Wisconsin legislators are considering significant limits on an employers ability to require workers to be vaccinated, even as some companies and local governmental agencies in Dane County have dropped COVID-19 shot mandates for employees.
The legislation, heard in a state Assembly Committee on Thursday, is the latest in a line of efforts to weaken vaccine mandates in Wisconsin after a spike in anti-vaccine fervor during the COVID-19 pandemic.
That pushback followed efforts from companies, government agencies and other employers to require the COVID-19 vaccine as a condition of employment. The approved COVID-19 vaccines havebeen deemed safe and effective and millions of Americans have received the shots, with adverse side effects considered rare.
The latest bill would require employers to offer an exemption process for workers who because of religious, medical or philosophical reasons do not wish to get a vaccine.
A business could not require documentation from an employee to back up the exemption request, creating what critics fear is a major loophole.
It doesnt make any sense to me, Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, said.
While the bill was inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, its authors say, the language would apply to any vaccine requirements.
Wisconsinites in every facet of life have a right to decide what to put into their bodies, Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, the bills co-author, told the Assembly Committee on Labor and Integrated Employment. We saw these freedoms of Wisconsin workers compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to ensure that this does not happen again.
Vaccine requirements begin to fade
While many prominent employers in Dane County announced plans in 2021 and 2022 to require COVID-19 vaccines, some have since dropped the policies.
UW Health "strongly encourages" but no longer requires the COVID-19 vaccine for employees, spokesperson Sara Benzel said in an email. Staff members are required to be vaccinated against influenza, but religious and philosophical exemptions are an option.
Molly Groose high-fives her daughter Clara Groose, 7, after Clara received the COVID-19 vaccine in November 2021. The public health department recommends that people get their vaccine shots and, if eligible, a booster, especially as people gather for the holidays.
In June, the Madison School Board rescinded the district's staff COVID-19 vaccine mandate 21 months after it was first put in place. The Madison Metropolitan School District's medical experts said the wording of the original mandate left it out of date given boosters, and employees had expressed concerns about the cost and staff time to enforce the mandate given the end of the national emergency declaration.
Dane County also dropped a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for its workers, Greg Brockmeyer, director of the countys Department of Administration, said in an email.
Epic, American Family Insurance and Exact Sciences are among the prominent Madison-area businesses who previously said they would require a COVID-19 vaccine. Spokespeople for those businesses did not immediately respond to questions about their current policies.
Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, who is also a Madison restaurateur, said her business asks employees to be vaccinated but does not require it as a condition of employment. But she said she believed the government should not infringe on the rights of private businesses who wish to make immunizations mandatory.
I don't believe the state should be removing anything that undermines public health, she told the Cap Times.
Meningitis, chickenpox shots also targeted
The Legislature has increasingly voted to do away with vaccine requirements for both the COVID-19 shots and other immunizations.
In June, the Legislature blockeda requirement that seventh graders be vaccinated against meningitis, as well as opposing an effort to make it harder to seek out a waiver for the chickenpox vaccine requirement for younger students.
And in 2021, legislators considered a measure that would have prevented private employers from requiring the COVID-19 vaccine at all. While it passed the state Assembly, it was ultimately not considered in the state Senate.
The latest effort involving employer policies is an attempt to mirror the exemption process for K-12 students. Currently, students can get an exemption due to a medical condition or because of their religious or personal beliefs. They could still be excluded from school in the event of an outbreak.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are among 20 states that allow parents to opt out of vaccinating their children. Health Officials say a 95 percent immunization rate is required to prevent outbreaks of diseases like measles.
Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, one of the bills authors, told the Assembly committee that requiring vaccines can breed mistrust of both the employer and the shots.
He also repeated a common anti-COVID-19-vaccine claim that the shots were potentially dangerous, as they had not been fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration when they began being administered in the United States. Because of this, Nass said people could sue employers who made them get the vaccine.
Both Pfizer and Moderna shots have since received full FDA approval, though more recent variations of the vaccine are under emergency use. But data was still required to demonstrate the vaccines safety in tens of thousands of participants before an emergency use authorization could be issued.
Still, Nass said it was improper for employers to pry into the private lives of workers.
Employer vaccine mandates I believe violate personal privacy, he said. Employees are sensitive to their personal information in the most significant parts of their life. They would prefer not to divulge their medical information to their employers.
Rep. Karen Hurd, R-Fall Creek, criticized the efficacy of vaccines more broadly, saying the eradication of measles was due to people achieving natural immunity by acquiring the disease, not from mass vaccination campaigns.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Pan American Health Organization consider the development of a vaccine against measles, mumps and rubellato becrucialto their 2000 elimination in the United States, as well as essential to continuing to suppress the disease.
Measles cases have again become a problemboth in the U.S. and globally, with the CDCattributing the increaseto 61 million doses of the MMR vaccine being delayed or missed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hong, the Madison lawmaker and small business owner, said it was disheartening that people are still airing misinformation about vaccine effectiveness.
It's absolutely absurd that after a vaccine that saved hundreds of millions of lives, after over a million people died from COVID-19, that we are still having conversations of recognizing that it is not just about our personal health, that public health means caring for your neighbor, she said.
Cap Times reporter Scott Girard contributed to this report.
Dear Faculty, Students, and Staff,
As a reminder, the deadline to indicate your decision regarding the COVID-19 vaccine/booster and the Flu vaccine requirement is swiftly approaching on December 1, 2023. We kindly urge you to take action in line with the communicated UCOP policy requirements.
As per the message outlined on September 27th, all employees and students are required to either receive or formally decline the COVID-19 vaccine/booster on an annual basis. Similarly, compliance with the Seasonal Influenza (flu) vaccine requirement follows the same process: all individuals must either receive the flu vaccine or affirmatively decline it.
To ensure adherence to the policy, it's essential that all employees and students access and document their decisions through the campus employee or student Patient Portal on or before the impending December 1 systemwide deadline. If you need assistance, please visit the EH&S Website and review the upload or declination process.
It's important to note that the policy no longer mandates that individuals must maintain up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination status or seek a University-approved exception. Additionally, for those not vaccinated, there will be no requirement for "non-pharmaceutical interventions" (NPIs) such as masking and there will be no imposition of registration holds on student records.
We encourage each member of our campus community to take the necessary steps to ensure compliance with these important health protocols. Your cooperation is crucial in maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Warm regards,
Dr. Kenneth Han Office of Student Health Sheila Hedayati Executive Director EH&S Karla Hill Director, Occupational Health
CDC and FDA work to increase availability of additional RSV vaccine for infants: Artur - stock.adobe.com
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the FDA, have announced the availability of more than 77,000 doses of nirsevimab-alip (Beyfortus; Sanofi), which are being immediately distrusted to hospitals and physicians through the Vaccines for Children Program, as well as through commercial channels.
Nirsevimab-alip is a monoclonal antibody approved by the FDA to protect infants against severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Helping to ensure the availability of this preventative option to reduce the impact of RSV disease on eligible babies and young children, families and the health care system remains a priority, said Patrizia Cavazzoni, MD, director of the FDAs Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a press release. We will continue to use all ourregulatory tools to help bring safe, effective and high-quality medicines to the public.
The federal agencies said that they will continue to work closely with manufacturers to maintain the availability of the vaccines through the end of 2023 and early 2024 to meet the demand during the RSV season.
The CDC and FDA are also working with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, to encourage health care providers to use the RSV maternal vaccine. This immunization can help safeguard infants against RSV prior to birth.
Additionally, the CDC has been urging clinicians to administer the infant vaccine to patients at the highest risk of infection during this shortage period, including infants up to 6 months, as well as American Indian and Alaska Native infants.
CDC and FDA are committed to expanding access to this important immunization so that more parents have peace of mind during the winter virus season, said Nirav D. Shah, MD, JD, CDCs principal deputy director.
Reference:
CDC and FDA Expedite the Availability of Additional Doses of New RSV Immunization for Infants. CDC. November 17, 2023. Accessed November 17, 2023. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p1116-rsv-doses.html
Topline
The majority of eligible Americans have not received an updated Covid vaccine, flu shot, or RSV shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the country heads toward a busy holiday season with spikes in travel and gatherings, but experts say now is the time people should consider getting the shots.
The CDC advised Americans to getting all recommended vaccines as soon as possible to provide some form of protection as they head into the holiday season, and as the health agency seeks to avoid a spike in the so-called tripledemic, a term for Covid, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus cases all spiking at once.
When people travel and gather for holidays like Thanksgiving, thats when viruses spread, CDC director Mandy Cohen told Health.com, so its best to get vaccinated beforehand to build up those antibodies.
However, most Americans havent received their vaccines: Only 14.8% of adults 18 and older have received an updated monoclonal Covid shots, 36.3% have gotten their flu shots and only 14.3% of eligible adults 60 years or older have gotten their RSV vaccines, according to recent data from the CDC.
Compared to last year around this time, 38.4% of adults received their flu vaccine and 23.2% of adults had the most up-to-date Covid vaccine, while the RSV vaccines were first approved earlier this year.
These numbers are even lower in children: 4.9% of children 17 and younger received the most up-to-date Covid vaccine compared to 10.7% around this time last year, and 35.1% of kids have the latest flu vaccine compared to 39.1% last year.
Almost 50% of adults say they dont plan on getting the new Covid vaccinewhich first became available in Septemberand around 75% say theyre not too worried, or not at all worried about getting Covid over the holidays, according to a survey from health policy research organization KFF.
6,484,329. Thats how many Covid-related hospitalizations were reported in the week ending on November 11, according to the CDC. This number is up 8.6% from recent weeks. There were 7,279 reported cases of RSV, up 1,400 from the previous week, and there was a 4% increase in positive flu cases.
Over 50% of adults who were previously vaccinated and dont have the new Covid vaccine cite lack of concern about Covid as the reason they havent gotten the updated vaccine, according to KFF data. Over 35% say theyve been too busy and 32% say theyre waiting to get vaccinated at a later date. Since the Covid public health emergency was lifted in May, safety precautions have become lenient. Only 12% of the population is masking, and this Thanksgiving travel season is predicted to be the busiest in 18 years. People arent scared of this virus anymore, Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, told Vox. This years flu vaccine rates are on track with last years flu season, though slightly behind, according to CDC data. The flu vaccine has been around since the early 1900s, so people are likely used to getting them every year. On the other hand, Covid vaccines were first available in 2020and were met with hesitationand the most current vaccines were approved earlier this year. Although the first RSV vaccines and antibody shots for older adults, pregnant people and infants were approved this year, there have been several drawbacks. Due to the way theyre covered under Medicare, individuals may have to pay upwards of $300 out-of-pocket for the shots. Theres also a shortage of some infant antibody shots, causing doctors to prioritize high-risk infants at the request of the CDC. However, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration announced plans on Thursday to expedite 77,000 doses of the shot.
There has been an uptick in childhood vaccine exemptions for measles, polio, tetanus and other diseases that some experts believe is connected to skepticism of the new Covid vaccines. Forty states saw a rise in exemptions granted to school aged children, and 3% of kids entering kindergarten had one for the 2022-2023, which is the highest rate ever reported in the U.S. Idaho was the state with the highest reported exemption rate, where 12.1% of kindergarten students had been granted an exemption, followed by Oregon with 8.2% and Utah at 8.1%. The CDC say 90% of all exemptions were for nonmedical reasons, including religious and philosophical ones, though they didnt specify further. Almost 30% of people surveyed think parents should be able to decide whether or not to vaccinate their school-age children, up from 16% who shared that view in 2019, according to a 2022 study by KFF. Public perception of the importance of childhood vaccines declined in 52 out of 55 countries studied during the Covid pandemic, UNICEF reports.
Childhood Vaccine Exemptions Reach Highest Level Ever Upping Risk For Outbreaks Of Polio, Measles And More (Forbes)
RSV Vaccines Arent Covered By Medicare For These Vulnerable Groups (Forbes)
Infant RSV Antibody Shortage: Here Are The CDC Recommended Alternatives (Forbes)
Thanksgiving Travel: Holiday Weekend Will Be The Busiest For Flying In 18 Years, AAA Predicts (Forbes)
Covids No Longer A Public Health Emergency: Heres How That May Affect You (Forbes)
I'm a Texas native covering the latest trends in tech, science and healthcare through explainer pieces on the breaking news team. Previously, I was a Forbes HBCU Scholar writing under the innovation and health and science teams. In 2022, I graduated from Clark Atlanta University where I was the fashion editor for CAU's official newspaper, the Panther, and the managing editor of Her Campus CAU. During my matriculation, I interned with top companies such as Warner Bros. Discovery and The Walt Disney Company. Got a tip? Don't hesitate to reach out to me via email (ajohnson@forbes.com), or dm me on any social media platform.
November 17, 2023
Peter Hotez never imagined his work as a vaccine scientist would lead to death threats, people stalking his home in Texas and the need for security when he speaks publicly.
But then he never imagined a disinformation campaign that is not only targeting science but portraying scientists as public enemies of the state.
Its so tragic to see this happening in America, said Hotez, who spoke Thursday night in an event hosted by Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law and sponsored by The Integrity Project, which pursues research and education to address the use of misinformation in the public sphere.
The event, held at the Beus Center for Law and Society on the Downtown Phoenix campus, was moderated by Sherine Gabriel, executive vice president of ASU Health and University Professor of the Future of Health Outcomes and Medicine in the College of Health Solutions.
Hotez, an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Scientists, has led or co-led the development of vaccines for parasitic infections and several coronavirus vaccines, including two low-cost COVID-19 vaccines that have been administered to 100 million children and adults in India and Indonesia.
He's also written several books, including Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachels Autism, about his daughter, Rachel, and his current offering, The Deadly Rise of Anti-science: A Scientists Warning.
Hotez said the anger and, in some cases, threats, toward scientists who believe in the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines is reminiscent of 1930s communist Russia under Joseph Stalin, where scientists could be exiled, imprisoned or murdered.
Were not throwing scientists into prison yet, but that could be the next step, he said.
Moderator Sherine Gabriel, executive vice president of ASU Health, listens as Peter Hotez of Baylor University answers one of her questions following his talk on Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Beus Center for Law and Society. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
Hotez said the anti-vaccine movement is a national health threat.
He said the World Health Organization is putting together an immunization agenda for 2030 that has been called the big catch-up, noting that the global coverage of children being immunized dropped from 86% in 2019 to 81% in 2021. In addition, Hotez said, the number of completely unvaccinated children has increased by 5 million since 2019.
Thats a big concern, he said. And Im worried that were not going to bounce back because in addition to all the social disruption from the pandemic, there has been a permanent tear in public trust.
That tear, Hotez said, began in 1998 when an article in the scientific journal Lancet linked vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) to autism.
The findings were ultimately debunked, and Lancet retracted the article, but that didnt stop the anti-vaccine movement from spreading disinformation.
If you go to Amazon.com (and look up) books on immunizations, its almost all anti-vaccine conspiracy books, Hotez said.
The anti-vaccine crowd got a second wind in 2015, Hotez said, when the California Legislature, responding to a measles outbreak, voted that children couldnt go to school unless they had a full complement of immunizations.
I supported that, and it had the effect of taking care of the measles problem, but it also created a backlash, Hotez said. Especially in Texas, where under this propaganda of medical freedom, parents said, Hey, you cant tell us what we have to do with our kids."
Hotez said hes concerned that rather than taking some time to reflect on their views, people who oppose vaccines are doubling down.
And the doubling down is going to amplify the lie, he said. The extremists are trying to rewrite history where theyre saying its the vaccines that killed Americans, and scientists invented the virus."
Hotez said the disinformation campaign is being aided by two allies: Russia and artificial intelligence. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin identifies inflammatory wedge issues, such as vaccines, that divide U.S citizens and then fills the airwaves with anti-vaccine propaganda.
He uses it to divide the country further, and theres no regulation, Hotez said.
In the case of artificial intelligence, Hotez cited an article in the peer review medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine that found that ChatGPT, in just 65 minutes, produced 102 blog articles containing more than 17,000 words of disinformation on vaccines and vaping.
That disinformation will soon become infinite, Hotez said.
Hotez was asked what scientists and educators can do to counter the disinformation campaign.
I think historically, medical schools and many medical sciences have been walled off from all the other intellectual endeavors, he said. Theres no mechanism to talk to social scientists, political scientists or psychologists. I think part of the answer is going to come from getting different disciplines to engage in uncomfortable dialogue. Breaking down these silos so people in different areas of the university can talk to one another. I think thats going to be a big help.
Maybe we should also teach communication in our graduate schools, our postdoctoral fellowship training, our medical schools and residency training. Not everyone wants to do it. They want to keep their head down, see their patients and write their grants or their papers. Thats fine.
"But theres a subset of young people whose commitment to public service is at an all-time high. Lets teach them how to communicate.
Top photo:Peter Hotez of Baylor University speaks Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Beus Center for Law and Society in downtown Phoenix, about his vaccine research and the anti-science and medical misinformation movement. Photo by Charlie Leight/ASU News
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Measles vaccination rates among children worldwide declined during the COVID-19 pandemic to the lowest level since 2008, likely due to lockdowns and difficulty accessing vaccines. According to a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that published today (Nov. 17) in the CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, this drop in vaccination coverage led to a 72% increase in reported measles cases and a 43% increase in measles deaths during 2021-22.
Report co-author Matthew Ferrari, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and professor of biology at Penn State, began working with the WHO in 2010 to develop models to estimate the burden of measles disease globally. Ferrari spoke with Penn State News about the teams most recent findings, as well as his experiences over more than a decade providing guidance to the worlds leading health agency.
Q: How did you get involved in helping the WHO study measles?
Ferrari: In 2010, the WHO put out a request for proposals to develop models to predict measles cases and deaths globally. I wasn't even a faculty member yet, so I was very excited to get this award. After I helped to develop the initial models, the WHO was able to run them on its own for several years. However, in 2020, it became apparent that the models needed to be updated.
Q: How did the models change over time?
Ferrari: Initially, the WHO used a simple demographic accounting model, which included the number of births and deaths in each country and the number of people who received measles vaccinations in those countries. They then applied the same multiplier for all countries to determine each countrys measles risk.
The problem was that the model didn't include actual measles surveillance data, so it didnt reflect the number of cases countries were seeing on the ground. The reason they left out the surveillance data was because they were worried that the data weren't informative enough. They knew that the number of reported cases was just the tip of the iceberg, and it's hard to know what the rest of the iceberg looks like. Unfortunately, it meant that the policy recommendations werent as useful as they could be. We came up with a way to estimate the underwater portion of the iceberg so this information could be incorporated in the models.
Another update we made was to add a calculation that accounted for the new data that came in each year. So, not only do the models now estimate what is happening in the current year, but they also refit the entire past and incorporate it into the new prediction.
Q: What do the newly updated models reveal?
Ferrari: We found that following a dramatic decline in measles vaccine coverage during the pandemic, reported measles cases increased by 72% and estimated measles deaths increased by 43% during 2021-22. However, as of 2022, measles vaccination rates were showing signs of recovery, with 83% of children receiving their first dose and 74% receiving their second dose.
Q: Why are the findings important?
Ferrari: Measles is a highly contagious, airborne disease that can cause serious illness and even death. Thats why its critical that children everywhere benefit from the lifesaving potential of two doses of the measles vaccine. Additionally, the ability of a country to deliver measles vaccines in early childhood is an indicator of its ability to provide other essential vaccines, so our data revealing low measles vaccine coverage could reveal failures of the health system to reach children more broadly.
Importantly, measles represents a global disparity in access to health care. While the number of children dying from measles each year has declined, the probability that a child with measles will die has actually gone up. This is because the places that have been most left behind by global development and improvement in vaccination programs are also the places where there's the lowest access to care. In these places, kids who get sick are more likely to suffer their measles disease in the home, and therefore, are more likely to die. We're in a situation where the last mile is the hardest.
Q: How might the findings influence healthcare practices?
Ferrari: There's a cautionary tale here about how important it is to maintain vaccination programs. We learned that measles can come back. We also learned that there is a lag between a decline in vaccine coverage and an increase in disease cases. It took almost two years for the repercussions to hit, and that's powerful information for planning. If you know the amount of time you've got to play with, then you can plan much better. Those are the kinds of insights we gained from this years analysis, and we can incorporate them into subsequent planning so countries can account for future disruptions.
This is particularly important given that disruptions due to disease pandemics, climate change, military conflict and others are expected to increase in the future as the global population continues to rise. These types of disruptions tend to hit things like preventative care first. When people go into survival mode, theyre more worried about staying alive today than planning for the future. We need to acknowledge that and plan to fill in the gaps after those disruptions happen.
Q: Why did you decide to become a modeler rather than a clinician or experimentalist?
Ferrari: The classical experimental scientific method is a better way to do things. However, its an impossible way to explore different vaccination strategies. You can't do that on human subjects; not only is it unethical but it would be difficult to find comparable populations where you can have a control and a treatment group. Mathematical models give us an objective way to address these kinds of problems that cannot be addressed with conventional experimentation.
Q: What is it like to provide guidance to the worlds leading health organization?
Ferrari: It's exciting to know that the data we generate directly impact how much money is allocated for measles programs, and ultimately, the number of measles cases overall. But its also daunting because there is a finite amount of public health money in the world. If too much gets spent on measles, there is less available for other things. We have to be as accurate as possible with the numbers and as transparent as possible about the models limitations.
Fewer U.S. health care workers are keeping up to date on their COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, according to two separate reports this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
For the first study, researchers pulled data from the CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) for January to June 2023.
They found that flu vaccine coverage was 81% among health care employees at hospitals and 47.1% at nursing homes.
COVID VACCINE POLL FINDS MORE THAN HALF OF ADULTS ARE LIKELY TO SAY 'NO THANKS' TO THE VAX
In terms of COVID vaccine coverage for medical workers, it was at just 7.2% at hospitals and 22.8% at nursing homes.
For COVID, "up-to-date" vaccination was defined as "receipt of a bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose or completion of a primary series within the preceding two months."
Fewer U.S. health care workers are keeping up to date on COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, according to two separate CDC reports this week. (iStock)
"There is a need to promote evidence-based strategies to improve vaccination coverage among HCP (health care personnel)," the study authors wrote in the report.
"Tailored strategies might also be useful to reach all HCP with recommended vaccines and protect them and their patients from vaccine-preventable respiratory diseases."
NEW COVID VACCINE PUSH IS ANTI-HUMAN, SAYS FLORIDA SURGEON GENERAL: MAJOR SAFETY CONCERN
In a second study, the CDC researchers analyzed the same data to determine the level of flu vaccination among health care personnel.
Prior to the COVID pandemic, flu vaccine coverage rose from 88.6% in 2017-2018 to 90.7% in 2019-2020.
However, the rate declined to 85.9% in the 2020-2021 season and dropped again to 81.1% in 2022-2023.
"There is a need to promote evidence-based strategies to improve vaccination coverage among HCP (health care personnel)," the study authors wrote in the report. (iStock)
"Additional efforts are needed to implement evidence-based strategies to increase vaccination coverage among HCP and to identify factors associated with recent declines in influenza vaccination coverage," the researchers wrote in the report.
"This is a disturbing trend," noted Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, upon reviewing the CDC data.
COLD, FLU, COVID-19 AND RSV: HOW TO IDENTIFY THE DIFFERING SYMPTOMS AND STAY SAFE
"Non-compliance is due largely to fear and politicization of misunderstanding of vaccines," he told Fox News Digital. "Both vaccines decrease severity much more than spread, although they do decrease viral load."
With the COVID vaccines, however, Siegel noted that there may be a longer "carryover effect" after previous vaccines or recent infections "so there is a rationale for not taking it unless you are in a high-risk group or elderly, even if you are a health care worker."
"All personnel without contraindications to individual vaccines should be vaccinated," said a New York City-based clinical professor of medicine. (iStock)
While the side effects are real, Siegel said, they have been "hyped" in the case of COVID vaccines.
Added the doctor, "Both vaccines are safe and effective."
Dr. Joseph P. Iser, recently retired chief health officer for the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) and a member of the ACPM Board of Regents, was not involved in the CDC reports but commented on the findings.
"I believe these coverage rates are much lower than they should be," Iser told Fox News Digital in an email.
"Non-compliance is due largely to fear and politicization of misunderstanding of vaccines."
Health care workers have a "higher duty" to be vaccinated against diseases that they can contract from or transmit to their patients, the doctor noted.
"Where vaccines are mandated by either the state's department of health or by the hospital or long-term care facility itself, clinical personnel usually take advantage of those vaccines," he said.
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"Fewer administrative personnel in these systems tend to get vaccinated, but all personnel without contraindications to individual vaccines should be vaccinated," said Iser.
"This is by far the best way to protect ourselves and our patients against not only respiratory viruses (COVID-19, RSV and influenza) but also other transmissible diseases, such as hepatitis A and B and childhood diseases."
Among the barriers to vaccinations are insurance, access to care and time required to get vaccinated, a former chief health officer noted. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Among the barriers to vaccinations are insurance, access to care and time requirements, Iser noted.
"Not all health care workers have insurance, and that is true for long-term care workers as well," he said.
"Hospitals and long-term care facilities should make vaccinations required and easy to get while at work."
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The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends annual flu vaccinations and up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations for everyone aged 6 months and older.
Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC for additional comment.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, researchers investigated the immunogenicity, safety, and effectiveness of Aripo-Zika (ARPV/ZIKV), a chimeric insect-specific flavivirus (ISFV)-Zika vaccine.
Study:Exploring the immunogenicity of an insect-specific virus vectored Zika vaccine candidate. Image Credit:nechaevkon/Shutterstock.com
The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a worldwide health issue; however, there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved human vaccines. Insect-specific flaviviruses (ISFVs) have garnered increasing scientific interest in vaccine development and diagnostic applications.
In immune-competent and immune-compromised mouse models, a single dosage of Aripo-Zika virus/Zika virus protected completely against viremia, loss of weight, and death. ARPV/ZIKV vaccination protects pregnant women and inhibits transmission to newborns in utero.
Further research is required to identify the appropriate dosage, the effect of booster vaccinations on vaccine-elicited immunity, and the role of vertebrate-infectious flaviviruses (VIFs) during ARPV/ZIKV coinfection among vertebrate cells.
In the present study, researchers conducted in vivo and in vitro studies to evaluate the immunogenicity and efficacy of the ARPV/ZIKV vaccine candidate in an immunocompetent murine model, examining the transfer of maternal antibodies to offspring.
The team examined the growth dynamics of the coinfecting viral organism in the intracellular and extracellular fractions of infected Vero-76 cells to investigate the impact of ZIKV coinfection with the Aripo virus or Aripo-Zika viruses in the cells of vertebrates.
Dosage de-escalation analyses were performed in immune-competent mice to establish the optimum ARPV/ZIKV dosage that generates a protective immunological response. C57BL/6J murine animals received Aripo-Zika virus diluted in successive 1:10 dilutions in the range of 1012 to 108 genome copies [GC; i.e., 109-105 focus-forming units (FFU)] or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), Aripo virus, and Zika virus PRVABC59 controls.
Fifty-percent plaque reduction neutralization titers (PRNT50) and neutralizing antibody (nAb) titers were determined. The researchers next investigated the effectiveness and passive transfer of Aripo-Zika virus-induced antibody titers from immunized dams to progeny.
Dams were administered the Aripo virus, Aripo-Zika virus, Zika virus PRVABC59, or phosphate-buffered saline, and offspring were challenged with a fatal dosage of Zika virus at 28 days of age to assess the rate, quantity, and protection provided by passive transmission of maternal antibodies to their offspring.
Mice were vaccinated with only the prime vaccination (no booster, NB), a single booster dose provided four weeks after the prime vaccination (1B) or two and four weeks after the prime one (2B) to evaluate the effects of prime boost regimens on vaccine immunogenicity and effectiveness. PBS, ARPV, and ZIKV control mice received prime-boost vaccination.
Increased dosage showed an almost linear association with immunogenicity, and 1011 genomic copies (i.e., 108 FFU) were the minimal dosage necessary for protection against Zika virus-induced morbidity and death in mice.
Adding booster doses did not improve ARPV/ZIKV vaccine effectiveness. Weanling mice produced from Aripo-Zika virus-immunized dams were entirely protected from Zika virus-induced morbidities and death upon challenge, showing that maternally derived antibodies were transferred efficiently.
In vitro investigations of ZIKV coinfection with Aripo virus and Aripo-Zika virus in African green monkey kidney cells (Vero-76) revealed that Aripo virus and Aripo-Zika virus could not replicate in the cells of vertebrates, in spite of vigorous ZIKV replication.
ZIKV titers in the intracellular fraction were considerably lower at 96- and 120-hours post-infection (hpi) during Aripo virus or Aripo-Zika virus coinfections than during control ZIKV infections. By 9.0 dpc, the progeny of Aripo virus-vaccinated dams had 60% mortality and 80% total deaths by 14.0 dpc.
The progeny of Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated dams died 100% in 10 dpc, while the progeny of naive (SHAM-vaccinated) murine animals died 80% in 13 dpc.
The nAb assays indicated that adolescent mice generated from Aripo-Zika virus-immunized mothers showed effective neutralization (nAb, 3.2 PRNT50) 21 days post-birth, persisting at 2.8 PRNT50 28 days post-birth.
Aripo-Zika virus-immunized dams exhibited neutralizing antibody levels of 3.8 PRNT50 four weeks post-vaccination (dpv), whereas Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated dams had 2.9 PRNT50 after four weeks of vaccination.
Twenty-one-day-old pups from Aripo-Zika virus-immunized mothers demonstrated 3.2 PRNT50 neutralizing antibodies, whereas pups from Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated mothers had 1.4 PRNT50 neutralizing antibodies.
Adolescent mice produced from Aripo-Zika virus-vaccinated dams showed neutralizing antibody titers of 2.8 PRNT50 at four weeks, whereas Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated mothers showed neutralizing antibody titers of 1.5 PRNT50. At 2.0 and 4.0 dpc, Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated children developed significantly higher viremia than controls.
Aripo-Zika virus-immunized NB and Zika virus PRVABC59-vaccinated control mice demonstrated similar nAb titers (3.3 PRNT50). Aripo-Zika virus-immunized 1B and 2B murine animals exhibited 3.4 and 3.5 PRNT50 nAb titers, respectively.
Post-challenge PRNT50 nAb titers in Aripo-Zika virus-immunized non-boosted, single dose-boosted, and two dose-boosted groups were 3.6, 3.6, and 3.5, respectively, and did not statistically significantly differ from pre-challenge neutralizing antibody titers in Aripo-Zika virus-immunized the non-boosted, single dose-boosted, and double dose-boosted groups, indicating attainment of sterilizing immunity.
Based on the study findings, ISFV-based vaccines, especially those with the ARPV backbone, are safe and efficacious against flaviviruses.
In vitro coinfection investigations revealedthat even during vigorous ZIKV replication, ARPV/ZIKV and ARPV remain incapable of replicating in vertebrate cell culture. ARPV/ZIKV remains a safe chimeric vaccination with no replication risk.
The minimumdosage required for complete protection against ZIKV-induced disease is 1011 GC or 108 FFU per mouse, with ARPV/ZIKV vaccination providing total protection.
By Alan Goforth November 17, 2023 at 11:14 AM
The Biden administration is beefing up its legal team to handle a rising number of lawsuits over COVID-19 vaccines.
The Justice Department recently posted an online ad on LinkedIn seeking eight trial attorneys to work on cases under the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). This program provides compensation for covered serious injuries or deaths that occur as the result of the administration or use of certain countermeasures regarding government COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The compensation may include unreimbursed medical expenses, lost employment income and the survivor death benefit.
The recruitment drive comes on the heels of a little-noticed lawsuit filed in Louisiana last month by six vaccine-injured plaintiffs against the federal government. The suit aims to overturn the legal immunity that pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Moderna have for their COVID shots.
The posting advised applicants that they will have to handle heavy caseloads and work on cases that involve complex scientific issues that require expert witnesses. It also said that because most cases are resolved without a trial, attorneys should be prepared to engage in settlement and damage negotiations.
The CICP, created in 2005, has been used to deal with claims resulting from public health emergencies such as anthrax exposure and the Ebola virus. Adverse side effects to the COVID-19 vaccine are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, although some have died from them. Myocarditis, among the side effects, is most common in young males.
Unaccustomed to handling a large volume of cases, the program was flooded with nearly 13,000 COVID-related claims since Jan. 31, 2020. Only 32 had been deemed eligible for compensation and 1,129 had been denied as of October, when there was a backlog of nearly 4,000 claims. Petitioners argued they didnt have the opportunity to review evidence used against them or engage in other basic practices that would be given to them in a trial. There are no hearings in CICP cases, and the decision is made by unidentified officials based on what a claimant submits. Only six people had been compensated thus far, reportedly receiving an average of $2,148 each.
Lawyers working on the cases hopeCongresswill pass legislation to reform how vaccine injuries are handled and for people to take action against pharmaceutical companies, not just the government.
This is the first domino to fall, David Carney, a Green & Schafle LLC attorney representing people injured by vaccines, told Bloomberg. Were going to start to see a windfall.
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The recent global mpox outbreak trained a bright spotlight on the need for safe and effective Orthopoxvirus vaccines, especially in light of continuously looming zoonotic threats and the potential for these pathogens to spread rapidly worldwide.
Now, a collaborative group of U.S. scientists is testing a candidate mRNA mpox nanoparticle vaccine with the hope of developing an immunization that is superior to the current mpox shot.
The research team mostly hails from the private and federal institutions that produced one of the highly successful COVID mRNA vaccines: Moderna Inc., in Cambridge, Mass., and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in Bethesda, Md. The new study also included collaboration with the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick Md.
Writing in Science Translational Medicine, the researchers say the aim of the new mRNA vaccine for mpox is to have a shelf-ready inoculation in the event of a future outbreak. Having a vaccine in hand, they say, alleviates scrambling to figure out what might work most effectively as cases mount and doctors ask for the best immunization strategy to ward off additional infections.
In 2022, already battle fatigued amid a knock-down-drag-out fight against the ever-mutating SARS-CoV-2 menace, the global health community had to quickly pivot to take on an emerging mpox outbreak that had swiftly circled the globe. While the mpox outbreak didn't reach the scale of the coronavirus pandemic, it did reignite panic about the unexpected emergence of a zoonotic virus and how best to mount combat against it.
"Mpox virus caused a global outbreak in 2022," writes Dr. Alec Freyn, lead author of the new research involving the investigational mRNA nanoparticle vaccine.
"Although smallpox vaccines were rapidly deployed to curb spread and disease among those at highest risk, breakthrough disease was noted after complete immunization. Given the threat of additional zoonotic events and the virus's evolving ability to drive human-to-human transmission," Freyn continued, "there is an urgent need for an mpox-specific vaccine that confers protection against evolving mpox strains and related orthopoxviruses."
The vaccine administered in the mpox outbreak was a modified vaccinia Ankara shot, which was effective in reducing disease severity and transmission, despite its drawbacks. Modified vaccinia Ankara is an attenuatedweakenedstrain of the vaccinia virus, a large and complex enveloped virus with a double-stranded DNA genome.
It's a member of the poxvirus family but is much less dangerous than the smallpox virus, which explains why it's used in vaccines against smallpox and mpox (smallpox was eradicated from the planet in 1977 after a centuries-long, disease-causing run that killed millions).
Freyn and colleagues say if a next-generation vaccine had been available, the global health community might have seen better immunization performance. With the investigational vaccine that is under development, the future of immunization technology against mpox looks promising, he and his team say.
Relying on animal model research, scientists tested the new mRNA shot by vaccinating mice that were later administered a lethal dose of vaccinia virus. In a stunning outcome, animals immunized with the candidate mRNA nanoparticle vaccine were able to thwart a lethal infection. Several different experiments were conducted to test the vaccine's efficacy as well as to compare it head-to-head with the old-school shot.
The mRNA vaccine performed as welloften betterthan the modified vaccinia Ankara shot in its ability to elicit immune responses and protect against lethal infection. Overall, the mRNA nanoparticle vaccine proved to be the superior immunization.
"We demonstrate that an mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine encoding a set of four highly conserved mpox surface proteins involved in virus attachment, entry, and transmission can induce mpox-specific immunity and heterologous protection against a lethal vaccinia virus challenge," Freyn added.
"Compared with modified vaccinia virus Ankara, which forms the basis for the current mpox vaccine, immunization with an mRNA-based mpox vaccine generated superior neutralizing activity against mpox and vaccinia virus and more efficiently inhibited spread between cells," Freyn noted.
The research team included virologists and vaccinologists from Moderna as well as from two key divisions of NIAID: the Vaccine Research Center as well the agency's Laboratory of Viral Diseases. The USAMRID contributor was from the Army lab's Virology Division.
The new data support further development of mRNA vaccines targeting orthopoxviruses to allow rapid response in the event of an outbreak, Freyn and his team say.
Indeed, the scientists concluded that the research reinforced their initial hypothesis that an mRNA-based mpox vaccine confers robust protection against orthopoxviruses.
More information: Alec W. Freyn et al, An mpox virus mRNA-lipid nanoparticle vaccine confers protection against lethal orthopoxviral challenge, Science Translational Medicine (2023). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adg3540
Journal information: Science Translational Medicine
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