They’re medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most. Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say. Their modeling study also shows that vaccination against the 10 diseases — including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B — means that people born in 2019 will have a 72% lower risk of death from those diseases over their lifetime. “There has been a much-needed investment in childhood vaccination programs in low-income and middle-income countries [LMICs] and this has led to an increase in the number of children vaccinated,” explained study co-author Caroline Trotter, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. The greatest benefit of vaccination is among children under age 5. In this age group, deaths from the 10 diseases would be 45% higher without vaccination, according to findings published Jan. 29 inThe Lancet medical journal. Vaccinations against measles will have the biggest impact, preventing 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2030. Over the lifetime of people born between those years, vaccination will prevent 120 million deaths — 65 million of them in kids under age 5. The study assessed vaccination programs in 98 countries. Other pathogens studied were…  read on >  read on >

They’re medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most. Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say. Their modeling study also shows that vaccination against the 10 diseases — including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B — means that people born in 2019 will have a 72% lower risk of death from those diseases over their lifetime. “There has been a much-needed investment in childhood vaccination programs in low-income and middle-income countries [LMICs] and this has led to an increase in the number of children vaccinated,” explained study co-author Caroline Trotter, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. The greatest benefit of vaccination is among children under age 5. In this age group, deaths from the 10 diseases would be 45% higher without vaccination, according to findings published Jan. 29 inThe Lancet medical journal. Vaccinations against measles will have the biggest impact, preventing 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2030. Over the lifetime of people born between those years, vaccination will prevent 120 million deaths — 65 million of them in kids under age 5. The study assessed vaccination programs in 98 countries. Other pathogens studied were…  read on >  read on >

They’re medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most. Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say. Their modeling study also shows that vaccination against the 10 diseases — including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B — means that people born in 2019 will have a 72% lower risk of death from those diseases over their lifetime. “There has been a much-needed investment in childhood vaccination programs in low-income and middle-income countries [LMICs] and this has led to an increase in the number of children vaccinated,” explained study co-author Caroline Trotter, an infectious diseases researcher at the University of Cambridge in the U.K. The greatest benefit of vaccination is among children under age 5. In this age group, deaths from the 10 diseases would be 45% higher without vaccination, according to findings published Jan. 29 inThe Lancet medical journal. Vaccinations against measles will have the biggest impact, preventing 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2030. Over the lifetime of people born between those years, vaccination will prevent 120 million deaths — 65 million of them in kids under age 5. The study assessed vaccination programs in 98 countries. Other pathogens studied were…  read on >  read on >

Just one dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine might be enough to largely protect people from being infected with COVID-19, preliminary research shows. The vaccine became 90% effective 21 days after the first shot in a two-dose regimen, said British researchers who looked at data from Israel, where the vaccine has been rolled out to a large portion of the population. “A second dose of the Pfizer vaccine would normally be given 21 days or more after the first, to top up and lengthen the effect of the first dose,” explained lead researcher Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School. “But here in the U.K., the decision was made to delay the timing of the second injection until 12 weeks after the first,” Hunter said in a university news release. “The logic behind this is to protect more people sooner and so reduce the total number of severe infections, hospitalizations and deaths,” Hunter explained. “But this decision caused criticism from some quarters, due in part to a belief that a single injection may not give adequate immunity.” Hunter noted that an earlier study, which has not been peer-reviewed, reported that a single shot of the Pfizer vaccine might not provide sufficient protection. “But we saw a number of flaws in how they looked at the data, including the fact that they did…  read on >  read on >

Just one dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine might be enough to largely protect people from being infected with COVID-19, preliminary research shows. The vaccine became 90% effective 21 days after the first shot in a two-dose regimen, said British researchers who looked at data from Israel, where the vaccine has been rolled out to a large portion of the population. “A second dose of the Pfizer vaccine would normally be given 21 days or more after the first, to top up and lengthen the effect of the first dose,” explained lead researcher Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School. “But here in the U.K., the decision was made to delay the timing of the second injection until 12 weeks after the first,” Hunter said in a university news release. “The logic behind this is to protect more people sooner and so reduce the total number of severe infections, hospitalizations and deaths,” Hunter explained. “But this decision caused criticism from some quarters, due in part to a belief that a single injection may not give adequate immunity.” Hunter noted that an earlier study, which has not been peer-reviewed, reported that a single shot of the Pfizer vaccine might not provide sufficient protection. “But we saw a number of flaws in how they looked at the data, including the fact that they did…  read on >  read on >

It only takes a second. Experts are warning that unsecured televisions, bedroom dressers and other heavy furniture can crush, maim and even kill curious children, and the issue may only worsen during stay-at-home lockdowns. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), between 2000 and 2019, 451 kids aged 17 years and younger died in tip-over accidents, the CPSC said. And an average 11,100 per year were treated in hospital emergency rooms for tip-over-related injuries from 2017 through 2019. “Tip-over injuries and deaths are among the most tragic we see,” Robert Adler, the agency’s acting chairman, said in a CPSC news release. “Parents and caregivers don’t suspect that the bookcase or dresser in their child’s room can be hazardous — it’s a truly hidden hazard. And these tip-overs happen so fast; it’s literally in the blink of an eye, often with a parent close by.” About eight in 10 tip-over deaths involved kids under age 6, and 75% of fatalities for children involved a TV, according to the new report. With millions of Americans preparing to watch the Super Bowl on Feb. 7, now is the time to anchor all TVs in your home, the agency said. This short CPSC video shows how quickly these tragedies can occur: A CPSC survey last year found that many parents and caregivers considered anchoring furniture and TVs…  read on >  read on >