- What to know about getting updated Covid-19 booster, flu shot at the same time
- Return to school is driving up Covid-19 cases in kids, but there are more tools to keep them safe this year
- New York governor declares disaster emergency over poliovirus
- Comfort dogs are greeting Uvalde students for their return to school. Here's how canine visitors can help after tragedy
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What to know about getting updated Covid-19 booster, flu shot at the same time |
Fall and winter are around the corner, which means not only is it time to get your flu shot, but US health officials are urging everyone who is eligible to get their updated Covid-19 booster, too. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the updated Covid-19 vaccine boosters this month, after the US Food and Drug Administration's authorization. The updated Pfizer/BioNTech booster is authorized for people 12 and older, and Moderna's is authorized for 18 and older. Some officials predict that the updated Covid-19 shots could be the start of recommended boosters for Americans each year, similar to how updated annual flu vaccines are given. But Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has acknowledged the plan to give annual shots might need to be revised if the coronavirus makes a significant evolutionary leap, as it did when the Omicron variant surfaced last Thanksgiving. He likened this to an "out-of-left-field curveball." "For a majority of Americans, one shot a year will provide a very high degree of protection against serious illness, and that's what we've got to be focused on," White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN last week. "Maybe for some high-risk people – the elderly, the immunocompromised – they may need protection more than once a year, but for a majority of Americans, that's where it is, and I think that's a really good place to be." The updated Covid-19 vaccine booster and seasonal flu vaccines are available at most pharmacies, doctor's offices and health care clinics. Some local public health departments are also planning to schedule joint vaccine clinics, Lori Tremmel Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN. The hope is for joint clinics to make it more convenient and accessible for people to get their vaccinations – but not everyone might be interested in or even eligible for both vaccines at the same time. Plus, some experts say it's still early to get a flu shot. A single dose of the updated Covid-19 booster is recommended at least two months after the initial vaccine series or your most recent booster. "Now, suppose you've recovered from Covid – and many people of course have had Covid this summer – wait three months, at least," said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He added that it's important to get your booster as soon as you are eligible. As for the flu shot, the recommended timing of vaccination for this flu season is similar to last season, according to the CDC's website. "For most people who need only one dose for the season, September and October are generally good times to get vaccinated," the CDC says, adding that while "ideally" it's recommended to get vaccinated by the end of October, later vaccination can still provide protection during the peak of flu season. "The ideal time is during the month of October and maybe the first couple of weeks of November. And the reason I say that is – particularly for older people and people who are frail – that will help their protection extend well through February into March, and that's when flu often peaks in the United States in February," Schaffner said. "Everyone ages 6 months and older should get influenza vaccine." Schaffner added that some people have asked him whether the Covid-19 vaccine protects against flu or vice versa. They do not. "You do have to get both vaccines," he said. "The Covid vaccine will not protect against flu. The flu vaccine will not protect against Covid." |
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Return to school is driving up Covid-19 cases in kids, but there are more tools to keep them safe this year |
Covid-19 cases are on the rise among kids in the United States as another school year gets underway. New cases reported among children in the last week of August were 14% higher than they were two weeks earlier, according to data tracked by the American Academy of Pediatrics. They jumped even more in the South, where classes have been in session for weeks. In contrast, overall cases for all ages were down about 17% in the same timeframe. Experts say that this increased transmission is to be expected – but that keeping kids in school should be the priority, and there are now enough ways to make sure it's done safely. "We do see infectious diseases spread every time the school year starts. That's been a phenomenon well-known long before Covid," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the pediatric association's committee on infectious diseases. "The good news is, we're in a much different place with this pandemic than we were two years ago, or even last year, in terms of the percentage of the population that's vaccinated." Eligibility for Covid-19 vaccines was expanded to include ages 5 to 11 in November, making this the first full school year in which all school-age children could have their initial series. Still, vaccination rates for children lag and have changed little recently: About 61% of children ages 12 to 17 – and just 31% of children 5 to 11 – have their initial series, compared with about 77% of adults, according to CDC data. Children 5 and older are also eligible for a booster shot, but only those 12 and older can get the updated version. And so far, only about 10% of children ages 5 to 17 have gotten a booster. Even still, there's greater population immunity built up through a combination of vaccination and infection. That doesn't mean the potential for Covid to spread in schools should be ignored, experts say; it was still a top 10 cause of death for children last year, and there's too much uncertainty about what's to come. Last year, the CDC updated its school guidance to prioritize in-person learning while maintaining layered prevention strategies such as masking, physical distancing and vaccinations for those who were eligible. Last month, the guidance was updated again, dropping recommendations for programs that require a negative test to stay in the classroom or restrict kids to one classroom, or cohort. Mask mandates have dropped across the county, too. However, while the CDC and others are more generally focused on preventing severe disease from Covid-19, experts say there are still benefits to avoiding infection, especially for kids in school. "We have to really take a life course approach with children," Dr. Grace Lee, a pediatrics professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and chair of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, said – thinking about both the short- and long-term effects. "My hope is that we make schools a safe and equitable place to continue to learn and that we support our children, no matter what happens." As a parent herself, Lee recommends that kids continue to wear masks in schools and keep up-to-date with any vaccines they're eligible for. |
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New York governor declares state disaster emergency over poliovirus |
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a state disaster emergency amid evidence of circulating poliovirus, a move that will increase the availability of resources including expanding the network of polio vaccine administrators, state health officials said. Sequence analysis of wastewater surveillance from the CDC found poliovirus samples in Nassau County, bringing the total to five counties: Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, New York City and now Nassau. The August sample from Nassau County on Long Island has been genetically linked to the case identified in Rockland County, showing further evidence of expanding community spread. All samples are "samples of concern" – essentially, types of poliovirus that can cause paralysis. "Bolstering the immunization drive, the [executive order] immediately expands the network of polio vaccine administrators with the addition of EMS workers, midwives, and pharmacists and authorizes physicians and certified nurse practitioners to issue non-patient specific standing orders for polio vaccines," the state said in a news release. The executive order also requires health care providers to give polio immunization data to the state health department to help focus vaccination efforts where they are most needed. "On polio, we simply cannot roll the dice," State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said, warning of the risk of the paralytic disease among those unvaccinated. "Do not wait to vaccinate," she urged. |
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Comfort dogs are greeting Uvalde students for their return to school. Here's how canine visitors can help after tragedy |
For some students in the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in Texas, the start of classes came with feelings of fear and anxiety. In May, Robb Elementary – which is now closed and soon may be demolished – was the scene of a horrific shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers. Since then, some students have not felt comfortable returning to a classroom. As parents in Uvalde, Texas, dropped their children off at school last week, some students did not want to get out of the car – but 10 golden retrievers from all across the country who work as comfort dogs were on site, helping ease nerves and provide a distraction, said Bonnie Fear, crisis response coordinator for the Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dog Ministry. Comfort dogs have helped support communities affected by devastating gun violence for years. They were deployed to Newtown, Connecticut, after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Canines were sent to Orlando, Florida, to provide comfort after the shooting at the Pulse nightclub in 2016 and to Parkland, Florida, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in 2018. The Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministry teams were at the site of each of those tragedies. "We get invited, we show up, and we let the dogs do their work," Fear said. A growing number of studies suggest that spending time with a therapy dog can help reduce a hospital patient's experience of pain, and among university students, directly interacting with a dog resulted in greater declines in anxiety and improved mood. Dogs can notice when someone is upset or needs help, according to Julia Meyers-Manor, an associate professor of psychology at Ripon College in Wisconsin, who has come to such findings in her research. "We know that dogs can reduce stress through petting and even physical presence. We also know that animals can increase attendance at and willingness to accept therapy in both children and adults," Meyers-Manor wrote in an email to CNN. Of course, most experts stress that the benefit a comfort or companion animal provides is complementary to the medical or psychological therapy that the person gets. |
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| There's a magic number of steps to take each day to reduce dementia risk. | |
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"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one which we intend to win," John F. Kennedy said 60 years ago, in 1962. Since then, this idea of pursuing what seems like an almost impossible idea entered our lexicon as a "moonshot." This week President Biden continued his clarion call for his own moonshot – reducing cancer deaths by at least 50 percent in the next 25 years. "I believe we can usher in the same unwillingness to postpone. The same national purpose that will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills to end cancer as we know it, and even cure cancers once and for all. I give you my word as a Biden, this cancer moonshot is one of the reasons why I ran for president," he said. Considering cancer continues to be the second leading cause of death in the United States, it's a necessary and if we all work together, an attainable goal. When Operation Warp Speed was launched to develop a Covid-19 vaccine in record time, it seemed impossible at first, but we were able to meet the moment – thanks to an incredible amount of funding, coordinated efforts and decades of previous research on mRNA technology. In fact, we have already seen mRNA now being trialed to fight cancer as well. This is the perfect example of the importance of a continued investment in new technology and scientific research – even incremental discoveries can be the crucial foundation of achieving a larger goal. The good news is that we have already seen drops in cancer deaths. From 2001 to 2020 cancer death rates dropped by 27%. This has been mostly due to better screening for prevention, new treatment options and fewer people smoking. But, as we learned during the pandemic, underlying conditions and other risk factors have made large segments of our population more susceptible to severe disease and this rings true for cancer as well. A recent study found that nearly half of deaths due to cancer can actually be attributable to preventable risk factors such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol or having a high body mass index. This underlines our need to focus on our larger health care system and preventative care overall. It's an important approach that could help us reduce cancer as well as pandemic-proof our lives. Whether it's landing on the moon or creating a brand new vaccine for a novel virus, we have seen that when there's a will, there's a way. I'm hopeful Biden's cancer moonshot can become further proof of that.
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| | Anderson Cooper takes us on a deeply personal exploration of loss and grief in his new podcast, "All There Is." As he packs up the apartment of his late mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, Anderson hosts a series of emotional and moving conversations about the people we lose, the things they leave behind and how to live with loss. Listen to the first episode on Wednesday. |
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