ACIP provides COVID vaccine to pediatric immunization schedule
The vaccine advisory group for the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) at this time accredited modifications to the kid and adolescent immunization schedule, which provides COVID-19 vaccine to the really helpful immunizations. The advice by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) handed on a unanimous 15-to-0 vote.
The vote got here a day after ACIP accredited including COVID vaccines to the Vaccines for Youngsters (VFC) program, which gives free vaccines to kids who do not have medical health insurance or who cannot afford them.
Forward of the vaccine schedule vote at this time, some media retailers falsely claimed that the ACIP’s vote would mandate the COVID vaccine for varsity kids, based on the Washington Put up. Nonetheless, states determine what vaccines are required for varsity attendance.
States typically use the CDC’s immunization schedule as a information, however not all states require all vaccines which might be on the CDC’s vaccine schedule. At the moment, solely California and the District of Columbia have COVID vaccine necessities for varsity attendance, based on the Nationwide Convention of State Legislatures. Few states require flu pictures.
Oct 20 ACIP webcast
Oct 19 Washington Put up story
NCSL background information
Research: 7% of youngsters hospitalized with COVID-19 had neurologic issues
In the present day in Pediatrics, a research of greater than 15,000 US kids hospitalized with COVID-19 finds that 7.0% had neurologic issues reminiscent of seizures or encephalopathy.
A workforce led by Youngsters’s Hospital at Vanderbilt researchers assessed size of hospital keep, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, 30-day readmission, loss of life, and medical prices of 15,137 COVID-19 sufferers aged 2 months to 18 years launched from 52 kids’s hospitals from March 2020 to March 2022. A complete of 37.1% of the sufferers had a pre-existing advanced persistent situation, and 9.8% had a number of neurologic advanced persistent circumstances.
Seven % of the youngsters had COVID-related neurologic issues, the most typical of which had been febrile (fever-related) seizures (3.9%), nonfebrile seizures (2.3%), and encephalopathy (2.2%), a broad time period that means harm or illness to the mind.
Sufferers with neurologic issues had extra ICU admissions (29.8 vs 21.8 days) and longer ICU stays (3.2 vs 2.5 days) and had been extra probably than these with out neurologic issues to die within the hospital (1.8% vs 0.6%). Additionally they had extra 30-day readmissions, longer hospital stays, and better hospital prices.
Components tied to decrease odds of neurologic issues had been youthful age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.97), an infection throughout Delta variant predominance (aOR, 0.71), and presence of a persistent advanced non-neurologic situation (aOR, 0.80). The presence of a persistent advanced neurologic situation was linked to the next chance of neurologic issues (aOR, 4.14).
The research authors famous that neurologic issues additionally happen in pediatric sufferers contaminated with different respiratory viruses, reminiscent of respiratory syncytial virus and influenza.
“Neurologic issues are frequent in kids hospitalized with COVID-19 and are related to worse hospital outcomes,” they wrote. “Our findings emphasize the significance of COVID-19 immunization in kids, particularly in high-risk populations, reminiscent of these with neurologic comorbidity.”
Oct 20 Pediatrics study
Survey finds excessive flu, COVID-19 vaccine uptake amongst healthcare staff
A survey performed by the CDC reveals that just about 80% of healthcare suppliers (HCPs) acquired a flu shot through the 2021-22 influenza season, greater than 87% had accomplished the first COVID-19 vaccine collection, and 67% had acquired a booster dose.
The outcomes, printed at this time in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), come from an opt-in on-line panel survey of three,618 healthcare staff fielded from Mar 29 to Apr 19, 2022.
Flu and COVID-19 vaccine uptake was lowest amongst assistants and aides, these working in long-term care (LTC) and residential well being, and people whose employer did not mandate or advocate the vaccines.
“Implementing office methods to enhance vaccination protection amongst HCPs, notably these working in LTC/dwelling well being care settings, may help be sure that HCPs and their sufferers are protected towards extreme flu and COVID-19,” the researchers wrote.
Oct 20 MMWR study
