News

We’ve compiled a list of diseases making national headlines these days and asked the Vashon Medical Reserve Corps to help us provide an update on their status in our region. Other sources included Public Health — Seattle and King County (PHSKC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Measles:  So far in 2025, there have been five cases of this highly contagious disease in King County. The most recent case involved an infant who had been exposed during international travel. See below a section on “Getting Ready for International Travel.” But with sporadic cases now being seen across the US this year, it makes sense to understand your risk, whether you plan to travel or not. Measles vaccines have been extensively studied, are safe, and are 97% effective. So vaccination is the easiest way to minimize one’s risk. If you were born in the mid-1950s, you may already be protected against measles thanks to having gained natural immunity by contracting the disease. If you were born in that era and aren’t certain whether you had measles (or early versions of the vaccine), talk to your healthcare provider about testing to confirm your measles immunity or getting an MMR vaccine. You can get more info on measles prevention and vaccination recommendations at: www.cdc.gov/measles/about/ kingcounty.gov/measles According to PHSKC, all three of the main respiratory virus diseases have been decreasing in King County in recent months. RSV levels have decreased since early January 2025. COVID levels have remained low and stable since November 2024. Influenza levels have been decreasing since early March 2025. RSV:  Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was once viewed as primarily dangerous for the young, especially infants. For example, the CDC currently recommends RSV vaccine for pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks to protect their child. But RSV can also be dangerous for older adults. In April, a CDC expert advisory panel lowered the age for at-risk adults to receive RSV vaccine to ages 50 to 59. RSV vaccination was already recommended for at-risk people aged 60 to 74. Everyone aged 75 and older should get the RSV vaccine. You can get more information on how to protect against RSV at: www.cdc.gov/rsv/about COVID:  The pandemic state of emergency officially ended two years ago, on May 11, 2023. However, COVID is still with us. In King County, 36 people have died from COVID so far this year. The CDC currently recommends the 2024-2025 COVID vaccine for everyone aged 6 months or older. A second dose is recommended for those who are 65 and older or at high risk of severe disease. However, there is discussion about limiting the vaccine starting this fall to seniors and those at a higher risk from COVID. The CDC’s vaccine advisory group will make a formal recommendation in June regarding age groups and other considerations. You can get the detailed PHSKC recommendations regarding COVID at: kingcounty.gov/covid Influenza (Flu): Flu season has ended, but will return in the fall as it does every year. This latest flu season resulted in 63 flu-related deaths in King County, including two children in February and March. Here’s the flu-related recommendations page from PHSKC: kingcounty.gov/flu Bird Flu:  So far, there have been relatively few cases of avian influenza crossing over from animals to humans, and no confirmed human-to-human transmission. However, as avian flu continues to spread in birds and cattle, the risk that a mutation will arise that allows spread among humans remains. PHSKC recommends everyone age 6 months and dolder should get the annual flu vaccine. Here’s the PHSKC information page: kingcounty.gov/birdflu Getting Ready for International Travel If you’re considering international travel sometime this year, perhaps in the summer, now is a good time to assess and prepare for disease risks at your destination. Acting now will give you plenty of time before you take off to get vaccinated and for the vaccination to reach maximum effect. It will also give you time to prepare recommended precautions to improve your travel health and safety. As always, consult with your doctor or a travel medicine service to seek location-specific advice. Vashon Pharmacy has recently added travel consultation to its list of clinical services. Travelers Rapid Health Information Portal There’s an online tool that provides recommendations to help protect you against infection, including vaccinations to consider. It’s at the Travelers’ Rapid Health Information Portal on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. Go here to enter a destination country and get travel health advice: gten.travel/trhip/trhip Travel Healthy App The CDC website also recommends the Travel Healthy app for your smartphone. To Try Out the Travel Healthy App: These QR codes will take you to the Apple (left) and Android (right) app stores if you’d like to try out the Travel Healthy app. You set up a trip in the app, which helps you check for symptoms and health notices before and during your travel. Massachusetts General Hospital developed the app, and it asks for your permission to collect health information to support medical research. Travel Health Notices Another tool from the CDC can tell you about Travel Health Notices (THNs) that are in effect where you are headed: wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices Fortunately, there are no high-risk notices in effect at this time. However, there are several THNs in two lower-risk-level categories, depending on your destination country. Level 4 — Avoid All Travel Level 3 — Reconsider Nonessential Travel Level 2 — Practice Enhanced Precautions Level 1 — Practice Usual Precautions Healthy Preparation and Packing Checklists Finally, the CDC website has a page of travel health advice with checklists for everything from important documents to medicines and first aid kits: wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/pack-smart