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11/24/25 Health News: Statement Regarding Vaccines and Autism
On November 21 the Department of Health and the West Coast Health Alliance issued statements regarding vaccines and autism. In short, vaccines are thoroughly tested and remain one of the most important tools we have for preventing infectious diseases. They represent one of the greatest public health achievements in history, having saved millions of lives…
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06/14/22 Health Advisory: Routine childhood immunization rates down
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, Immunization, Immunizations, News and AlertsBackground On May 12, 2022, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced many children are behind on routine vaccinations compared to pre-pandemic levels. The report found, from June 2019 to December 2021, immunization rates dropped: ↓ 9.6% in children 19–35 months old ↓ 3.9% in children 4–6 years old ↓ 3.6% in children 11–12 years…
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05/24/22 Health Advisory: COVID-19 rebound after Paxlovid treatment
Advisory or Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Infection Control, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Be aware, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory about COVID-19 rebound after Paxlovid treatment. Continue to offer Paxlovid for early-stage treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in people at high risk of severe disease. Be aware, providers have reported COVID-19 rebound—recurring symptoms or a new positive test after…
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05/24/22 Health Advisory: Monkeypox virus in non-endemic countries
Advisory or Update, Emerging Diseases and Conditions, Health Advisory, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Be aware, monkeypox virus infections are occurring in non-endemic countries, including 1 case in the United States. Assess for alternative etiologies in conditions causing pox-like lesions—herpes simplex, syphilis, varicella, etc. Report suspected or confirmed monkeypox cases to the Whatcom County Health Department (WCHD). Call 360-778-6150. WCHD will coordinate testing at the public health…
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05/20/22 Health Advisory: CDC Recommends 5-11 year olds get a Pfizer COVID-19 Booster
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Alert, Immunization, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Be aware, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup recommend children 5-11 years should get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose five months after completion of the primary series of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This recommendation comes after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its emergency use…
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05/19/22 Health Advisory: Severe Hepatitis of Unknown Cause in Children
Actions Requested Be aware of severe cases of hepatitis in children that are occurring in the U.S. and worldwide. Consider adenovirus testing in pediatric patients with hepatitis of unknown cause (see preferred samples below). Report suspect cases in children to Whatcom County Health Department. A suspect case is a child with elevated AST or ALT…
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05/16/22 Health Advisory: FDA Limits Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine.
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Health Alert, Immunization, MERS-CoV, News and Alerts, Novel Coronavirus, Provider Resources, VaccineRequested actions Be aware, on May 5, 2022, because of the risk of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after getting Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine (J&J), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limited its authorized use to people 18 years or older: For whom other COVID-19 vaccines are not accessible or clinically appropriate. Who want only…
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05/12/22 Health Advisory: FDA Limits Use of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine.
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Background FDA limited the authorized use of J&J to people age 18 years and older: This decision came after FDA analyzed, evaluated and investigated reported cases of TTS after getting J&J. TTS is rare and includes potentially life-threatening blood clots in combination with low levels of blood platelets. Symptoms typically start 1–2 weeks…
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04/27/22 Health Advisory: CDC Treatment Updates and ACIP discusses second COVID-19 booster dose eligibility
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Immunization, Infection Control, MERS-CoV, News and Alerts, News and Update, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider Resources, VaccineRequested Actions On April 25, 2022, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory about the availability and use of recommended COVID-19 therapies. It also advised against using unproven treatments that have known or potential harm. Follow National Institutes of Health (NIH) COVID-19 treatment guidelines and use recommended antivirals…
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4.1.22 WCHD Provider Advisory~ COVID Therapeutics
Requested Actions Be aware, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup have endorsed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) emergency use authorization of a second booster dose of either the Pfizer-BioNTech (Pfizer) or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines for specific groups. These second boosters are particularly important for people…
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03/07/22 Health Advisory: Update on Johnson & Johnson vaccine ordering and guidance for healthcare settings
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Immunizations, MERS-CoV, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider Resources, VaccineRequested actions Be aware, on March 4, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) discontinued ordering Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine because inventory is very low at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Washington Immunization Information System (IIS). We encourage providers to post and look for available doses on IIS vaccine advertisement page. Email…
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03/01/2022 Provider Alert: UPDATE – COVID-19 Therapies
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Health Alert, MERS-CoV, News and Alerts, News and Update, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider Resources, SchoolsRequested Actions Be aware, providers should contact and re-dose patients who previously received the 150mg Evushield dose (see below) Be Aware, supply of COVID-19 therapeutics is not currently limited in Whatcom County. While COVID-19 case rates are decreasing in Whatcom County, some patients may benefit from therapeutics. Decision to prescribe should be based on clinical…
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02/16/22 Health Advisory: CDC Updated COVID-19 Vaccination Guidelines, and More.
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Emerging Diseases and Conditions, Health Advisory, Health Alert, Immunization, Immunizations, Infection Control, News and Alerts, News and Update, Notifiable Conditions, Novel Coronavirus, Provider Resources, VaccineRequested Actions Be aware, on February 11, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their guidance for COVID-19 vaccination to include: For people who are moderately or severely immunocompromised: People who have completed a primary series of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) are recommended to receive an mRNA booster dose 3 months (instead…