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Adults with blindness and deafness were less likely to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a large study of adults published today in an early online edition of JAMA Ophthalmology.

Researchers examined data from 916,085 adults who participated in a US Census Bureau Pulse Survey from April 2021 through March 2022. They assessed vaccine initiation and completion, as well as determinants of healthcare access.

For adults in general, 82.7% had started COVID vaccination. Controlling for other factors, they found that adults with blindness were 6.3% less likely than those without disabilities to seek vaccination (95% confidence interval [CI], -11.1% to -1.5%; P=.009). Meanwhile, people with deafness were 5.5% less likely to start vaccination (95% CI, -9.2% to -1.9%; P=.003).

The authors, based at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and the University of Florida at Gainesville, said previous to the study, little was known about COVID-19 vaccination rates in adults who have vision and hearing disabilities. They added that their findings can be used to help guide programs to promote equitable and accessible vaccination and that more research may be needed to monitor vaccination disparities in the two groups. Aug 11 JAMA Ophthalmol abstract

California has reported its first highly pathogenic avian flu outbreak in poultry related to ongoing activity in the United States and other world regions, bringing the number of affected states to 39, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said today in an e-mail announcement.

The virus was detected in a flock of 10 backyard birds in Sacramento County. California had earlier reported 22 detections in wild birds from nine counties, including Sacramento. So far, the outbreaks, which involve the Eurasian H5N1 strain, have led to the loss of 40.1 million birds.

Also this week, APHIS reported 40 more H5N1 detections in wild birds, raising the nation's total to 2,044. The latest detections were mainly from western states, but there were also more from midwestern and eastern states. USDA AHPHIS poultry outbreak page USDA APHIS wild bird page

Chinese researchers who were conducting routine surveillance in people with fevers who had recent contact with animals have identified Langya henipavirus (LayV), a distinct henipavirus and relative of Hendra and Nipah viruses, in a throat swab of one patient. In correspondence last week to the New England Journal of Medicine, they said their investigation turned up 35 suspected acute infections in Shandong and Henan provinces. The surveillance for potential zoonotic infections took place in three hospitals, two in Henan province and one in Shandong province, between Apr 2018 and Aug 2021.

The first patient was a 53-year-old woman who sought care at one of the hospitals in December 2018. Patients' symptoms were mainly mild and included fever, fatigue, cough, loss of appetite, myalgia, nausea, and headache. However, a few had more serious illness that included pneumonia and abnormalities in liver and kidney function.

When the researchers investigated potential animal sources, they found serologic evidence of exposure in a few goats and dogs. Of 25 wildlife species they tested, LayV was mainly found in shrews, suggesting that the species might harbor the virus.

They found no evidence of human-to-human spread or common exposures among patients, which they said suggests infections in humans may be sporadic. They concluded that the newly identified henipavirus, which is most closely related to Mojiang henipavirus detected in southern China, warrants more investigation to better understand human infections. Aug 4 N Engl J Med correspondence

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