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Health officials urge people to get a flu vaccine, with season predicted to be ‘rough’
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Health officials are warning people to buckle up for a potentially rough flu season, warning that a strain of flu mutated over the summer and is spreading in the U.S. and other countries. The problem is that the influenza A (H3N2) strain mutation happened right before flu season, which
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Two infant deaths in Kentucky tied to whooping cough
FRANKFORT — Two infants in Kentucky have died from whooping cough—or pertussis—marking the first deaths linked to the disease in the state since 2018, health officials said Friday. Neither of the infants nor their mothers had received the recommended vaccinations during pregnancy or early infancy, according to the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH). Officials
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Lexington has outbreak of whooping cough
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS An outbreak of whooping cough has been declared in Fayette County after nine cases have been confirmed by the local health department since late April. Whooping cough, known medically as pertussis, is a highly contagious respiratory illness spread by coughing and sneezing. It affects people of all ages but
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UK hosts national meeting to raise immunization rate for vaccine against cervical and other HPV cancers, in which Kentucky leads U.S.
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS Kentucky leads the nation in the rate of cases of and deaths from cervical cancer, a disease that is largely preventable by a vaccine. The vaccine targets the human papillomavirus, which can cause cancers of the cervix, genitals, anus, neck and head. Kentucky also leads the nation in cancers
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FDA approves first-ever RSV vaccine for people 60 and older
BY MELISSA PATRICK KENTUCKY HEALTH NEWS People 60 and older now have access to the first approved vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus. The vaccine, developed by GlaxoSmithKline, is called Arexvy and was approved May 3 by the Food and Drug Administration. “Today’s approval of the first RSV vaccine is an important public-health achievement to prevent
