⁦Paul Murphy⁩ beautifully summarizes the issues we currently are facing with children and viral respiratory disease: lack of immunity among young children after 2+ years of COVID mitigation and co-circulation of at least 4 different viruses. wwltv.com/article/news/l…

Test positivity for RSV ⁦Children's Hospital⁩ has been 10-18% continuously since May, with many children admitted to acute or intensive care. Co-infection with other viruses is common. Respiratory viruses have reinvented themselves in the COVID-19 era. wsj.com/articles/a-sur…

Woah, the Tulane University doctors actually mostly care about slowing me down.

I guess not all infectious disease doctors welcome infectious diseases into their lives and practices the way my friends at Tufts University and Stanford University do.

#idweek2022

Influenza is not just a bad cold. It’s a serious disease that hospitalizes hundreds of thousands and kills tens of thousands in the U.S. in an average year. This year is shaping up as worse than average. Kids and adults should get vaccinated now. nola.com/news/healthcar…

Late in coming but no less remarkable!

EPA Calls Out Environmental Racism in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley propublica.org/article/cancer…

The Deep South is in the throes of a surge in cases of influenza A. Test (+) at Children’s Hospital New Orleans is 31%, highest weekly figure since 2019. Lots of school absenteeism, outpatient visits and hospitalizations. Vaccinate all kids >6 mos old against flu and COVID-19.

Proud to work with a great team of professionals ⁦Children's Hospital⁩, here every day for the children and families of Louisiana who need us most. Free standing comprehensive children’s hospitals are small in number, but huge in their impact. chnola.org/news-blog/2022…

This article from one of the world’s top scientific journals provides yet another good reason to get the updated COVID-19 booster now, not that we didn’t already have plenty of good reasons. nature.com/articles/d4158…

The arrogance of politicians pretending to practice obstetrics, infectious diseases, endocrinology and other medical specialties without a grasp of even basic facts, is astonishing. Unless you’re trained and licensed, show a little humility and defer to actual professionals.

Deep in the Heart of Texas

Keep it classy, y’all!

.Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute’s Julie Kaplow, PhD, ABPP at #engageexcel : “The self-perceived guilt and shame felt by young school kids who inadvertently infected their parents with #COVID is something we are seeing, along with bullying. One girl told me ‘I killed my mommy.’ It’s heartbreaking to hear.”

In the U.S., giving COVID boosters this fall to 80% of eligible individuals >5 yo could prevent 90K deaths, 936K hospitalizations, and save $56B in direct medical costs over the next 6 mos. Follow the science; ignore the disinformation. commonwealthfund.org/blog/2022/fall…

Waning immunity from vaccination and past infections, abandonment of masking and other mitigation measures, slow uptake of boosters and the emergence of neutralizing antibody-evading COVID variants like BQ.1.1 and BA.2.75.2, portend a rough winter ahead. Mask up and boost now.

This is unacceptable. Young children can’t be left many months behind every time we get a new vaccine. This decreases the benefit. We need a new system U.S. FDA

“FDA officials have said that authorization for a bivalent booster for children younger than 5 is several months away.”

Priceless! Go Astros!