getting vaccinated is “depressingly low,” one Connecticut specialist said.
What data is available shows vaccination rates in Connecticut stagnating.
New, updated vaccines were released a little over a week ago, and state Department of Public Health spokesperson Chris Boyle said Thursday that, “So far, a little more than 10,000 people have received the updated COVID vaccine.”
According to the CDC, 30.8% of all adults in New England had received a vaccine within the last year as of July 27, and only 9.9% said they would “definitely” get an updated vaccine.
That number rises to 34.4% when asked if they would “definitely or probably” get an updated vaccine.
Only 61 Percent of Teens Have Been Fully Vaccinated Against HPV
Only 61% of U.S. 13-to-17-year-olds have been fully vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), according to research published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The finding was based on vaccination records of over 16,500 adolescents obtained via the 2023 National Immunization Survey-Teen.
The goal was to determine rates for the four routine adolescent vaccines: for tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis (Tdap), meningitis (MenACWY), HPV and the flu.
After receiving parents’ or guardians’ consent, a complete vaccination record was collected from a mailed survey sent to the teens’ physicians.
The CDC recommends two HPV vaccine doses if starting at ages 11 or 12 and three at or after age 15.
For the two-dose series, doses are separated by at least six months.
Missouri Patient Hospitalized With Bird Flu Had No Known Contact With Animals
A case of bird flu has been confirmed in a Missouri resident who had no known contact with dairy cows, poultry or wild birds, U.S. health officials report.
“The patient, who was hospitalized, had underlying medical conditions, was treated with influenza antiviral medications, subsequently discharged and has recovered,” the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement on the case.
“There is no immediate known animal exposure. No ongoing transmission among close contacts or otherwise has been identified.”
“This is the 14th human case of H5 [bird flu] reported in the U.S. during 2024 and the first case of H5 without a known occupational exposure to sick or infected animals,” the agency noted.
Still, the risk to the general public remains low, the CDC added. No unusual flu activity has been detected in the country, including in Missouri, officials said.
Stopping a Bird Flu Epidemic: What Experts Say Must Be Done
The time is now to prepare for a potential pandemic involving the H5N1 bird flu, says a group of international vaccine and public health experts.
Avian influenza vaccines need to developed, stockpiled and even delivered to people at highest risk of contracting the bird flu, the experts argue in an editorial published Sept. 4 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
“At this critical juncture, decisions about vaccine development, stockpiling and deployment will shape our ability to respond to immediate and future pandemic risks,” the researchers wrote.
There have been 14 human cases of bird flu in the U.S. since 2022, four following exposure to dairy cows and 10 following exposure to poultry, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Vaccinations Against Mpox in Congo Will Begin Next Month, Authorities Say
A vaccination campaign against mpox in Congo will begin Oct. 2, authorities said Saturday, with workers focusing on the three most affected provinces first.
Adults in Equateur, South Kivu and Sankuru provinces will be vaccinated first, Cris Kacita Osako, coordinator of Congo’s Monkeypox Response Committee, told The Associated Press.
Earlier this week, the first batch of mpox vaccines arrived in the capital of Congo, the center of the outbreak. The 100,000 doses of the JYNNEOS vaccine, manufactured by the Danish company Bavarian Nordic, were donated by the European Union through HERA, the bloc’s agency for health emergencies. Another 100,000 were delivered on Saturday.
Purdue Pharma Gets Extension for Sackler Settlement Talks
Purdue Pharma on Thursday received an 18-day extension of a years-long pause on litigation against its owners, members of the wealthy Sackler family, after convincing a U.S. bankruptcy judge that the additional time will aid settlement negotiations.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane approved a short extension of ongoing mediation talks at a court hearing in White Plains, New York, giving Purdue more time to reach a comprehensive settlement of lawsuits alleging that Purdue’s painkiller OxyContin spurred an opioid addiction crisis in the U.S.
Purdue’s previous settlement was upended when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that Purdue Pharma’s bankruptcy settlement could not shield the Sacklers, who did not file for bankruptcy themselves, from litigation over their role in the nation’s deadly opioid epidemic.
The Supreme Court ruled that bankruptcy courts cannot release legal claims against non-debtors, like the Sacklers, without the consent of the people who could sue them.
