PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Study: Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan

Declines were sharper in lower-income, higher-uninsurance counties

2025-08-11
(Press-News.org) Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declined in Michigan between 2017 and 2023, particularly among counties with lower household income and higher uninsurance rates, a new study suggests.

For many key pediatric vaccines, completion rates dropped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and have not yet recovered, according to Michigan Medicine led findings in Pediatrics.  

“Our findings show that progress towards increasing childhood and adolescent immunizations is stalling in Michigan, increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases,” said senior author Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatrician and researcher at University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and the director of the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Center.

Researchers analyzed county-level data from Michigan’s immunization registry between 2017 and 2023. During the study period, completion rates of a recommended group of childhood immunizations among toddlers (including vaccines for pertussis, polio, and measles-mumps-rubella among others) fell from nearly 76% to 67%.

Meanwhile, completion rates of a recommended group of vaccinations among adolescents (including vaccines for meningitis, pertussis, and tetanus) declined from about 81% to 75%.

The study also assessed adolescent completion rates of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination series – which can prevent several types of cancers, including cervical and throat cancer. Although completion rates rose modestly — from 35% to 42% for males and 43% to 45% for females — the increases were smaller than expected based on pre-pandemic trends, in part because the rate of increase slowed after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“Our findings suggest that the pandemic interrupted the progress that was being made in increasing HPV vaccination rates in adolescents,” Chua said.

The researchers examined trends in immunization completion rates by county socioeconomic factors, including income and insurance coverage. The decline in the completion rates of the recommended group of childhood and adolescent immunizations was greater in counties with lower income and higher uninsurance, while the increase in the rate of the male HPV vaccination series was slower.

“These changes often resulted in the creation of new gaps in immunization completion rates by county income or uninsurance rate or the widening of pre-existing gaps”, said Chua, who notes that this is one of the first studies to examine recent changes in childhood and adolescent immunizations by county characteristics.

Vaccines have long been one of the most effective tools in public health. In 2019, childhood immunizations were estimated to prevent over 24 million cases of vaccine-preventable diseases nationwide. Yet in 2025, the U.S. reported its highest number of measles cases in 33 years — a disease that had been declared eliminated in the country in 2000.

Michigan also saw a spike in measles with more than a dozen cases reported in 2025 as well as pertussis (whooping cough), with 855 cases reported the same year, including 152 in children under two.

“Reversing the declines in childhood and adolescent immunizations is crucial to prevent further outbreaks of measles and pertussis, both in Michigan and in the U.S. more broadly,” Chua said.

“To achieve this goal, broad-based efforts to increase immunization rates in all counties should be coupled with targeted efforts focused on counties with lower income and higher uninsurance rates.” 

 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Pharmacotherapy for the management of obesity — an updated guideline

2025-08-11
VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE “Pharmacotherapy can help people living with obesity improve overall health, not just lose weight,” says Dr. Sue D. Pedersen, MD, endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist in Calgary, and lead author of this guideline. “The goal of obesity medications is to improve metabolic, mechanical, and/or mental health, and improve quality of life, incorporating treatment goals that are important to each individual patient.” The guideline includes 6 new and 7 revised recommendations, reflecting the latest evidence since the 2022 and 2020 versions of the guideline. It takes the ...

Five things to know about cannabis and psychosis

2025-08-11
VIEW EMBARGOED ARTICLE Cannabis potency is increasing — The concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has increased fivefold in the last 20 years in Canada from about 4% to 20% in most legal dried cannabis. High-potency and regular cannabis use is linked to increased risk of psychosis — The risk of psychosis is increased in people using high-potency THC (more than 10% THC), people using it frequently, and those who are younger and male. A history of mental disorders (depression, anxiety, etc.) also appears to increase ...

Ancient practice of blowing through a conch shell could help to treat dangerous snoring condition

2025-08-11
People who practised blowing through a conch shell regularly for six months experienced a reduction in their symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), according to a small randomised controlled trial published today (Monday) in ERJ Open Research [1].   OSA is a common sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops during the night due to a blocked airway. It leads to loud snoring, restless sleep and daytime sleepiness. It also increases the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.   Blowing ...

Research highlights depression risk in high-performance athletes, despite benefits of physical activity

2025-08-10
Research by sports scientists reveals that high-performance athletes face unique mental health challenges despite the well-established benefits of physical activity for depression prevention and treatment. While moderate exercise is widely recognized for its positive impact on mental health, elite athletes experience specific pressures that can contribute to depression, including performance nerves, injury concerns and identity crises. These findings are detailed in the comprehensive new book, Physical ...

Scientists uncover new way in which cells tolerate anticancer drugs

2025-08-09
Tokyo, Japan – Researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University have discovered a new pathway by which cells counteract the action of alovudine, an important antiviral and anticancer drug. The protein flap endonuclease-1 (Fen1) was found to improve cell tolerance by counteracting the toxic accumulation of another protein, 53BP1. A renewed spotlight on the underappreciated role of Fen1 promises not only new cancer treatments, but a way to gauge the efficacy of existing treatments.   Chain-terminating nucleoside analogs (CTNAs) are molecules which closely resemble nucleosides, the building blocks of DNA. They have been used as antiviral and cancer treatments ...

Athlete mental health support from coaches “under explored” in research amidst deselection concerns

2025-08-08
A paper published in BMJ Open today (Friday 8 August) led by researchers from the University of Birmingham highlights how few studies conducted into athlete help-seeking for mental health have looked into support provided by semi-formal sources such as coaches, with the majority of research conducted on formal sources. The team reviewed 104 relevant studies conducted around the world and found that while many athletes experience mental health issues, they face unique sport-specific barriers when seeking help and ...

UCLA study reveals complex muscle control behind blinking and eyelid function

2025-08-08
A blink of an eye seems natural and instantaneous, but is it? Without a functioning eyelid, the eye can become dry, irritated and eventually lose the ability to see clearly. Now, a team of UCLA biomechanical engineers and ophthalmologists has uncovered new details about the muscle that controls blinking, offering a pathway toward developing blink-assisting prostheses. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found that the orbicularis oculi — the muscle that controls eyelid movement — contracts in complex patterns that vary by action and move the eyelid in more than just a simple up-and-down motion. The researchers studied how ...

Destructive cosmic airbursts likely more common than previously believed

2025-08-08
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) — Touchdown airbursts — a type of cosmic impact that may be more common than the crater-forming, dinosaur-killing kind — remain somewhat less understood. UC Santa Barbara Earth Science Emeritus Professor James Kennett and collaborators continue to make the case that these high-energy events deserve closer attention.  “Touchdown events can cause extreme damage through very high temperatures and pressures,” Kennett said. “And yet they don’t necessarily form a crater, or they form ephemeral surface disturbances, but they’re ...

Does a parent’s exposure to workplace chemicals affect autism in their children?

2025-08-08
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A new study in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health finds parents’ workplace chemical exposure may be linked to a range of behavioral challenges and developmental delays in their children with autism. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that is marked by challenges with social skills, communication struggles and repetitive behaviors. Autism traits can vary widely in how mild or strong they are. “Past research explored the impact of environmental factors on the likelihood of a child developing autism,” said Irva ...

Yale study: Mobile phone app reduced suicidal behavior among high-risk patients

2025-08-08
Yale Study: Mobile Phone App Reduced Suicidal Behavior Among High-Risk Patients August 08, 2025 by Christopher Gardner   A mobile phone app designed to deliver suicide-specific therapy reduced suicidal behavior among high-risk psychiatric inpatients, according to a new study by scientists at Yale School of Medicine and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. The study, published Aug. 8, 2025 in JAMA Network Open, found that the app, OTX-202, reduced the recurrence ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Cultivating compassion in children can lead to healthier eating habits

New study of East Palestine, Ohio, train disaster finds high rates of PTSD and depression in affected communities

Study: Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan

Pharmacotherapy for the management of obesity — an updated guideline

Five things to know about cannabis and psychosis

Ancient practice of blowing through a conch shell could help to treat dangerous snoring condition

Research highlights depression risk in high-performance athletes, despite benefits of physical activity

Scientists uncover new way in which cells tolerate anticancer drugs

Athlete mental health support from coaches “under explored” in research amidst deselection concerns

UCLA study reveals complex muscle control behind blinking and eyelid function

Destructive cosmic airbursts likely more common than previously believed

Does a parent’s exposure to workplace chemicals affect autism in their children?

Yale study: Mobile phone app reduced suicidal behavior among high-risk patients

‘A tipping point’: An update from the frontiers of Alzheimer’s disease research 

Copper antimicrobials can drive antibiotic resistance in bacteria, but there’s a fix, scientists say

New class of protein misfolding simulated in high definition

Muscle’s master regulator moonlights as gene silencer

How steep does that hill look? Your height plays a role

Debris slide risk doesn’t always rise after a wildfire, study finds

Early challenges to the immune system disrupt oral health

Wildfire collaborative responds to community concerns about air quality

Dual-function organic molecule may advance display technologies and medical imaging

North Atlantic faces more hurricane clusters as climate warms

How immune cells switch into attack mode

Changes in cardiovascular risk factors and health care expenditures among patients prescribed semaglutide

Prescription drug utilization and spending by race, ethnicity, payer, health condition, and US state

Mobile phone app reduced suicidal behavior among high-risk patients

SNU researchers develop wearable blood pressure monitor that attaches like a bandage for real-time continuous measurement

How a rare cycad's wax crystals conjure blue without pigment

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute unveils groundbreaking blood test for multiple myeloma

[Press-News.org] Study: Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan
Declines were sharper in lower-income, higher-uninsurance counties