scholarly journals Measles outbreak at the Val Thorens ski station, France, 2019

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Brottet ◽  
A S Ronnaux-Baron ◽  
N Grangeret ◽  
M Deher ◽  
B Andrivot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Severe Pneumonia ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Seasonal Workers ◽  
Measles Outbreak ◽  
Vaccination Recommendations

Abstract During the 2019 winter season, a measles outbreak occurred at the Val Thorens ski station in France, in an area frequented by over 300,000 holiday-makers (70% foreigners) and 2,500 seasonal workers. Between 24/01/2019 and 15/04/2019, 55 cases were reported (18 confirmed and 37 clinical). Apart from 5 infected children under 2 years old attending the same nursery, cases were mainly seasonal workers between 19 and 41 years old. Five cases were hospitalised, one with severe pneumonia. Of the 36 cases with known vaccination status, 25 (69%) had not completed 2-dose vaccination. Other confirmed cases in visitors to Val Thorens were reported in neighbouring valleys (n = 3), and in other French regions. One case was reported the French overseas territory Guadeloupe (WHO ‘Americas’ region where measles has been eradicated). British, Belgian, Danish, Dutch and Irish authorities reported 7 cases in people who had stayed in the area. The list of exported cases is non-exhaustive. The regional health agency (ARS) provided increased information on epidemic risk and vaccination recommendations, particularly to health professionals and the town council. Identifying all contacts was difficult because many had occurred with seasonal workers. In addition to the approximately 150 vaccinations carried out by the Val Thorens medical centre from the start of the outbreak, only 41 other people were vaccinated in 5 free vaccination sessions organized in situ by the ARS, and the local medical and immunization centres. The large attendance at the station favoured the outbreak and its extension in France and abroad. Due to low measles vaccine coverage in France (80.3% for 2-dose cover in 2 years in 2017), outbreaks in non-vaccinated and not fully vaccinated populations are increasing, as seen in Val Thorens. Key messages A major measles epidemic occurring in an undervaccinated population in frequent contact with tourists, led to the extension of cases in France and Europe. Despite 5 free in situ vaccination sessions, with the mobilisation of local health professionals, few seasonal workers came to be vaccinated.

scholarly journals YouTube as a Source of Influenza Vaccine Information in Spanish

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 727
Author(s):  
Ignacio Hernández-García ◽  
Teresa Giménez-Júlvez
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Vaccine ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Odds Ratio ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Hispanic American ◽  
Vaccination Recommendations ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Vaccine Information ◽  
Spanish Health

Our objective was to analyze the information in Spanish on YouTube about the influenza vaccine. In August 2020, a search was conducted on YouTube using the terms “Vacuna gripe”, “Vacuna influenza”, and “Vacuna gripa”. Associations between the type of authorship, country of publication, and other variables (such as tone, hoaxes, and vaccination recommendations) were studied via univariate analysis. A total of 100 videos were evaluated; 57.0% were created in Mexico (24.0%), Argentina (17.0%), and Spain (16.0%), and 74.0% were produced by mass media or health professionals. Positive messages were detected in 65.0%. The main topics were the benefits of the vaccine (59.0%) and adverse effects (39.0%). Hoaxes were detected in 19 videos. User-generated content, compared to that of health professionals, showed a higher probability of hoaxes (odds ratio (OR) = 15.56), a lower positive tone (OR = 0.04), and less evidence of recommendations to vaccinate pregnant individuals (OR = 0.09) and people aged 60/65 or older. Videos published in Spain, in comparison with those from Hispanic America, presented significant differences in the positive tone of their messages (OR = 0.19) and in the evidence of the benefits of vaccination (OR = 0.32). A higher probability of hoaxes was detected in videos from Spain and the USA. Information in Spanish about the influenza vaccine on YouTube is usually not very complete. Spanish health professionals are urged to produce pro-vaccination videos that counteract hoaxes, and users in Hispanic America should be advised to consult videos produced in Hispanic American countries by health professionals to obtain reliable information.

scholarly journals Creation of a specific and separated pediatric intra-hospital pathway in primary level hospitals during the era of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 205873922110108
Author(s):  
Marco Manfredi ◽  
Pietro Ragni ◽  
Giancarlo Gargano
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
Level Hospital ◽  
Rule Out

Every new pandemic forces us to start new specific behaviors both in the civil life and within the hospitals trying to contain the spreading of the infection and preserve the more fragile people. In this regard, at the debut of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, our Local Health Agency had drastically modified every clinical and organizational pathways in order to limit the diffusion of the infection as well as to maintain a good quality of care and preserve healthcare workers. We report how we have modified the usual pediatric intra-hospital pathways in our primary level hospital to avoid mixing children with suspected and non-suspected symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Before every hospitalization, regardless of symptoms, each child and him/her parent/caregiver are undergone to rapid antigenic and molecular swab to rule out a SARS-CoV-2 infection; hence, positive patients are transferred to Pediatric Unit of third level hospital equipped by a Pediatric COVID Intensive Unit. We think the healthcare behaviors described in this manuscript can help to reduce the intra-hospital spreading of SARS-CoV-2, although children seem to have a minimal role in the dissemination, but we cannot let down your guard. Simultaneously we observed that the overall children requiring inpatient pediatric evaluation and hospitalization have dramatically decreased from the beginning of pandemic.

scholarly journals After Action Review of the 2019 measles outbreak in Clark County, Washington, U.S.A

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M Stoto ◽  
R Piltch-Loeb ◽  
R Wolfe ◽  
R Albrandt ◽  
A Melnick
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Mutual Aid ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Clark County ◽  
After Action Review ◽  
Measles Outbreak ◽  
Health Practitioners ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

Abstract Issue Clark County experienced a measles outbreak that challenged public health authorities. Description of the practice: We conducted a formal After Action Review with state and local health officials, school officials, and others to identify lessons for public health practitioners facing future outbreaks. Results Following the early identification of measles in a child who had recently arrived from Ukraine, active surveillance identified 71 confirmed cases, most in unvaccinated persons under 18 years of age. 4,138 contacts were traced and public health personnel made daily monitoring calls to 816. 53 potential exposure sites in healthcare facilities, schools and other public places were identified and communicated to the public. As a social distancing measure, unvaccinated students, teachers, and staff were excluded from schools in which exposure had occurred. Ascertaining susceptibility status was challenging. The national anti-vaccination sentiment and a parallel outbreak in a New York religious community created challenges in representing community risk while avoiding stigmatization of a community in which the first reported case was identified. Rather than respond to every false claim on social media, the health department developed talking points about emerging issues and engaged the community in dialogue. Lessons Responding to the measles outbreak required innovative approaches to surveillance and contact tracing, social distancing (school exclusions), and emergency risk communication. The response required extensive coordinated efforts of the county and state health departments, school systems, and many other organizations. Mutual aid enabled an influx of resources but managing the surge of responders proved challenging. Key messages Public health emergencies require effective emergency management practices. Carefully conducted After Action Reviews of health emergencies can help public health practitioners identify challenges and innovative practices.

Vaccine Coverage Across the Life Course in Michigan During the COVID-19 Pandemic: January–September 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e9
Author(s):  
Angela K. Shen ◽  
Cristi A. Bramer ◽  
Lynsey M. Kimmins ◽  
Robert Swanson ◽  
Patricia Vranesich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Vaccination Coverage ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Immunization Registry ◽  
Immunization Services ◽  
Vaccines For Children ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
The Impact

Objectives. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on immunization services across the life course. Methods. In this retrospective study, we used Michigan immunization registry data from 2018 through September 2020 to assess the number of vaccine doses administered, number of sites providing immunization services to the Vaccines for Children population, provider location types that administer adult vaccines, and vaccination coverage for children. Results. Of 12 004 384 individual vaccine doses assessed, 48.6%, 15.6%, and 35.8% were administered to children (aged 0–8 years), adolescents (aged 9–18 years), and adults (aged 19–105 years), respectively. Doses administered overall decreased beginning in February 2020, with peak declines observed in April 2020 (63.3%). Overall decreases in adult doses were observed in all settings except obstetrics and gynecology provider offices and pharmacies. Local health departments reported a 66.4% decrease in doses reported. For children, the total number of sites administering pediatric vaccines decreased while childhood vaccination coverage decreased 4.4% overall and 5.8% in Medicaid-enrolled children. Conclusions. The critical challenge is to return to prepandemic levels of vaccine doses administered as well as to catch up individuals for vaccinations missed. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print October 7, 2021: e1–e9. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2021.306474 )

scholarly journals The Effects of Funding Change and Reorganization on Patterns of Emergency Response in a Local Health Agency

2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (6_suppl4) ◽  
pp. 166-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell G. Schuh ◽  
Michelle Basque ◽  
Margaret A. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Equal Rate ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Categorical Response ◽  
Internal Function

Indicators for Stress Adaptation Analytics (ISAAC) is a protocol to measure the emergency response behavior of organizations within local public health systems. We used ISAAC measurements to analyze how funding and structural changes may have affected the emergency response capacity of a local health agency. We developed ISAAC profiles for an agency's consecutive fiscal years 2013 and 2014, during which funding cuts and organizational restructuring had occurred. ISAAC uses descriptive and categorical response data to obtain a function stress score and a weighted contribution score to the agency's total response. In the absence of an emergency, we simulated one by assuming that each function was stressed at an equal rate for each of the two years and then we compared the differences between the two years. The simulations revealed that seemingly minor personnel or budget changes in health departments can mask considerable variation in change at the internal function level.

scholarly journals Childhood Immunisation Coverage during the COVID-19 Epidemic in Italy

Vaccines ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Michela Sabbatucci ◽  
Anna Odone ◽  
Carlo Signorelli ◽  
Andrea Siddu ◽  
Andrea Silenzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
National Health System ◽  
P Value ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Rate Decrease ◽  
Rotavirus Vaccination ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Vaccine Type ◽  
Childhood Vaccine ◽  
Local Health Authorities

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected national healthcare systems worldwide, with around 282 million cumulative confirmed cases reported in over 220 countries and territories as of the end of 2021. The Italian National Health System was heavily affected, with detrimental impacts on preventive service delivery. Routine vaccination services were disrupted across the country during the first months of the pandemic, and both access to and demand for vaccines have decreased during the pandemic. In many cases, parents preferred to postpone scheduled appointments for routine paediatric vaccinations because of stay-at-home orders or fear of COVID-19 infection when accessing care. The objective of the current study was to assess the routine childhood vaccine coverage (VC) rates during the COVID-19 epidemic in Italy. We compared 2020 and 2019 VC by age group and vaccine type. The Italian Ministry of Health collected anonymised and aggregated immunisation national data through the local health authorities (LHAs). Results were considered statistically significant at a two-tailed p-value ≤ 0.05. VC rates for mandatory vaccinations decreased in 2020 compared to 2019 (range of VC rate decrease: −1% to −2.7%), while chicken pox increased (+2.2%) in 7-year-old children. Recommended vaccinations were moderately affected (range of VC rate decrease in 2020 vs. 2019: −1.4% to −8.5%), with the exception of anti-HPV in males, Men ACWY, and anti-rotavirus vaccination (VC increase 2020 vs. 2019: +1.8%, +4.7% and +9.4%, respectively). In the COVID-19 era, the implementation of coherent, transparent, and effective communication campaigns and educational programs on safe childhood vaccinations, together with the increase in the number of healthcare staff employed, is essential to support strategies to reinforce vaccination confidence and behaviour, thus avoiding health threats due to VPD during and beyond COVID-19 times.

scholarly journals Health Care Professionalism Without Doctors

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 72-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Østergaard Møller
Keyword(s):  
Health Professionals ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Relational Theory ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Medical Field ◽  
Data Set ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Larger Sample

The article uses the organization of health houses in Denmark as a case to study the relationship between spatial surroundings and professionalization. The question is whether these new local health houses comprise an alternative to the medical view on health or ––even in the absence of the hospital–– script the professionals to identify themselves as agents from the medical field? In this article, macro-structural theory is combined with micro-relational theory in order to identify how macro structures such as professionalization nest the way social interaction takes place in concrete spatial situations and surroundings. The argument put forward is that we need to identity this process at the level of the individual in order to qualify and anchor our understanding of professionalization as a macro phenomenon. The empirical basis is two dissimilar locations (health houses), selected from a larger qualitative data set of interviews with health professionals and citizens and observations of health houses, originally selected from a nationwide survey. The presented analysis zooms in on selected places and situations and relates analyses to the overall picture of differences and similarities identified in the larger sample. The analysis shows how entrances, receptions, information screens and coffee tables not only design houses, but also script styles of interaction between health professionals and citizens as well as they work as signs creating expectations about professional roles and how to reflect and act as a professional in a given physical and social setting. The main finding is that spatial surroundings facilitate processes of identification and counter-identification crucial to a new kind of health professionals such as the ones under study here.

scholarly journals Universal varicella vaccination in the Sicilian paediatric population: rapid uptake of the vaccination programme and morbidity trends over five years

2009 ◽  
Vol 14 (35) ◽  
Author(s):  
G Giammanco ◽  
S Ciriminna ◽  
I Barberi ◽  
L Titone ◽  
M Lo Giudice ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccination Programme ◽  
Vaccine Coverage ◽  
Varicella Vaccine ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Vaccination Strategy ◽  
Paediatric Population ◽  
Incidence Rates ◽  
Universal Vaccination ◽  
Varicella Vaccination ◽  
Local Health

Following the licensure of the Oka/Merck varicella vaccine in Italy in January 2003, the Sicilian health authorities launched a universal vaccination programme in all nine Local Health Units. A two-cohort vaccination strategy was adopted to minimise the shift of the mean age of varicella occurrence to older age groups, with the goal of vaccinating with one dose at least 80% of children in their second year of life and 50% of susceptible adolescents in their 12th year of life. Two studies were implemented in parallel to closely monitor vaccination coverage as well as varicella incidence. Overall, the programme achieved its target, with 87.5% vaccine coverage for the birth cohort 2005 and 90.2% for adolescents born in 1995 and 1996. Varicella surveillance data obtained from a total of 28,188 children (0-14 years-old) monitored by family paediatricians showed a decline in incidence rates from 95.7 (95% confidence interval (CI): 72.2-126.8) for 1,000 person-years (PY) in 2004 to 9.0 (95% CI: 6.4-12.6) for 1,000 PY in 2007. In Europe, the only similar experience is the routine childhood varicella vaccination programme in Germany that started in 2004 with a single dose at the age of 11-14 months. The two-cohort universal vaccination programme implemented in Sicily, as well as the network for the surveillance study, can offer a model to other European countries that are considering introducing universal childhood varicella vaccination.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document