Tag: influenza

Thoughts on Upcoming CDC ACIP Meeting

Sena and I are talking about the upcoming CDC meeting on February 28th-29th next week. The agenda looks like they’ll be talking about an “additional dose” of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Given the extent of vaccine fatigue going on, I tried to find a layperson-friendly article on the web about vaccine immunity with details about how long it lasts.

There’s review article from 2022 that helps a little bit. The author says that boosting every few months may not be practical as a long-term strategy. It leads to vaccine fatigue in the population. We all know how low the Covid-19 vaccine uptake has been. The author says that boosters should be offered annually or even less often. There is more to immunity than neutralizing antibodies.

The suggestion of some experts is to offer Covid-19 boosters to whoever wants it. I feel like I’m getting mixed and circular messages when I read that my immunity is “waning,” and I need another one. We’ve gotten every Covid-19 shot since the vaccine campaign began. Experts even differ on whether to call Covid-19 a “seasonal” respiratory virus. That would suggest you could get one shot annually during the respiratory virus season-like the flu shot. Obviously, it’s not that simple if the CDC recommends another Covid-19 vaccine this spring.

And the CDC respiratory virus channel snapshot from February 16, 2024 is a little concerning. A couple of days ago there was a news report that schools in Forest City, Iowa would have to move to remote learning because of outbreaks of influenza, strep throat, and even stomach flu. According to the CDC, respiratory virus activity levels are high all over Iowa, which surprised me this late in the season.

CDC Weekly Snapshot Shows Respiratory Virus Activity High

As of January 5, 2024, CDC is reporting that respiratory illness is increasing across the country. The levels are generally high in almost all regions.

“Activity Levels Update:

  • The amount of respiratory illness (fever plus cough or sore throat) causing people to seek healthcare is elevated or increasing across most areas of the country. This week, 39 jurisdictions experienced high or very high activity.
  • Nationally, emergency department visits due to influenza and COVID-19 are elevated in all age groups and increasing in all but school-aged children. Recent, holiday-related school closures and associated changes in healthcare seeking behavior may be impacting trends in influenza- and COVID-19-related visits among school-aged children. RSV-related emergency department visits decreased slightly nationally.
  • Nationally, COVID-19 wastewater viral activity levels and test percent positivity—indicators for infection levels—are higher than the same time last year (currently estimated as being 27% higher and 17% higher, respectively). However, indicators for illness requiring medical attention are lower, including emergency department rates being 21% lower than the same time last year.”

CDC Issues Health Alert Network Announcement Recommending Vaccinations for Seasonal Respiratory Illnesses

The CDC recently issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) announcement urging physicians to recommend that patients get their influenza, Covid-19, and RSV vaccines.

This is National Influenza Vaccination Week!

This is National Influenza Vaccination Week (Dec. 4-8, 2023) and the CDC word is:

“National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW) is a critical opportunity to remind everyone 6 months and older that there’s still time to protect themselves and their loved ones from flu this flu season by getting their annual flu vaccine if they have not already. CDC data shows that flu vaccination coverage was lower last season, especially among certain higher risk groups, such as pregnant people and children. When you get a flu vaccine, you reduce your risk of illness, and flu-related hospitalization if you do get sick. This week is meant to remind people that there is still time to benefit from the first and most important action in preventing flu illness and potentially serious flu complications: get a flu vaccine today. Check out CDC’s NIVW toolkit for more shareable resources and content.”

It’s also big news that a recent CDC co-authored study showed strong evidence for flu vaccine effectiveness. Among the university medical centers participating in the study was the University of Iowa Hospitals.

Moderate Respiratory Illness Activity in Iowa

The CDC tracks respiratory illness and there is moderate activity in Iowa according the data tracker.

The weekly snapshot as of December 1, 2023 shows highlights including:

  • “COVID-19 test positivity (percentage of tests conducted that were positive), emergency department visits, and hospitalizations have increased nationally. A group of Omicron variants (XBB and its sublineages) are the predominant lineages detected in the U.S., with HV.1 being most common. The prevalence of another lineage, BA.2.86, is projected to account for 5-15% of currently circulating variants. CDC continues to monitor HV.1, BA.2.86, and all other lineages.
  • National test positivity, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations for influenza continue to increase.
  • RSV emergency department visits and hospitalizations continue to increase across the country. RSV-associated hospitalization rates remain elevated among young children and are increasing among older adults; of note, only 14.8% of adults 60+ report having received an RSV vaccine.
  • National vaccination coverage for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV vaccines increased less than one percentage point for children and adults, where indicated, compared to the previous week and remains low for both groups.
  • CDC has been monitoring increases in respiratory illness reported recently among children, including potential elevated rates of pediatric pneumonia in parts of the United States. These reported increases do not appear to be due to a new virus or other pathogen but to several viral or bacterial causes that we expect to see during the respiratory illness season. CDC will continue to work closely with our state and local public health partners to maintain strong situational awareness and will provide updates, as needed.”

Four Seasonal Vaccines for Older Adults?

There are a number of seasonal vaccines recommended for older adults in the U.S. They include vaccines for influenza, pneumonia, and the newest one is Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV).

I noticed that during the recent FDA meeting to decide on approval of another vaccine for the XBB variant of Covid-19, many experts objected to the use of the word “periodic” in the voting question.

Those objecting to it did so because of the implicit suggestion that Covid-19 is a seasonal virus. Not all experts agree on that. I gather it takes time to determine whether or not an infectious agent should be considered seasonal or not.

If the XBB variant of Covid-19, RSV, pneumonia, and influenza are all considered seasonal, then there are 4 vaccines for which older adults would be eligible.

The consensus among most experts is that you can take both influenza and Covid-19 vaccines at the same time. Most of us older adults also get the pnemococcal vaccine as well.

Will the RSV vaccine be added to the list? Should you get all 4 at the same time? Or should they be spaced out? Should you get the influenza and Covid-19 vaccines together and wait a week or two before getting the RSV and pneumococcal vaccines?

The increase in recommendations for vaccinations could be burdensome for those without health insurance. Vaccine uptake will probably continue to be a challenge.

CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report

See the CDC Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report as of the last week of October, 2022. While Iowa’s activity is listed as “minimal,” the Iowa Dept. of Public Health points out that individual cases are not reportable in Iowa. The best way to prevent influenza is to get the flu vaccine.