0000000000217521
AUTHOR
Livia Cimino
Outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2): First Evidences From International Scientific Literature and Pending Questions
On 31 December, 2019, a cluster of 27 pneumonia cases of unknown etiology was reported by Chinese health authorities in Wuhan City (China) [...]
Ten Actions to Counteract Vaccine Hesitancy Suggested by the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health.
Vaccine hesitancy (VH) is one of the main causes of the widespread decline in vaccination coverage and has become the subject of ongoing debate among public health professionals. The present commentary is a “decalogue” of strategic actions to counteract vaccine hesitancy for public health professionals that comes from the cognitive and formative path put in place by the “Communication in Public Health” working group (WG) of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine, and Public Health. From the establishment of a national, multidisciplinary WG on VH to the activation of a national monitoring/surveillance system on vaccine hesitancy, several proposals are discussed. The identificati…
Educational Interventions on Pregnancy Vaccinations during Childbirth Classes Improves Vaccine Coverages among Pregnant Women in Palermo’s Province
Maternal immunization is considered the best intervention in order to prevent influenza infection of pregnant women and influenza and pertussis infection of newborns. Despite the existing recommendations, vaccination coverage rates in Italy remain very low. Starting from August 2018, maternal immunization against influenza and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis were strongly recommended by the Italian Ministry of Health. We conducted a cross sectional study to estimate the effectiveness of an educational intervention, conducted during childbirth classes in three general hospitals in the Palermo metropolitan area, Italy, on vaccination adherence during pregnancy. To this end, a questionnaire on kn…
Knowledge, Attitudes, Perceptions and Vaccination Acceptance/Hesitancy among the Community Pharmacists of Palermo’s Province, Italy: From Influenza to COVID-19
In Italy, following the start of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign, community pharmacies (CPs) were recruited on a voluntary basis in order to administer COVID-19 vaccines as part of their activities. The aim of the present study was to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention, and vaccine acceptance/hesitancy towards COVID-19 and influenza vaccinations among the community pharmacists operating in the Palermo Province. A cross-sectional study was conducted, with two different questionnaires administered before and after the conduction of the vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 at the COVID-19 vaccination center of the Palermo Univer…
Safety of Rotavirus Vaccination in Preterm Infants Admitted in Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Sicily, Italy: A Multicenter Observational Study
Rotavirus (RV) is among the most common vaccine-preventable diseases in children under five years of age. Despite the severity of rotavirus pathology in early childhood, rotavirus vaccination for children admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), who are often born preterm and with various previous illnesses, is not performed. This multicenter, 3-year project aims to evaluate the safety of RV vaccine administration within the six main neonatal intensive care units of the Sicilian Region to preterm infants. Methods: Monovalent live attenuated anti-RV vaccination (RV1) was administered from April 2018 to December 2019 to preterm infants with gestational age ≥ 28 weeks. Vaccine a…
Real life hexavalent vaccination among children as a practical guide for public health professionals: Four years (from 2016 to 2019) of clinical practice in Sicily, Italy
Hexavalent (HV) vaccination is a priority for newborn protection and in Italy is included in the National Immunization Plan with a three doses cycle at 61, 121 and 301 days of age. A retrospective clinical study has been conducted to evaluate real life clinical practice of HV vaccination in the fourth most populous Italian Region. Data on the completion of the HV cycle, on the interchangeability between the two HV adopted in 2016–2017 (DTaP3-IPV-HB/Hib) and 2018–2019 (DTaP5-IPV-HB-Hib) and on the use above the established age, were collected in five Sicilian Local Health Authorities. Data showed an average 91.5% completion of the vaccination cycle at 24 months of age. The average age of adm…
JUVENILE IDIOPATHIC ARTHRITIS AND FITNESS: A TEAMWORK
Introduction: Patients with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) have limited fitness and reduced aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacity vs. healthy peers. Furthermore, low intensity exercise programs are safe in children with JIA and may improve fitness, joint excursion and quality of life, reduce pain, fatigue and the employ to antiinflammatory drugs. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to evaluate postural and balance deficits and fitness with specific test battery in children and adolescents affected by JIA. Methods: We enrolled 30 patients with JIA (13 M; 17 F; age: 8-18 years); among those, 7 were evaluated longitudinally in the period 2016-2018, comparing the tests in different …
Attitudes and perception of healthcare workers concerning influenza vaccination during the 2019/2020 season: A survey of sicilian university hospitals
Influenza is an infectious disease with a high impact on the population in terms of morbidity and mortality, but despite International and European guidelines, vaccination coverage rates among healthcare workers (HCWs) remain very low. The aim of the present study was to evaluate influenza vaccination adherence in the three Sicilian University Hospitals of Catania, Messina, and Palermo and to understand the attitudes and perceptions of vaccinated healthcare workers and the main reasons for vaccination refusal. A cross-sectional survey through a self-administered questionnaire was conducted during the 2019/2020 influenza season. Overall, 2356 vaccinated healthcare workers answered the questi…
SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Healthcare Professionals and General Population During “First Wave” of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in Sicily, Italy
On December 31, 2019, an outbreak of lower respiratory infections was documented in Wuhan caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Since the beginning, SARS-CoV-2 has caused many infections among healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide. Aims of this study were: a. to compare the distribution among the HCWs and the general population of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Western Sicily and Italy; b. to describe the characteristics of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 in the western Sicilian healthcare context during the first wave of the epidemic diffusion in Italy. Incidence and mean age of HCWs infected with SARS-CoV-2 were comparable in Western Sicily and in the whole Ita…
WILLINGNESS TO RECEIVE COVID-l9 VACCINATION IN COSTUMERS ACCESSING COMMUNITY PHARMACIES IN THE PROVINCE OF PALERMO.ITALY.
In Italy, vaccination against COVID-l 9 began on December 27, 2020. To date, 13,7 13,224 people in Italy are fully vaccinated, which accounts îor 25.3 oh of the general population, and 44.804 received at least one vaccination dose. Thc prescnt study aim to investigate willingness to receive COVID-I9 vaccination in costumers accessing a sample of community pharmacies in the Province of Palermo, Italy. A self- administered and anon),rnous questionnaire was carried out among costumers older than 18 ycars old between Dcccmbcr 2020 atrd March 2021. Three hundred and sixty-three subjects were enrolled in the study, 259 (71.3%) expressed their willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccination. The main …
The Role of Vaccination and Screening in Limiting the Worldwide Disease Burden of Preventable Female Cancers: A Review
Cancer represents one of the most common causes of death worldwide. Among women, breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer and the principal cause of death due to malignant disease, while cervical cancer ranks fourth for both incidence and mortality. The present review aims to analyze the epidemiology of cervical and breast cancer (incidence, mortality, survival rates, and trends). Moreover, the most important primary and secondary preventive strategies (reduction of risk factors, exposure, vaccination, cancer screening) intended to reduce the future burden of cervical and breast cancer, that should be adopted actively and free of charge, were discussed in accordance to more recent and evi…