Ebola vaccine (Mvabea)

Decades of Dengue in Pakistan: Is It Finally Time for a Vaccine?

Rai Versha Rani VR

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Effective media communication in allergy and immunology: A practical framework for pediatric advocacy.

Berger William E WE

Background: Effective communication between physicians and the public has become increasingly important in the modern media environment. Pediatricians and allergist/immunologists play a critical role in shaping public understanding of conditions such as food allergy, asthma, and vaccine safety. Objective: The objective was to provide a practical framework for clinicians to engage effectively with media, improve public health messaging, and enhance patient outcomes through clear, accurate, and impactful communication. Methods: This was a narrative review of literature that integrates health communication, media engagement, pediatric advocacy, allergy and immunology, public health messaging, vaccine communication, and asthma and food allergy education. Results: Successful media engagement requires preparation, audience awareness, message clarity, and strategic delivery. Core principles include simplifying complex medical information; maintaining credibility; and focusing on key public health messages, such as early food introduction, asthma control, and vaccine safety. The RATIO framework (Research, Audience, Targeted Topic, Interview Redirecting, Optimism) provides a structured approach to media advocacy. Conclusion: Physician engagement with media is an essential extension of clinical care. Effective communication can improve public understanding, counter misinformation, promote evidence-based health behaviors, and substantially affect adherence and preventive behaviors, particularly in vaccination and chronic disease management, particularly in pediatric populations.

Healthcare resource utilization and cost of invasive pneumococcal disease, pneumonia, and acute otitis media in commercially and medicaid-insured children by risk group in the United States, 2018 to 2023.

Mohanty Salini S, Done Nicolae N, Song Yan Y, Wang Travis T et al.

Pneumococcal disease (PD) is a leading cause of morbidity among US children, particularly those with chronic medical conditions (CMC) and immunocompromising conditions (IC), and the decline in PD incidence was less pronounced in the late pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) 13 period. This study quantified healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs among commercially and Medicaid-insured children with PD. This retrospective observational cohort study used Merative™ MarketScan® Commercial Database and Multi-State Medicaid Databases to identify children with invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD), all-cause pneumonia (ACP), and acute otitis media (AOM) episodes using inpatient and outpatient claims. HCRU and costs per PD episode were assessed in the commercially and Medicaid-insured populations, stratified by age (<2, 2-4, and 5-17 years) and risk group (CMC, IC, and no CMC/IC). Between 2018 and 2023, commercially insured children contributed 23.6 million person-years (PY) and Medicaid-insured children contributed 23.4 million PY; 423 and 664 children had IPD, 309,540 and 281,569 had ACP, and 2,721,354 and 2,596,201 had AOM in the commercial and Medicaid populations, respectively. In both databases, HCRU and cost was higher in children with CMC or IC, compared to no CMC/IC across age groups for all PD manifestations. For IPD and ACP, inpatient admissions were 1.4 to 2.2-fold longer for children with CMC or IC. For IPD, costs per episode were 2-to-3-fold higher in children with CMC or IC, compared with those without CMC/IC (Commercial: $76,278 and $72,130 vs. $22,371; Medicaid: $17,389 and $19,945 vs. $6,476, respectively). For ACP, costs were highest in children with IC, followed by CMC and no CMC/IC (Commercial: $7,343, $2,637, and $809; Medicaid: $3,257, $1,160, and $356, respectively). AOM showed a similar pattern, with highest costs in children with IC (Commercial: $608; Medicaid: $178), followed by CMC ($442; $141), and lowest in those without CMC/IC ($368; $123). US children with underlying conditions that increase susceptibility to PD experience substantially higher HCRU and costs compared with those without such conditions, across all PD manifestations, regardless of insurance type and age group. These findings underscore the need for risk-based prevention strategies, including vaccination, beyond early childhood in high-risk pediatric populations.

Integrating responders' mental health into the Ebola outbreak response.

Nachega Jean B JB, Zumla Alimuddin A, Muyembe-Tamfum Jean-Jacques JJ, Seedat Soraya S