ACIP Majority Ignores Risks and Recommends Infants Get Merck’s RSV Monoclonal Antibody
On June 25, 2025, the majority of members of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) ignored risk warnings and voted for a recommendation that infants be given Merck & Co.’s monoclonal antibody, clesrovimab, marketed as Enflonsia. The committee advised using Enflonsia to prevent Respiratory Syncytial Virus […]
ACIP Considers Changes to HPV Vaccine Recommendations
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) current universal use recommendation for the HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine is two doses given to adolescent by ages 11-12 and three doses if the series is started on or after age 15. The vaccine can be given to children as young as age nine, but that […]
Study Reveals Women at Higher Risk for Long COVID
A study published in JAMA Network Open on Jan. 22, 2025 revealed that women are at a much higher risk of developing long COVID. The study authors concluded that, while men tend to experience more severe symptoms and higher death rates from the acute phase of COVID-19, women are more likely to suffer from lasting […]
First Severe Case of Human Bird Flu Confirmed in U.S.
Officials at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed diagnosis of the first severe human case of “bird flu” or H5N1 avian influenza. They determined that the hospitalized patient, a resident of Louisiana, was exposed to “sick and dead birds in backyard flocks,” although the source of the infection in the […]
Antibiotic Resistant Infection Deaths on Track to Increase 70 Percent by 2050
A recent study projects that deaths around the world due to infections that are resistant to existing antibiotics could increase nearly 70 percent by 2050. These antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” are fueled by what is known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR) caused by overuse and misuse of antibiotics as well as over-sanitization efforts. The World Health Organization (WHO) […]
WHO Declares Monkeypox a Global Health Emergency
On Aug. 14, 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared monkeypox (mpox) a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). “Today, the Emergency Committee met and advised me that in its view, the situation constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. I have accepted that advice,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,1 2 3 […]