Vaccine-preventable Outbreaks Research Articles

Communicating With Vaccine-Hesitant Parents: A Narrative Review.

Although vaccines are considered one of the most effective medical interventions to prevent vaccine preventable disease and associated morbidity and mortality, a number of recent outbreaks are threatening the gains made by vaccines. Vaccine hesitancy is a key driver of vaccine refusal and has been associated with vaccine preventable outbreaks. While parents seek information from many sources to inform their vaccine decision-making process, they continue to view their child's pediatric provider as a trusted source of vaccine information. The communication that occurs between a provider and parent with regards to vaccination is critical in reducing concerns and nudging parents toward vaccine acceptance. However, vaccine-hesitant parents raise issues in this encounter that many providers feel ill-equipped to answer, due to lack of training on evidence-based communication strategies. We focus on promising approaches related to patient-provider communication within the context of vaccination. We found empirical evidence that the use of a presumptive format to recommend vaccines, motivational interviewing, and tailoring information to increase message salience are approaches that can positively affect vaccine acceptance. As providers continue to serve as important influencers in the vaccine decision-making process, it is evident that there is a need to continue to identify evidence-based, and practically implementable approaches to mitigate parental vaccine hesitancy. Providers play a key role in improving coverage rates, and therefore it is paramount to seek ways to improve how providers communicate about vaccines.

COVID-19 and Primary Measles Vaccination Rates in a Large Primary Care Network.

* Abbreviations: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 MMR — : measles-mumps-rubella One dose of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine confers ≥93% protection against measles.1 In 2017, nearly 10% of children aged 19 to 35 months in the United States had not received the first dose of the MMR vaccine.2 The vaccination rate was lower among those who were uninsured or Medicaid enrolled compared with those with private insurance and among Black children compared with white children.2 In May 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a precipitous drop in vaccination within one state after the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic began.3 Lower MMR vaccination rates raise serious concerns about a possible measles resurgence3 in the United States because of the high level of herd immunity needed to prevent community transmission.1 We evaluated changes in measles vaccination rates from the pandemic start when clinic access and attendance decreased to the period in which return for clinical care was encouraged. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital pediatric primary care network includes 12 clinic sites in Columbus, Ohio, providing care for >90 000 children and adolescents, most of whom are Medicaid enrolled and belong to a racial or ethnic minority group. The primary study outcome was … Address correspondence to Sara Bode, MD, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Dr, LAC5609, Columbus, OH 43205-2664. E-mail: sara.bode{at}nationwidechildrens.org

Public health implications of complex emergencies and natural disasters

BackgroundDuring the last decade, conflict or natural disasters have displaced unprecedented numbers of persons. This leads to conditions prone to outbreaks that imperil the health of displaced persons and threaten global health security. Past literature has minimally examined the association of communicable disease outbreaks with complex emergencies (CEs) and natural disasters (NDs).MethodsTo examine this association, we identified CEs and NDs using publicly available datasets from the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters and United Nations Flash and Consolidated Appeals archive for 2005–2014. We identified outbreaks from World Health Organization archives. We compared findings to identify overlap of outbreaks, including their types (whether or not of a vaccine-preventable disease), and emergency event types (CE, ND, or Both) by country and year using descriptive statistics and measure of association.ResultsThere were 167 CEs, 912 NDs, 118 events linked to ‘Both’ types of emergencies, and 384 outbreaks. Of CEs, 43% were associated with an outbreak; 24% NDs were associated with an outbreak; and 36% of ‘Both’ types of emergencies were associated with an outbreak. Africa was disproportionately affected, where 67% of total CEs, 67% of ‘Both’ events (CE and ND), and 46% of all outbreaks occurred for the study period. The odds ratio of a vaccine-preventable outbreak occurring in a CE versus an ND was 4.14 (95% confidence limits 1.9, 9.4).ConclusionsCEs had greater odds of being associated with outbreaks compared with NDs. Moreover, CEs had high odds of a vaccine-preventable disease causing that outbreak. Focusing on better vaccine coverage could reduce CE-associated morbidity and mortality by preventing outbreaks from spreading.

3rd ESCMID conference on vaccines in Lisbon, Portugal: Vaccines for mutual protection

3rd ESCMID conference on vaccines in Lisbon, Portugal: Vaccines for mutual protection

Vaccine-preventable outbreaks: still with us after all these years.

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases continue to occur in the United States, and they have been occurring at increasing rates over the past decade. Factors contributing to these outbreaks include importation from abroad, under-vaccination of segments of the population, and incomplete protection or waning immunity with certain vaccines. This article reviews recent outbreaks of measles, mumps, and pertussis in the United States to highlight the extent to which outbreaks of these vaccine-preventable diseases are still occurring and even increasing. Appreciating the magnitude of these illnesses may help the physician in educating families who are hesitant about vaccines.