Vaccines stop measles; gaps risk outbreaks

New data uncovers the cause of last year’s measles outbreak among children in Ohio—plus, the latest news on the Farm Bill as the September deadline looms. (524 words, 2 minutes, 37 seconds)

Vaccines stop measles; vaccine gaps risk outbreaks

Last year’s measles outbreak among Ohio children and a recent spate of adult cases have a common cause: needless gaps in routine immunization.

The news: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a report on Friday showing that most—and probably all—of 85 measles cases in Central Ohio in fall 2022 were among children who were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated.

Kids catching up: While childhood immunization worldwide is returning to pre-COVID levels, measles vaccinations lag, with only 83% of children getting first-dose coverage in 2022, compared to 86% in 2019. Herd immunity for measles requires 95% vaccination, CDC says.

The impact on adults: A cohort of 20-29-year-olds who missed vaccination in the late 1990s—due to a quickly debunked report of side effects—has been getting sick, STAT News reports.

Why it matters: Vaccines stop measles, full stop. “Before vaccines, there were more than 500,000 cases of measles reported every year in the U.S. In 2020, there were 13,” says Vaccinate Your Family.

What they’re saying: “Vaccines have saved more human lives than any other medical invention in history,” says the World Health Organization.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month, a time to promote the importance of vaccines—for children and adults. Getting vaccinated is a simple step with life-or-death implications.

The latest news on the Farm Bill

As the Sept. 30 Farm Bill deadline approaches, efforts are underway to get a bipartisan deal through a Congress increasingly stymied by partisan divisions.

The latest: With House Republicans hesitant to pass spending legislation, House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Reps. Garret Graves (R-LA) and Frank Lucas (R-OK) are using recess to meet fellow Republicans to try to avoid a messy floor debate on the Farm Bill next month, POLITICO reports.

Why it matters: Renewed every five years, the Farm Bill ensures a stable, sustainable supply of food and biofuels and maintains farmers’ livelihoods, including by enabling biotechnology innovation involving plants, animals, biomanufacturing, and energy.

What BIO wants: A Farm Bill that builds the bioeconomy and encourages innovation by providing incentives and reducing unnecessary regulatory burdens, BIO has said.

BIO recommendations include:

• Stronger BioPreferred incentives, promoting federal use of biobased products through clear definition of them in the North American Industry Classification System.
• Energy programs to support sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and biorefineries, and biomass R&D.
• Better regulation of biostimulants, biological substances that make plants more resilient and productive, based on the Biostimulant Act proposed earlier this year.
• Better measurement of and incentives for greenhouse gas reductions with biotech.
• Streamlined regulation of biotech—and better coordination between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency—to speed approval of innovations such as gene editing to make plants and animals healthier and more productive.

What’s next: If the Farm Bill is not passed in September, it could be extended this year and passed in 2024.

Read more about the Farm Bill in Bio.News.

President Biden’s Thursday: Winding down his campaign trip to the Southwest with a visit to a veterans’ hospital in Salt Lake City, where he will promote the first anniversary of the PACT Act to aid veterans impacted by toxic burn pits, per Reuters.

What's Happening on Capitol Hill: The House and Senate are in recess through Labor Day.