The Booster Bulletin: Your Weekly Dose of Immunization News

We’re committed to sharing news and information from local and national media about COVID-19, available vaccines, and immunization-related topics. 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.

“FDA shortens the wait time between Moderna vaccine and booster to 5 months” NPR (January 7, 2022) – “The period between getting the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and the first booster shot has been shortened to five months from six for people ages 18 and up, the Food and Drug Administration says.”

“CT Doctor Addresses Concerns About Possible Spread of Measles” KGET Connecticut (January 6, 2022) – Studies have shown an increase in measles cases in the United States. ‘A result of high vaccination rates in general, measles hasn’t been widespread in the United States for more than a decade. The United States had about 30 cases of measles in 2004 but more than 600 cases in 2014. Most of these cases originated outside the country and occurred in people who were unvaccinated or who didn’t know whether or not they had been vaccinated,’ said (Dr. Crystal Carney with Dignity Health).”

“What Vaccines do Teens Get?” Verywell Health (January 6, 2022) – “…vaccinations can help to protect them from communicable diseases when they go off to college. In addition, some childhood vaccines lose their effectiveness over time and require boosters. This article will describe the recommended vaccinations for teens and what to expect.” 

“CDC Expands Booster Shot Eligibility and Strengthens Recommendations for 12-17 Year Olds” CDC (January 5, 2022) – “CDC is endorsing the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation to expand eligibility of booster doses to those 12 to 15 years old. CDC now recommends that adolescents age 12 to 17 years old should receive a booster shot 5 months after their initial Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination series. Data show that COVID-19 boosters help broaden and strengthen protection against Omicron and other SARS-CoV-2 variants. ACIP reviewed the available safety data following the administration of over 25 million vaccine doses in adolescents; COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. At this time, only the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and recommended for adolescents aged 12-17.”

“Pfizer, BioNTech to Partner to Develop mRNA Shingles Vaccine” UPI (January 5, 2022) – “Pfizer and BioNTech announced plans Wednesday to partner to develop an mRNA vaccine to protect against shingles. The companies said they plan to use the same antigen and mRNA technologies in their COVID-19 vaccine to create the vaccine for shingles, also known as herpes zoster…The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be the first to use mRNA technology.”

”Another Vaccine Crisis: Rise in Missed Doses May Portend Return of Measles” Yale News (January 4, 2022) – “More than 22 million children worldwide missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That is 3 million more than the number of children who missed recommended doses in 2019, representing the largest increase in 20 years. Measles is a highly contagious disease and high rates of vaccination are required to prevent outbreaks. Approximately 95% of a population needs to be vaccinated against measles in order to achieve herd immunity. So this increase in missed vaccinations and lower rates of outbreak surveillance, which also decreased in 2020, put regional measles elimination at risk, public health leaders say.”

“Why Are So Many Vaccinated People Getting COVID-19 Lately?” NBC Chicago (January 4, 2022) – “Why are so many vaccinated people getting COVID-19 lately? A couple of factors are at play, starting with the emergence of the highly contagious omicron variant. Omicron is more likely to infect people, even if it doesn't make them very sick, and its surge coincided with the holiday travel season in many places. People might mistakenly think the COVID-19 vaccines will completely block infection, but the shots are mainly designed to prevent severe illness, says Louis Mansky, a virus researcher at the University of Minnesota. And the vaccines are still doing their job on that front, particularly for people who've gotten boosters.”

“Vaccination Is Our Best Chance to End the Pandemic” AMA (January 4, 2022) – “Our ethical obligation as healers and health professionals to always put the health and safety of our patients first carries an awesome responsibility that also requires us to become vaccinated against COVID-19. We are not going to wish and hope our way out of a pandemic that has already claimed the lives of 800,000 of our fellow citizens. When it comes to defeating the devastating illness and death associated with this virus, we have only one weapon: widespread vaccination.”

 “COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy Not Linked to Complications at Birth - U.S. Study” Reuters (January 4, 2022) – “COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy was not associated with preterm delivery or underweight newborns, in a study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday. Rates of preterm birth were 4.9% among more than 10,000 women who received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 7.0% for roughly 36,000 unvaccinated women, researchers said on Tuesday in The CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The difference was not deemed to be statistically significant.”

“Children’s Hospitals Across the Us Are Reporting Pandemic-High Hospitalizations as Doctors Say Vaccinations for Kids Are Critical” CNN (January 4, 2022) – “With tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans at higher risk for severe disease from Covid-19 infections, doctors and health care facilities nationwide are reporting a rising number of young people hospitalized, some of whom are too young to receive vaccine doses. The nation's largest pediatric hospital, Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, is reporting a more than four-fold increase in child hospitalizations from Covid-19 over the last two weeks, spurred by the spread of the Omicron and Delta variants over the holiday season.”

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