{"id":9237,"date":"2026-02-15T13:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-15T18:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237"},"modified":"2026-02-16T03:04:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T08:04:24","slug":"this-week-in-public-health-49","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Public Health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/hik5MUK2wAI?si=Dgr9HbblFFadB2vK\">Dr. Klotman&#8217;s Week 308 video address<\/a>. My digest notes follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>COVID<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">So far, there have been slight increases in positive tests, ED visits, hospitalizations, and COVID deaths, but nothing like the anticipated respiratory virus spikes of past years<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The number of COVID deaths has decreased dramatically year by year since 2020. This is likely due to herd immunity conferred by vaccination and\/or prior infection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The dominant strain continues to be XFG<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Wastewater COVID data is consistent with what we see in other leading indicators<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Influenza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Influenza appears to have peaked in Week 52 (end of December)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The dominant flu virus has been Influenza A H3N2 &#8211; K clade<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">This Flu season has been the worst since the 2010-11 season<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Kids &lt;18yo have had the highest hospitalization rate since 2010-11<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Pediatric influenza deaths hit 60 so far this season. 90% were not fully vaccinated. This season has been classified as Severe among Children<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">This season has given us 22M infections, 280K hospitalizations, and 12K deaths<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Fewer than 50% of Americans took this years Flu vaccine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Vaccination has been shown to significantly reduce serious Flu infection and its complications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Measles<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">The US has had 733 cases as of last week (the total for 2025 was 2276)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">We are poised to blow past the 2025 total this year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Measles hospitalizations are 3% this year as opposed to 11% last year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Thus far >17 states have had outbreaks; SC and UT lead in case numbers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The US can no longer claim to be Measles free as it was back in 2000<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vaccine development for Endangered Species<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">There are vaccination trials among King Penguins, Koalas, Condors, and other species<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">The goal of vaccination is to protect them against the pathogens that target each species\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Avian Influenza H5N1 for Penguins, Condors, and the NZ Kakapos (flightless parrots)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Chlamydia for Koalas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">A Herpesvirus that infects young elephants in captivity<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Tylenol &#8211; Autism Link Disproven<\/strong>: Another large, meta-analysis has shown no link between Tylenol and neuro-developmental disorders like autism. Even RFK, Jr has backtracked from his earlier claims of a link.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>My Snarky Notes<\/strong>: I think that we should recognize the anti-vax movement for its victory in bringing back Measles to our children. Next, perhaps they can bring back Mumps, Rubella, Polio, Diphtheria, and Pertussis. To paraphrase Nitsche, &#8220;What doesn&#8217;t kill your children only makes them stronger.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here is Dr. Klotman&#8217;s Week 308 video address. My digest notes follow. COVID Influenza Measles Vaccine development for Endangered Species Tylenol &#8211; Autism Link Disproven: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Week in Public Health - Musings<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Week in Public Health - Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here is Dr. Klotman&#8217;s Week 308 video address. My digest notes follow. COVID Influenza Measles Vaccine development for Endangered Species Tylenol &#8211; Autism Link Disproven: [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"llc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"llc\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"llc\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b\"},\"headline\":\"This Week in Public Health\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237\"},\"wordCount\":388,\"commentCount\":0,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237\",\"name\":\"This Week in Public Health - Musings\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?p=9237#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"This Week in Public Health\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/\",\"name\":\"Musings\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b\",\"name\":\"llc\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"llc\"},\"description\":\"I'm a retired Internist-Geriatrician whose interests are astrophotography, food, family, cats and friends though not necessarily in that order.\",\"sameAs\":[\"llcortes55@gmail.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/llcspace.site\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"This Week in Public Health - Musings","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"This Week in Public Health - Musings","og_description":"Here is Dr. Klotman&#8217;s Week 308 video address. My digest notes follow. COVID Influenza Measles Vaccine development for Endangered Species Tylenol &#8211; Autism Link Disproven: [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237","og_site_name":"Musings","article_published_time":"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00","author":"llc","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"llc","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237"},"author":{"name":"llc","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/#\/schema\/person\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b"},"headline":"This Week in Public Health","datePublished":"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237"},"wordCount":388,"commentCount":0,"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237","url":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237","name":"This Week in Public Health - Musings","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-02-15T18:07:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-16T08:04:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/#\/schema\/person\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?p=9237#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"This Week in Public Health"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/#website","url":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/","name":"Musings","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/#\/schema\/person\/4a3595818a3bfe17304a0650debd7f2b","name":"llc","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6d0bac5668fed2a45a650575139e3b5d14611722b197cdb7b31b49b702057464?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"llc"},"description":"I'm a retired Internist-Geriatrician whose interests are astrophotography, food, family, cats and friends though not necessarily in that order.","sameAs":["llcortes55@gmail.com"],"url":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9237"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9247,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9237\/revisions\/9247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/llcspace.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}