Despite Improvements, California’s Campaign for Childhood Immunizations Faces Pushback

Two years after California adopted one of the toughest child vaccination laws in the nation, the state’s immunization rates are near record high levels. Approved after a measles outbreak that originated at Disneyland, the law makes California one of only three states that bar parents from citing their personal beliefs to avoid having their children vaccinated. Read More

Webinar: Lyme Disease

Spring is finally here, and deer ticks will be sure to awaken and go about causing Lyme disease in your patients. Please have a look at this webinar which describes the epidemiology (with particular emphasis on Delaware), early recognition, and prevention of Lyme disease. It was jointly produced by the Medical Society of Delaware and the Delaware Division of Public Health, is offered at no cost, and is eligible for 1 unit of CME credit.   Learn more here.

NFID News: 9 Important Things To Know About Shingles Vaccination

new vaccine to prevent shingles (Shingrix®) was licensed for adults age 50 years and older by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and in October 2017, it was recommended for healthy adults age 50 years and older as well as adults who previously received the current shingles vaccine (Zostavax®) by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Read more.

H3N2 Component of 2017 Flu Vaccine Only 10% Effective?!

Interesting article from the New England Journal of Medicine about the effectiveness of Australia’s 2017 flu vaccine, and what doctors are seeing in the United States so far. The investigators determined that circulating influenza A (H3N2) viruses possessed an HA glycosylation site that was lost in the vaccine strain during egg adaptation, and both ferret and human antibodies elicited by that vaccine strain poorly neutralized circulating virus. The researchers also compared antibody responses elicited by vaccine antigens prepared using eggs, cell culture, and the recombinant DNA baculovirus system. They found that most people who mounted a strong antibody response to Read More …