Health

(NEW YORK) — As summer begins to wind down and many children and teenagers across the U.S. get ready to head back to school next month, it also means updated COVID-19 vaccines are around the corner.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Americans receive the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available later this year.

Health officials have used the term “updated vaccines” in anticipation of needing to formulate a new vaccine every year to match circulating variants as is done for the flu shot.

“Historically, when we’re talking about COVID vaccines, we’re talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

“Now we’re targeting annual vaccines for COVID-19 that is similar to flu. It’s a reformulation based on what’s circulating, and this is why we’re talking about an annual campaign rather than a booster,” he continued.

Here’s what you need to know about the updated COVID vaccines:

What variants does it target?

The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines will target the JN.1 lineage of the virus, an offshoot of the omicron variant.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers to formulate a vaccine that closely matches the KP.2 strain of JN.1.

Who is eligible?

The CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated vaccine.

Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna will be available for those 6 months old and older while the Novavax vaccine will be available for those aged 12 and older.

When will the vaccines be available?

Updated vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will be available in either August or September.

The CDC has said that it is safe to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as a flu shot or an RSV vaccine, for those who are being eligible.

For those who decide to get multiple vaccines in one appointment, “we suggest probably using different [arms] so you don’t exacerbate tenderness at the injection site,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialists at University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News. “But essentially, you can get all three at the same time.”

Are the vaccines free?

Those who are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance will receive coverage for the updated vaccines.

In previous years, the CDC had a Bridge Access Program that provided free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance and adults whose insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs. The program is ending in August 2024.

“This year we won’t have the luxury of having the Bridge Program be a safety gap,” Chin-Hong said. “Those who have no insurance, which comprises millions of Americans, will have to be covered by different states’ safety net programs.”

For children whose parents or guardians cannot afford vaccine coverage for them, there is the federally funded Vaccines for Children Program, which provides access to vaccines.

Why should I receive a vaccine?

Data has shown that COVID-19 vaccines can reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death as well as lower the risk of developing long COVID.

A September 2023 analysis by the CDC suggested making the COVID-19 vaccine recommendation universal could prevent about 400,000 hospitalizations and 40,000 deaths over the next two years.

“We have to remember that this virus is constantly changing, and that your protection from previous infection or from previous vaccines declines over time,” Brownstein said. “Making sure that you receive the most updated formulations of vaccine will ensure that you have the most recent protection and we of course assumed that like previous years.”

He added that protection from the updated vaccines will likely last through the winter months, when cases typically increase and, as a result, hospitalizations and deaths increase as well.

Chin-Hong said it’s important for those who are at risk of serious disease and hospitalization to get vaccinated including those who are older and immunocompromised as well as those who live with high-risk individuals to prevent spread.

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(HOUSTON) — A family in Texas has welcomed home all four of their rare identical quadruplets after the infants spent over three months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The sisters — named Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire and Petra Anne — were born on May 1, after their mom, Mercedes Sandhu, delivered them at 29 weeks and three days.

Sandhu carried what is known as a monochorionic pregnancy, meaning all four babies shared the same placenta, according to Texas Children’s Hospital, where Sandhu gave birth.

The babies were born just before Mother’s Day, but Sandhu did not have all four daughters at home until Thursday, when Rebecca was discharged from the NICU.

Hannah and Petra were discharged on July 12, followed by Lucy nearly one week later.

“We’re so happy they can be together too,” the babies’ father, Jonathan Sandhu, told Good Morning America. “The past few weeks are the only moments they have ever been apart. Even in the NICU, they were always within a few feet of each other.”

The quadruplets’ reunion at home was also the first time all four sisters got to meet their older brothers, Luke, 4, and Aaron, nearly 2, who were not allowed in the NICU because of their ages, according to Jonathan Sandhu.

“The best part has been watching our boys welcome their baby sisters … They are obsessed with the girls,” he said. “Seeing our little family come together has been the most heartwarming moment of our lives.”

The quadruplets’ birth on May 1, meant the Sandhus had welcomed six kids in a span of four years. The quadruplets were conceived naturally, without the help of fertility treatments.

When it comes to being able to differentiate the quadruplets, Jonathan Sandhu said they are able to tell two of the babies apart because they were born with hemangiomas, a benign growth of extra blood cells in the skin that is one of the most common skin conditions among infants, according to Texas Children’s Hospital.

The couple also keeps the babies in labeled bassinets and lines them up in birth order — Hannah, Lucy, Rebecca, Petra, for feedings.

“Because they’re identical, they literally have the exact same DNA so keeping them correctly identified is pretty important,” Jonathan Sandhu told GMA.

The Sandhus have been documenting the journey of their “miracle” babies on their Instagram account, @thesandhucrew.

They said the babies are proving to be healthy and happy at home, with no ongoing medical needs after their time in the NICU.

“With high order multiples, all sharing one placenta, they were at elevated risks for nearly all the bad things that can accompany premature infants,” Jonathan Sandhu said. “We’ve had a few little bumps, but nothing that ever became life-threatening or would need life-long care.”

Jonathan Sandhu said he and his wife are dealing with the normal challenges that accompany a newborn — like sleep deprivation — but multiplied by four.

“If you’ve ever taken care of a newborn at night, imagine that, but with a few more crying mouths and dirty diapers,” he explained. “My wife and I take shifts at night and one person feeding and changing multiple babies can take two hours. Then you have to repeat it all a few hours later.”

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(NEW YORK) — Infant mortality rates in the United States increased by 3% in 2022, according to a new federal report published early Thursday morning.

Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics looked at linked birth and death data sets — information from the death certificate linked to the information from the birth certificate — from the National Vital Statistics System.

Data showed the rate increased from 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 5.61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. This equates to a total of 20,577 infant deaths reported in 2022, up 3% from 2021.

Although the rate is lower than the 7.57 per 1,000 recorded in 1995 — the first year the linked birth/infant death file was available — it marks the second straight year of increases.

“It is concerning that the rate bumped up by 3% compared to ’21,” Dr. James Greenberg, co-director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children’s and co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati — a non-profit working to improve infant mortality rates in Hamilton County, Ohio — told ABC News.

“The overall trend for the last many decades has been, in general, a downward trend, but the United States infant mortality rate is still much higher than almost every other developed country in the world,” he continued. “So, when we see an uptick like this, it’s certainly a cause for additional concern.”

The report found that the overall mortality rate increased for infants born to American Indian/Alaska Native women, white women and Dominican women in 2022 while other racial and ethnic groups did not see significant increases from 2021 to 2022.

Meanwhile, infants of Black women had the highest mortality rate at 10.90 per 1,000 live births in 2022 followed by infants of American Indian/Alaska Native women and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women.

Greenberg, who was not involved in the report, said the data is further evidence of the racial and ethnic disparities seen in infant mortality rates when it comes to minority women.

“This has been a rather intractable problem in the United States…and the disparities between white and non-Hispanic, Black infant mortality and white and American Indian/Alaska Native infant mortality are quite striking and continue to be very, very troubling,” he said.

Greenberg called the Black infant mortality rate “extraordinary” and said it was “on par with some parts of the world that have very limited resources.”

The report also found that infant mortality rates were highest in the South and Rust Belt middle America and lowest in the Northeast, Northwest and West, which Greenberg said is in line with where rates are traditionally higher and lower.

Data from the report showed in 2022, the five leading causes of all infant deaths were the same as those in 2021 including congenital malformations, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), unintentional injuries and maternal complications.

Greenberg said preterm birth is the actual leading cause of infant death based on research conducted by his team, but there’s not a single code for a death certificate that covers preterm births.

“It’s a reflection of the way coding around cause of death is done. The problem is that the causes related to preterm birth are subdivided, so you have to actually add them up in order to get the whole impact of preterm birth,” he said. “It’s not congenital malformations, certainly not to denigrate that, that cause, but preterm birth is where it’s at.”

Greenberg said other factors that may have played a role in the bump in 2022 include an RSV and flu season in 2022 that began much earlier than usual after COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures began to be lifted. Another role may have been the impact of a COVID-19 infection in pregnant women, which may have forced some to deliver early and, in turn, raised the risk of infant mortality.

Another factor contributing to the bump may be the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which led to anecdotal reports of women forced to carry to term babies that would die upon being born or shortly after birth.

He said it’s too soon to tell if any of the other three factors played a role, but anecdotal evidence suggests this may be the case.

Greenberg has actively been involved in working to reduce infant mortality rates in Hamilton County, where Cincinnati is located, as a co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati.

He said the county has seen a steep decrease in infant mortality since 2013 from being 70% above the national average to being right around the national average in 2023 by focusing on reducing infant mortality related to pre-term birth and improving Black infant mortality.

Efforts include promoting smoking cessation and getting pregnant people into early prenatal care by eliminating barriers in vulnerable communities.

“Our experience in Hamilton County suggests that it is possible to accelerate the reduction in infant mortality, and that it’s worth doing because infant mortality is really a signal for overall health and well-being of the whole country,” he said. “It’s not just babies. It’s a reflection of our health care system, and our ability to deliver health care effectively. It’s our reflection of our ability to do it in a way that people everywhere value and can embrace.”

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed consideration of a long-anticipated proposal to ban formaldehyde (FA) in hair-relaxing products, which some studies have linked to certain types of cancers.

It is not clear when the agency plans to consider the proposed rule, which was first entered in the Unified Agenda, a government registry of actions that administrative agencies plan to issue, last October.

If enacted, the rule would “ban formaldehyde and other FA-releasing chemicals as an ingredient in hair smoothing or hair straightening products marketed in the United States,” according to the language entered in the Unified Agenda.

Frequent use of hair-straightening products that include chemicals like formaldehyde has been found in studies to put women at a higher risk for uterine cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the uterus and is a risk factor for anyone with a uterus but the risk increases with age, especially during and after menopause, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A 2022 study found an association that women who self-reported frequent use of hair straightening products were more than twice as likely to later develop uterine cancer than women who did not use the products.

The study found that Black women may be more affected by the increased risk of uterine cancer not because of their race, but due to the fact that they use chemical hair straightening products at a higher rate. Frequent use of the products was defined as more than four times in the previous year, according to the study, which included more than 33,000 women between the ages of 35 to 74.

Scientists caution that it’s not clear yet if these products cause cancer. For now, research only hints at a probable link.

Formaldehyde is described by the Environmental Protection Agency as a “colorless, flammable gas” that can cause “adverse health effects” with exposure. When used in hair smoothing products, the formaldehyde is released into the air as a gas when the products are heated.

The Department of Health and Human Services lists formaldehyde as a “known carcinogen.”

The FDA has previously issued a warning stating that the use of hair smoothing products in an area that is not properly ventilated could lead to a risk of a person inhaling formaldehyde. In the warning, the agency acknowledged it began receiving “inquiries from consumers and salon professionals” about the safety of formaldehyde in products as far back as 20 years ago.

Safety tips for women in the absence of a ban

Dr. Angela Lamb, a New York City-based dermatologist, told ABC News’ Good Morning America Tuesday that women should read labels on their own and ask their salon provider about the ingredients in the products they’re using prior to undergoing treatments like hair straightening.

The three key ingredients to look for are formaldehyde, methylene glycol, and formalin, according to Lamb.

“You want to make sure, if you’re at a salon and you’re using something, if you have any reactions, let your salon provider know,” she said.

According to the FDA, possible reactions that have been reported range from eye problems to headaches, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, vomiting, coughing, wheezing and throat soreness.

Consumers can report bad reactions to the FDA by phone and online.

Lamb said if women want to avoid formaldehyde-containing products completely, they can opt for heat-styling options like roller sets and presses.

With those options, no chemicals are involved at all, according to Lamb.

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(NEW YORK) — Several health departments in the U.S. say they have detected West Nile virus in mosquito samples.

Although the average number of actual West Nile cases is significantly lower than the same time last year, experts are urging the public to take precautions.

On Monday, the Cape May County Health Department in southern New Jersey sent out a press release reporting that seven mosquito collections during the months of June and July had tested positive for West Nile virus.

Denton County Public Health in Texas also reported on Monday that five positive West Nile virus mosquito traps had been collected in unincorporated Denton County, with health officials saying the locations would be fogged for treatment.

In Suffolk County, New York, the health department announced on Monday that 16 mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus, bringing the total to 32 so far this season. Meanwhile, data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows West Nile-positive mosquitoes have been detected in all five boroughs.

“The confirmation of West Nile virus in mosquito samples indicates the presence of West Nile virus in the area,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said in a press release. “While there is no cause for alarm, we advise residents to cooperate with us in our efforts to reduce exposure to West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.”

So far, only 25 cases of West Nile virus have been reported in 14 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is lower than the 117 cases reported at the same time last year.

West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the contiguous United States, according to the CDC. It was first introduced in the Western Hemisphere during the summer of 1999 after people were diagnosed in New York City.

Mosquitoes typically become infected with the virus after feeding on infected birds and then spread it to humans and other animals, the federal health agency said. Cases typically begin rising in July and are highest in August and September, CDC data shows.

The majority of people with the virus do not have symptoms, but about one in five will experience fever along with headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash. Most symptoms disappear but weakness and fatigue may last for weeks or months.

About one in 150 will develop severe disease leading to encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord — both of which can lead to death. So far this year, 11 of the 25 cases have resulted in neuroinvasive disease, according to the CDC.

There are currently no vaccines or specific treatments available for West Nile virus. The CDC recommends rest, fluids and over-the-counter medications. For those with severe illness, patients often need to be hospitalized and receive support treatments such as intravenous fluids.

To best protect yourself, the CDC suggests using insect repellant, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, treating clothing and gear and taking steps to control mosquitoes. This last step includes putting screens on windows and doors, using air conditioning and emptying out containers with still water.

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(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is warning Americans about a listeria outbreak that has sickened more than two dozen people across 12 states, possibly linked to deli meat.

As of Friday, 28 people have fallen ill — all of whom have been hospitalized — and two people have died, one from Illinois and one from New Jersey, according to the federal health agency.

New York is the state with the most cases at seven, followed by Maryland with six. States that have also reported cases include Illinois, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.

“The true number of sick people in this outbreak is likely higher than the number reported, and the outbreak may not be limited to the states with known illnesses,” the CDC wrote in its update on Friday. “This is because some people recover without medical care and are not tested for Listeria. In addition, recent illnesses may not yet be reported as it usually takes 3 to 4 weeks to determine if a sick person is part of an outbreak.”

The CDC said it and its partners, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS), are collecting data to determine the source of the outbreak. Many of the patients in this outbreak reported eating meats sliced at deli counters before falling ill.

There is currently no information indicating that people are getting sick from prepackaged deli meats.

“Of the 18 people able to be interviewed, 16 reported eating meats sliced at a deli, most commonly deli-sliced turkey, liverwurst and ham. Meats were sliced at a variety of supermarket and grocery store delis,” the CDC wrote.

Cases have been reported between May 29 and July 5, CDC data shows. Patients’ ages range from 32 years old to 94 years old with a median age of 75. A total of 72% of patients identify as white with 23% identifying as Black or African American and 5% as Asian.

When people eat food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, it can cause a serious infection known as listeriosis. This can progress to invasive listeriosis, when the bacteria spread beyond the gut to other parts of the body, according to the CDC.

Symptoms of severe illness usually begin one to four weeks after eating the contaminated food but can start as early as the same day or as late as 70 later, the CDC said.

An estimated 1,600 people get listeriosis annually and about 260 people die. Those most at risk include pregnant people and newborns, adults aged 65 or older and people with weakened immune systems.

Those who are not pregnant are likely to experience symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, stiff neck, confusion or loss of balance. Those who are pregnant are likely to experience just a fever and flu-like symptoms.

The CDC recommends those at higher risk of listeriosis to avoid eating meat sliced at deli counters unless heated to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or until steaming hot just before serving. The agency also recommends calling your health care provider if you have symptoms of listeriosis and recently ate meat sliced at a deli counter.

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(NEW YORK) — Isabella Strahan is on her road to a full recovery!

In a new update on Thursday from a video on her YouTube channel, the 19-year-old daughter of “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan shared that she is officially cancer-free.

Earlier this year, Isabella Strahan publicly revealed she had been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor.

In her latest vlog titled, “Goodbye Hospital,” Isabella Strahan shared that she was at her last appointment at the Duke Children’s Hospital & Health Center in Durham, N.C., to review results from her scans.

“It was a great, great scan,” she said with a smile on her face. “Everything was clear. Cancer-free and everything is great. I don’t have another doctor’s appointment until October.”

She continued, “I miss my doctors already and everyone who’s helped me because they’re all so nice… I feel like I’m just saddened today knowing that I wasn’t gonna be going back for awhile because I love them so much. So, that was my last hospital vlog until October!”

Isabella Strahan was a freshman at the University of Southern California when an initial MRI scan in October ultimately led to her diagnosis of medulloblastoma, a cancerous and fast-growing brain tumor that develops in the cerebellum, the back of the brain where movement and coordination are controlled, according to the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University, where she is being treated.

Medulloblastoma is a type of malignant tumor that accounts for about 20% of all childhood brain tumors, according to estimates published in the Journal of Clinical Neuroscience.

The new update comes after Isabella Strahan shared on her Vlog last month that she completed her final round of chemotherapy.

“This [has been] a long journey but I made it,” she said at the time. “And now I have to recover and get back to my usual state, which is going to take a long time, but I’m done with treatments.”

She was also celebrated by friends, family and hospital staff over the accomplishment with a confetti parade at the hospital before ringing the bell to signify the end of chemotherapy.

Marking the milestone, Michael Strahan took to Instagram to celebrate the moment and gush over his daughter.

“@isabellastrahan you are a SUPERWOMAN! Ringing that bell finishing chemo and on your way!” he captioned a video of her ringing the bell. “You continue to fight with a smile on your face, strength, and determination. I am one proud Dad! Love you, Bella.”

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(SYDNEY, Australia) — Govind Sandhu said he felt he was at “peak fitness” when he came down with flu-like symptoms, including a fever, night sweats and body aches, in mid-May.

At the time he started feeling sick, Sandhu, 38, said he had recently finished a half-marathon in his hometown of Sydney, Australia, was training for an upcoming marathon and had just taken a vacation in Bali that was focused solely on health and fitness.

“I’m a CrossFit’er who runs marathons and ultramarathons. Everything from the moment I wake to the moment I go to bed is optimized for peak performance,” Sandhu, the head of global music partnerships at TikTok, told Good Morning America. “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke.”

Sandhu said he first believed his symptoms were a result of his intense training or the change of seasons in Australia, which was transitioning from summer to autumn.

Instead, five weeks after first experiencing a symptom, Sandhu said he was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer that forms in the lymphatic system, part of the immune system that helps protect the body from disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“I think back on it now, and I ran a half-marathon with cancer running wild through my system — and stage 4 at that,” Sandhu said, adding, “I literally thought I did everything under the sun to make myself not susceptible to something like this … you realize that this could happen to anyone.”

In stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the cancer has spread beyond the lymphatic system to one or more tissues or organs, according to the NCI.

Symptoms of the disease include much of what Sandhu said he experienced including fever, night sweats, weight loss and fatigue, as well as swollen lymph nodes.

As a 38-year-old male who was otherwise healthy, Sandhu had only one of the three most common risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which include older age, being male, and having a weakened immune system, according to the NCI.

“I wasn’t educated enough at that point of [thinking] if it could be cancer, or what are the symptoms,” Sandhu said. “I’m grappling with the fact that I’m 38 years old and I have cancer, which is still a bizarre thing to say out loud.”

Following his diagnosis, Sandhu said he began treatment, which for now includes six rounds of chemotherapy.

As he goes through chemotherapy, Sandhu is sharing his journey on social media to help raise awareness of cancer, especially among young people.

“It’s the last thing I ever would have thought would happen to someone like me, and if it can happen to someone like me, it can happen to anyone,” he said. “The reality is that anything to do with the big ‘C,’ cancer, the general population is clueless, and I was clueless, because anything that has to do with one’s mortality or disease is kind of not spoken about and shared widely … and I just think there’s a lot of power in talking about this.”

Sandhu said he also hopes his story helps empower patients to speak up if they do not feel right and for doctors to listen to patients and explore all possible causes of their symptoms.

He said he also hopes that by sharing himself going through chemotherapy and grappling with a serious cancer diagnosis he can help reduce the stigma of cancer and encourage other people going through a similar battle to not feel so alone.

“I don’t want people to feel alone on this journey, because, again, if it has happened to someone like me, it can happen to anyone,” Sandhu said. “I want people to know that what they’re going through, I’m also going through.”

He continued, “If this can help anyone that’s either about to go through it, has gone through it or is supporting someone that’s going through it, that’s an absolute win for me. I want to shout about this because I think it’s a really important topic.”

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(NEW YORK) — Babies born to women who received a COVID-19 vaccine in their first trimester did not have a significant increased risk of birth defects, a new study found.

For the study, published Wednesday evening in the journal The BMJ, researchers used national public health registries in Denmark, Norway and Sweden to compare pregnant women who received either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in the first trimester and pregnant women who were infected with COVID-19 in the first trimester to women who were not vaccinated or infected.

The team followed more than 343,000 babies born to women with an estimated start of pregnancy between March 1, 2020, and February 14, 2022, with each infant followed for a minimum of nine months.

A total of 10,229, or 3%, of infants had mothers who were infected with COVID-19 during the first trimester. A subgroup of about 152,000 infants, or 19%, had mothers who received a COVID-19 vaccine in the first trimester.

Of the more than 343,000 babies, about 17,700 were diagnosed with a major congenital anomaly within a nine-month follow-up period, but there was no increased risk of any major birth defect for either the infected mothers’ group or the vaccinated mothers’ group, including heart, brain, eye, face, breathing, limb, kidney, genital and gastrointestinal defects.

All mothers were evaluated by considering factors such as age, smoking during pregnancy, body mass index, socioeconomic status, COVID-19 infection despite vaccination, infant prematurity and other chronic conditions.

The authors also found no increased risk of major birth defects related to fetal deaths that could be attributed to first-trimester COVID-19 infection or vaccination.

Some limitations included excluding mothers from the infected group if they had a positive antigen test followed by a negative PCR test within four days. Additionally, there was no information available on how many doses of vaccines the vaccinated mothers received.

However, the researchers say the findings are a further indication that pregnant people should be vaccinated.

“Vaccination of pregnant women protects the women and the infants from adverse outcomes,” the authors wrote in the study. “Furthermore, we did not find any indication that vaccination against COVID-19 during the first trimester increased the risk of anomalies, providing additional evidence about the safety of vaccination in pregnant women. Overall, our findings support the current recommendations to vaccinate pregnant women against COVID-19.”

The study is the latest in a growing body of evidence showing mRNA COVID-19 vaccines — which Pfizer and Moderna fall under — are safe to receive before and during pregnancy and do not increase the risks for complications including miscarriage, premature birth, stillbirth or birth defects.

In fact, some research has suggested COVID-19 vaccination can reduce the risk of premature birth and stillbirth, as well as help protect babies younger than 6 months old from being hospitalized due to COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently recommends that people who are pregnant, trying to get pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future — as well as who are breastfeeding a baby — receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine.

People who are pregnant are more likely to become seriously ill and hospitalized if infected with COVID-19, and more likely to suffer pregnancy complications including preterm birth or stillbirth, the CDC said.

Jade March, MD, a board certified family medicine physician and current integrative medicine fellow at UCLA, is a member of the ABC News Medical Unit.

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(NEW YORK) — Dangerously high temperatures have been sweeping across the southern, central and eastern U.S., leaving more than one-third of the country under heat alerts as of Tuesday afternoon.

Actual temperatures are expected to hit triple digits on Tuesday in several cities and states including Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Virginia and North Carolina while the heat index — what the temperature feels like — is expected to hit 104 in Dallas, 108 in Washington and 109 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The effects of extreme heat on physical health have been well-documented with people at risk of heat-related illnesses including heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Experts, however, tell ABC News that heat can also have a serious impact on mental health.

“In the past, people have talked about seasonal affective disorder and mood changes, which is usually in the winter months … [but] the lack of sun and excessive sun both have mental health challenges and changes,” Dr. Asim Shah, a professor and executive vice chair of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told ABC News.

Shah said excessive sun and heat can alter levels of serotonin — a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood, behavior and sleep — as evidenced in past research. This may lead to changes in mood such as anger, frustration or irritability.

Dr. Nathan Carroll, chief psychiatry resident at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, in Neptune Township, New Jersey, told ABC News that mood changes, including irritability, may come from the fact that extreme heat can raise levels of cortisol, known as the “stress hormone,” in the brain.

This increased stress can in turn “make people irritable in the right circumstances,” he said.

High temperatures can also negatively impact the quality and quantity of sleep, which can raise levels of cortisol in the body.

Studies have also shown that extreme heat can exacerbate conditions such as depression, anxiety and suicide ideation. For the latter, a 2023 meta-analysis found that even a slight bump in the average monthly temperature can lead to increases in suicide and suicidal behavior.

Additionally, medications people are taking for certain mental health disorders can be worsened by extreme heat. One example is lithium, a mood-stabilizer used to treat bipolar disorder.

Carroll said that lithium can cause the kidneys to release more water, leading to increased urination and sweating, which can cause dehydration. This can also cause lithium levels in the body to become concentrated, which can be toxic.

He added that certain antidepressants, antipsychotics and benzodiazepines can decrease thirst sensations, so people aren’t aware they’re becoming dehydrated.

Both experts told ABC News that regardless of side effects, people taking medications should not stop doing so before speaking with a doctor.

“It does not mean that you cannot go out in [the] sun, it does not mean that you have to stop taking the medication,” Shah said. “It just means that you need to talk to your doctor [about] what precautions you need to take. Do you need to increase the dose or decrease the dosing? Do you need to avoid certain things? Just discuss with your doctor.”

These negative impacts may lead to increased hospital visits and admissions related to mental illness.

A 2022 study from researchers in Massachusetts and Minnesota found that days with higher-than-normal temperatures during the summer in the U.S. were linked to increased rates of visits to emergency departments for any mental health-related condition, including mood disorders.

Carroll said there are many reasons why hospital visits increase during extreme heat including the heat exacerbating mental health conditions and people taking medications for mental health conditions, which may dehydrate them and lead them to seek medical treatment.

“The third reason is the hospital is where many individuals who don’t have other resources go to get help,” he said. “So, if they’re trying to get out of the heat, if they’re part of the unhoused population, if they don’t have anywhere else to turn to, the hospital is a safe place, so they come into here also.”

Certain groups are especially vulnerable to the impacts of extreme heat including elderly adults, children and those with preexisting conditions, according to the American Psychiatric Association. However, anyone can be vulnerable to extreme heat.

To manage heat, experts said they recommend people stay in a cool environment as much as possible during high temperatures, drink water to stay hydrated and use stress-management techniques such as meditation to decrease stress levels.

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