Erin Horn Sanford Health Media Relations 701-516-4903/erin.horn@sanfordhealth.org
MINOT, N.D. (Oct. 2, 2023) Sanford Health is hosting several flu vaccination events in Minot, North Dakota.
Vaccines will be provided within Sanford Health Hwy 2 Clinic, at 801 21st Ave. SE, every Thursday throughout the month of October from 5 p.m. 8 p.m.
Seasonal vaccines are available for adults and children ages six months and older.
Appointments are recommended, but not required. Please visit mysanfordchart.org to schedule a flu vaccine at one of these special events or call 701-456-6001.
Fall is the perfect time to get your flu shot. The vaccine offers protection throughout the entire flu season and is the best way to protect yourself and your community from the flu.
Who should receive a flu shot? Everyone ages six months and older should get a flu vaccination annually to reduce the risk of becoming ill with influenza or transmitting it to others. Certain groups are at higher risk and are strongly recommended to receive the vaccine, including:
Visit sanfordhealth.org to learn more about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines and get answers to commonly asked questions.
The Sanford Bismarck region provides health care to central and western North Dakota, eastern Montana and northern South Dakota. It includes 21 clinics in Bismarck, Mandan, Minot, Dickinson and Watford City, as well as a Level II trauma center located in Bismarck.
About Sanford Health Sanford Health, the largest rural health system inthe United States, is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in Americas heartland. Headquartered inSioux Falls, South Dakota, the organization serves more than one million patients and 220,000 health plan members across 250,000 square miles. The integrated health system has 47 medical centers, 2,800 Sanford physicians and advanced practice providers, 170 clinical investigators and research scientists, more than 200 Good Samaritan Society senior care locations and world clinics in 8 countries around the globe. Learn more about Sanford Healths commitment to shaping the future of rural health care across the lifespan atsanfordhealth.orgorSanford Health News.
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The new vaccines and you: Americans better armed than ever against the winter blechs
by Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News
Last years triple-demic marked the beginning of what may be a new normal: a confluence of respiratory infections RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 will surge as the weather cools each year. (Getty Images)
HELENA, Mont.
Last years triple-demic marked the beginning of what may be a new normal: a confluence of respiratory infections RSV, influenza, and COVID-19 will surge as the weather cools each year.
Like blizzards, the specific timing and severity of these outbreaks are hard to forecast. But their damage can be limited in more ways than ever before. More protective vaccines against influenza are on the horizon. And new vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, were approved this year, as were updated COVID vaccines. Although the first days of rollout for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines saw hiccups, with short supplies at some pharmacies and billing confusion with some insurers, the shots now are generally available at no cost.
Whats more, after enduring the worst pandemic in a century, people are more attuned to protecting themselves and those around them. Wearing face masks and staying home when sick can stop the spread of most respiratory infections. The rate of flu vaccinations has climbed over the past five years.
It seems like the pandemic reminded them of how important vaccination is, said Brian Poole, a microbiologist at Brigham Young University in Utah. In a study of college students, Poole and other researchers found that flu vaccination rates have nearly tripled since 2007, from 12% to 31% in the respiratory infection season of 2022-23. Only a minority of students expressed vaccine fatigue.
There is, however, one dangerous departure from the past. Vaccination has become politicized, with college students and older adults who identify as Republican or conservative being less likely to get COVID vaccines, as well as vaccinations against flu. Before 2018, studies found that political affiliation had no influence on vaccine uptake. But as measures to limit COVID, such as school and church closures, became controversial, some political leaders downplayed the effects of COVID even as the pandemics U.S. death toll soared above 1 million.
That messaging has led to a disbelief in public health information. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports data showing that COVID hospitalizations nearly tripled in the latest surge, with more than 40,000 hospitalizations in the first two weeks of September compared with about 13,600 in the same period of July. But in a recent KFF poll, half of Republicans did not believe in the surge, compared with just 23% of Democrats.
Messaging to minimize the toll of COVID also makes vaccines seem unnecessary, with 24% of Republicans leaning toward getting the updated COVID shot versus 70% of Democrats in the KFF poll. A larger share of vaccine-eligible adults said they planned to get, or have gotten, the flu shot and a new RSV vaccine.
Its important to recognize that the flu, COVID, and respiratory viruses still kill a lot of people, and that the vaccines against those viruses save lives, said David Dowdy, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Flu vaccines prevent up to 87,000 hospitalizations and 10,000 deaths each year in the United States. I like to highlight that, Dowdy added, as opposed to making up terms like triple-demic to make people cower in fear.
Dowdy predicted this fall and winter will be better than the past few, when patients with COVID, influenza, or RSV filled hospitals. Even so, he estimated that more people will die than in the seasons before COVID appeared. About 58,000 people died from the flu last season, and hundreds of thousands more were sickened, staying home from school and work. This year, the flu doesnt appear to be kicking off unusually early, as it did last year with cases picking up in November, rather than in January. And more people are partially immune to COVID due to vaccines and prior infections.
The effectiveness of flu vaccines varies depending on how well its formula matches the virus circulating. This years vaccine appears more protective than last years, which reduced the risk of hospitalization from the flu by about 44% among adults. This year, researchers expect an effectiveness of about 52%, based on data collected during South Americas earlier flu season. Its benefit was higher for children, reducing hospitalizations by 70%.
The flus toll tends to be uneven among demographic groups. Over the past decade, hospitalization rates due to the flu were 1.8 times as high among Black people in the United States as among white individuals. Just 42% of Black adults were vaccinated against the flu during that period, compared with 54% of white or Asian adults. Other issues, ranging from a lack of paid sick leave and medical care to a prevalence of underlying conditions, probably contribute to this disparity. People who have asthma, diabetes, or cardiovascular issues or are immunocompromised are at higher risk of a severe case of flu.
Sean OLeary, an infectious disease pediatrician and the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, urges parents to vaccinate their kids against influenza and COVID. Children hospitalized with co-infections of the two viruses last year were put on ventilators an intense form of life support to allow them to breathe far more often than those hospitalized for the flu alone. And COVID is surging now, OLeary said. Hospitalizations among children under age 18 increased nearly fivefold from June to September. Almost all of our kids who have died have been completely unvaccinated against COVID, he said.
The FDA greenlighted new RSV vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies GSK and Pfizer this year. On Sept. 22, the CDC recommended that pregnant mothers get vaccinated to protect their newborns from RSV, as well as infants under 8 months old. The disease is the leading cause of hospitalization for infants in the United States. The agency also advises people age 60 and older to get the vaccine because RSV kills between 6,000 to 10,000 older adults each year.
Rather than vaccination, the CDC advised a new long-acting antibody treatment, nirsevimab, for children between 8 to 19 months old who are at risk of RSV. However, the price could be cost-prohibitive anticipated at $300 to $500 a dose and many hospitals lack the staff needed to administer it. Although insurers cover it, the American Academy of Pediatrics warns that reimbursement often lags for a year. We dont have the infrastructure in place to ensure all children can access the product, said its president, Sandy Chung, in a statement. And that is alarming.
If the wrinkles can be ironed out, said Helen Chu, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Washington in Seattle, better tools could arrive as early as next year. Pfizer, Moderna, and other pharmaceutical companies are developing mRNA vaccines against influenza and RSV that may more precisely target each years circulating virus.
Todays flu and RSV vaccines are produced using traditional vaccine platforms, such as within chicken eggs, that are more cumbersome to handle, and therefore the vaccines take longer to develop each year. And President Joe Biden has awarded companies $1 billion to develop COVID vaccines that provide longer protection.
The future is going to be all three vaccines together, Chu said, but that will be a while yet.
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Brandyn Churchill
Credit: UMass Amherst
AMHERST, Mass. Adults are more likely to follow government vaccination recommendations when they do not have to pay out of pocket for the vaccine, according to a new study by a University of Massachusetts Amherst researcher. The findings provide important insights into vaccine take-up, as public health officials have experimented with everything from free concert tickets to lotteries with cash prizes to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates.
Though much is known about the strong efficacy of vaccine recommendations for children and adolescents, which are often supported by government funding and requirements for school attendance, this research is among the first to explore how to increase vaccination rates among adults.
Analyzing data from the shingles vaccine,Brandyn Churchill, assistant professor of resource economics at UMass Amherst, and Laura E. Henkhaus, health economist and data scientist with Hill Physicians Medical Group, found that the number of people taking the vaccine nearly doubled after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) required private insurers to cover vaccinations recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, as part of preventive care coverage.
Adults are very price sensitive when it comes to their vaccine decision making, Churchill says. Cost matters. Age-targeted vaccine recommendations alone dont appear to do a lot for vaccine take-up among adults if the cost is coming out of their wallet.
Churchill and Henkhaus show that prior to the ACA preventive care insurance mandate, adults aged 60 and over, who were recommended to receive the shingles vaccine, were no more likely than their 59-year-old counterparts to be vaccinated. After the ACA mandate took effect in 2010, shingles vaccination increased from 3.1 to 5.9 percentage points for people aged 60 and over.
The research finds a similar increase for people aged 50 to 59 after recommendations for the shingles vaccine were expanded to cover adults aged 50 and over, and private insurance was required to cover it beginning in 2019. This coincided with a more effective and more costly version of the vaccine. Currently, the recommended two doses cost about $200 each.
Churchill notes people with a college education and those who had more contact with the health care system were more likely to take the shingles vaccine after it was fully covered by insurance. This might say something about an awareness that they knew they were eligible to get it without patient cost sharing, he says.
Caused by a reactivation of the chickenpox virus, shingles is an infection that can produce a painful rash with fluid-filled blisters. It affects more than one million people in the U.S. each year.
While shingles is not a communicable disease and its mortality rate is very low, the studys findings provide important guidance for policies promoting vaccination against communicable diseases, such as influenza and COVID-19.
With the COVID vaccines, clearly cost is not the only factor at play, but anything that would increase the cost to adults would likely further reduce vaccine take-up among that group resulting in potentially serious public health effects, Churchill concludes. COVID vaccines continue to be available withno out-of-pocket costfor most Americans.
The full paper, The Roles of Cost and Recommendations in Driving Vaccine Take-Up, appears in theAmerican Journal of Health Economics.
American Journal of Health Economics
Observational study
People
The Roles of Cost and Recommendations in Driving Vaccine Take-Up
9-Oct-2023
Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.
When 12-year-old Braden Fahey collapsed during football practice and died, it was just the beginning of his parents' nightmare.
Deep in their grief a few months later, Gina and Padrig Fahey received news that shocked them to their core: A favorite photo of their beloved son was plastered on the cover of a book that falsely argues COVID-19 vaccines caused a spike of sudden deaths among healthy young people.
Padrig and Gina Fahey hold a photo of their son, Braden, 12, as they stand for a portrait in California on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Braden collapsed at football practice in August 2022 and died of a malformed blood vessel in the brain. The Faheys couldnt understand how Bradens face appeared on the cover of the book Cause Unknown, which was co-published by an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or why his name appeared inside it. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez)
The book, called "Cause Unknown," was co-published by an anti-vaccine group led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy's nephew, who is now running for president. Kennedy wrote the foreword and promoted the book, tweeting that it details data showing " COVID shots are a crime against humanity."
The Faheys couldn't understand how Braden's face appeared on the book's cover, or why his name appeared inside it.
Braden never received the vaccine. His death in August 2022 was due to a malformed blood vessel in his brain. No one ever contacted them to ask about their son's death, or for permission to use the photo. No one asked to confirm the date of his death which the book misdated by a year. When the Faheys and residents of their town in California tried to contact the publisher and author to get Braden and his picture taken out of the book, no one responded.
"We reached out in every way possible," Gina Fahey told The Associated Press in an emotional interview. "We waited months and months to hear back, and nothing."
How could a member of one of the most influential political dynasties in American history be involved in such a shoddy, irresponsible project, the Faheys wondered?
FILE - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks during a campaign event at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
Braden's story is just one example of how Kennedy, son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, has used his famous name to disseminate false information about vaccines and other topics in a time when spreading conspiracy theories has become a powerful way to grow a constituency. An AP examination of his work and its impact found Kennedy has earned money, fame and political clout while leaving people like the Faheys suffering.
Now, Kennedy's decision to drop his Democratic bid for president and run as an independent gives him a new spotlight in an election that's currently heading toward a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. There's concern in both parties that he could emerge as a spoiler who could affect the outcome of the campaign in unexpected ways. And at a time when Republicans in the 2024 race also are sowing doubt about vaccine effectiveness, it threatens to further promote harmful misinformation that already has cost lives.
One mom told AP about how she had delayed important care for her child because she believed Kennedy's vaccine falsehoods. A former elected leader described being harassed by Kennedy's followers. Doctors and nurses recounted how his work has hurt people in the U.S. and abroad.
Kennedy's campaign did not respond to several emails seeking comment for this article, but after AP contacted Kennedy and others involved in the book last week, the president of Skyhorse Publishing, which co-published it, texted the Faheys, offering to talk. Gina Fahey told AP she felt he reached out only after it became clear the situation could harm his reputation.
Padrig and Gina Fahey hold a bat dedicated to their son, Braden, by his baseball travel team Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in California. Braden, 12, collapsed at a football practice last August and died of a malformed blood vessel in the brain. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez)
"There's still that lack of compassion that was always there from the beginning," she said, adding that she is hesitant to engage with them now because she doesn't trust their intentions. "It's only now that they're reaching out, days prior to knowing this story is going to be released."
Braden's parents have read vicious comments from people who falsely blame vaccines for their son's death. They say seeing Braden's memory being misrepresented by Kennedy and others has been deeply painful.
"When you barely feel like you can even come up for air, you just get smacked back down again by this," Gina Fahey said.
"It's very manipulative. And you know, he's making money off of our tragedies," she said, adding, "How could you want somebody running our country that operates like that?"
Padrig and Gina Fahey stand for a portrait next to a tribute to their son, Braden, in California, on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. Braden, 12, collapsed at a football practice last August and died of a malformed blood vessel in the brain. The Faheys have read vicious comments from people who falsely blame vaccines for their son's death. They say seeing Bradens memory being used and misrepresented by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others has been deeply painful. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez)
Many years before anti-vaccine activists exploited the pandemic to bring their ideas to the American mainstream, Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, was among the most influential spreaders of fear and distrust around vaccines. He has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. He has said vaccines had caused a "holocaust," and has traveled the world spreading false information about the pandemic.
In recent years, Kennedy has used his name and rhetorical skills to build his anti-vaccine group, Children's Health Defense, or CHD, into an influential force that spreads false and misleading information. An AP investigation previously revealed how Kennedy had capitalized on the pandemic to build CHD into a multi-million-dollar misinformation engine.
One of the ways Kennedy and CHD have made money is through the sale of books. Kennedy's longtime publisher, Skyhorse, joined with CHD to create a book series that has published titles including "Vax-Unvax," "Profiles of the Vaccine Injured," and the book that included Braden Fahey, "Cause Unknown."
A picture of Braden Fahey, bottom left, is seen in "Cause Unknown," a book that falsely implies COVID-19 shots were behind a wave of youth deaths, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023, in California. Fahey, who had never received a COVID-19 vaccine, collapsed at football practice in August 2022 and died of a malformed blood vessel in the brain. The book was published by Skyhorse, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s longtime publisher, in partnership with Kennedy's anti-vaccine nonprofit group, Children's Health Defense. Kennedy wrote the foreword for the book. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vsquez)
Written by Edward Dowd, a former executive at BlackRock, that book is built on the false premise that sudden deaths of young, healthy people are spiking. Experts say these rare medical emergencies are not new and have not become more prevalent.
"We are just not seeing anything that suggests that," said Dr. Matthew Martinez, of Atlantic Health System in Morristown Medical Center, who researches cardiac events among professional athletes.
The AP found dozens of individuals included in the book died of known causes not related to vaccines, including suicide, choking while intoxicated, overdose and allergic reaction. One person died in 2019.
AP asked Kennedy's campaign, CHD, Dowd and Skyhorse president Tony Lyons several questions about the book, including why they chose to feature Braden, why they didn't speak to his family first and what steps they took to fact check.
The only person to respond was Lyons, who also co-chairs the Kennedy Super PAC American Values 2024.
In emails, Lyons did not address why Braden specifically was chosen for the cover but defended his inclusion by saying that news stories and his obituary did not mention his cause of death.
Hundreds of deaths are cited in the book, though Lyons said it only attributes nine of them to the vaccine. Lyons said Braden's death and others are never explicitly attributed to the vaccine, and that the book explores many possible reasons for deaths that have appeared in headlines since 2021.
Still, the book several times refers to its "thesis" that mass administration of COVID-19 vaccines caused a spike in deaths. Braden's parents said his appearance in the context of the book implies he died of the vaccine, putting his death in a false light.
Lyons said he was unaware of the Faheys' efforts to contact his company and asked AP to share with them his contact information. He said he would make some corrections in future editions, including to Braden's date of death, but said they were studying whether to remove him from the book or the cover.
Lyons told the AP that Children's Health Defense has a publishing deal with Skyhorse, though he would not say how much money CHD has received through it.
Kennedy also has a consulting deal with Skyhorse that personally paid him $125,000 since August 2022 for scouting out books for the company, according to a financial disclosure he filed. Lyons said that deal has so far resulted in 27 books of different genres including children's books, mysteries and cookbooks, but declined to name them.
Lyons also praised Kennedy's record of environmental work, such as protecting New York's Hudson River, and other work he's done to take on powerful corporate interests and what Kennedy sees as government corruption. Those are also topics Kennedy has focused on during his presidential campaign.
The platform Kennedy built for himself has an impact. In a study of verified Twitter accounts from 2021, researchers Francesco Pierri, Matthew DeVerna and others working with Indiana University's Observatory on Social Media found Kennedy's personal Twitter account was the top "superspreader" of vaccine misinformation on Twitter, responsible for 13 percent of all reshares of misinformation, more than three times the second most-retweeted account.
The messages Kennedy shares have convinced a significant slice of the public, some of whom attend his campaign events proudly wearing pins with crossed-out syringes or repeating Kennedy's talking points about vaccine ingredients.
Kennedy's anti-vaccine organization has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.
FILE - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks against proposed Democratic bills that would add new doses of vaccines to attend school, during a protest rally on behalf of New York state families against the vaccination of children at the Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2020, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)
Many people have staked their lives and the lives of their families on the views espoused by Kennedy and others who oppose vaccines.
The AP spoke to mothers who once identified as anti-vaccine and counted themselves among Kennedy's most devoted followers.
"I thought he was heroic, because he was saying the things publicly that other people were too afraid to say," said Lydia Greene.
Greene, who lives in the Canadian province of Alberta, declined all vaccines for her son after buying into the claims by Kennedy and other anti-vaccine "gurus" that vaccines cause autism. When her son started to show signs of autism, Greene discounted it out of hand.
"I couldn't even see his autism because in the anti-vax movement, autism is the worst outcome that can happen to a child. And when they talk about their vaccinated autistic kids, it's often with a tone of resentment and how they talk about how their life is ruined, their marriage is ruined, and it's just this kid is damaged," Greene said. "And so when my son was different, I couldn't see that stuff about him."
She said she did not recognize his condition until she "came out of the rabbit hole of anti-vax."
"I realized I had wasted so much valuable time where he should have been in occupational therapy, speech therapy, evidence-based therapy for autism," Greene said.
Kennedy's Children's Health Defense produces articles, newsletters, books, podcasts, even TV shows on its own CHD.TV. Greene said those articles often validate anxious parents' fears no matter how irrational while making them feel like someone powerful is listening.
FILE - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is broadcast on a large screen as he speaks during an anti-vaccine rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Today, Greene believes the group exploited her.
"That's what CHD does," Greene said. "They find parents when they're vulnerable. And hack into that."
Because of his national profile, Kennedy's work has ripple effects beyond the most devoted anti-vaccine activists.
Medical professionals told the AP that vaccine disinformation spread by Kennedy and other influencers makes the patients they serve wary about lifesaving vaccinations.
Sharon Goldfarb, is a family nurse practitioner in Berkeley, California, who spent the worst of the pandemic caring for people on society's margins: people with no homes; people who were living in the country illegally; people with serious mental health needs. She has seen firsthand the consequences of vaccine misinformation and refusal.
"It's disturbing because he has a huge family name," Goldfarb said. "When you're a trusted public figure and you have a trusted family name, you have to answer to a higher authority. I just don't get it."
Dr. Todd Wolynn, a Pittsburgh pediatrician who works to clarify the facts about vaccines on social media, said despite Kennedy's lack of clinical experience, he has an outsized influence on his followers.
"He uses a very big platform to amplify disinformation that leads people down a path to make a decision that's not evidence based," Wolynn said. "And as a result, it puts their own lives, the lives of their children, the lives of their family, in harm's way."
Though Kennedy did not respond for this story, he has long said that he is not anti-vaccine, and only wants vaccines to be rigorously tested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explains that vaccines undergo thorough testing before they are authorized or approved in the U.S. and they are monitored for safety after they are introduced to the public.
COVID-19 vaccines were initially developed under the Trump administration, through the program Operation Warp Speed. But what his Republican-led administration viewed at the time as a point of pride has since become a topic of criticism in Republican circles, including among GOP presidential candidates who have expressed skepticism about the immunizations.
The Republican candidate and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy said in a July podcast interview that if he'd had the facts he would not have gotten vaccinated against COVID-19. The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also running as a Republican, has broken with CDC guidance to advise Floridians under 65 not to get the latest COVID-19 booster.
That kind of rhetoric, along with the conspiracy beliefs that Kennedy has shared about other subjects, like 5G, "can impact the smooth running of societies," said Daniel Jolley, a University of Nottingham social psychology professor, who has published several papers on conspiracy thinking and its impacts.
While skepticism is important, proper evaluation of the evidence is key, Jolley said. Anyone pushing conspiracy theories while running for president makes the theories seem normal.
"It's that kind of rhetoric that I think is really damaging," Jolley said. "You worry when you think about the next pandemic or the next event or the next issue that's going to come our way."
Jolley wonders: Will people listen to doctors or experts next time?
Kennedy's role in legitimizing anti-vaccine activism has not been limited to the U.S. Perhaps the most well-known example was in 2019 on the Pacific island nation of Samoa.
That year, dozens of children died of measles. Many factors led to the wave of deaths, including medical mistakes and poor decisions by government authorities. But people involved in the response who spoke to AP said Kennedy and the anti-vaccine activists he supported made things worse.
In June 2019, Kennedy and his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines, visited Samoa, a trip Kennedy later wrote was arranged by Edwin Tamasese, a Samoan local anti-vaccine influencer.
Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, foreground right, shakes hands with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before he left the the 57th Independence Celebration in Mulinuu, Samoa, on June 1, 2019. At foreground left is Kennedy's wife, actress Cheryl Hines. Kennedy said the trip was arranged by Edwin Tamasese, a local anti-vaccine influencer. (Misiona Simo/Samoa Observer via AP)
Vaccine rates had plummeted after two children died in 2018 from a measles vaccine that a nurse had incorrectly mixed with a muscle relaxant. The government suspended the vaccine program for months. By the time Kennedy arrived, health authorities were trying to get back on track.
He was treated as a distinguished guest, traveling in a government vehicle, meeting with the prime minister and, according to Kennedy, many health officials and the health minister.
He also met with anti-vaccine activists, including Tamasese and another well-known influencer, Taylor Winterstein, who posted a photograph of herself and Kennedy on her Instagram.
"The past few days have been profoundly monumental for me, my family and for this movement to date," she wrote, adding hashtags including #investigatebeforeyouvaccinate.
A few months later, a measles epidemic broke out in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly infants and children in a population of about 200,000.
Public health officials said at the time that anti-vaccine misinformation had made the nation vulnerable.
The crisis of low vaccination rates and skepticism created an environment that was "ripe for the picking for someone like RFK to come in and in assist with the promotion of those views," said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist from New Zealand who worked on the effort to build back trust in the measles vaccine in Samoa.
Petousis-Harris recalled that local and regional anti-vaccine activists took their cues from Kennedy, whom she said "sits at the top of the food chain as a disinformation source."
"They amplified the fear and mistrust, which resulted in the amplification of the epidemic and an increased number of children dying. Children were being brought for care too late," she said.
Kennedy's campaign did not respond to emails seeking comment about Samoa, though he says on his campaign website that he had no role in the outbreak. He also said in an interview for a forthcoming documentary, "Shot in the Arm," that he bears no responsibility for the outcome.
"I had nothing to do with people not vaccinating in Samoa. I never told anybody not to vaccinate. I didn't, you know, go there for any reason to do with that."
But people who worked on the Samoan measles response told AP the credibility he gave to anti-vaccine forces when he met with them had an impact.
Moelagi Leilani Jackson, a Samoan nurse who worked on the vaccination campaign to stem the scourge of measles, said she remembered that after Kennedy's visit, the anti-vaccine influencers "got louder."
"I feel like they felt they had the support of Kennedy. But I also think that Kennedy was very well, he came in and he left," she recalled. "And other people picked up the pieces."
FILE - Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., left, stands with protesters at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., on Feb. 8, 2019, where they opposed a bill to tighten measles, mumps and rubella vaccine requirements for school-aged children. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
A few weeks after his trip to Samoa, Kennedy appeared in Sacramento, California, where lawmakers were debating a bill to make it more difficult to get a vaccine exemption. The bill was sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician.
As a crowd gathered outside the capitol, Kennedy stood to speak. Two large posters behind him featured Pan's image, with the word "LIAR" stamped across his face in blood-red paint. Pan told AP he felt the staging was intended to incite the crowd against him.
"So he's rallying to have people attack me, essentially, personally," said Pan, who is no longer in office.
Within months, one anti-vaccine extremist assaulted Pan, streaming it live on Facebook. Another threw blood at Pan and other lawmakers.
Kennedy has repeatedly brought up the Holocaust when discussing vaccines and public health mandates, comparisons that Pan said amount to an "indirect call to violence" against health advocates.
"Who creates an atmosphere where they think what's appropriate is to actually physically assault a legislator? It's people like Robert F. Kennedy, Jr." Pan said.
Pan said it's one of many instances when Kennedy has whipped people up against public health advocates. Kennedy also wrote a bestselling book attacking Anthony Fauci, who has received death threats.
Those attacks have prompted criticism from Kennedy's sister, Kerry Kennedy, who invoked the Kennedy family history of political violence their father and uncle were both assassinated when she told the AP in 2021: "Attacking doctors and scientists is irresponsible because many have received death threats. This can deter people from those professions. Our family knows that a death threat should be taken seriously."
Kerry Kennedy and three other siblings on Oct. 9 issued a statement denouncing Kennedy's independent candidacy, calling it "dangerous" and "perilous" to the country.
Pan said that Kennedy's rhetoric, which often demonizes scientists and health care professionals, is part of a strategy to intimidate and silence them.
"When you call something a holocaust, it is incitement to violence," Pan said.
"The real consequence of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is we have dead children, and we have people who are in good faith doing their best to try to protect people, including children, who are basically being threatened and even assaulted because of his rhetoric and his lies," said Pan, who is now running for mayor of Sacramento, a nonpartisan position. "That harms America."
Associated Press video journalist Terry Chea contributed to this report.
The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about AP's democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Donald Trump, Republican
Former President Donald Trump, aiming to become only the second commander-in-chief ever elected to two nonconsecutive terms, announced in November that he is seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.
In order to make America great and glorious again, I am tonight announcing my candidacy for president of the United States, Trump told a crowd gathered at Mar-a-Lago, his waterfront estate in Florida, where his campaign will be headquartered. - CNN
Nikki Haley, Republican
(Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co.s executive chair pointed to polarization in US politics as one of the reasons the automaker is slowing production of its first electric pickup.
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Blue states say EVs are great and we need to adopt them as soon as possible for climate reasons, Bill Ford said in an interview with the New York Times. Some of the red states say this is just like the vaccine, and its being shoved down our throat by the government, and we dont want it. I never thought I would see the day when our products were so heavily politicized, but they are.
Ford announced last week it was temporarily cutting a shift at its Dearborn, Michigan, plant that assembles F-150 Lightning pickups, citing quality checks and supply chain issues. On Tuesday, General Motors Co. said it would delay opening its second electric-truck factory in Michigan to better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand.
US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have starkly different views on EVs. Biden wants half of new-vehicle sales to be electric by the end of the decade and has signed several laws in his first term that offer incentives to consumers, car and battery manufacturers and charging operators. Trump skipped a Republican presidential candidate debate last month to argue to blue-collar voters in Michigan that shifting to EVs will doom the auto industry.
EVs also are becoming part of the culture wars at the state level. Whereas California and other states mandate that zero-emission vehicles make up an increasing share of manufacturers sales, lawmakers in Wyoming introduced legislation early this year that would have banned the sale of EVs in the state by 2035. The bill didnt advance.
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(Reuters) - Novavax said on Monday it was "encouraged" by the broad availability of its updated COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out in the U.S., days after rival Pfizer slashed its full-year revenue forecast.
"It is too soon to evaluate U.S. vaccination rates given that vaccinations will continue in the coming weeks," Novavax added.
Shares of vaccine maker Novavax and rival Moderna were down 6% to 7% after Pfizer on Friday flagged concerns on lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.
Novavax also said it continues to work in close partnership with the European Medicines Agency (EMA), after the regulator delayed a decision to give approval for the company's variant-tailored COVID-19 shot.
The company will provide an update on its upcoming third-quarter earnings in early November 2023.
(Reporting by Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
Novavax, Inc. today announced that Singapores Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has granted full approval for Novavaxs prototype COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 inindividuals aged 12 and older.
The company announced the approval in an Oct. 18 press release.
NVX-CoV2373 is a protein-based vaccine made by creating copies of the surface spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. With Novavaxs unique recombinant nanoparticle technology, the non-infectious spike protein serves as the antigen that primes the immune system to recognize the virus, while Novavaxs Matrix-M adjuvant enhances and broadens the immune response. The vaccine is packaged as a ready-to-use liquid formulation and is stored at 2 to 8C, enabling the use of existing vaccine supply and cold chain channels.
For the 2023-2024 vaccination season,Novavax has developed an updated COVID-19 vaccine which has been authorized for use in the U.S.The updated vaccine induces neutralizing antibody responses against currently circulating variants XBB.1.5, XBB.1.16, XBB.2.3,BA.2.86, EG.5.1, FL.1.5.1 and XBB.1.16.6.Additional non-clinical data demonstrated that Novavaxs vaccine induced CD4+ polyfunctional cellular (T-cell) responses against EG.5.1 and XBB.1.16.6. These data indicate Novavaxs vaccine can stimulate both arms of the immune system and may induce a broad response against currently circulating variants.
Todays full approval of our prototype vaccine will enable us to file for approval of our updated protein-basednon-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with HSA to ensure a protein-based vaccine is part of the portfolio for Singaporeans to protect themselves against COVID-19.
In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions associated withNovavaxs prototype COVID-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2373) included headache, nausea or vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, injection site tenderness, injection site pain, fatigue and malaise.
About the PREVENT-19 Phase 3 TrialThe PRE-fusion protein subunitVaccineEfficacyNovavaxTrial COVID-19 (PREVENT-19) was a randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blinded Phase 3 trial conducted in the U.S. and Mexico to evaluate the efficacy and safety of NVX-CoV2373 as a primary series and as a booster in adults and adolescents to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection. As a primary series, the primary endpoint was the first occurrence of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed symptomatic (mild, moderate, or severe) COVID-19 with onset at least seven days after the second dose in 29,960 adult participants aged 18 and older at baseline without protocol violations prior to illness. A secondary endpoint was the prevention of PCR-confirmed, symptomatic moderate or severe COVID-19. Full results of the trial were published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
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Vaccine maker Novavax Inc (NVAX.O) on Monday said it has shipped millions of doses its updated COVID-19 shots to distributors after receiving the go-ahead from U.S. regulators. The U.S. FDA authorized the updated vaccine last week for emergency use in individuals aged 12 years and older, but batches of the shots needed additional clearance from the FDA before they could be released. Novavax said it expects the shots to be available at U.S. pharmacies this week. Reuters
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency or MHRA in the United Kingdom has granted full marketing authorization for its prototype COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid or NVX-CoV2373 for individuals aged 12 and older. Business Insider
As the updated COVID vaccines roll out around the country, one more competitor has joined the mix. In early October the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a new booster shot made by the company Novavax. Like the mRNA-based Pfizer and Moderna shots, it targets a SARS-CoV-2 variant, XBB.1.5, which is a descendant of Omicron. It is the first protein vaccine to appear in more than a year, which some public health experts say is encouraging news for people who are hesitant the mRNA vaccines that have been widely used throughout the pandemic. Scientific American
Novavax, Inc. (Nasdaq: NVAX), a global company advancing protein-based vaccines with its Matrix-M adjuvant, today announced that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom (U.K.) has granted full marketing authorization for its prototype COVID-19 vaccine Nuvaxovid (NVX-CoV2373) for individuals aged 12 and older for active immunization to help prevent COVID-19.
"Full marketing authorization of our prototype COVID-19 vaccine in the U.K. is a stepping stone to enable authorization of updated strains of our vaccine in the future," said John C. Jacobs, President and Chief Executive Officer, Novavax. "We are working with the MHRA to provide the information needed for the rapid review of our updated protein-based non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine as an important step to ensuring access to vaccine options in the U.K. this coming vaccination season."
Authorization was based on two Phase 3 trials, PREVENT-19 conducted in the U.S. and Mexico and a Phase 3 trial in the U.K., as well as a Phase 2a/b trial in South Africa. In these trials, Novavax demonstrated the efficacy and safety of its prototype vaccine as a primary series in individuals aged 12 and older, and the immunogenicity and safety of the vaccine as a booster in individuals aged 18 and older.
This medicine is subject to additional monitoring. This will allow quick identification of new safety information. If you are concerned about an adverse event, it should be reported on a Yellow Card. Reporting forms and information can be found at https://coronavirus-yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/ or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store. When reporting please include the vaccine brand and batch/Lot number if available.
i. Additional efficacy and safety data are being collected.
Trade Name in the U.S. The trade name Nuvaxovid has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Important Safety Information: U.K.
For more information on Nuvaxovid, including the Summary of Product Characteristics with Package Leaflet, adverse event reporting instructions, or to request additional information, please visit the following websites:
Despite COVID-19 numbers peaking nationally two weeks ago, Dr. Peter Hotez said transmission of the virus is still occurring and could increase in the coming months amid low uptake of the updated COVID-19 vaccination.
Hotez,co-director of the Texas Childrens Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said individuals may not be receiving this vaccine because of continued availability issues and/or suggestions from their physicians to wait until later in the season when they may need immunity more.
I disagree with this. We dont know if it is going to continue to get better or whether its going to worsen again, Hotez said. But, I wouldnt hold off. It may be necessary to get another booster in six months, but I would get immunized now if youre eligible.
According to Hotez, in areas where demand for the vaccine has been high, more people are having issues accessing it especially if they prefer which vaccine they receive, as some pharmacies may only have certain vaccines available.
Hotez said the inconsistency of supply is not the only issue for people wanting to get vaccinated. Insurance coverage has also created an obstacle, as it varies depending on an individual's provider.
He added that his daughter, a Medicaid recipient, had to pay $190 out-of-pocket after being told she was "out of network" when vaccinated at a CVS.
Hotez's daughter should not have had to pay for the vaccine, as Texas Medicaid currently covers all of the updated COVID vaccines since they were first made available, according to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.
The disappointment weve had early on is people without certain types of insurance having to cover the cost, and not everyone can afford that, so they just walk away, Hotez said. I think thats a big mistake.
There may also be a lack of understanding, Hotez said, that the updated COVID vaccine is different from past vaccinations, which could deter people from getting vaccinated.
Unlike previous boosters, the updated COVID vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are monovalent mRNA vaccines and are meant to protect against one variant, an earlier dominant subvariant of Omicron, XBB 1.5.
Initial reports indicate that because these vaccines target the single variant, they should increase immunity against other related variants, including BA.2.86, EG.5 and others in the XBB family.
The more recently approved Novavax updated COVID vaccine recommended by the CDC in early October is a non-mRNA vaccine but is also made to provide immunity against XBB1.5 and other circulating variants.
Hotez said clinics and hospitals have not seen an uptick in other common respiratory viruses such as RSV and influenza this season yet; however, healthcare professionals expect an increase in cases going into November and December.
This is why, Hotez said, those vaccinated against COVID should also consider receiving the RSV vaccine if eligible and their annual flu shot.
The updated COVID vaccine is available through the Houston Health Department at four of the departments vaccination sites at no cost to those who are underinsured or do not have health insurance:
La Nueva Casa de Amigos Health Center 1809 North Main St., 77009
Monday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday Thursday: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Northside Health Center 8504 Schuller Rd., 77093
Monday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday Thursday: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Sharpstown Health Services 6201 Bonhomme Rd., 77036
Monday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday Thursday: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Sunnyside Health and Multi-Service Center 4410 Reed Rd., 77051
Monday: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday: 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Local Walgreens and CVS pharmacies are also accepting appointments; however, appointment and walk-in availability may vary per location. The updated COVID-19 vaccine is now available at no-cost at these pharmacies through most insurance plans and through the CDC's Bridge Access program which provides freeCOVID-19 vaccinations to uninsured adults and underinsured adults.
Walgreens Schedule a Vaccination Appointment
CVS Schedule Your COVID-19 Vaccine Today
Washington, D.C., 18 October 2023 (PAHO) The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the Government of Canada announced today the launch of a joint initiative to support Haiti to expand vaccination against potentially lethal vaccine-preventable diseases, including polio, measles, diphtheria and tetanus
The partnership, which is part of Canadas Global Initiative for Vaccine Equity (CanGIVE), will inject over 6 million Canadian dollars (around US$4,4 million) into the Haitian health system to bolster vaccination outreach and operations throughout the country. The contribution was announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the first Canada-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit, scheduled for 17-19 October 2023 in Ottawa.
Our national immunization programs have suffered serious setbacks over the last decade, PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa said recently. We have witnessed decreases in vaccination coverage rates, inadequate sustainable financing for immunizations, and increasing vaccine hesitancy linked in part to misinformation.
With the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbating this decline, the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks is now at a 30-year high, he added.
The risk of disease outbreaks in Haiti is compounded by a precarious security situation which has recently pushed thousands into improvised shelters and is impeding the proper functioning of health facilities, with several hospitals and clinics struggling to provide essential health services.
Through CanGIVE, PAHO and Canada will work together to help Haiti vaccinate its population against COVID-19 as well as against the diseases included in the regional immunization program, such as polio, rubella, congenital rubella syndrome, measles, diphtheria, and neonatal tetanus.
CanGIVE will focus on reaching marginalized communities in Haiti, including people living in deep urban and rural poverty. The program will bolster gender-sensitive vaccination operations that meet the needs of women and girls, who are often likewise marginalized.
In addition, the CanGIVE collaboration will support communications efforts to build vaccine confidence among the general population and increase vaccine uptake in the country.
CanGIVE is also being carried out in Jamaica and Colombia with similar objectives: address vaccine hesitancy, increase equitable access to vaccination, and protect the lives and health of the most vulnerable population groups.
With the contribution from CanGIVE, we can help Haiti begin to reverse the decline in routine vaccination, Dr. Oscar Barreneche, PAHO Representative in Haiti, said.
