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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday alerted the medical community to an increase in pediatric cases of invasive group A strep infections. The spike in invasive strep A was first detected in the U.S. in November, among children at a hospital in Colorado, the CDC said. NBC News reported last week that several children’s hospitals across the U.S. had detected increases in invasive group A strep infections. However, the overall number of invasive group A strep infections among children remains low and the condition is rare, according to the CDC. Generally, people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are most susceptible to invasive strep infections.

☆ You really should mask up again, says infectious disease expert: The tripledemic is hitting 'too fast and too furious'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Renée Onque | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Most Americans aren't wearing face masks anymore — and their timing isn't great, says a leading infectious disease expert. Just 26% of Americans reported in October that they're wearing masks outside of their homes. Covid alone currently accounts for 386 deaths per day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The flu and RSV likely add to that figure, though the agency doesn't report the number of deaths per day for those viruses. "Everyone needs to know that masking really does protect individuals against all three viruses," Hijano says.

☆ Why detransitioners are crucial to the science of gender care
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +43 min

A Canadian health provider said it couldn’t participate, citing recent threats to hospitals offering youth gender care. But as Reuters found, hard evidence on long-term outcomes for the rising numbers of people who received gender treatment as minors is very weak. Dr Marianne van der Loos, the Dutch study’s lead author, is a physician at Amsterdam University Medical Center’s Center for Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, a pioneer in gender care for adolescents. For those who also received medical treatment, detransitioning typically includes halting the hormone therapy they otherwise would receive for years. One is Max Robinson, who was 16 when she sought gender care at Kaiser in 2012.

Pharmacists and parents across the country are contending with empty shelves as they search for children’s pain relief medications amid the ongoing spread of RSV, flu and Covid. CVS and Walgreens each announced on Monday that they are limiting the number of children's pain relief medications customers can buy: CVS to two, and Walgreens to six. Courtesy Chantel JablonskiCaswell said shortages of children’s Tylenol and ibuprofen and their generic versions started a month or two ago. Johnson & Johnson Motrin brand children's pain relievers at a Stop & Shop store in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., on Jan. 23, 2022. Khan said “this is probably the worst” shortage of children’s medicine he’s seen, surpassing even peak Covid.

☆ FDA Commissioner urges parents not to stockpile children’s flu meds amid shortages
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Bertha Coombs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration says his agency is working with producers to improve supply, but the current demand is unprecedented. And if people buy more than they need and everybody does that, then people who need the products won't be able to get them," FDA commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told CNBC. This week CVS Health began limiting purchases to two children 'over-the-counter pain and fever relief medication items in-store and online. The FDA commissioner says his agency is working with manufacturers to make sure that necessary supply of children's meds reach the areas where they are most needed. "We've not seen the need the demand nearly as high as it is now at any time in our recorded history."

☆ Flu, RSV and Covid Drive Demand for Children’s Pain Relievers and Fever Reducers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Stephanie Stamm | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Medicines to lower fevers, clear congestion and ease aches and pains are in high demand this winter as the U.S. is experiencing a surge in pediatric cases of RSV, influenza and Covid-19. Both CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. announced they have imposed purchase limits on children’s cold and flu medicines. Sales of children’s over-the-counter medication are up 80% compared with the same four-week period a year earlier, totaling more than $86 million, according to market-research firm IRI. Inflation has also contributed to higher dollar sales, but it is mainly rising demand that is causing the shortages, IRI said. Parents and caregivers also have fewer pediatric pain relievers to choose from, with the number of options down 7% compared with a year ago.

CVS and Walgreens are limiting how many children’s pain relief medications people can buy at once amid a winter “tripledemic” of respiratory viruses, the companies said Monday. In a statement, CVS said it is limiting the number of pain relief medications to two. Walgreens customers can buy six over-the-counter pediatric fever reducers, the company said in a statement. “Due to increased demand and various supplier challenges, over-the-counter pediatric fever reducing products are seeing constraint across the country,” Walgreens said. The respiratory viruses have hit young children hard because many remained at home after the pandemic hit nearly three years ago, leaving their immune systems vulnerable to common illnesses, experts have said.

☆ CVS, Walgreens limit purchase of children's pain medicines
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 19 (Reuters) - Pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp (CVS.N) and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (WBA.O) limited purchase of children's pain drugs as they face supply constraints and high demand with the United States experiencing one of the worst flu season in a decade. CVS said there is currently a two-product limit on all children's pain-relief products at all its pharmacy locations and online, while Walgreens said it had put a limit of six over-the-counter pediatric fever reducers per online transaction. Bloomberg Law, which first reported about the purchase limit, said U.S. supermarket chain Kroger Co (KR.N) was also putting a limit over the purchases to two children's pain medicine products. Kroger did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reporting by Raghav Mahobe and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini GanguliOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ We can help battle the ‘tripledemic’ with this commonsense solution
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Molly Weston Williamson | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Others should join them as the fight for federal paid sick time rights continues. Three years into a pandemic, nearly 1 in 4 private sector workers in the U.S. still don’t have a single paid sick day. Millions more do not have paid sick time to care for sick children. Paid sick time is also an investment in one of our most powerful tools to build up children’s fragile immune systems: vaccination. We must act now to ensure that everyone has the paid sick time they need for themselves and their families.

☆ Just How Bad Is the ‘Tripledemic’?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Amy Schoenfeld Walker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

R.S.V., or respiratory syncytial virus, has made so many young children ill this fall that weekly pediatric hospitalizations for R.S.V. Public health officials have been warning for weeks that a “tripledemic” of Covid-19, flu and R.S.V. Weekly hospitalizations for Covid-19, R.S.V. With flu surging and Covid-19 circulating, respiratory illness has overwhelmed pediatric units across the country, shifting the strain to emergency rooms and children’s hospitals. The predominant type of flu circulating right now, a subtype of influenza A known as H3, also tends to result in higher flu hospitalizations among the elderly, according to the C.D.C.

☆ U.S. hospitals report rise in severe strep A infections in kids after 15 deaths in U.K.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Aria Bendix | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

In the U.K., at least 15 children have died from invasive group A strep since mid-September. Anyone can get invasive strep A, including healthy adults, but people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are more susceptible. Between 1,500 and 2,300 people die of the invasive infections every year. But children's hospitals in several other states — California, New York, Illinois and Minnesota — said they have not detected any increase in invasive group A strep. It is important for kids with strep to get care right away so they can start taking antibiotics like penicillin.

☆ How Jordan Spieth’s sister inspired him to build a charity legacy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Jack Bantock | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —In September 2013, Jordan Spieth was powering towards one of the greatest rookie seasons golf has ever seen. But at just 19 years old, Spieth was putting the wheels in motion for a long-term charitable endeavor. It was ultimately because of his younger sister Ellie, who has autism, that Spieth launched his charitable mission, supporting programs and initiatives for children with special needs. Spieth and his sister ride the buggie at the Houston Open in 2016. “Letting kids be kids, creating a safe environment that also has everything that a kid wants to do – that’s what we had there.”

☆ British nurses launch historic strike, as pay and staffing crises threaten the NHS
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rob Picheta | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“The reality is, every day, nurses across the UK are walking into understaffed hospitals,” Mackay said. “I feel really sorry for the young girls who are now trying to get into the profession, they have to pay for their training. Nurses’ pay dropped 1.2% every year between 2010 and 2017 once inflation was taken into account, according to the Health Foundation, a UK charity that campaigns for better health and health care. Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesEarlier this year, the RCN rejected an offer by the government to increase nurses’ pay by a minimum of £1,400 ($1,707) a year, which amounted to an average rise of 4.3%, well below the rate of inflation. Members of Britain’s armed forces were being trained to drive ambulances and firefight in the event of strike action, ministers said earlier this month.

The UK government has promised to overhaul the youth gender care system, after it was deemed inadequate by England’s regulator of health and social care. They described a deeply flawed system that is now hobbled by a toxic political climate around gender care. The letter said a decision would be made at some point from early 2022 on whether the child “is likely to meet the access criteria” for gender care. The family has received no NHS gender care or mental health support since the referral, she said. These recommended supporting “identity exploration” and mental health treatment as the first steps to ensure that any psychological issues are addressed.

Children's hospitals in Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Washington told NBC News they are seeing a higher-than-average number of cases this season compared to past years. In the U.K., at least 15 children have died from invasive group A strep since mid-September. Anyone can get invasive strep A, including healthy adults, but people over 65 and those with chronic illnesses are more susceptible. Between 1,500 and 2,300 people die of these invasive infections each year. It's important for kids with strep to get care right away so they can start taking antibiotics like penicillin.

When she checked availability of these pain- and fever-reducing meds this week, out of 40 products – different flavors, sizes and strengths – none was in stock. For kids over 2 months of age, there is no magic number at which a fever needs to be treated. She says this is a great option for kids who can’t keep food or liquids down, too. What not to doThere are also some important things not to do if you can’t find the medication you need. Also, lukewarm baths are OK, but it’s not a good idea to put a child with a fever into a cold bath, Ahmann says.

CNN —A six-month-old baby whose parents refused to allow him to undergo lifesaving heart surgery using blood from people vaccinated against Covid-19 has been operated on in a New Zealand hospital. The court also appointed two doctors as its agents to oversee issues around the operation and the administration of blood, according to court documents. The baby has a congenital heart defect and needed urgent open heart surgery to survive – but the operation was delayed by his parents’ insistence that only blood from donors not vaccinated against Covid-19 be used. A new ruling on Thursday night ordered that the parents stop blocking doctors’ attempts to prepare for the operation. The baby’s parents believed there were “spike proteins in the blood of people who have been vaccinated and that these proteins were causing unexpected deaths relating to transfusions,” according to the judgment.

☆ Hospitals in the US are the fullest they’ve been throughout the pandemic – but it’s not just Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Hospitals are more full than they’ve been throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a CNN analysis of data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. But as respiratory virus season surges across the US, it’s much more than Covid that’s filling beds this year. More than 80% of hospital beds are in use nationwide, jumping 8 percentage points in the past two weeks. Pediatric hospital beds also have been more full than usual for months. About 76% of pediatric hospital beds are in use, up from an average of about two-thirds full in recent years.

“And the pulse oximeter is used from any age to geriatrics,” he said. The US Food and Drug Administration is mulling over next steps for the regulation of pulse oximeter devices, which may give less accurate readings for people of color. A panel of its Medical Devices Advisory Committee met in November to review clinical data on the issue. “I think of the pulse oximeter reading in the same way. Of course this can be dangerous.”Ultimately, the pulse oximeter can estimate the amount of oxygen a person has in their blood without the need for a blood sample.

☆ New Zealand court takes guardianship of baby after parents refuse vaccinated blood for heart surgery
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Kathleen Magramo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A critically-ill six-month-old baby will be placed under the temporary guardianship of New Zealand’s High Court after his parents refused to allow him to undergo lifesaving heart surgery using blood from people vaccinated against Covid-19. The court also appointed two doctors as its agents to oversee issues around the operation and the administration of blood, according to court documents. The baby’s parents believed there were “spike proteins in the blood of people who have been vaccinated and that these proteins were causing unexpected deaths relating to transfusions,” according to the judgment. The parents had previously demanded the New Zealand Blood Service take a donation from a person chosen by the family, but the agency refused and said it does not make a distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated donors. CNN has reached out to the lawyer representing the baby’s parents but has not received a response.

☆ Measles outbreak in central Ohio grows to more than 50 children, driven by ‘lack of vaccination’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —A measles outbreak in central Ohio is growing, sickening more than 50 children, with many of them needing hospitalization, according to data updated Tuesday by Columbus Public Health. “Measles can be very serious, especially for children under age 5,” Columbus Public Health spokesperson Kelli Newman wrote in an email Monday. In the Ohio outbreak, the hospitalized children have been seen at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “For measles, it is the most infectious disease we have,” she said. Pediatric hospitals already strainedWhile the measles outbreak spreads across central Ohio, the United States has been battling a surge of respiratory illnesses, such as flu and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, and the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

☆ Demand for hospital-grade cribs on the rise as viral illnesses continue to surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Carma Hassan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Pediatric hospital beds have been more full than usual for months. Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital has brought out both specialized and non-specialized cribs from storage to meet the demand of pediatric patients. Demand at Hard Manufacturing, which makes cribs, bassinets and youth beds for hospitals, has shot up, President Marjorie Bryen said. “At Nemours Children’s Health, these supply challenges are magnified due to pediatric populations needing more specialized equipment to accommodate different stages of growth. “The Administration has exercised regulatory flexibilities to help health care providers and suppliers continue to respond to COVID-19.

☆ Goldman Sachs says this biotech stock can double on treatment against childhood brain tumor
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Sarah Min | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Investors looking for exposure to the biotechnology sector should consider buying Day One Biopharmaceuticals , a stock that can more than double from current levels, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Andrea Tan initiated coverage on the biotechnology stock with a buy rating, saying positive data in the first quarter on a possible treatment for childhood brain tumors could unlock a multibillion-dollar sales opportunity. Initial reads on tovorafenib, a treatment for pediatric low-grade glioma, have so far been promising, according to the note. Tovorafenib is under evaluation in a clinical trial called FIREFLY-1 for relapsed pLGG, with data expected in the first quarter of 2023. The analyst expects positive topline data from the trial could serve as a catalyst for the stock and "support a path to approval" for the therapy.

☆ CDC encourages people to wear masks to help prevent spread of Covid, flu and RSV over the holidays
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Centers for Disease Control Prevention on Monday encouraged people to wear masks to help reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses this season as Covid, flu and RSV circulate at the same time. The CDC director said the agency is considering expanding its system of Covid community levels to include other respiratory viruses such as the flu. The system is the basis for when CDC advises the public to wear masks. About 5% of the U.S. population lives in counties where the CDC is officially recommending masks due to high Covid levels. Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, board chair of the American Medical Association, said the circulation of Covid, flu and RSV at the same is a "a perfect storm for a terrible holiday season."

The number of people hospitalized with flu nearly doubled during Thanksgiving week — 19,593 compared to 11,378 people admitted to the hospital the week prior. On Friday, the CDC reported that flu is spreading at high levels in 45 states, even in Southern states and others where the virus has been spreading since October. As of Dec. 2, 77% of pediatric hospital beds nationwide were full, according to Health and Human Services data. There is no data yet to show how protective this year's flu vaccine is against the current strains. Dr. Kavita Patel said that "almost everybody" she's seen test positive for flu at Mary’s Center, a community health center in Maryland, is unvaccinated.

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