Situation Report

Florida health director discourages use of mRNA Covid vaccines in older adults

Even as the Covid wave in Florida continues, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is once again advising against the mRNA vaccines: this time in the most vulnerable residents.

In updated guidance for health care providers released Thursday, the Florida Health Department and state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo questioned the safety and effectiveness of the mRNA Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, including for older adults and people with underlying health problems. “Any provider concerned about the health risks associated with Covid-19 for patients over the age of 65 or with underlying health conditions should prioritize patient access to non-mRNA Covid-19 vaccines and treatment,” according to the state guidance.high rates of immunity from prior infections and “currently available data.”

Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said the Florida surgeon general's guidance is unnecessarily alarming people about the Covid vaccines.

Mysterious bird flu case in Missouri was similar to strain circulating in cattle, CDC says | CNN A patient in Missouri who was hospitalized after an infection with bird flu had the H5N1 strain of the virus, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Friday. Brenda Goodman CNN

...

The viral sequence was uploaded Friday to the GISAID database, which makes genetic sequences of viruses publicly available for research and study. It shows that the virus is closely related to the strain that has been infecting dairy cattle in 14 states this year.

US COVID activity remains elevated, though some markers decline Wastewater levels are still high, but some indicators such as hospitalizations trended downward. CIDRAP

...Other indicators, however, showed small declines, including test positivity, which was at 14.9% last week, down 1.6% from the previous week. Levels are highest in the central states, which include Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. Emergency department visits declined last week but are still at the moderate level in a few southeastern states.

3 studies uncover flu, COVID vaccine reluctance, impact of mental illness on uptake Three new observational studies on influenza and COVID-19 vaccine uptake find that more than a third of US adults say they don't need any vaccines, 64% of French healthcare workers got the flu shot but not the COVID vaccine in 2022-2023, and psychiatric illness is tied to a significantly higher likelihood of receiving a flu vaccine but lower odds of getting a COVID vaccine. CIDRAP

...