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04/30/24 Health Advisory: Invasive Serogroup Y Meningococcal Disease Increasing in the United States
Summary Invasive serogroup Y meningococcal disease cases are on the rise in the United States. Cases are disproportionately occurring in people who are: 30–60 years old. Black or African American. Living with HIV. Washington has not seen an increase in cases. Patients with invasive meningococcal disease may have bloodstream infection or septic arthritis, without typical meningitis symptoms…
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04/24/23 Health Advisory: Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine Use Expanded, Monovalent No Longer Authorized
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Immunizations, News and Alerts, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Monovalent Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are no longer authorized for use in the United States. Read below for how to discard and report as waste. Use the new simplified schedule to administer COVID-19 vaccine. People who are 65 years or older or have immune compromise can now get a second bivalent booster…
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04/19/23 Health Advisory: Tuberculosis Testing and Treatment for People Newly Arrived from Ukraine
Advisory or Update, Health Advisory, Infection Control, News and Alerts, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Test for tuberculosis (TB) people newly arrived from Ukraine, within 90 days of arriving in the United States. Test result Action Positive IGRA or TST Order chest X-ray. Positive IGRA or TST and normal chest x-ray Offer and encourage latent TB infection (LTBI) treatment. Positive IGRA or TST and abnormal chest x-ray Contact…
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Telehealth sexual and reproductive health care services now available in Washington
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has launched a new webpage and tool to find telehealth sexual and reproductive health care services in Washington. The new DOH webpage and tool offers information about 37 clinics in the Washington State Sexual and Reproductive Health Network that provide telehealth appointments. Available telehealth services include birth control refills, pregnancy options counseling,…
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03/14/23 Health Advisory: Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigellosis
Advisory or Update, Health Advisory, Infection Control, News and Alerts, News and Update, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesRequested actions Background Shigellosis is an acute enteric infection. It is an important cause of domestically acquired and travel-associated bacterial diarrhea in the United States. A low infectious dose makes Shigella bacteria easily transmitted from person to person. Consider shigellosis in the differential diagnosis of acute diarrhea, especially in people who: Shigellosis can be a mild,…
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02/22/23 Health Advisory: Increase COVID-19 Treatment Access, Prescribing and Uptake
COVID-19 treatment is shown to reduce hospitalization. Yet it is under-used for high-risk patients with acute COVID-19. High-risk patients are: COVID-19 continues to cause 2,000 to 3,000 deaths each week in the United States. On Feb. 6, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) relaunched its free telehealth program. The program, in partnership with Color Health,…
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02/13/23 Health Advisory: Shop Me Ca “Diep Bao Cream” Recalled
Actions requested Providers, facilities, parents and children should stop using Diep Bao Baby Skin Cream. Background On Feb. 1, 2023, Shop Me Ca recalled Diep Bao Skin Cream because of possible health risk. Shop Me Ca of Herndon, Virginia recalled its 10-gram tubes of “Diep Bao Cream” because they have the potential to be contaminated…
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02/03/23 Health Advisory: Multistate Cluster of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Associated with Artificial Tears
Actions requested Background Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating a cluster of antibiotic-resistant infections that may be linked to artificial tears. The most frequently reported brand was EzriCare Artificial Tears, a preservative-free product dispensed in muti-dose bottles. These over-the-counter eye drops are sold widely in…
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Health Advisory: Updated bivalent COVID-19 boosters authorized for children 6 months to 5 years old
Advisory or Update, Communicable Disease and Immunization Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, Immunizations, News and Alerts, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesEarlier this month, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expanded emergency use authorization (EUA) of Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent vaccines for children 6 months and older. Updated (bivalent) COVID-19 booster vaccines are formulated to boost immunity against the original coronavirus strain and protect against the newer omicron…
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12/19/22 Health Advisory: Antiviral Flu Treatment Interim Guidance
Be advised: Background Seasonal flu activity is high across the United States. Vaccination and antiviral treatment help prevent and control flu. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 4 antivirals for early treatment of outpatients with flu: oseltamivir, baloxavir, zanamivir and peramivir. While FDA does not report shortages of oseltamivir in any of its forms, providers…
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12/19/22 Health Advisory: Newly Arrived Ukrainian Citizens’ Medical and Mental Health Needs
On April 21, 2022, President Biden announced a new Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) process to help Ukrainian citizens fleeing war come to the United States temporarily. As of Nov. 18, 2022: Newly arrived Ukrainian citizens have various medical and mental health needs. Resources
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12/12/22 Health Advisory: COVID-19 Therapeutics Updates
Advisory or Update, COVID-19, Health Advisory, News and Alerts, Notifiable Conditions, Provider ResourcesBebtelovimab no longer authorized in the United States. On Nov. 30, 2022, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revoked its Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for bebtelovimab. Bebtelovimab is a monoclonal antibody used to treat COVID-19. FDA revoked the EUA because the drug lost efficacy against most SARS-CoV-2 variants currently circulating in the United States. Currently,…
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11/22/22 Health Advisory: Pediatric respiratory illness increasing in Western Washington
On Nov. 18, Washington State Department of Health (DOH) issued a high-level alert on a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causing remarkable strain on pediatric emergency departments (EDs) and intensive care units (ICUs). This alert followed Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Nov. 4 Health Alert Network (HAN) advisory on multiple viruses causing…