Vaccination stats; Clean Hospitals Day; the presidential mentality – Morning Medical Update

Get your shots, people

Who gets vaccinated against influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus? Probably not enough people, depending on who you ask, when the nation’s vaccination rate was less than 50% between 2023 and 2024. The data was to be presented as part of IDWeek happening now.

Happy Clean Hospitals Day

Save any leftover treats from Sweetest Day on Oct. 19 to celebrate Clean Hospitals Day 2024 on Oct. 20. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology uses a designated day to coincide with its International Infection Prevention Week to raise awareness of environmental hygiene in health care facilities. It’s vitally important – patients go to the doctor’s office and the hospital to get well, not to get sicker. (As for last-minute gift ideas … please let us know if you have any.)

Inside the brain of a president

The 2024 presidential election is drawing closer. Find out what a psychiatrist thinks about the history, health and age of presidential candidates, a subject of intense scrutiny in recent years. Here’s an article about age and politics, and not just for the nation’s chief executive. Did you know the current Senate is the eldest in American history?