The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency under the Department of Health and Human Services,and is headquartered in Atlanta,Georgia.
The MMR vaccine is a vaccine against measles,mumps,and rubella,abbreviated as MMR. The first dose is generally given to children around 9 months to 15 months of age,with a second dose at 15 months to 6 years of age,with at least four weeks between the doses. After two doses,97% of people are protected against measles,88% against mumps,and at least 97% against rubella. The vaccine is also recommended for those who do not have evidence of immunity,those with well-controlled HIV/AIDS,and within 72 hours of exposure to measles among those who are incompletely immunized. It is given by injection.
Influenza vaccines,colloquially known as flu shots,are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year,as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies from year to year,most provide modest to high protection against influenza. Vaccination against influenza began in the 1930s,with large-scale availability in the United States beginning in 1945.
Michael Thomas Osterholm is an American epidemiologist,Regents Professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health,and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
The MMRV vaccine combines the attenuated virus MMR vaccine with the addition of the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine. The MMRV vaccine is typically given to children between one and two years of age.
The National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD),formerly known as the National Immunization Program until April 2006,is charged with responsibility for the planning,coordination,and conduct of immunization activities in the United States. NCIRD is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,located in Atlanta,Georgia,and housed in the CDC's Coordinating Center for Infectious Diseases (CCID). The National Center for Immunization provides consultation,training,statistical,promotional,educational,epidemiological,and technical services to assist state and local health departments across the US in planning,developing,contracting and implementing immunization programs.
William Herbert Foege is an American physician and epidemiologist who is credited with "devising the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s". From May 1977 to 1983,Foege served as the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine is a pneumococcal vaccine made with the conjugate vaccine method and used to protect infants,young children,and adults against disease caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus). It contains purified capsular polysaccharide of pneumococcal serotypes conjugated to a carrier protein to improve antibody response compared to the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the use of the conjugate vaccine in routine immunizations given to children.
Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). It was developed by Merck &Co. High-risk human papilloma virus (hr-HPV) genital infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection among women. The HPV strains that Gardasil protects against are sexually transmitted,specifically HPV types 6,11,16 and 18. HPV types 16 and 18 cause an estimated 70% of cervical cancers,and are responsible for most HPV-induced anal,vulvar,vaginal,and penile cancer cases. HPV types 6 and 11 cause an estimated 90% of genital warts cases. HPV type 16 is responsible for almost 90% of HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers,and the prevalence is higher in males than females. Though Gardasil does not treat existing infection,vaccination is still recommended for HPV-positive individuals,as it may protect against one or more different strains of the disease.
Varicella vaccine,also known as chickenpox vaccine,is a vaccine that protects against chickenpox. One dose of vaccine prevents 95% of moderate disease and 100% of severe disease. Two doses of vaccine are more effective than one. If given to those who are not immune within five days of exposure to chickenpox it prevents most cases of disease. Vaccinating a large portion of the population also protects those who are not vaccinated. It is given by injection just under the skin. Another vaccine,known as zoster vaccine,is used to prevent diseases caused by the same virus –the varicella zoster virus.
Hepatitis B vaccine is a vaccine that prevents hepatitis B. The first dose is recommended within 24 hours of birth with either two or three more doses given after that. This includes those with poor immune function such as from HIV/AIDS and those born premature. It is also recommended that health-care workers be vaccinated. In healthy people,routine immunization results in more than 95% of people being protected.
Robert Ray Redfield Jr. is an American virologist who served as the Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry from 2018 to 2021.
Measles vaccine protects against becoming infected with measles. Nearly all of those who do not develop immunity after a single dose develop it after a second dose. When the rate of vaccination within a population is greater than 92%,outbreaks of measles typically no longer occur;however,they may occur again if the rate of vaccination decreases. The vaccine's effectiveness lasts many years. It is unclear if it becomes less effective over time. The vaccine may also protect against measles if given within a couple of days after exposure to measles.
Katherine "Kate" L. O'Brien is a Canadian American pediatric infectious disease physician,epidemiologist,and vaccinologist who specializes in the areas of pneumococcal epidemiology,pneumococcal vaccine trials and impact studies,and surveillance for pneumococcal disease. She is also known as an expert in infectious diseases in American Indian populations. O’Brien is currently the Director of the World Health Organization's Department of Immunization,Vaccines and Biologicals.
In 1976,an outbreak of the swine flu,influenza A virus subtype H1N1 at Fort Dix,New Jersey caused one death,hospitalized 13,and led to a mass immunization program. After the program began,the vaccine was associated with an increase in reports of Guillain–Barrésyndrome (GBS),which can cause paralysis,respiratory arrest,and death. The immunization program was ended after approximately 43 millions United States citizens had been administered the vaccine.
Anne Schuchat is an American medical doctor. She is a former rear admiral and assistant surgeon general in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. She also served as the principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In May 2021,Schuchat stepped down from her post.
Martin Adel Makary is a British-American surgeon,professor,author and medical commentator. He practices surgical oncology and gastrointestinal laparoscopic surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital,is Mark Ravitch Chair in Gastrointestinal Surgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine,and teaches public health policy as Professor of Surgery and Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is a not-for-profit,501(c)(3) charitable organization established by the US Congress in 1990. Located in North Bethesda,MD,the FNIH raises private-sector funds,and creates and manages alliances with public and private institutions in support of the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Nancy Messonnier is an American physician who served as the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2016 to 2021. She worked on the CDC's response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Rochelle Paula Walensky is an American physician-scientist who served as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2021 to 2023 and had also served as the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in her capacity as the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2021 to 2023. On May 5,2023,she announced her resignation,effective June 30,2023. Prior to her appointment at the CDC,she had served as the chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Walensky is an expert on HIV/AIDS.
