News & Events

By Peter Jamison  As scientists around the world race to develop a vaccine for the coronavirus, the pandemic is also stoking a surge of activity among activists who argue that such a vaccine must be resisted. Leaders of the anti-vaccination movement, who in recent years have seen their efforts frustrated as U.S. states have adopted stricter laws […]

CNN (5/8) reported that “childhood vaccinations have plunged since the [COVID-19] pandemic began spreading through the United States, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.” The agency “reported a ‘notable decrease’ in the number of vaccines ordered through a federal program that immunizes half of all kids in the country.” The CDC […]

by Elizabeth Hlavinka, Staff Writer, MedPage Today A double dose of the influenza vaccine was more effective than a single dose, supporting the U.S. flu vaccine policy, researchers reported. Among 7,533 children between age 6 months and 8 years, a primer dose and subsequent booster dose had greater vaccine efficacy than a single dose (58% vs 46%), […]

Trisha Korioth, Staff Writer As the world fights coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) without a vaccine, anti-vaccine social media groups are sharing homeopathic remedies, conspiracy theories and memes about “forced vaccination.” Pediatricians who have endured physical and online attacks from anti-vaccine groups hope the pandemic will turn public sentiment against these groups and spur social media sites […]

With schools closed, a doctor may now be the only person outside a household with eyes on a child. Don’t skip well-child appointments and vaccines. Dr. Sara “Sally” Goza and Dr. Patrice Harris COVID-19 has drastically changed how we live our lives and brought much of the world to a standstill. It’s a scary time for […]

By Jan Hoffman As parents around the country cancel well-child checkups to avoid coronavirus exposure, public health experts fear they are inadvertently sowing the seeds of another health crisis. Immunizations are dropping at a dangerous rate, putting millions of children at risk for measles, whooping cough and other life-threatening illnesses. “The last thing we want […]

As many communities are shuttered in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, a new, and potentially deadly, situation could be “teeing up.” The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) are working to prevent it from becoming a reality. The concern […]

By Jan Hoffman As parents around the country cancel well-child checkups to avoid coronavirus exposure, public health experts fear they are inadvertently sowing the seeds of another health crisis. Immunizations are dropping at a dangerous rate, putting millions of children at risk for measles, whooping cough and other life-threatening illnesses. “The last thing we want as […]

LONDON (Reuters) – More than 117 million children could miss out on immunisation against measles as the COVID-19 pandemic forces social distancing and piles pressure on health services, United Nations health agencies warned on Tuesday. Measles immunisation campaigns in 24 countries have already been delayed, and more will be postponed, potentially putting children in 37 […]

“The Shot Felt ’Round The World,” a film on Pittsburgh doctors conquering polio, is drawing renewed interest amid the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine. There’s precedent, after all, as we close in on Sunday’s 65th anniversary of Dr. Jonas Salk and his team at the University of Pittsburgh conquering polio. Read the full article here. 

Parents and pediatricians across the US are not vaccinating their children during the coronavirus pandemic, leading experts to warn that such delays could cause outbreaks of preventable diseases later in the year. “Immunization is an essential health service which may be affected by the current Covid-19 pandemic,” the World Health Organization said recently in a statement. “Disruption […]

Science’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center. “A devil’s choice.” That’s how Seth Berkley, head of GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance, describes the dilemma facing global health organizations in the past few weeks. They could either continue to support mass vaccination campaigns in poor countries and risk inadvertently helping to spread COVID-19—or recommend their […]

Peter Hotez has spent his career studying infectious diseases that others weren’t paying attention to, developing vaccines that “no one else will make.” Four years ago, Hotez and a team of Texas scientists developed a vaccine that he now believes could have protected against the new coronavirus, which has killed tens of thousands of people around the […]

By Meredith WadmanApr. 2, 2020 , 6:20 PM On the last day of its existence, the administration of former President Barack Obama made it much easier for people who sustain serious shoulder injuries from improperly administered vaccines to win cash compensation from a $4 billion government fund financed by an excise tax on vaccines. Now, after a surge […]

Science’s COVID-19 reporting is supported by the Pulitzer Center. The COVID-19 pandemic is imperiling the worldwide, 3-decade drive to wipe out polio. In an unprecedented move, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has recommended suspending polio vaccination campaigns to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. On 24 March, GPEI’s leadership called on all […]

A new potential vaccine against the coronavirus sweeping the world has showed promise in mice, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine said Thursday. In a peer-reviewed study published in the medical journal EBioMedicine, the researchers said their new development comes from earlier vaccines they had created to fight the two other deadly coronavirus […]

AAP News reported the AAP recommends that pediatricians “use either flu shots or nasal spray flu vaccines for their patients during the 2020-’21 season” for everyone who is at least six months old. Dr. Yvonne A. Maldonado, FAAP, chair of AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases, said, “Given that vaccine effectiveness can vary year-to-year and the […]

(HealthDay News) — Texans who are college-educated, live in suburban or urban areas, have higher median incomes, and are ethnically white are less likely to vaccinate their children, according to a study published online March 10 in PLOS Medicine. Maike Morrison, from the University of Texas at Austin, and colleagues studied the socioeconomic and geographic drivers […]

Troy Brown, RN Medscape COVID-19 may be the dominant public health concern at present, but the flu is still a dire threat. Influenza-related hospitalization rates are the highest on record for children younger than 5 years and adults aged 18 to 49 years, according to the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). […]

By Jan Hoffman Brad Bigford, a traveling nurse practitioner from Boise, Idaho, jumped at the invitation: spend an afternoon at Fred’s Reel Barber Shop in nearby Meridian, offering the flu vaccine to customers. “Ladies, send your guys for a trim and a flu shot,” Mr. Bigford posted on Facebook. He added, “Anti-vaxxers need not reply.” […]

By Denise Grady The first testing in humans of an experimental vaccine for the new coronavirus began on Monday, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced. The main goal of this first set of tests is to find out if the vaccine is safe. If it is, later studies will determine how well […]

By Troy Brown, RN Thirteen children died from influenza-related illness during the week ending February 15, for a total of 105 this season. This is the second highest number of flu deaths in children since the inclusion of such deaths as a nationally notifiable condition in 2004, according to a February 21 report from the Centers for Disease Control […]