WASHINGTON — The flu forecast is cloudy and it's too soon to know if the U.S. is in for a third miserable season in a row, but health officials said Thursday not to delay vaccination. While the vaccine didn't offer much protection the past two years, specialists have fine-tuned the...
Vaccine Exemption Bills Get Newsom's Signature
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Monday to crack down on doctors who write fraudulent medical exemptions for school children's vaccinations. The governor acted without comment less than an hour after lawmakers sent him changes he demanded as a condition of approving the bills. Legislators passed the second of...
Newsom’s California Vaccine Bill Change Surprises Backers
SACRAMENTO — Medical groups and a lawmaker behind California legislation to crack down on vaccine exemptions said Wednesday they were surprised by Gov. Gavin Newsom's last-minute call for changes to the bill, a move that inserted fresh uncertainty into one of the year's most contentious issues. It was the second...
Two-Wave US Flu Season Is Now the Longest in a Decade
NEW YORK — Three months ago, this flu season was shaping up to be short and mild in the U.S. But a surprising second viral wave has made it the longest in 10 years. This flu season has been officially going for 21 weeks, according to reports collected through last...
Measles Count in US This Year Already More Than All of 2018
NEW YORK — The number of U.S. measles cases through the first three months of this year have surpassed the count for all of 2018, health officials say. There have been 387 cases through March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Monday. There were 372 last year. The...
Century-Old TB Vaccine Tested for Use vs. COVID-19
Multiple countries think so highly of a vaccine developed in the 1920s, they're now using it in trials to test how effective it might be against COVID-19.  The drug is called Bacille Calmette-Guerin. The World Health Organization says BCG has at least one clear effective use. When used in countries where...