(NEW YORK) — At least 177 new measles cases have been reported in the U.S., according to newly updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A total of 910 infections have been confirmed in 24 states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Pfizer logo (Photo Illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Earlier this week, pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its partner Valneva announced that an experimental Lyme disease vaccine showed more than 70% efficacy in late-stage clinical trials.
The candidate, PF-07307405, showed 73.2% efficacy in reducing confirmed cases of Lyme disease cases after the fourth and final dose was administered when compared to a placebo.
However, the companies said there were fewer than anticipated cases of Lyme disease during the trial period and the study missed an important benchmark.
The trial did not reach its primary endpoint to provide an idea of how the results of this vaccine would turn out in a much larger population of people. Only with re-analyzing the data were researchers able to generate a statistically meaningful result.
Experts in tick-borne diseases told ABC News they still need to see the full data from the trials and that it’s early to determine what kind of impact the vaccine will have — but they add that results are “encouraging.”
“There are many other companies that are trying to develop something, but those are years and years and years away from being anywhere close to being marketed,” Dr. Gene Shapiro, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases and epidemiology of microbial diseases, told ABC News. “So, this vaccine was very similar to the vaccine that we know worked in the past. I think we have to pay attention to [this new one].”
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and a skin rash known as erythema migrans, the CDC says. If left untreated, the infection can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system.
More than 89,000 cases of Lyme disease were reported to the CDC by state health departments and the District of Columbia in 2023, according to the latest data available from the federal health agency. Estimates suggest about 476,000 Americans may be diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease annually.
Currently, no vaccine for Lyme disease is available in the U.S. Previously, a vaccine was available, but it was discontinued in 2002, according to the CDC.
“The uptake was poor. The sales were poor, and the company decided to stop selling it,” Shapiro said. “The currently developed vaccine [by Pfizer and Valneva] is very, very similar to that vaccine, with very minor modifications.”
Dr. Martin Becker, a clinical associate professor in the department of medicine at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, added that there were concerns raised, including about vaccine recipients having joint problems but several studies examining a link failed to find an association.
Becker said there have been many clinical trials underway “but this one that Pfizer just announced, I believe, is the one that’s been most advanced,” he told ABC News. “We were eagerly awaiting results from this large Phase III trial. Other previous trials were already published showing the safety and immunogenicity [of the vaccine].”
Pfizer and Valneva said they are planning to file for approval with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with Pfizer telling ABC News that the trial results show there is a level of protection against Lyme disease.
“It doesn’t mean it doesn’t work, but it does mean — if we had higher numbers of incidence of infection — we would be more confident about the degree of protection. It’s very encouraging,” Becker said.
Questions remain about whether the vaccine, if approved, will have higher uptake than the previous vaccine did decades earlier.
Shapiro said there might be more uptake with this vaccine if stronger recommendations are made. At the time the old vaccine was approved by federal regulators, Shapiro said the recommendation from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was to consider the shot for those at higher risk, but it was not recommended for those at low or no risk.
“It was not a very strong recommendation,” Shapiro said. “And I think there was less awareness of Lyme disease. So, most likely, [the newer vaccine] would get a stronger endorsement today.”
A woman and child walk by a damaged building, struck days earlier, during the U.S.Israeli military campaign on March 4, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — As the U.S.-Israeli military escalation with Iran continues, children may be experiencing devastating consequences of being caught in a conflict zone. Dozens of children and adolescents have been killed, many of whom were attending school at the time, according to the Iranian education ministry.
Doctors and humanitarian aid workers told ABC News that millions of children in the region are at risk of physical and mental health repercussions.
They add that it’s important children have as much structure as possible to keep a sense of stability in their lives.
“Every war is a war on children,” Ahmad Alhendawi, regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe at Save the Children, told ABC News. “They are not the reason why the war started, but they are the ones who pay the highest prices. Their childhood simply gets disrupted.”
Mental health effects
Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and co-founder of the humanitarian organization MedGlobal, told ABC News that the mental and emotional toll on children in conflict zones is a “huge problem.”
“Children are some of the most vulnerable sectors of the community because they need to feel that they are supported, they need it to feel that there is safety and shelter and supporting communities and they need normalcy,” he said.
Sahloul said that when children are caught in conflict zones, a sense of stability and routine is essential.
This includes going to school consistently, having playgrounds available so they can play, regular family meals and a place to sleep at night.
When any of these are disrupted, it can affect children’s mental health, causing anxiety, hyperactivity, withdrawal or feelings of sadness, according to Sahloul.
He added, “The trauma that [children] incur from violence and from what they see on TV, and of course the direct witnessing of bombs and missiles and its impact on their communities and neighbors and families, all of this will cause a lot of mental health trauma that manifests itself based on the age of the child.”
Studies of past conflicts have shown the effects of living in war-torn areas.
At least 10% of those who experience traumatic events in armed conflict will have serious mental health problems and another 10% “will develop behavior that will hinder their ability to function effectively,” according to the World Health Organization in a review of research findings.
Mental health impacts can be exacerbated when locales that are supposed to be safe spaces come under attack, Sahloul said.
Over the weekend, Shajare Tayyiba Elementary School, an all-girls elementary school in Minab located in southern Iran was hit by airstrikes, according to Iranian officials.
Iran has blamed the U.S. and Israel for the strike on the school, but Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have denied any connection. Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have insisted the U.S. does not target civilian infrastructure.
“That adds, of course, to the trauma,” Sahloul said. “These are areas that should be considered safe and when people die in school or in a hospital or in the market, I think that adds to the trauma.”
Physical effects on children
There are physical risks for children that come with living in conflict zones, such as breathing in smoke and ash from fires and blasts that can affect the nose and lungs.
Children may also be seriously injured during air strikes, resulting in disability such as the loss of limb, sight or cognitive capacity.
“The physical impact on children is much more significant because there are fears for their development,” Alhendawi said.
Sahloul added that because children’s bodies are often smaller, shorter and thinner than those of adults, they are more likely to be hurt by projectiles such as bullets or shrapnel.
In children, severe bleeding can lead to shock, he said. Children are also more prone to amputation because of the smaller size of their limbs and they’re more prone to burns because their skin is thinner than adults’ skin.
Sahloul said that mental health trauma in children can have effects on their physical health. Research has shown a significant association between physical health problems and clinical mental health symptoms.
“So [mental health symptoms] can lead to depressed immunity to fight infection,” he said. “It can lead to malnutrition. It can lead to stunted growth.”
Health experts noted adults may also experience similar physical and mental health effects in conflict zones and may benefit from similar interventions.
How to help
Experts told ABC News it’s important to make sure that children are provided structure as much as possible while living in war zones to help with their development and well-being. Additionally, when possible, they said it important to create child-friendly spaces that allow children to learn, play and receive psychosocial support.
Alhendawi said Save the Children is not currently operating in Iran but is stationed in nine surrounding countries and is prepared to provide full shelter and basic services for a population that may be displaced.
In this stock image, an open bottle of Tylenol Extra Strength pain reliever is shown. (STOCK IMAGE/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Taking acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, during pregnancy had no effect on children developing autism, according to a study of over 1.5 million children in Denmark published this week.
The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed 1.5 million children born between 1997 and 2022. About 1.8% of those who were exposed to Tylenol during pregnancy developed autism compared to 3.0% of those who were not exposed to Tylenol.
A prior study out of Sweden looked at siblings, finding no causal link between autism and Tylenol exposure during pregnancy. There are genetic associations and environmental triggers that are likely involved, but neither Tylenol nor vaccines has been shown to be the cause of autism.
The new study out this week comes after President Donald Trump and his administration had previously urged pregnant mothers to avoid Tylenol, without substantive evidence for the claims.
“With Tylenol, don’t take it. Don’t take it,” Trump said during a press event at the White House in September. “If you can’t live, if your fever is so bad, you have to take one, because there’s no alternative to that.”
The FDA then initiated a process to update the safety label on acetaminophen to suggest that its use during pregnancy and autism were linked.
At the time, Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, wrote in part of a statement, “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”
At the time, medical organizations, like the American College of Obstetrician & Gynecologists, immediately pushed back, noting that Tylenol was one of the few options for pregnant women to treat pain and fever, which can be harmful when left untreated.
It is generally not recommended for pregnant women to take ibuprofen, Advil, during pregnancy due to the risk of complications.
Nevertheless, the claims made by the administration have led to confusion. A prior study found that Tylenol use in emergency departments dipped 16% immediately following the announcement by the administration.
ABC News reached out to Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, for a statement but did not immediately hear back.
