Three Things Thursday

FDA is discussing COVID booster shots right now, PLUS what's up with egg prices & a lack of children's Tylenol?

Three Things Thursday highlights three things I am paying attention to as an epidemiologist each week.

Hoping these posts help to educate and empower you
to be healthy and create healthy communities.

Today’s Three Things Thursday feels like a placeholder because the real news will come tomorrow. As I type, the FDA vaccine advisory committee (VRBPAC) is meeting, and they will be voting on the type of vaccine that will be used moving forward. Below are my thoughts on the morning’s FDA discussion. Additionally, below I am addressing why eggs are so stinking expensive right now. And why it is so hard to find children’s Tylenol and Motrin.

Today’s updates are reminders to all of us that disruptions in health cause disruptions to all aspects of our lives.

As I type, the FDA vaccine advisory committee (VRBPAC) is meeting. The morning has been full of presentations about the epidemiology of the COVID-19 pandemic, the epidemiology of variants, vaccine safety and effectiveness, and how vaccines could be improved in the future.

Based on the agenda and the question that will be voted on later this afternoon, it appears to me that we are headed toward a single bivalent vaccine (original + Omicron BA.4/BA.5). Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax presented up-to-date data demonstrating both the safety and effectiveness of the bivalent vaccine. And the conversations led me to believe that we will be moving away from the original monovalent primary series and toward a world where only bivalent (or poly-valent) vaccines would be available.

Additionally, it appears that we are moving toward an annual COVID vaccine.

Given what has been presented this morning, I understand that vaccine guidance needs to be simplified and clarified for all of us. Keeping track of vaccine doses, type of vaccine received, and timing of vaccines post-previous dose or post-recent infection with COVID is wicked hard work. An understandable and simplified COVID-19 vaccine schedule is needed.

One-size-fits-all policies and a single vaccine type will simplify communications and make it easier for individuals and institutions to track vaccine uptake.

HOWEVER, it is not clear to me (based on the data that has been shared so far today) that an annual COVID vaccine (likely given in the fall) will provide the best protection against COVID infection for everyone.

The conversations to come will have to weigh the pros/cons of what we know from the science, how we can simplify the vaccination process/messaging, and what is best to protect the health of the public at large.

I will provide a full summary (and some commentary) tomorrow. Be sure to subscribe so that you do not miss it.

The highlight this morning was a comment made by the Chair of the FDA committee to the research team that was explaining the Pfizer vaccine safety signal (which I highlighted last week). The Chair requested that the researcher rethink how the presentation could be reformatted so that it will be understandable to the public.

This was a clear signal to all epidemiologists that we need to learn how to share complex research and statistical analyses in a way that can be understood by individuals who are worried about emerging news and need information before making decisions about their health.

More to come tomorrow…

In the meantime, let’s talk about the price of eggs. A dozen eggs at my local grocery store is $4.15 (~60% higher than this time last year). Why are prices so high? what is the eggzplanation?

During the past year, more than 58 million wild and domestic birds have been infected with H5NI, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. This includes millions of egg-laying hens, limiting the supply of eggs. And therefore driving up the cost of eggs.

To date, there has only been one case of H5N1 in a human. And (more importantly) there is no evidence that H5N1 can spread from person to person. At this point in time, transmission is occurring from bird to person. However, quoting Dr. Mike Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy at the University of Minnesota —

“Any time you’re dealing with H5N1, you sleep with one eye open.”

The virus could mutate and able to be transmitted from person to person.

What do you need to know?

First, we need to support the creation and sustainability of up-to-date public health surveillance systems that can track the virus in birds and people.

Second, if you have chickens or come in contact with birds, please follow these steps to protect yourself from being infected by a sick bird.

Finally, it is safe to eat eggs and poultry that have been properly cooked. Eggs and poultry should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165*F in order to kill bacteria or viruses (including H5N1).

Finally — for parents and grandparents out there — why is it so stinking hard to find a bottle of children’s Tylenol or Motrin?

The answer is a simple issue of supply and demand.

The huge spikes in influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 (plus some strep throat) during the fall and early winter of 2022 led to a rush on fever-reducing medications for children. At my local pharmacy, there were only two bottles of children’s Tylenol on the shelf yesterday and parents could only buy one bottle at a time.

Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health has reported that they are taking all possible steps to ensure that the medicals are available.

If you are like me and are struggling to find Tylenol for your kids, here is a list of what you should do. It is important to note that kids under 12 should NOT be given adult Tylenol. You can look for generic versions of acetaminophen (the drug in Tylenol) or ibuprofen (for kids at least 6 months of age). Alternatively, if you cannot find children’s Tylenol locally, you can order it on Amazon.

Have questions?

And stay tuned for tomorrow! A summary of the FDA vaccine advisory committee meeting (with some commentary) will be shared tomorrow.