Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Adults Over 65 Should Get RSV Shots: CDC Panel
Adults ages 65 and up should get one of the newly approved RSV vaccines, an advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decided Wednesday. The committee voted 9-5 to recommend two different RSV vaccines for adults ages 65 and up, from the pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and GSK. Thirteen members also voted to recommend the shots for adults ages 60 to 64 based on individual risk levels and in consultation with doctors, with one committee member abstaining. (Bendix, 6/21)
On mpox and measles —
St. Louis County on Wednesday reported its first confirmed mpox case of the year after a lull in the worldwide outbreak that hit the U.S. in May of last year. The case follows an increase in mpox cases in the Chicago area, which saw more than two dozen cases in April and early May. (Munz, 6/21)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning Americans to make sure they're fully protected against the measles before traveling internationally this summer. The agency issued a health advisory Wednesday urging that people make certain they've had two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella, or MMR, vaccine at least two weeks before traveling to areas of the world with active measles outbreaks. (Edwards, 6/21)
On malaria, mosquitoes, and heat —
A second case of malaria in less than a month has been confirmed in the Sarasota-Manatee area, health officials said Monday. Officials said the patient is receiving treatment and recovering, but didn’t specify where in region the transmission was reported. A previous case was confirmed on May 26. Officials said that person spent extensive time outdoors, was treated promptly at a hospital and has recovered. (6/21)
The number of "mosquito days" — that is, those with the hot and humid weather the flying insects crave — has increased in many U.S. cities over the past several decades, per a new analysis. ... Mosquitoes are more than just a nuisance — they're a public health threat, carrying diseases such as malaria, West Nile, Zika and more. (Fitzpatrick, 6/22)
An "oppressive" record-breaking heat wave that's helped fuel deadly storms in Texas and surrounding states could continue through the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the National Weather Service warned Wednesday. Extreme heat poses a threat to people's health, can lead to hospitals dealing with an influx of patients with heat-related illnesses, and it's the top weather-related killer in the U.S. in a typical year. It also puts a heavy strain on power grids. (Falconer, 6/21)
A U.S. Postal Service carrier died Tuesday of a possible heat-related illness while working a Dallas route, the service confirmed in a statement. USPS said the carrier was with the Lakewood post office. Kimetra Lewis, president of the Dallas branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers, identified him as 66-year-old Eugene Gates Jr. (Landers, 6/21)
