Articles related to VACCINES/IMMUNIZATION

This BMJ editorial examines whether approaches better equipped to compare rates of menstrual variation in vaccinated versus unvaccinated populations are needed, based on the reports of changes to periods and unexpected vaginal bleeding after vaccination. The US has taken the first step, earmarking $1.67M from the National Institutes of Health to encourage research.

Nearly a third of all Americans (100 million people) have now been infected with COVID-19. And scientific evidence shows that natural immunity from infection is durable and long-lasting. So why is it then that inoculations continue to be pushed for all people regardless of whether they have contracted COVID-19 or not? And why isn’t natural immunity factored into medical decisions about how we prioritize vaccinations?

The two new studies in the Morbidity and Mortality Report compared data from July and August 2021 – when delta was dominant to the earlier period in the pandemic – and found that about 1.4 of every 100,000 children/adolescents were hospitalized for COVID-19, nearly 5x the weekly rate in late June and close to the peak in January. Also, the weekly rate of 1.9 per 100,000 children ages 0-4 years in mid-August was nearly 10 times that of late June.

Publication: JAMAMethod: Electronic health record (EHR) data from 8 health systems over seven 4-week surveillance periods to identify and assign gestational ages for spontaneous abortions and ongoing pregnancies; analyzed and compared odds of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in the 28 days prior to spontaneous abortion and ongoing pregnancies.Results: Of 105,446 unique pregnancies, 13,160 spontaneous abortions and 92,286 ongoing pregnancies were identified; spontaneous abortions did not have an increased odds of exposure to a COVID-19 vaccination in the prior 28 days compared with ongoing pregnancies.

As the influenza season will coincide with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s perfect timing for the release of the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) influenza vaccination updated guidance. The comprehensive report indicates that COVID-19 vaccines can be co-administered with other vaccines, including influenza vaccines like egg-based flu vaccines and cell culture-based inactivated and recombinant vaccines.

Publication: Blood AdvancesStudy Design: Prospective study with unmatched health care workforce control group, receiving either Moderna or Pfizer COVID vaccination.Study Population: 23 patients with CLL (61%), lymphoma (39%) (including DLBCL), MCL (13%) and 4% with less common lymphomas.Outcome: Lymphoma patients had significantly lower anti-S IgG titers 28 days post-vaccination compared with controls. Related Article: Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine in Patients with B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma