Vaccination

In the United States and Canada, pediatric patients who undergo liver transplant show lower age-appropriate immunization rates at time of transplant than nontransplant recipients in a similar age group, according to a study published in JAMA.

NEW YORK — Kevin A. Ault, MD, OB/GYN and professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, presented an overview of his talk on maternal immunization at the Infectious Diseases in Children Symposium.

Neither seasonal severity nor vaccine effectiveness were associated with influenza vaccination rates over eight recent influenza seasons, although vaccination rates have decreased overall in recent years, according to study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

ATLANTA — An intervention bundle reminding patients with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis of the benefits of influenza vaccination was associated with improved vaccine coverage, according to findings presented at ACR/ARP 2019.

An increased incidence of vaccine-preventable diseases is associated with an increase in proposed bills restricting vaccine exemptions, according to study findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

ATLANTA — Limited knowledge about inactivated vaccines, misconceptions and fears, as well as long wait times and accessibility issues are among the leading drivers of influenza vaccine hesitancy among adults with rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis, according to a presenter at ACR/ARP 2019.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — An investigational vaccine of autologous dendritic cells loaded with autologous tumor antigens was safe and feasible as an adjuvant therapy when given after standard care therapies for glioblastoma, according to phase 2 trial results presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Annual Meeting.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, has experienced 10 outbreaks of Ebola since the virus was discovered there in 1976. None have challenged the country and the global health community like the latest outbreak, which was declared Aug. 1, 2018, in an area of insecurity in the country’s northeast.

An emergency committee convened by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, met for a fifth time to review the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or DRC, and determined that the outbreak still constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, or PHEIC.

The estimated burden of the 2017-2018 influenza season was 48.8 million illnesses, 959,000 hospitalizations and 79,400 deaths, according to the CDC. To ensure that patients are protected throughout the influenza season, the timing of vaccination is critical.