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Articles

Vaccination Coverage by Age 24 Months Among Children Born in 2016 and 2017 – National Immunization Survey-Child, United States, 2017-2019

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

New CDC data show most parents in the U.S. protect their children by following CDC’s recommended vaccine schedule. However, there are disparities in that coverage based on health insurance status, as well as race/ethnicity, poverty level, and geography. Despite challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must remain vigilant to ensure that children get the vaccines they need to protect against serious and sometimes deadly disease. CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommend vaccination against 14 potentially serious illnesses by the time a child reaches 24 months of age. CDC analyzed National Immunization Survey-Child (NIS-Child) data from 2017-2019 to examine vaccination status of children by age 24 months. Vaccination coverage remained stable and high, with over 90% of children getting the recommended vaccines that prevent measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR); polio; hepatitis B; and varicella. However, less than 60% of these children had received the recommended doses of flu vaccine. CDC’s analysis also highlighted access-related hurdles – such as health insurance status and poverty level – that keep some parents from getting their children vaccinated. For example, vaccination coverage was lower among children enrolled in Medicaid or with no health insurance than among children who were privately insured. Considering the disruptions to healthcare provider operations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, extra effort will be required to achieve and maintain high levels of coverage with routine childhood vaccinations. For parents who recently lost their insurance or whose insurance no longer covers vaccines, CDC’s Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program helps provide vaccines to children whose parents or guardians may not be able to afford them. Flu vaccination is particularly critical this fall and winter to help reduce the potential effect of both flu and COVID-19 circulating at the same time. Parents and providers should use the visit at which a flu vaccine is administered as an opportunity for the child to get other recommended vaccinations that are due or might have been missed due to COVID-related disruptions.

Valley Fever (Coccidioidomycosis) Awareness — California, 2016–2017

Office of Public Affairs, California Department of Public Health
Office Phone: 916.440.7259
CDPHpress@cdph.ca.gov

Increasing public awareness of Valley fever, particularly in regions with high or moderate incidence rates and among groups at risk for severe disease, can aid in earlier disease recognition and management. Rates of Valley fever have increased significantly in California since 2014. A statewide survey in 2016-2017 indicated that fewer than half of Californians had general awareness of Valley fever, and awareness was lowest among people living in moderate-incidence regions, adults aged <45 years, and Hispanic people. Only 25% of people living in a high-incidence region and 3% of people living in a moderate-incidence region were aware that they lived in areas where the Valley fever fungus exists. Among people with risk factor(s) for severe disease, only 3.5% knew they were at increased risk for severe disease.

Race, Ethnicity, and Age Trends in Persons Who Died from COVID-19 — United States, May–August 2020 (Early release October 16)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19, by Age and Race and Ethnicity — United States, January 26–October 3, 2020 (Early release October 20)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Risk for In-Hospital Complications Associated with COVID-19 and Influenza — Veterans Health Administration, United States, October 1, 2018–May 31, 2020 (Early release October 20)

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Association Between Social Vulnerability and a County’s Risk for Becoming a COVID-19 Hotspot — United States, June 1–July 25, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Counties with greater social vulnerabilities, especially social vulnerabilities related to higher representation of racial and ethnic minority residents, housing density, and crowded housing units, were more likely to become COVID-19 “hotspots,“ (areas with rapidly increasing COVID-19 incidence); this was especially true in less urban areas. Among hotspot counties, areas that were more socially vulnerable had a higher incidence of COVID-19. These findings demonstrate the need for federal, state, and local partners to support communities with more challenges to prevent them from becoming COVID-19 hotspots and to decrease persistently high incidence among hotspot counties that are socially vulnerable. Social vulnerability refers to community-level factors, such as poverty, crowded housing, and other attributes, that could increase the risk of negative effects on communities during and after a public health event, such as a pandemic. CDC uses standard criteria to identify U.S. counties with rapidly increasing COVID-19 cases (hotspot counties) to support health departments in coordinating public health responses. Investigators analyzed county-level data on COVID-19 cases from June–July 2020 and from the 2018 CDC Social Vulnerability Index to examine associations between social vulnerability and hotspot detection and to describe COVID-19 incidence after hotspot detection.

Mitigating a COVID-19 Outbreak Among Major League Baseball Players — United States, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

For sporting events, people’s actions on and off the field are important for the prevention of spread of the virus that causes COVID-19 during games.  This MLB outbreak investigation shows the importance of using multiple mitigation strategies to decrease risks for teams, and others in sporting venues. Major League Baseball (MLB) developed new health and safety protocols before the July 24 start of the 2020 season as recommended by CDC’s COVID-19 considerations for events and gatherings. MLB’s new health and safety protocols include frequent testing for rapid case identification, isolation of people who test positive, quarantine of close contacts, mask wearing, and social distancing. MLB also decided that games would be played without audiences. Prior to a three-game series between “team A” and “team B,” a team A player tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolated as recommended. Team A played “team C” before the series against team B and before the team A player tested positive. Over the following week, 19 additional team A players and staff members and one team B staff member, tested positive for COVID-19. During the potentially infectious period when people can spread COVID-19, some team A players and coaches without symptoms, who later tested positive for the virus, shared the playing field with teams B and C. No players or staff on the field from teams B or C are known to have become infected with COVID-19. MLB’s new health and safety protocols might have limited the spread of COVID-19 among teams. This report indicates that when mitigation guidelines were followed on the field, no known spread of COVID-19 happened despite several people being likely infectious. Following COVID-19 mitigation protocols on and off the field can help prevent the spread of disease among similar sports teams, including professional as well as amateur, college, high school, and club baseball and softball teams.

First 100 persons with COVID-19 in Zambia, March 18–April 28, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

In Zambia, expansion of the national testing strategy to include asymptomatic people with possible COVID-19 exposures and those with no international travel history helped detect and isolate cases that otherwise would have been missed. Other countries might find these strategies useful for detection, containment, or mitigation of COVID-19. This report describes characteristics of the first 100 cases of COVID-19 in Zambia between March 18–April 28, 2020. Among 6,165 tests conducted during this period, 100 (1.6%) were positive. During the first 28 days after confirmation of Zambia’s first COVID-19 case, 65% of cases were identified via point-of-entry surveillance and contact tracing. However, testing asymptomatic people, including healthcare workers (HCWs), in hospitals where people with confirmed COVID-19 were being cared for was helpful in identifying COVID-19 among 16 HCWs and four admitted patients and might have reduced spread in health care facilities. In early April, after the first people with COVID-19 with no apparent epidemiologic links to other people with COVID-19 were confirmed, the number of cases identified through community-based screenings in residential areas and nearby markets where the unlinked cases had been identified increased.

Rapid Adaptation of HIV Treatment Programs in Response to COVID-19 — Namibia, 2020

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Namibia’s successful public health strategies may be implemented in other settings where COVID-19 threatens HIV treatment programs and when public health providers and governments are willing to use new technologies and novel strategies to maintain patient care. Namibia rapidly implemented public health measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, providing additional time to adequately prepare the healthcare system for a potential surge in cases. The antiretroviral therapy (ART) program adapted to ensure the continuity of essential human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) services while maintaining a safe healthcare environment for clients and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Characteristics of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products Confiscated in Public High Schools in California and North Carolina ─ March and May 2019

Pod-mods, a type of e-cigarette with prefilled or refillable pod cartridges, were the most commonly confiscated devices from high school youth in California (64%) and North Carolina (74%). To understand the types of e-cigarette, or vaping, products used on school grounds, CDC investigators conducted an environmental assessment in California and North Carolina public high schools. More than 1,000 e-cigarette products were confiscated at 25 public high schools in California and North Carolina during the 2018-2019 academic year. E-cigarette, or vaping, products typically contain nicotine, which is highly addictive, can harm adolescent brain development, and prime the brain for addiction. School-level efforts to prevent and reduce e-cigarette use among youth could include adopting and enforcing tobacco-free policies; measures that provide access to resources and treatment for students rather than punishment; implementing evidence-based curricula not sponsored by tobacco companies; and educating school staff and parents about the changing product marketplace and health risks of youth e-cigarette use.

• Percentage of Adults Aged ≥20 Years Who Used Antidepressant Medications in the Past 30 Days, by Sex and Marital Status — National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, United States, 2015–2018

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

CDC works 24/7 protecting America’s health, safety and security. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC responds to America’s most pressing health threats. CDC is headquartered in Atlanta and has experts located throughout the United States and the world.