Thursday Shorts:
October 3, 2024
1. Nasal influenza vaccines approved for home use
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FluMist, a nasal spray influenza vaccination, for home use. This vaccine is only available for those from ages 2 to 49 and has been available for use in physician offices and pharmacies for decades. This could decrease barriers to getting influenza vaccination and improve the health of individuals and the community. Employers can instruct health plans and pharmacy benefit administrators to remove restrictions on site of service for this vaccine. Here’s a link to a Fall vaccine guide from Katelyn Jetelina, PhD, who writes the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist.
2. Wildfire smoke increased adolescent mental health needs
Adolescents exposed to higher levels of p2.5 particulate air pollution had higher rates of mental health disorders, both at the time of measurement and a year later. More days of exposure was related to higher risk. Air pollution is not always obvious, and these small “soot” particles are well known to increase risks of lung disease and heart disease. Employers should be conscious of indoor air quality, which likely improves worker performance and decreases risk. Employers can increase filtration at workplaces that face bad air quality due to wildfires. Here’s a link to a May post about impact of indoor air quality on performance.
3. HIV infection rates down in San Francisco
The Department of Public Health of San Francisco released a report showing that new HIV infections in that city continue to decline. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is used commonly in San Francisco; between 71-78% of those at high risk (men who have sex with men, those who use intravenous drugs, and those who have sex with people at risk) are now on PrEP. Of those who were diagnosed with HIV in 2022, 80% had their virus fully suppressed within six months, and 86% had their virus fully suppressed within 12 months. The combination of high use of PrEP and effective viral suppression in those living with HIV can dramatically decrease the number of new cases. HIV treatment is at this point so effective that 80% of those with HIV who died in San Francisco in 2022 reportedly died of another cause such as heart disease or non-HIV related cancer or drug overdose.
Full coverage for PrEP therapy for those at risk of HIV infection and affordable coverage for highly active antiretroviral therapy for those with HIV helps drive down new HIV infections.