Meningitis Vaccine Recommendations
Evidence Mounts That Shingles Vaccines Protect Against Dementia
The Shingrix shingles vaccine
ZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy
The latest shingles vaccine may delay or possibly even prevent the onset of dementia more effectively than an older version.
Being vaccinated against shingles has been linked to dementia protection before. Now, it seems that a vaccine called Shingrix, which has been available since 2017, reduces the risk of developing the condition in the next six years by 17 per cent more than an older vaccine called Zostavax.
Shingles occurs when the varicella-zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and stays in the body, becomes reactivated at a time when the immune system is weakened, such as when someone is stressed or having chemotherapy. This results in a painful rash, which can sometimes get infected or scar.
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With the risk of shingles increasing with age, physicians generally recommend that older people – aged 50 in the US and 65 in the UK – receive a vaccination against the virus and a booster about six months later.
Until seven years ago, the most common vaccine, Zostavax, was based on a live virus. Studies found that this appeared to be associated with a reduced risk of dementia, although connections between different types of vaccines and dementia have been the subject of controversy.
Recently, multiple countries have been phasing out Zostavax in favour of the more effective Shingrix. This is a recombinant vaccine, where a small piece of DNA is taken from the pathogen and inserted into bacterial or yeast cells, which then produce its proteins. These then trigger an immune response in the body.
Wanting to know how this vaccine might affect dementia risks, Maxime Taquet at the University of Oxford and his colleagues collected the medical records of 103,837 individuals in the US who were immunised after the launch of the recombinant vaccine in November 2017 and another 103,837 who were immunised prior to that.
They then selected 100,532 people in each group, average age 71, who received a shingles vaccine during each time period and excluded anyone who received both types.
When looking at the medical records following the first shingles vaccination, the team found that those immunised after November 2017 were 17 per cent less likely to develop dementia over the next six years than those who were vaccinated before. The reduced risk may have extended beyond the six years, but a fall in the number of participants meant the researchers didn't study that.
Women seem to particularly benefit from the newer vaccine, despite both sexes going on to have a similar rate of shingles.
The reasons for the risk reduction are unclear, although it is possible that herpes zoster infections contribute to dementia, so the vaccine that more effectively protects against the virus also better wards off dementia, says Taquet.
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The study is thorough and well carried out, even though it is based on medical records that do not provide other important information, such as people's physical activities and diets, says Pascal Geldsetzer at Stanford University in California. People who lead healthy lifestyles, which may reduce the risk of dementia, could have also waited for the more effective vaccine to come out, he says.
But Richard Lathe at the University of Edinburgh in the UK points out that multiple kinds of vaccines are associated with reduced dementia rates. For example, the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine, which protects against tuberculosis and can be used to treat bladder cancer, has been linked to a 45 per cent reduced dementia risk.
The results could therefore be due to vaccines giving the body a general immune boost rather than protection from shingles specifically reducing our dementia risk, says Lathe.
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County Health Officials Remind Parents To Get Kids Vaccinated Before School
This photo illustration shows the type of needle doctors use to administer shots such as vaccines. (Nicole Tyau/inewsource) As San Diego County children prepare to head back to school, county health officials Thursday reminded parents and guardians to put vaccinations on the back-to-school list.
California requires some vaccines for children to attend school from TK through 12th grade, including DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis/whooping cough), Hepatitis B, MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine), chickenpox, polio, and more.
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Success! You're on the list. Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again."This exciting time for families is a good opportunity to get the kids up to date on their vaccines," said Dr. Kelly Motadel, county child health officer. "Parents are encouraged to schedule well-child checkups with a healthcare provider to make sure their children are on track with milestones and ready for a healthy and fun school year."
The county also said that the first week of August is California HPV Vaccine Week.
While the HPV vaccine is not required for schools, it is an important vaccination for boys and girls ages 9 to 13 that helps prevent six types of cancers in adulthood, officials said.
"The HPV vaccine is safe, effective, and will protect your kids later in their lives," Motadel said. "I really encourage parents and caregivers to ask their child's doctor about getting them the HPV vaccine. Doing it now can prevent 90% of future cancers caused by HPV."
More information about school vaccines and where to get them is available at www.Sandiegocounty.Gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/immunization_branch/School _Laws/Parent_Info.Html or by calling 211.
–City News Service
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Long Island Hospital 1 Of 3 In U.S. Running Nasal COVID Vaccine Trials
In animal tests, the nasal COVID-19 vaccine "produced robust systemic immune responses," according to the NIH. Above, colorized imaging of a cell (blue) infected with a strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles (pink), from a patient sample. Credit: NIAID
A Long Island hospital is one of three national sites running clinical trials on an experimental nasal COVID-19 vaccine that could help reduce transmission and infections of the disease, experts said.
NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola has started signing up eligible adults between the ages of 18 and 64 for the trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
If the nasal vaccine gains approval, it could provide an alternative to people who have been hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We get infected with COVID through our respiratory system," said Dr. Martín Bäcker, associate director of the vaccine center at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island. "Having our immune system activated at the site of infection might lead to more sterilizing immunity, which might help prevent milder infections or [prevent] transmissions better than the currently available vaccines."
Meanwhile, the summer COVID-19 wave continues with cases, emergency room visits and hospitalizations on the rise, according to the national statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Long Island, there were 217 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday, the highest since February. That's an increase from 192 people hospitalized on the Island a week earlier.
Most of the current COVID-19 cases appear to be mild infections, which would be the target of the experimental nasal vaccine.
"While first-generation COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death, they are less successful at preventing infection and milder forms of disease," Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. "With the continual emergence of new virus variants, there is a critical need to develop next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, including nasal vaccines that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections and transmission."
In animal tests, the vaccine "produced robust systemic immune responses," according to the NIH. This is the first time it will be tested on people.
About 60 people across all three sites will be enrolled in the study. The other locations are Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and The Hope Clinic of Emory University in Georgia. In order to be eligible, people need to have received at least three prior doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Bäcker, who is overseeing the Phase 1 clinical trial on Long Island, said the first group of volunteers will receive one low dose of the vaccine nasal spray.
If the vaccine is well tolerated and there are no safety concerns, the next group will receive a higher dose and the third group an even higher dose.
Over the next year, subjects will be evaluated numerous times to see what kind of immune response can be measured in their blood and in their nose.
"We are mainly trying to learn if this is safe and how it activates the immune system," Bäcker said.
He said giving the public another option may help eventually boost the number of people who get vaccinated. Between Sept. 14, 2023, and May 11, 2024, only 22.5% of adults in the United States reported receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
Dr. Andrea Cox, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, likened the protection of a vaccine to the protection of an army sitting on the border.
"What we want is a vaccine that doesn't even let the invader in," said Cox, who is not involved in the study but specializes in viral vaccines. "The virus comes in through the nose and it sets up infection there and then spreads down into the lungs and causes all sorts of problems."
The nasal vaccine uses a pneumonia virus to deliver the spike protein, which may be more effective in delivering the vaccine to where the infections begin, according to the NIH.
"That virus has been honed to grab onto cells in your nose," Cox said. "It sticks to the cells in the nose, which is what the virus has evolved to do."
Becker said people interested in participating in the study can call 516-663-3890 or email NYULongIslandvaccine@nyulangone.Org for more information.
"Those who volunteer are true heroes," Bäcker said. "We try to remind people that no medication, no vaccine, nothing we use in medicine could be advanced to the point of approval without the participation of volunteers."
A Long Island hospital is one of three national sites running clinical trials on an experimental nasal COVID-19 vaccine that could help reduce transmission and infections of the disease, experts said.
NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola has started signing up eligible adults between the ages of 18 and 64 for the trial, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
If the nasal vaccine gains approval, it could provide an alternative to people who have been hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
"We get infected with COVID through our respiratory system," said Dr. Martín Bäcker, associate director of the vaccine center at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island. "Having our immune system activated at the site of infection might lead to more sterilizing immunity, which might help prevent milder infections or [prevent] transmissions better than the currently available vaccines."
WHAT TO KNOWMeanwhile, the summer COVID-19 wave continues with cases, emergency room visits and hospitalizations on the rise, according to the national statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On Long Island, there were 217 people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Monday, the highest since February. That's an increase from 192 people hospitalized on the Island a week earlier.
Study to enroll about 60Most of the current COVID-19 cases appear to be mild infections, which would be the target of the experimental nasal vaccine.
"While first-generation COVID-19 vaccines continue to be effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalizations, and death, they are less successful at preventing infection and milder forms of disease," Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. "With the continual emergence of new virus variants, there is a critical need to develop next-generation COVID-19 vaccines, including nasal vaccines that could reduce SARS-CoV-2 infections and transmission."
In animal tests, the vaccine "produced robust systemic immune responses," according to the NIH. This is the first time it will be tested on people.
About 60 people across all three sites will be enrolled in the study. The other locations are Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and The Hope Clinic of Emory University in Georgia. In order to be eligible, people need to have received at least three prior doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Martín Bäcker, associate director of the vaccine center at NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island. "We are mainly trying to learn if this is safe and how it activates the immune system," he said. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Bäcker, who is overseeing the Phase 1 clinical trial on Long Island, said the first group of volunteers will receive one low dose of the vaccine nasal spray.
If the vaccine is well tolerated and there are no safety concerns, the next group will receive a higher dose and the third group an even higher dose.
Over the next year, subjects will be evaluated numerous times to see what kind of immune response can be measured in their blood and in their nose.
"We are mainly trying to learn if this is safe and how it activates the immune system," Bäcker said.
New option, more vaccinations?He said giving the public another option may help eventually boost the number of people who get vaccinated. Between Sept. 14, 2023, and May 11, 2024, only 22.5% of adults in the United States reported receiving the updated COVID-19 vaccine, according to the CDC.
Dr. Andrea Cox, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, likened the protection of a vaccine to the protection of an army sitting on the border.
"What we want is a vaccine that doesn't even let the invader in," said Cox, who is not involved in the study but specializes in viral vaccines. "The virus comes in through the nose and it sets up infection there and then spreads down into the lungs and causes all sorts of problems."
The nasal vaccine uses a pneumonia virus to deliver the spike protein, which may be more effective in delivering the vaccine to where the infections begin, according to the NIH.
"That virus has been honed to grab onto cells in your nose," Cox said. "It sticks to the cells in the nose, which is what the virus has evolved to do."
Becker said people interested in participating in the study can call 516-663-3890 or email NYULongIslandvaccine@nyulangone.Org for more information.
"Those who volunteer are true heroes," Bäcker said. "We try to remind people that no medication, no vaccine, nothing we use in medicine could be advanced to the point of approval without the participation of volunteers."
Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.
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