Dr. Klotman’s Week 266 video address is summarized below:
- The WHO has developed a framework for managing pandemics – a few million lives too late and a few years past due. Individual nations and their leaders can undermine it, of course (China and Trump come to mind)
- The US now has had 800 cases of Measels with 11% requiring hospitalization and 3 fatalities
- There have been three more states in which Measels has appeared; all had infections attributed to international travel among unvaccinated travelers
- Your level of Measles antibodies can be low as a result of waning immunity and you may still be able to defend yourself against infection, but if you are immuno-compromised or concerned that you are vulnerable, you can get a booster or two-dose series
- According to the WHO, Europe had 127K cases of Measles in 2024
- The COVID pandemic left many children unvaccinated because of self-isolation
- Canada and Mexico have also reported Measles cases. The number in Canada is the highest in memory since the disease was declared eliminated there in 1998
- COVID wastewater levels are down nationwide
- The CDC is considering new COVID vaccination recommendations, but they are not yet published
- Folks 65+ and any anyone who is immuno-compromised should get two COVID vaccinations 6-months apart
- Anyone else who wants a vaccination should have access to it
- COVID caused 40K US deaths last year – that’s comparable to a bad Flu season
- Another (European) study has shown that COVID vaccine decreases Long-COVID risk
I expect to provide an update on the CDC’s final verdict on COVID vaccination recommendations.