Top Infectious Disease News Stories Week of September 20-27
This week, review of ACIP’s latest decisions, analysis links food insecurity with higher long COVID risk, and advocacy for immune-informed antibiotic development with updated susceptibility testing.
Kevin A. Ault, MD, vice president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and former ACIP member, reviews the September ACIP meeting by clarifying that COVID-19 vaccination for people 6 months and older remains under shared clinical decision making, noting confusion around informed consent materials that fall outside ACIP’s purview, and emphasizing that prenatal hepatitis B testing has long been standard of care despite persistent implementation gaps. He reiterates that ACIP recommended separate MMR and varicella doses before age 4 to limit febrile seizure risk, cites long-standing data supporting the hepatitis B birth dose with large reductions in pediatric infections, and underscores that day-to-day clinical practice remains stable for obstetrics, pediatrics, and family medicine, with coverage expectations unchanged across major payers.