Vaccination rates have dropped again among U.S. kindergarteners. About 93 percent were up to date on all state-mandated vaccinations for diseases like measles, tetanus, and even polio during the 2021 to 2022 school year.
Whereas vaccination rates typically hover around 94 to 95 percent, a 93 percent vaccination rate means as many as 275,000 kindergarteners are left vulnerable, according to the Associated Press. This clears the way for the return of diseases that health authorities thought no longer posed a threat.
There was, for example, a case of paralytic polio reported in Rockland County, New York, in July 2022. CDC authorities have detected paralytic poliovirus repeatedly in wastewater samples from Rockland, Orange, Sullivan, and Nassau counties, as well as in New York City.
Measles also represents a major threat. The measles virus is so contagious that a single person can infect nine out of 10 people around them if those individuals don't have natural immunity or immunity from vaccines, according to the CDC.
Measles can cause high fever, cough, runny nose, and a rash three to five days after the onset of symptoms. About one in five people who get sick will wind up in the hospital. One in 1,000 will experience dangerous brain swelling, and as many as three out of 1000 could die, the CDC reported.
Fortunately, two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine are 97 percent effective at preventing measles and a single dose is 93 percent effective, according to the CDC. Even so, there have been surges of measles in states like Minnesota and Ohio.
Disruptions to the healthcare system amid the COVID-19 pandemic are one major contributor to lagging vaccinations. With COVID-19 patients clogging health care facilities and a heightened risk of infection, many routine services were canceled or postponed, meaning some children likely missed vaccine appointments or annual checkups.
Plus, more parents are questioning vaccines, particularly after the vaccine hesitancy that characterized the roll out of the coronavirus shots. A survey from Kaiser Family Foundation, published in Dec. 2022, found that about 71 percent of adults believe healthy kids should be required to get the MMR vaccine, down from 82 percent in 2019.
Not all Americans have been equally impacted. Vaccination rates among the impoverished or those in rural areas declined 5 percent, with rates among white children outpacing those of black and hispanic children, according to CNBC.
Authorities have a plan to combat this trend. The CDC launched an initiative called “Let’s RISE,” which stands for "routine immunizations on schedule for everyone." It calls on community leaders and health care professionals and partners to identify people who are behind on their vaccines, build their trust in vaccinations through outreach and education, and increase access to and affordability of vaccinations.
Catching you up on the stories you need to know this morning, mass shooting victims testify on Capitol Hill, the White House outlines its plan to vaccinate kids younger than five years old, and we break down how to protect yourself from monkeypox.
The pharmaceutical giant Moderna says its updated 'bivalent' booster shot provides a stronger immune response against the Omicron variant of COVID-19 specifically. This week, Moderna plans to submit preliminary data to U.S. health officials in the hopes that its new booster will be available later this summer. Dr. Sampson Davis, emergency medicine physician, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
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On this episode of Cheddar Reveals, Professor Laurence Hurst, Director of The Milner Centre for Evolution, discusses the mystery of human evolution that's still baffling scientists: why are humans still evolving, and why has the process sped up? Neville Sanjana, faculty member at NY Genome and New York University, breaks down the latest innovations in CRISPR genetic engineering and its applications from 'designer babies' to curing genetic conditions and diseases; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Butterfly Effect.'
Neville Sanjana, faculty member at NY Genome and New York University, joins Cheddar Reveals to break down the latest innovations in CRISPR genetic engineering and its applications from 'designer babies' to curing genetic conditions and diseases.
Professor Laurence Hurst, Director of The Milner Centre for Evolution, joins Cheddar Reveals to discuss the mystery of human evolution that's still baffling scientists: why are humans still evolving, and why has the process sped up?
It can be tough to make sustainable choices, and even harder when sustainable materials don't hold up. Loliware has a solution to the plastic straw problem: its seaweed-based straws are stronger than paper alternatives and once used, can be composted and return to the earth or sea without causing harm. Sea Briganti, CEO of Loliware, joins Closing Bell to discuss the tech behind the straws, new product launches, and more.
Umbilical cord blood banking platform Anja Health raised $4.5 million dollars in a seed round led by Seven Seven Six, a venture capital firm founded by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Anja Health offers a personalized, doctor-backed cord blood bank, which lets new parents freeze stem cells from their child's umbilical cord so they can be used to treat diseases in the future. It's a process Anja has called 'Hollywood's best-kept secret,' as celebrities like Kylie Jenner, Serena Williams, and more have all banked their umbilical cord blood. Kathryn Cross, the founder of Anja Health, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
After learning that the suspect in the Uvalde school shooting posted about his intentions on Facebook, activists are urging social networks to make changes. Lena Derhally, a licensed psychotherapist and author of "The Facebook Narcissist," joined Cheddar News to discuss the role social media plays in school shootings. "They're not really invested in taking down hateful content," she said about social platforms."In regards to the shooting, it was 15 minutes before that actual threat. It would be pretty hard for a social media company to trace that threat that quickly. But what they can do better is take down threats and hateful content much faster and more than they're doing now."
Esper Bionics CEO Dima Gazda breaks down how they're creating a mind-controlled bionic hand that guest smarter the more you use it, and what this innovation means for the future of the prosthetics industry.
