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vaccine

West Coast States Issuing Joint Vaccine Guidelines As CDC And HHS Make Massive Changes And Cuts 

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California, Oregon, Washington, and Hawaii are releasing their own joining recommendations for who should receive Covid, flu, and RSV vaccines this fall. This decision was made to counteract the new vaccine guidance that will be coming from the Trump administration, which has also removed prominent scientists and health experts from the federal health department. 

The administration has also put individuals who are vaccine skeptics and critics in key roles throughout the department, leading to the four states wanting to take control. The recently terminated director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, testified to Congress about her fear of health in the US under Robert F Kennedy Jr as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services. 

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“There’s a real risk that recommendations could be made restricting access to vaccines for children and others in need, without rigorous scientific review.”

The four states have formed what they are calling the West Coast Health Alliance. The Alliance is urging Americans to get this year’s Covid-19 vaccine if they are pregnant, aged 65 or older, are immunocompromised/have a range of risk factors, or are just choosing to keep themselves protected. 

They also stated that children from age 23 months to six should receive the vaccine as should older children and teenagers who have not been vaccinated or have risk factors. 

“These recommendations represent a collaborative effort, done with humility and based on science, to meet our responsibilities to our communities and the public at large,” Dr Kenneth Fink, the director of Hawai’i’s department of health, said in a statement.

The states’ recommendations go against the Trump administrations current vaccine guidelines for Covid-19. Kennedy is one of the most prominent vaccine skeptics in the US, and he announced back in May that the federal government no longer recommends pregnant people and children receive the Covid-19 vaccine. 

They announced the West Coast Health Alliance in early September after the White House forced Monarez out. Monarez often went up against Kennedy over the ways he was trying to reshape federal vaccine policies and contradicting long-standing scientific research. 

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The acting head of the CDC under Trump is a former speechwriter and investment executive with no actual medical or scientific background. California governor Gavin Newsom said that the state health officials who developed the new recommendations within the Alliance are “all medical doctors.”

According to reports, the recommendations are also based on official guidance from major health associations like the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

Kennedy got rid of existing members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June. Even one Republican senator who’s also a medical doctor called this move concerning. Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy discussed the risk of rescinding the recommendation for an infant hepatitis B vaccine. 

Cassidy issued a statement calling for a “postponement of the ACIP meeting. If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership.”

In her congressional testimony, Monarez warned that Kennedy had told her that “the childhood vaccine schedule would be changing starting in September, and I needed to be on board with it.” She also discussed how she was fired after not pledging to “commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation, regardless of the scientific evidence.” She added that she also was terminated for resisting the removal of career public health officials that were responsible for vaccine policy without a legitimate cause. 

“If vaccine protections are weakened, preventable diseases will return,” Monarez testified.

Flu Shot

Why It’s SO Important To Get Your Flu Shot This Year

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The 2019 – 2020 flu season is gearing up to be one of the most intense and difficult ones the United States has seen in a while. The Northern Hemisphere of the world can normally conclude how bad the flu season will be based on how bad it is in the Southern Hemisphere, who experience their seasons before us. Based on the data from May to present day, when countries in the Southern Hemisphere normally experience their winters/flu seasons, we should expect an even more intense season compared to last years severe outbreak. 

Australia is just exiting their winter/flu season, and this year was aggressive from the start. According to Australia’s Department of Health, “influenza and influenza-like illness activity are high for this time of year compared to previous years. At the national level, notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza have decreased in the past fortnight, however it is likely these figures will be revised upwards due to backlogs in data entry. Influenza A was the most common respiratory virus detected in patients.” 

In addition, a 4-year-old in California who contracted the pediatric flu, after a slew of other health issues, has died already before this years flu season has even truly begun. Even though the child had other ailments that unfortunately lead to her passing, doctors aren’t taking the flu diagnosis lightly. “We should never forget that the flu still kills, I always recommend people get their flu shots every year, but a death so early in the flu season suggests this year may be worse than usual,” Dr. Cameron Kaiser, a public health officer for Riverside County, California, said in a news release, announcing the death. 

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CDC Director Tom Frieden Discusses Importance Of Annual Flu Shot, Then Receives One

Last year the United States experienced up to 43 million cases of the flu, and around 63,000 deaths that were flu-related. Again, that doesn’t mean the flu by itself killed those individuals, but either worsened pre-existing ailments, or brought out new symptoms through weakening the immune system, regardless, the severity of the flu is not meant to be overlooked. 

The Flu season for the United States normally begins with the month of October, but that doesn’t mean you need to wait until then to get vaccinated. Doctors are urging individuals to get their flu shots as soon as they can before the season starts. Sooner is better, but as long as you receive the vaccination before Thanksgiving, you should be good, but no later than that. Older individuals are recommended to try to wait until mid-October for their vaccinations, simply because their immune systems are weaker and may weaken the potency of the shot faster.

“There is a concern that some older people may have their immunity wane simply because their immune system is more frail, less robust,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases told NBC News.  

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Check Your Local Pharmacies For It’s Seasonal Flu Shot Deals!!!

It takes about two weeks for the body to fully process the influenza vaccination and acquire immunity, so doctors are recommending every individual above the age of 6 months get their vaccine fast. Pregnant women are especially encouraged this year to receive their immunization. If a woman who is expecting contracts the flu, it can react as intensely as it does in the body of a 70 year old, this way, the vaccine ensures protection for the mother and her unborn child. 

Many Americans don’t even bother getting a flu shot every year, since in general it’s not that effective. Last year the vaccination was only 29% fully effective, this was partially due to a second wave of influenza that wasn’t expected from doctors, but regardless 29% is not that impressive. However, there IS plenty of evidence that shows the vaccine eases the severity of the flu, and more importantly prevents further complications, that the flu can cause, to occur. These complications are what can lead to so many flu-related deaths such as pneumonia, organ inflammation, heart attack and even stroke. 

Regardless, everyone should consider taking two minutes out of their day to go down to their local pharmacy for a flu shot. For small children and those with a strong aversion to needles, a nasal spray known as FluMist is available for the second year in a row. Additionally, many people have immune systems that react poorly to vaccinations due to high sensitivity, which can cause them to feel even worse as a result. Cases like that are mainly found in older individuals (65 years old and up) who have less strength in general so doctors recommend a vaccine known as FluZone, which offers a different type of stronger dose that will accommodate to the weaker body.