Stay up to date with WRAL’s Vaccination news and reporting coverage
Flu, COVID-19, the common cold and RSV have similarities, but they differ in their severity, contagiousness and symptoms. Vaccines are available for COVID-19, the flu and RSV. However, there is no cure for the common cold.
"You have a little child, little fragile child, that you get a vat of 80 different vaccines, I guess, 80 different blends, and they pump it in," President Donald Trump said in a Sept. 22 press conference.
Health officials blame falling vaccination rates and rising vaccine hesitancy.
WRAL anchor/reporter Ashley Rowe went to the people in charge to find out what's being done to fix this unforeseen fallout.
The ACIP decided the COVID-19 vaccine should be available to those 6 months and older who want it, but patients should consult a health care provider first.
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted unanimously on Friday to recommend that people who want to receive a Covid-19 vaccine can do so, but they must first consult with a health care provider.
By Brenda Goodman, Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN
In a meeting that devolved into confusion and near chaos, federal advisers on Thursday voted 8-3 against vaccinating children younger than 4 years old with a combination shot that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times
The board voted to remove CDC recommendations for the MMR vaccine for kids under 4, citing claims it puts young children at greater risk of febrile seizures. MMRV is the vaccine that protects against measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is convening for a crucial two-day meeting to vote on new guidelines for MMRV, Hepatitis B and COVID-19 vaccines. Decisions could impact vaccine schedules and insurance coverage nationwide.
WASHINGTON -- The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a Senate panel Wednesday that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., called CDC employees "corrupt" and accused them of "killing children" during a tense private meeting with her the week before she was fired.
Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Megan Mineiro, New York Times
Travis Rose's family faced a frustrating ordeal when their COVID-19 vaccination appointment was abruptly canceled, jeopardizing their plans to protect their high-risk son, Aiden, before a Disney World trip.
"We hear you." That is the message from Durham health officials about access to COVID-19 vaccines. Many viewers have emailed WRAL News quite a few questions about the vaccine availability. WRAL's Ashley Rowe tries to get some of those answered.
Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025-- Capitol Broadcasting Company's editorial cartoonist
LOS ANGELES — Three Democratic-controlled West Coast states announced plans Wednesday to form a “health alliance” that would review scientific data and make vaccine recommendations for their residents, saying that the federal agency responsible for issuing such guidance for the country had become “a political tool that increasingly peddles ideology instead of science.”
Emily Baumgaertner Nunn, New York Times
With measles outbreaks reported across North America, experts like Dr. Tony Moody from Duke Health stress the importance of vaccinations to safeguard against potential public health crises.
Wake County Public Health is offering back-to-school vaccination clinics in August and September.
The CDC reported that nearly 4% of U.S. kindergartners had an exemption for a required vaccination last school year.
North Carolina law requires specific vaccines for children entering kindergarten, 7th grade and 12th grade.
The future of vaccine recommendations remains in question following the move by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to "retire" all the members of a CDC panel of independent experts advising on vaccines.
Measles cases continue to rise across the country and a new study found that if vaccine rates continue to decline, millions of cases could appear in the next 25 years.
Getting vaccinated against shingles can reduce the risk of developing dementia, a large new study finds.
Pam Belluck, New York Times
As U.S. measles infections spread, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a Fox Nation interview there could be some health benefits to getting the measles.
Jeff Cercone, PolitiFact reporter
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 -- Some Americans live deep in echo chambers where most of what they hear about vaccines are lies and disdain. It won't be possible to reverse all this quickly. Perhaps the best we can do is inform parents skeptical of vaccines what they're risking, before it's too late.
(CNN) -- The US Department of Agriculture last week issued a conditional license for an avian flu vaccine for use in chickens, amid an outbreak ravaging poultry flocks, contributing to the sky-high price of eggs.
By Dakin Andone, CNN
