Welcome to another week where we are saving lives by staying at home and physical distancing when in public. An immense message of gratitude for those working on the front lines in our community to keep us all healthy, fed, and safe. Also, keep up the good work with handwashing! 

During this pandemic, we remain committed to sharing news and information from local and national media about COVID-19 and immunization-related topics. Additionally, we join the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in reminding everyone to stay up to date on recommended immunizations to prevent dangerous diseases.

Each week we’ll continue to review clips from across the U.S., from various news outlets and platforms, and bring you ten timely and relevant links. Pour yourself a cup of coffee, and check out this week’s picks.

Prepare, Don’t Panic. To inform Nevadans statewide, the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Governor's Office have created this website to better share information and resources as it pertains to the current status of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact within the state of Nevada. https://nvhealthresponse.nv.gov/

"One of the Greatest Events in the History of Medicine": The Defeat of Polio” WTTW (March 30, 2020)

A major part of modern human history has been the fight to defeat disease, from tuberculosis to measles to waterborne illnesses like cholera. One of humankind’s greatest triumphs in that never-ending battle came only some 65 years ago, when Jonas E. Salk developed a vaccine against polio. Within six years, incidences of the deadly disease were down by 90 percent in the United States; within twenty-five it was eliminated from the country. Today, it has been mostly extinguished across the globe.

“Scientist Peter Hotez on Why Vaccine Development is ‘Critical to the Security of Our Nation’” Texas Observer (March 30, 2020) 

Peter Hotez has spent his career studying infectious diseases that others weren’t paying attention to, developing vaccines that ‘no one else will make.’ The lesson learned is we have to stop thinking of this as public health, we have to start thinking of it as critical to the security of our nation. It’s every bit as critical as having a military. Look what this virus has done to our economy.

“THE LAST WORD: Like polio, COVID-19 is an unseen enemy” Daily Voice (March 30, 2020) 

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of many diseases that have threatened world-wide health over the years, but it’s the first since polio in the 1950s that has struck as much fear in the general public.

“No, the flu vaccine does not increase your chance of getting coronavirus by 36% due to viral interference” Respectful Insolence (March 31, 2020) 

…There’s an antivaccine take on the COVID-19 pandemic going around, because, of course there is… Let me repeat that: Receipt of influenza vaccination was not associated with virus interference among our population. In other words, this is a negative study. The authors did not observe viral interference.

"You Never Forget Your First Viral Pandemic” Gen Medium (April 1, 2020)

Those videos of spring breakers blithely dismissing the seriousness of Covid-19 that were making the rounds a few weeks ago were maddening to watch. They were also an example of a poignant irony: The kids were going viral on social media for denying the importance of a real virus. ‘If I get corona, I get corona,’ one sunburned, shirtless, backward baseball-capped bro from Ohio said on camera. ‘At the end of the day, I’m not gonna let it stop me from partying.’

“‘We have no choice.’ Pandemic forces polio eradication group to halt campaigns” Science Magazine (April 1, 2020) 

The COVID-19 pandemic is imperiling the worldwide, 3-decade drive to wipe out polio. In an unprecedented move, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has recommended suspending polio vaccination campaigns to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. 

"Protecting seniors through immunizations" The Hill (March 30, 2020)  

Our health care and public health emergency preparedness systems rush to contain, treat and prevent coronavirus, we need to consider how longstanding structural flaws in our vaccine policies have hindered our nation’s disease prevention efforts and put older adults and persons with serious chronic conditions needlessly at risk.

"The more vaccine projects we have, the better our chances" The Guardian (March 28, 2020)

Leading scientist Adam Finn warns of stumbles along the way to Covid-19 immunisation. 

"Indy Explains: Why health officials now say you should be wearing a mask when you leave your home" The Nevada Independent (April 5, 2020)

The question of whether the general public should wear masks when heading outside has lingered for weeks as health officials across the country have scrambled to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus — a pandemic that worsened through the month of March and with no end yet in sight. It was — and remains — a complicated question; one that has as much to do with our changing understanding of the mechanics of the coronavirus as it does with the worsening shortage of medical masks across the world.

"Tests of potential coronavirus vaccine spur growth of virus-fighting antibodies" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (April 2, 2020)

A potential vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed and tested successfully in mice, researchers reported Thursday. "We'd like to get this into patients as soon as possible," said Andrea Gambotto, associate professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and co-author of a paper announcing the vaccine in the journal EBioMedicine. 

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