Vaccination

Preliminary findings from an ongoing randomized controlled trial of four investigational Ebola virus treatments being conducted amid the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, or DRC, showed favorable results for two of the drugs, officials announced today.

Research published in Pediatrics suggested that more than 50% of infants born preterm in Washington State did not receive all recommended vaccinations in the seven-vaccine series by age 19 months. Preterm infants were also less likely than term infants to be fully vaccinated by age 36 months.

An estimated 25% of household tuberculosis case contacts in the Innate Factors and Early Clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, or INFECT, study in Indonesia were considered early clearers, and researchers found that protection against M. tuberculosis was strongly associated with bacille Calmette-Guérin, or BCG, vaccination.

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices cautions against administering the rotavirus vaccine to infants in a NICU or nursery because of the potential for horizontal transmission of the live vaccine-strain virus. It also recommends age restrictions on the timing of the rotavirus vaccine, with the first dose to be given before 15 weeks of age. These intersecting recommendations create a vulnerable population of infants who require a prolonged intensive care stay and might age out of vaccine eligibility, according to a study published in the Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society.

Data from a phase 1, open-label, single-arm, dose-escalation trial demonstrated the tolerability, safety and immunogenicity of a vaccine against Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus, or MERS-CoV, researchers reported.

There have been nearly 1,100 measles cases in the United States in the first half of 2019 — more cases of measles than in any year since the disease was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. As of July 25, 30 states have reported cases of measles, with outbreaks currently ongoing in five jurisdictions across the country.

Influenza vaccination prevented an estimated 6.6 million influenza-associated illnesses and 79,000 hospitalizations during the 2012-2013 influenza season, according to a CDC report in MMWR.

Influenza vaccination coverage among those with asthma increased to 50% in 2010-2011, up from 36% during the 2005-2006 influenza season, according to the CDC.