Healthcare & Laboratory News

Reuters (5/29, Shakil, Acharya) reported that the president signed an executive order “to acknowledge a recent scientific assessment by the Department of Health and Human Services on childhood vaccines as a guide for the federal government, the White House said on Friday.” The order directs the CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “to review the HHS assessment and clinical data to update the vaccines schedule for children and adolescents, according to the text of the order.” The review by CDC’s vaccine panel ​ACIP “should consider ways to be flexible to doctors and parents and provide recommendations for timing and sequencing of the administration of routine immunizations, it added.” The AP (5/29, Binkley) reported that the study “recommends vaccinating all children against 11 diseases. Several others would be recommended only for high-risk groups or when doctors recommend them in what’s called ‘shared decision-making.’ That includes vaccines for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and RSV.”

Reuters (5/29, Das) reported the European Medicines Agency “said on Friday COVID-19 vaccines for the 2026-27 vaccination campaign ​in Europe should preferably be updated to target the XFG variant. The decision aligns with the U.S. FDA’s advisory panel, which on Thursday voted in favor of the same target for next season’s ​shots.” According to Reuters, EMA “said XFG is the preferred choice within the current Omicron-related variant family, though closely related variants such as LP.8.1 ​could also be considered.”

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/29, Neale) reported a study found that “although the incidence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has decreased since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some cases still occur, particularly in unvaccinated and partially vaccinated populations.” According to researchers, the number of MIS-C cases “declined over the 2-year study period, from 141 children in 2023 to 82 in 2024. Incidence decreased from 0.14 to 0.09 per 1,000,000 person-months. This reduction could be related to increases in population immunity to SARS-CoV-2 from prior infections or vaccination.” They noted that “overall, 78% of all MIS-C cases over the 2-year period occurred in vaccine-eligible children who had received no COVID-19 vaccine doses. All 4 children who died were unvaccinated.” The study was published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

The Washington Post (5/29, A1) reported that on Friday, a Kenyan court suspended an “administration plan to establish a makeshift field hospital in Kenya to quarantine Americans exposed to or infected with Ebola.” However, “the court, citing a threat to life, issued its ruling on the day US officials said the facility would begin operating, with capacity for up to 50 patients.” The New York Times (5/29, Otieno) reported, “The court order...came after a civil society group filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the quarantine facility.” Meanwhile, The Hill (5/30, Weixel) reported the “administration has turned inward in response to the Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda, with increasingly isolationist policies that are alarming and disappointing infectious disease experts.” The CDC “and the State Department say they are ensuring rapid viral testing is available and are actively deploying State Department resources in Congo and Uganda.” However, “to veterans of past Ebola outbreaks and other infectious disease experts, the...administration appears to be more focused on keeping Ebola out of the US than helping fight the outbreak abroad.”

MedPage Today (5/30, Kuznar) reported, “Adding a multicancer early detection (MCED) blood test to standard of care did not reduce the number of cancers detected at stage III or IV across a dozen tumor types for which no screening tests are currently available, the randomized NHS-Galleri trial showed.” Investigators found that “after three screening rounds, a nonsignificant 3% more stage III/IV cancers were detected with the addition of MCED.” But, “looking at stage IV cancers only, the investigators found a reduction of 14% after three screening rounds (IRR 0.86, 95% CI 0.744-0.998), which included a reduction of 22% after the second screening round and a reduction of 26% after the third screening round.” The findings were presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.

Infectious Disease Advisor (5/29, Khaja) reported a study found that “frailty is associated with a higher risk and greater frequency of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) among older adults.” The study included 522 participants, “of whom the median age was 82 (IQR, 76-87) years and 60.7% were women.” Researchers observed that “compared with participants who were not frail, those classified as frail had a higher burden of comorbid conditions and lower laboratory values.” Moreover, “LRTIs occurred more frequently among participants with frailty, both in terms of overall occurrence (20.9% vs 9.4%) and recurrence. After adjustment for demographic, clinical, and lifestyle factors, frailty remained independently associated with an increased likelihood of developing LRTIs (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.29). Frailty was also associated with a higher rate of recurrent infections over time (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 1.30).” The study was published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

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HealthDay (5/28, Huynh) reports, “More than 500 children suspected or confirmed to have measles have died in Bangladesh since March, according to the country’s health ministry.” Although “the exact number is unconfirmed, suspected cases are estimated to have topped 60,000 in just over two months.” In April, “Bangladesh launched an emergency vaccination campaign...which UNICEF said has helped flatten the curve in highly affected areas.” HealthDay adds, “Although the vaccine’s full nationwide impact will take time to be seen, it has helped reduce the number of new infections, according to UNICEF.”

NBC News (5/28, Lovelace Jr.) reports that the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee “on Thursday recommended updating this fall’s Covid shots to target the XFG variant.” NBC News adds, “XFG is a hybrid of two omicron variants and carries mutations that could help it partially dodge antibodies, Natalie Thornburg, who leads the CDC’s respiratory division, told the panel.” CDC data indicated that “as of May 8, XFG and its descendants account for more than half of new infections in the U.S.”