The Centers For Disease Control is currently investigating two separate Listeria outbreaks linked to packaged salads. This outbreak is linked to packaged salads produced by Dole.
Dole Packaged Lettuce
The other outbreak is linked to packaged salads produced by Fresh Express.
Packaged salads produced by Dole are sold under multiple brands, including: *Ahold *Dole *Kroger *Lidl *Little Salad Bar *Marketside *Naturally Better *Nature’s Promise *Simply Nature
While this isn’t new information, there are still some people that are confused as to whether they can receive a COVID Vaccination at the same time they get an Influenza (flu) Vaccination.
To clarify, the Centers For Disease Control and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidance states COVID-19 vaccines can be given during the same visit with other vaccines, including flu vaccine, if the recipient is eligible for the vaccines.
Considerations for Coadministration of COVID-19 Vaccines and Other Vaccines While there is limited data on giving COVID-19 vaccines with other vaccines, including flu vaccines, experience with giving other vaccines together has shown the way our bodies develop protection and possible side effects are generally similar when vaccines are given alone or with other vaccines.
Consider:
Whether the patient is behind or at risk of becoming behind on recommended vaccines.
Their risk of vaccine-preventable disease (e.g., during an outbreak or occupational exposures).
The reactogenicity profile of the vaccines (It is unknown whether reactogenicity of COVID-19 vaccine is increased with coadministration, including with other vaccines known to be more reactogenic, such as adjuvanted vaccines or live vaccines).
COVID-19 vaccine has been associated with enhanced local/injection site reactions l (e.g., pain, swelling, redness). If possible, administer COVID-19 vaccine and other reactogenic vaccines (e.g., MenB, Tdap) in different limbs. Clinical information and materials on COVID-19 vaccine products can be found here.
(Chillicothe) – According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States. About 4.7 million middle and high school students use one or more tobacco products, like e-cigarettes. In an effort to encourage people to quit smoking, the American Cancer Society began the Great American Smokeout – a day for individuals to start their journey to a smoke- free life.
In honor of this day, Ross County Health District will be hosting the Great American Smokeout scavenger hunt Thursday, November 18, 2021. Students representing Huntington High School, Zane Trace High School, and Pickaway Ross Career and Technology Center will be participating in this event. They will be on foot throughout downtown Chillicothe answering trivia questions about tobacco and vaping to promote cessation and prevention among Ross County youth. The winning team will receive gift cards to Paper City Coffee and runner ups will receive gift cards to Grandpa Joes Candy Shop.
Since 1976, the American Cancer Society has hosted the Great American Smokeout, a public awareness event to encourage people to quit smoking. It is held on the third Thursday of November. The campaign reminds people they don’t have to stop smoking in one day, but to start with day one. The Ross County Health District invites those ready to quit to make today, Day One, by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW to be linked to free resources to help you on your journey to a smoke-free life.
For kids under 18 who struggle with nicotine addiction, FREE text help is here! My Life, My Quit™ is for teens, 13 – 17, who want to quit vaping, smoking or chewing tobacco. Each teen gets quit help via TEXT, phone or online with trained staff. It’s easy!
Adults that want to quit tobacco can contact the Ohio Quitline:1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669). The Ohio Tobacco Quit Line is available FREE of charge to ALL Ohioans of age 18 or older regardless of insurance status or income. There is also a special program for pregnant women. Nicotine patches, gum, or lozenges are provided for up to eight weeks at no charge to eligible participants.
My Life, My Quit™ uses proven methods for quitting. With evidence linking youth tobacco/vape use to addictive behaviors later in life, it is vital to get teens the support that works. My Life, My Quit’s™ compassionate coaching offers smart, simple, and effective help.
How can you reach My Life, My Quit™? Text 36072 for real-time coaching. Visit MyLifeMyQuit.com to learn more about the program and to enroll using our streamlined registration process.
The Chillicothe Veterans Affairs Medical Center also has a smoking cessation program for veterans.
When you’re ready, VA’s tobacco cessation programs can help — anywhere, anytime.
When you’re ready to try life without smoking — even if you’ve tried to quit before — reach out to your healthcare provider to learn about the treatment options that can help you reach your goals. They may recommend a combination of treatments to increase your chance of quitting for good, such as counseling along with FDA-approved prescription medications or nicotine-replacement gum, patches and lozenges that can help you ease away from smoking.
Veterans can utilize tobacco cessation options that are available through all VA medical centers and community-based outpatient clinics. No matter how many times it takes, VA will be with you every step of the way, with more proven resources than ever before to help Veterans quit smoking. Veterans may call, text, have an in-person appointment or have a telehealth visit with a provider for smoking cessation counseling, and use these additional VA support services:
Quit VET: Veterans can call 1-855-QUIT-VET (1-855-784-8838) to receive tobacco cessation counseling and get help building their plan to quit smoking. Quitline counselors are available Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Eastern time, to help you prepare for potential challenges and avoid relapse, and to offer continued support through follow-up calls and counseling.
SmokefreeVET: For tools and tips you can use to quit smoking, sign up for SmokefreeVET by texting VET to 47848. SmokefreeVET provides regular text messages as well as extra support for Veterans who text the keywords URGE, STRESS or SMOKED to 47848.
Take a moment to imagine your life without smoking. Then talk with your provider about which treatment options might best meet your needs and improve your life, health and future.
As many of the first people to take the COVID-19 vaccinations approach the one year mark, questions arise as to when or if those fully vaccinated people should receive a booster shot.
The Centers For Disease Control along with U.S. Food & Drug Administration of approved the booster for some age groups and health risk groups.
The Ohio Department of Health has provided a chart that goes along with current CDC guidelines as of November 16th, 2021.
(See Guideline Graph Below)
(Ohio Department of Health)
Contact your local health department or physician if you have questions on the current booster recommendations.
The FDA could expand this booster shot recommendation to lower age groups, but has not made a determination on that as of the date of this report.
85 of Ohio’s 88 counties have moved to the highest level red in the CDC’s data tracker for high levels of community transmission of COVID-19, as of Monday August 16th.
The updated map from the U.S. Center for Disease Control continues to show a steady increase in the number of counties now in the high transmission category.
In Ohio, masks are recommended if a county is in either orange or red. The other three Ohio counties not in red are now orange.
In a press conference Tuesday, Governor Mike DeWine reiterated state recommendations (not mandates) for everyone age 12 and older to get the COVID-19 vaccination and for individuals to wear masks when indoors with large groups of people, whether vaccinated or not. The mask recommendation was especially emphasized for the non-vaccinated.
Governor DeWine stated the following- “On July 7, our cases were at 17 cases statewide per 100,000 people for a two-week period. Today, that number is 236 per 100,000 people. Every county in the state is considered a high incidence county.” He added- “Today there are 1,571 of our fellow citizens hospitalized in Ohio with COVID-19. This is the highest since last February. Additionally, there are 464 people in ICUs in Ohio w/ COVID. This is the highest number, again, since February.”
“The spread of the delta variant has dramatically accelerated since we last held a public briefing 10 days ago. We are at the highest number of new cases since February,” said DeWine. “We are reiterating the recommendation from 10 days ago, get vaccinated or wear a mask while in the classroom. These steps will give them the best the chance of staying in school.”
Children under age 12 years-old are still not approved by the FDA to receive the vaccine. Studies are being conducted to see if students under age 12 can take the shot without any adverse health issues.
“We are clearly well past the time when the state can mandate to parents and school districts what actions to take. These decisions today rest with the parents and school officials.”
One week prior, Ross County Health Commissioner Garrett Guillozet stated the county had 121 positive cases of COVID-19 reported to RCHD. He added that this report “will not match other COVID-19 dashboards because other dashboards (including Ohio Department of Health) are based on onset of symptoms date, not reported positive test date.”
(U.S. CDC/FDA Release) — Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease are on the rise. Reported cases in the United States increased from about 12,000 annually in 1995 to approximately 36,000 per year from 2013 – 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As reported cases are only a fraction of actual cases, CDC believes the true number of infections is likely closer to 300,000.
Who Gets Lyme Disease, and at What Time of Year?
Lyme disease is transmitted via the bite of infected ticks, which attach to any part of the body, but often to moist or hairy areas such as the groin, armpits, and scalp.
While everyone is susceptible to tick bites, campers, hikers, and people who work in gardens and other leafy outdoor venues are at the greatest risk of tick bites. As many a suburban gardener can attest, with the expansion of the suburbs and a push to conserve wooded areas, deer and mice populations are thriving, too, providing ample blood meals for ticks. For lyme disease to be transmitted, a tick needs to feed on the host for 24-48 hours.
In the majority of cases, tick bites are reported in the summer months when ticks are most active and people spend more time outdoors. But this can extend into the warmer months of early autumn, too, or even late winter if temperatures are unusually high. Similarly, a mild winter can allow ticks, much like other insects, to thrive and emerge earlier than usual.
Lyme Disease: Symptoms and Stages
Symptoms of early-stage Lyme disease include:
muscle and joint aches
headache
fever
chills
fatigue
swollen lymph nodes
Another common symptom of Lyme disease is a rash. As many as 80% of infected people may develop a rash, and roughly 20% of the time the rash has a characteristic “bull’s-eye” appearance.
When left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
Later-stage symptoms may not appear until weeks or months after a tick bite occurs. They include:
heart-rhythm irregularities
arthritis (usually as pain and swelling in large joints, especially the knee)
nervous system abnormalities
Permanent damage to the joints or the nervous system can develop in patients with late Lyme disease. It is rarely, if ever, fatal.
How to Safely Remove a Tick
Using fine-tipped tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick. Your goal is to remove the entire tick, ideally in one piece, including the mouth parts embedded under the skin.
Thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
For mor information about tick bites and or the diseases they can carry, go to our link to the U.S. FDA. CLICK HERE:
(Atlanta) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has eased guidelines on the wearing of masks outdoors for people fully vaccinated, stating further that “Americans don’t need to cover their faces anymore unless they are in a big crowd of strangers.”
And those who are unvaccinated can go outside without masks in some cases, too.
The CDC had been advising Americans to wear masks outdoors if they are within 6 feet of each other.
More than half of U.S. adults have gotten at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine, and more than a third have been fully vaccinated.
The CDC says that fully vaccinated or not, people do not have to wear masks outdoors when they walk, bike or run alone or with members of their household. They can also go without a mask in small outdoor gatherings with fully vaccinated people.
The CDC says as those who have yet to receive both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson formula — should wear masks at outdoor gatherings that include other unvaccinated people. They also should keep using masks at outdoor restaurants.
Fully vaccinated people do not need to cover up in those situations, the CDC says.
However, everyone should keep wearing masks at crowded outdoor events such as concerts or sporting events, the CDC says.
And the agency continues to recommend masks at indoor public places, such as hair salons, restaurants, shopping centers, museums and movie theaters.
In Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine announced in his Tuesday press conference that; “Fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to quarantine if they come into contact with positive tested COVID-19 individuals.”
(COLUMBUS)—Today (4/13/21) Governor Mike DeWine, Ohio Department of Health Director Stephanie McCloud, and Ohio Department of Health Chief Medical Officer Bruce Vanderhoff, M.D., are advising all Ohio vaccine providers to temporarily pause using the Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) vaccine.
This is in response to a statement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommending a pause in the use of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine following extremely rare blood-clotting events of six people in the U.S. after receiving the vaccine. Those problems occurred within 6-13 days of the six individuals receiving the shot.
Over 200,000 Ohioans have already received the J&J shot, and the Governor says he’s been told by the White House that the pause on using the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will likely be “days instead of weeks.”
The CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices Wednesday to further review these cases.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Health are following this situation closely.
The directive from the FDA and CDC appeared on FDA’s Twitter.
“We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution.”
Federal officials say further “As of 4/12, 6.8m+ doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC & FDA are reviewing data involving 6 reported U.S. cases of a rare & severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the vaccine. Right now, these adverse events appear to be extremely rare. Treatment of this specific type of blood clot is different from the treatment that might typically be administered.”
CDC will convene a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Wednesday to further review these cases and assess their potential significance. FDA will review that analysis as it also investigates these cases.
“Until that process is complete, we are recommending this pause. This is important to ensure that the health care provider community is aware of the potential for these adverse events and can plan due to the unique treatment required with this type of blood clot.”
In Ross County, Adena Health System is stopping its Johnson & Johnson COVD-19 vaccines following Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) guidance.
Spokeperson Jason Gilham said “We will be continuing our mass vaccination clinic appointments for this week Wednesday through Friday using the Moderna vaccine and scheduling those individuals for their second appointments. Anyone scheduled at the Adena PACCAR Medical Education Center mass vaccination clinic this week will receive a call from ODH regarding the change from Johnson & Johnson to Moderna vaccines with the option if they want to keep their appointment.”
Members of the Ohio National Guard administer Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination at Adena’s PACCAR Medical Education Center. Photo courtesy Adena Health System
If you’re interested in participating in a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program, learn more about the benefits of joining. You’ll get a full year of support and learn how to eat healthy, add physical activity to your routine, manage stress, stay motivated, and solve problems that can get in the way of your goals. This program is proven to prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. Participants who lost 5-7% of their body weight and added 150 minutes of exercise per week cut their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 58% (71% for people over 60 years old).
Find out if you might be eligible to participate, see testimonials from past participants, and find an in-person or online program today!
Over 88 million American adults have prediabetes – that’s 1 in 3 adults! Of those 88 million, more than 8 in 10 of them don’t even know they have it. Without taking action, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years.
With numbers like that, it’s important to learn about prediabetes and take action.
Having prediabetes means your blood glucose (sugar) levels are higher than normal—but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes. Prediabetes can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes. Prediabetes can often be reversed.
With type 2 diabetes, your body cannot properly use insulin (a hormone that helps glucose get into the cells of the body). You can get type 2 diabetes at any age, but you are at higher risk if you are older, overweight, have a family history of diabetes, are not physically active, or are a woman who had gestational diabetes.
Gestational diabetes is a kind of diabetes that some women get when they are pregnant. Even if a woman’s blood sugar levels go down after her baby is born, she is at higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes later in life.
With type 1 diabetes, your body cannot make insulin, so you need to take insulin every day. Type 1 diabetes is less common than type 2; approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1. Currently, no one knows how to prevent type 1 diabetes.
Who is at Risk for Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes?
If you have these risk factors, you may be at higher risk than others for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
You are overweight.
You are 45 years of age or older.
Your parent or sibling has type 2 diabetes.
You are physically active fewer than 3 times per week.
You ever gave birth to a baby that weighed more than 9 pounds.
You ever had diabetes while pregnant (gestational diabetes).
Race and ethnicity also affect your risk. African Americans, Hispanic/Latino Americans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders, and some Asian Americans are at particularly high risk for type 2 diabetes.
Following are the percentage of people in the United States with diagnosed diabetes from 2010 to 2012 among people aged 20 or older, by race and ethnicity:
American Indian/Alaska Natives – 15.9%
Non-Hispanic blacks – 13.2%
Hispanics – 12.8%
Asian Americans – 9.0%
Non-Hispanic whites – 7.6%
If you are at risk, talk to a health care professional about getting a blood sugar test.
Diabetes Has Serious Consequences
Diabetes Is Serious and Common
Diabetes is currently the seventh leading cause of death in the United States—and studies show that deaths related to diabetes may be under-reported! Today, 1 in 10 U.S. adults has diabetes, and if trends continue, 1 in 5 will have it by 2025.
An additional 88 million U.S. adults – 1 in 3 – have prediabetes, which means their blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. Without intervention, many people with prediabetes could develop type 2 diabetes within 5 years, which puts them at risk of serious health problems, including:
Heart attack
Stroke
Blindness
Kidney failure
Loss of toes, feet, or legs
Diabetes Is Costly
Type 2 diabetes affects millions of individuals and their families, workplaces, and the U.S. health care system. In 2017, the total cost of care for people with diagnosed diabetes was $327 billion, up 33% over a 5-year period. About 1 in 4 health care dollars is spent on people with diagnosed diabetes. The majority of expenses are related to hospitalizations and medications used to treat complications of diabetes.
People diagnosed with diabetes incur on average $16,750 annually in medical expenses. That’s about 2.3 times the medical expenses of a person without diabetes. The need to prevent type 2 diabetes has never been greater.
You Can Prevent Type 2 Diabetes—Get Started Today!
If you have prediabetes, a CDC-recognized lifestyle change program is one of the most effective ways to prevent getting type 2 diabetes. It can help you lose weight, become more active, and prevent or delay type 2 diabetes. To learn more, visit Why Participate?
If you’re not sure if you’re at risk, take this online test or ask your health care professional about getting a blood sugar test.
