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The Booster Bulletin: Your Weekly Dose of Immunization News

Thank you! An immense message of gratitude for those working on the front lines in our community to keep us all healthy, fed, and safe. Nevadans have done a great job staying home and protecting their family, friends, and community, and the data as demonstrated in the article below, reflects this. 

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. Check out this week's picks as we head into the weekend.

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/

“Coronavirus: what have scientists learned about COVID-19 so far?” The Guardian (April 22, 2020)

Medical researchers have been studying everything we know about Covid-19. What have they learned – and is it enough to halt the pandemic?

"Coronavirus contextualized, 4th edition: Exploring, through data, COVID-19 in Nevada and beyond" – The Nevada Independent (April 22, 2020)

Welcome to the fourth installment of "Coronavirus Contextualized," a recurring feature in which we explore some of the numbers swirling around in the time of coronavirus. Through these stories, we hope to parse some of those numbers, including confirmed cases of COVID-19, people tested, number of hospitalizations and deaths, and provide some context to them. Some parts of the story will look familiar and will simply include updated data points from prior editions.

“Anti-vaxxers spread fear about future coronavirus vaccine” CBS News (April 14, 2020)

The World Health Organization reports that there are at least 70 vaccines in development around the world right now, three of which have begun human trials. If all goes well, researchers and public health officials hope to have a vaccine available by the second half of 2021. But those who promote anti-vaccine views aren't waiting. They're out there now on social media, cultivating conspiracy theories and planting seeds of doubt that could limit a future vaccine's success. Watch the episode "The War on Science"

“Two of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers collaborate to speed up coronavirus effort “ The Hill (April 14, 2020)

Two of the world's largest vaccine manufacturers collaborate to speed up coronavirus effort. Two of the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers are collaborating to accelerate the development of one for the coronavirus, the companies announced Tuesday. French drug company Sanofi will partner with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to create an experimental vaccine that they aim to be tested on humans during the second half of the year. The companies are hoping to complete the regulatory approval for the vaccine by the second half of 2021.

“How the Anti-Vaccine Community Is Responding to Covid-19” Undark (April 16, 2020)

The beliefs and messaging vary: Health and medical freedom advocates tend to oppose any mandated medical intervention, while vaccine skeptics question the need for medical immunizations. Those who are anti-vaccine may oppose them entirely. Approaches to the Covid-19 public health crisis also vary, but so far, while some in the community are rethinking their views, many of the responses from major influencers continue to wear down a familiar path of conspiratorial thinking and government mistrust, says Dorit Reiss, a law professor at the University of California Hastings who studies the anti-vaccination movement.

“Vaccine Rates Drop Dangerously as Parents Avoid Doctor’s Visits” The New York Times (April 23, 2020)

As parents around the country cancel well-child checkups to avoid coronavirus exposure, public health experts fear they are inadvertently sowing the seeds of another health crisis. Immunizations are dropping at a dangerous rate, putting millions of children at risk for measles, whooping cough and other life-threatening illnesses… Vaccinate Your Family, a national nonprofit group, is pushing families to set reminders  to reschedule canceled vaccine appointments.

“When Will Our Coronavirus Vaccine Arrive?” (Podcast) Voices for Vaccines (April 21, 2020)

The world’s vaccinologists are racing against time to find a safe, effective vaccine to protect against SARS-CoV-2. In our latest Vax Talk episode, we talked to our friend and infectious disease expert, Dr. Stanley Potkin, about how vaccines are typically developed and what is being done now to make the one vaccine the world desperately wants now. Love this Podcast? Leave a 5-star review! 

“Flu and coronavirus will launch dual 'assault' on America next winter if we don't prepare now, CDC chief warns” Live Science (April 22, 2020)

Flu and coronavirus will launch dual 'assault' on America next winter if we don't prepare now, CDC chief warns. A resurgence of COVID-19 next winter could hit the United States health care system even harder than the original outbreak has, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned.

“Doctors start giving second round of shots to volunteers in Seattle COVID-19 vaccine trial” USA Today (April 22, 2020)

The Seattle volunteers who got shots in the first trial of a possible coronavirus vaccine are now getting the second shot — an indicator the early trial is progressing well.

"The Other COVID Risks: How Race, Income, ZIP Code Influence Who Lives Or Dies" Kaiser Health News  (April 22, 2020)

Doctors know that people with underlying health conditions ― such as the 40% of Americans who live with diabetes, hypertension, asthma and other chronic diseases ― are more vulnerable to COVID-19. So are patients without access to intensive care or mechanical ventilators. Yet some public health experts contend that social and economic conditions ― long overlooked by government leaders, policymakers and the public ― are even more powerful indicators of who will survive the pandemic. A toxic mix of racial, financial and geographic disadvantage can prove deadly.
 

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*Links included do not imply endorsement.