In deliberations yesterday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine advisory group recommended updated COVID-19 and flu vaccines for the upcoming respiratory virus season, with people ages 6 months and older advised to receive the vaccine in most circumstances.

The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) made one tweak to the flu vaccine recommendation, which is that solid-organ transplant recipients who are ages 18 to 64 years old may receive an adjuvanted or high-dose flu vaccine as an off-label option.

In a CDC statement accepting the group's recommendation, CDC Director Mandy Cohen, MD, MPH, said the top recommendation for protecting people and their loved ones from respiratory illness is to get vaccinated. "Make a plan now for you and your family to get both updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ahead of the respiratory virus season."

21-strain pneumococcal vaccine recommended

ACIP also unanimously voted to recommend Merck's new 21-valent (21-strain) pneumococcal vaccine as an option for adults ages 65 and older who have not received one or whose vaccination status isn't known. The advisers also said the vaccine could be used in the age-group with shared clinical decision-making on a supplemental basis in those who have completed their vaccine series with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine 13 (PCV13, which includes 13 strains) or pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine 23 (PPSV23, the 23-strain version). 

Make a plan now for you and your family to get both updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall.

The group also recommended a single dose of the vaccine in patients ages 19 to 64 who have certain underlying health conditions, both those who haven't received a dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and those who started their series with PCV13 but have not received all recommended PPSV23 doses.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health two more variant H1N2 (H1N2v) infections, both of them adults who had attended a livestock auction that had pigs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly influenza update.

The state reported a similar H1N2v case in March, so the two new cases lift the nation's total for the year to three.

The newly confirmed patients are close contacts who sought medical care the week ending June 22. One patient was hospitalized. No other illnesses were found among other contacts of the two people, and the investigation is still under way.

Seasonal flu markers remain low, with 3 more pediatric deaths

In other flu updates, the CDC said seasonal flu activity remains low nationally. Three more pediatric flu deaths were reported, which occurred in December, April, and May, raising the season's total to 181, approaching the 2022-23 total of 185.

The CDC has ramped up surveillance over the summer due to continuing H5N1 avian flu circulation in dairy herds, which was linked to three earlier human infections. 

The United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said yesterday that an additional 19 people have been sickened in an outbreak of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) that began in May, bringing the total to 275 cases.

Of the confirmed STEC cases, 182 are in England, 58 in Scotland, 31 in Wales, and 4 in Northern Ireland. Information from 249 case-patients shows that 49% have been hospitalized, and 2 people with underlying medical conditions have died.

Lettuce likely culprit

The outbreak was first identified on May 22 through UKHSA's routine surveillance. UKHSA says investigators believe a type of lettuce in pre-packaged sandwiches containing is the likely source of the outbreak. 

"This remains a complex investigation and we continue to work with the relevant businesses and the local authorities to ensure necessary steps are being taken to protect consumers," Darren Whitby, Head of Incidents at the UK Food Standards Agency, said in a UKHSA press release. "Although we are confident in the likely source of the outbreak being linked to lettuce, work continues to confirm this and identify the root cause of the outbreak with the growers, suppliers and manufacturers so that actions can be taken to prevent a re-occurrence."

STEC can cause severe and sometimes bloody diarrhea, stomach cramps, vomiting, and fever.