MMWR News Synopsis

Articles

Progress Toward Rubella Elimination — World Health Organization European Region, 2005–2019

CDC Media Relations
404-639-3286

Report projects that the WHO European Region could soon be the second region in the world to achieve verified rubella elimination status, following the Region of the Americas in 2015. A new, joint CDC and WHO article reports that the WHO European Region has made significant progress in eliminating rubella, with high regional vaccination coverage and low rubella incidence. During 2005-2019, estimated regional coverage with a rubella vaccine was 93%–95%, and rubella incidence declined by more than 99%. By the end of 2019, 45 European countries were certified rubella-free after having gone at least 36 months with no transmission of the endemic rubella virus. The entire European region could soon reach that benchmark, making it the second WHO region behind the Americas Region to achieve rubella elimination. Rubella is the leading vaccine-preventable cause of birth defects.Infection during pregnancy can result in miscarriage, fetal death, or an infant born with severe malformations known as congenital rubella syndrome. Rubella can be prevented through vaccination.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Administration of Selected Routine Childhood and Adolescent Vaccinations — 10 U.S. Jurisdictions, March–September 2020

CDC Media Relations
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Analysis of immunization data from 10 U.S. jurisdictions shows a substantial decrease in routine vaccinations during March–May 2020, when many jurisdictions enacted stay-at-home orders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, compared with the same period during in 2018 and 2019. To prevent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, public health practitioners and health care providers should promote routine vaccination among children to ensure they are fully vaccinated as schools reopen for in-person learning. Since the COVID-19 pandemic started, early reports from some state and local jurisdictions suggested that routine pediatric vaccinations had sharply declined, placing U.S. children at risk for vaccine-preventable diseases. To further understand the impact of the pandemic on routine childhood and adolescent vaccination, vaccine administration data from March through September 2020 from 10 U.S. jurisdictions were assessed. Fewer doses of routine childhood and adolescent vaccines were recorded during March–September 2020 than during the same periods in 2018 and 2019 in all 10 jurisdictions. The number of vaccine doses administered declined during March–May 2020, when many jurisdictions enacted stay-at-home orders. The number of vaccine doses administered during June–September, after many jurisdictions lifted stay-at-home orders in summer 2020, approached pre-pandemic levels. However, there was not a substantial increase above pre-pandemic levels, which would have been necessary to catch up children who did not receive routine vaccinations on time. This lag in catch-up vaccination might pose a serious public health threat, resulting in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, especially as schools reopen for in-person learning. Health care providers should assess the immunization status of all pediatric patients, including adolescents, and contact those who are behind schedule to ensure that all children are up to date.

Genomic Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 Variants Circulating in the United States, December 2020–May 2021

CDC Media Relations
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The virus that causes COVID-19 is constantly mutating, leading to new variants – including variants of concern that have the potential to affect transmission, disease severity, diagnostics, therapeutics, and natural and vaccine-induced immunity. Using genomic surveillance, this report found that the variant B.1.1.7 made up about two-thirds of COVID-19 cases by late April, and the variant P.1 increased substantially from December 20, 2020 to May 6, 2021. In November 2020, CDC established and rapidly expanded national surveillance for variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 using genomic sequencing. These include variants of concern, which have the potential to affect transmission, disease severity, diagnostics, therapeutics, and natural and vaccine-induced immunity. Because sequences might be generated by multiple laboratories and sequence availability varies both geographically and over time, CDC developed methods to generate population-based estimates of variants circulating nationwide and in different U.S. regions. During the two-week period ending April 24, 2021, 66% of COVID-19 infections were of the B.1.1.7 variant, and 5% were of the P.1 variant, both of which are variants of concern. These findings are consistent with other reports of potential increased transmission of the B.1.1.7 and P.1 variants. Continued genomic surveillance is important to identify the potential emergence of new variants and to track circulation of the variants geographically and over time.

Hospitalization of Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–April 24, 2021 (Early Release June 4, 2021)

CDC Media Relations
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Decreases in COVID-19 Cases, Emergency Department Visits, Hospital Admissions, and Deaths Among Older Adults Following the Introduction of COVID-19 Vaccine — United States, September 6, 2020–May 1, 2021 (Early Release June 8, 2021)

CDC Media Relations
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• Percentage of Children Aged 2–17 Years Who Wear Glasses or Contact Lenses, by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2019

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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.