People who received the flu vaccine in the year before testing positive for COVID-19 are nearly 2.5 times less likely to be hospitalized with a severe form of the disease than those who were not vaccinated, an analysis published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found. Why the vaccination might benefit COVID-19 patients remains unclear. One theory: It could prevent progression to severe forms by “priming” the immune system against any virus. In addition, those vaccinated against the flu within a year of being diagnosed with COVID-19 were more than three times less likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit because of the new coronavirus, according to researchers at the University of Florida. Read more.

One in five children in the United States had a “vaccine hesitant” parent last year, according to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Parental concerns over vaccine safety have contributed to several major outbreaks of preventable diseases in the U.S. and other countries in recent years. The 2019 measles outbreak in the US — the largest number of cases in 27 years — was largely driven by parents in New York and Washington state who failed to follow childhood vaccine guidelines.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said masks not only protect the general public from COVID-19, but also protect the mask wearer. In its strongest endorsement to date about the effectiveness of masks, the CDC said “adopting universal masking policies can help avert future lockdowns, especially if combined with other non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, hand hygiene and adequate ventilation.”

On November 11, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) released a new PAHAN notice, Notification of COVID-19 Test Results to Patients with guidance for healthcare providers who are evaluating patients for COVID-19. DOH is asking that clinicians provide the current guidance on isolation to patients being evaluated for COVID-19 to ensure that timely recommendations are provided to reduce spread of disease. Please report any confirmed cases of SARS COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, through the DOH electronic disease surveillance system, PA-NEDSS. There was also guidance for patients on developing a list of people with whom they have been in contact and a patient instruction handout.

Pennsylvania Governor Wolf’s Administration began distribution of the fifth allotment of COVID-19 antigen test kits provided by the federal government to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA)-certified institutions in Armstrong, Dauphin, Delaware and Indiana counties. Last week, 371,480 tests were distributed to 15 facilities in Elk, Lawrence, Mifflin and Philadelphia counties. Philadelphia distributed all 353,280 of their allotment during week four. Additional tests will be provided to healthcare providers in those counties in the coming weeks. Archived lists of distributions since week one can be found on the Department of Health’s Coronavirus Symptoms & Testing webpage under the Antigen Tests subhead. On Oct. 15, the Secretary of Health issued an Order to health care providers and facilities reinforcing that all antigen test results, both positive and negative, are required to be reported to DOH. For more information about the CLIA certificate and antigen test card reporting, reference the PA Health Advisory Network (HAN) Advisory: Guidance on Reporting Point of Care SARS-CoV-2 Test Results. For more information about the antigen tests, reference the PA HAN Advisory: Point of Care Antigen Test Use and Interpretation.