Cocooned Health Dr Eliz Kilich and Dr Lydia Yarlott

Should you get your child their second dose of MMR at 18 months?Measles outbreaks and the MMR vaccine. Expert Guest: Professor Sir Andrew PollardExpert Guest: Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, BSc MA MBBS MRCP(UK) FRCPCH PhD DIC FHEA FIDSA FMedSci
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard leads the Oxford Vaccine Group and works as a pediatrician at Oxford Children's Hospital. In 2021, he was knighted for his contributions to public health, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has chaired the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation since 2013 and served on the World Health Organization’s vaccine advisory group from 2016 to 2022. Additionally, he led the Scientific Advisory Group on Vaccines at the European Medicines Agency from 2012 to 2020 and has been involved in creating guidelines for the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
In this episode, we discuss:
What measles is and why it remains a significant health concern.
The current measles outbreaks and how public health agencies are responding, including changes in the vaccine schedule.
What the MMR vaccine is and why it's the best way to protect children.
The impact of fraudulent data that increased vaccine hesitancy and its ongoing effects.
The evidence supporting vaccine safety and effectiveness.
 
References
Andrew Wakefield’s article linking MMR vaccine and autism was fraudulent
BMJ 2011;342:d1678 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.d1678 (Published 15 March 2011)
ABOUT THE PODCAST 
Welcome to Cocooned, part of Cocooned Health podcasting. This is your podcast on infections and vaccines in pregnancy and the newborn period.🤱🤰
We are: Dr Eliz Kilich 👩‍⚕️(Infectious Diseases ST4, UK) and Dr Lydia Yarlott 👩‍⚕️(Paediatrics ST4, UK) here to talk to you about evidence about how you can help keep you and your little one safe.
 
🎤 We generate podcast episodes with expert guest speakers to discuss the latest evidence, to help you understand the public health guidance, and what things you can do to make this period as protected/ cocooned as possible.🎤
Whilst no information is perfect, it changes, we have done our best to bring together information to the best of our knowledge. Information is always subject to change. The views here are our own and do not represent that of any institution or affiliated body although we do discuss public health guidance in general. It is always important to discuss anything we talk about with your own healthcare provider. This is not direct personal medical advice as you are not our patients however, we want to give the public the information we already have, so you are more informed to make your own choices.
 

 The Surprise Truths & Myths About Fertility, Menstruation, the Placenta and COVID-19.
Expert Guest: Dr Viki Male
In this episode we explore and debunk the myth that vaccines cause infertility. But we have a surprising finding about COVID-19 infection and fertility. Tune in, to hear more. Dr Viki Male is a senior lecturer in reproductive immunology based in the Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction at Imperial College London. She did her PhD at the University of Cambridge on a particular kind of cell called natural killer cells in human pregnancy. During the pandemic, she was involved in collating and communicating information on the effect of SARS-CoV2 infection and COVID-19 vaccination on fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. She also conducted research on how COVID-19 vaccination affects the menstrual cycle. We will explore some of these areas with her and answer some of our listeners' questions on this topic.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cocoonedpodcasting/
 
I heard that getting the COVID-19 vaccine might cause changes to my period. Is this true? Yes, but the changes are small and cycles quickly return to normal.
 
References for the association of menstrual cycle length with COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccination:
Edelman, Alison et al. “Timing of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination and Effects on Menstrual Cycle Changes.” Obstetrics and gynecology 143,4 (2024): 585-594. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000005550
Edelman, Alison et al. “Association between menstrual cycle length and covid-19 vaccination: global, retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data.” BMJ medicine 1,1 (2022): e000297. doi:10.1136/bmjmed-2022-000297
Alvergne, Alexandra et al. “Associations Among Menstrual Cycle Length, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and Vaccination.” Obstetrics and gynecology 143,1 (2024): 83-91. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000005343
Darney, Blair G et al. “Impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination on menstrual bleeding quantity: An observational cohort study.” BJOG : an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology 130,7 (2023): 803-812. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.17471
Wesselink, Amelia K et al. “COVID-19 vaccination and menstrual cycle characteristics: A prospective cohort study.” Vaccine 41,29 (2023): 4327-4334. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.06.012
References for how COVID-19 vaccine does not affect fertility:
Zaçe D, La Gatta E, Petrella L, Di Pietro ML. The impact of COVID-19 vaccines on fertility-A systematic review and meta-analysis. Vaccine. 2022 Oct 6;40(42):6023-6034. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.09.019. Epub 2022 Sep 12. PMID: 36137903; PMCID: PMC9464596.
Zeginiadou, Theodosia et al. “SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) and male fertility: Something we should be worried about?.” Urologia 90,4 (2023): 726-734. doi:10.1177/03915603231175941
Omolaoye TS, Adeniji AA, Cardona Maya WD, du Plessis SS. SARS-COV-2 (Covid-19) and male fertility: Where are we? Reprod Toxicol. 2021 Jan;99:65-70. doi: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2020.11.012. Epub 2020 Nov 26. PMID: 33249233; PMCID: PMC7689309.
Jennifer J Yland, Amelia K Wesselink, Annette K Regan, Elizabeth E Hatch, Kenneth J Rothman, David A Savitz, Tanran R Wang, Krista F Huybrechts, Sonia Hernández-Díaz, Michael L Eisenberg, Lauren A Wise, A prospective cohort study of preconception COVID-19 vaccination and miscarriage, Human Reproduction, Volume 38, Issue 12, December 2023, Pages 2362–2372
Aharon, Devora et al. “In Vitro Fertilization and Early Pregnancy Outcomes After Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination.” Obstetrics and gynecology 139,4 (2022): 490-497. doi:10.1097/AOG.0000000000004713
Bentov, Y et al. “Ovarian follicular function is not altered by SARS-CoV-2 infection or BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.” Human reproduction (Oxford, England) 36,9 (2021): 2506-2513. doi:10.1093/humrep/deab182
References for COVID-19 Infection does impact male sperm and potential reduction in

Cocooned Health brings you an exciting episode on the new prenatal RSV vaccine and antibody prevention strategy 
RSV Ready: New Vaccine in pregnancy and Antibody Breakthroughs.
 
Special Expert Guest: Professor Paul Heath 
Paul Heath is a Professor and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and St George’s, University of London, where he is the Director of the Vaccine Institute.
His research interests include the epidemiology of vaccine preventable diseases, and clinical vaccine trials, particularly in at-risk groups and in perinatal infections.
He coordinates the UK Paediatric Vaccine Group (UKPVG), is a member of the JCVI, is the NIHR Speciality Lead for Children’s research for South London CRN and is co-Chair of the UK Infectious Diseases Vaccine Research Forum
This episode gives insight into the new and exciting respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine offered routinely in pregnancy in the USA . The vaccine is also potentially coming to the UK in 2024 .RSV causes bronchiolitis and is a common cause for babies to get unwell in the first months of life. 
We explore the BRAND NEW and different and RSV Protection Pathways:The Prenatal Vaccine vs. Newborn Antibody Strategies
 
We discuss the evidence, the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines and other strategies (monoclonal antibodies)
---------
Exploring the Options:
RSV Vaccine in Pregnancy: A newly licensed vaccine tailored to shield babies from RSV, administered during pregnancy.
Palivizumab: A monoclonal antibody treatment given to infants and children at high risk for severe RSV disease. Unlike a vaccine, it's a passive immunisation, directly providing the antibody.
Nirsevimab: Another monoclonal antibody for RSV prevention in infants, offering extended protection with less frequent injections compared to Palivizumab, available for all infants, regardless of risk.
Featuring Expert Insights from Professor Paul Heath.
Episode References 
The clinical trial which showed the effectiveness and safety of the RSV vaccine in pregnancy. Kampmann, Beate et al. “Bivalent Prefusion F Vaccine in Pregnancy to Prevent RSV Illness in Infants.” The New England journal of medicine vol. 388,16 (2023): 1451-1464. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2216480
 The new neonatal antibody treatment: Drysdale, Simon B et al. “Nirsevimab for Prevention of Hospitalizations Due to RSV in Infants.” The New England journal of medicine vol. 389,26 (2023): 2425-2435. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2309189
Medscape article talking about the different brands of vaccines against RSV and their trial data. The reason for the timing of the vaccine given in the last trimester to reduce the risk of prematurity https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/risk-preterm-birth-stops-maternal-rsv-vaccine-trial-2024a10004rk?form=fpf-----------------------Welcome to Cocooned, part of CocoonedHealth podcasting. This is your podcast on infections and vaccines in pregnancy and the newborn period.🤱🤰We are: Dr Eliz Kilich 👩‍⚕️(Infectious Diseases ST4, UK) and Dr Lydia Yarlott 👩‍⚕️(Paediatrics ST4, UK) here to talk to you about how you can keep you and your little one safe.🎤 We generate podcast episodes with expert guest speakers to discuss the latest evidence, to help you understand the public health guidance, and what things you can do to make this period as protected/ cocooned as possible.🎤Whilst no information is perfect, it changes, we have done our best to bring together information to the best of our knowledge.It is always important to discuss anything we talk about with your own healthcare provider. This is not direct personal medical advice as you are not our patients however, we want to give the public the information we already have, so you are more informed to make your own choices.Your co-hosts,ELIZ AND LYDIA ❤️
 

Sharing food with toddlers during pregnancy? What’s the risk when pregnant?
The CMV Episode
Expert Guest: Professor Lyall
 
Have you heard of the advice not to kiss your toddlers on the lips whilst pregnant or not share their food? Maybe not, or maybe you have. We talk about the rationale as to why this advice exists, and exactly WHAT the infection is, that the advice is aimed to protect against....
This is particularly important in pregnancy – the virus is called Cytomegalovirus (CMV). Not a catchy name but a catchy virus
 
Co-hosts Dr Eliz Kilich and Dr Lydia Yarlott,
are joined by special guest Professor Hermione Lyall,
who is a consultant paediatrician in the United Kingdom with special expertise in paediatric infectious diseases and was former chair of the European Congenital Cytomegalovirus CMV Network.
 
CMV Action Charity: https://cmvaction.org.uk/what-is-cmv/
 
References to the scientific evidence:
CMV and Hearing Loss: Vos, Bénédicte et al. “Cytomegalovirus-A Risk Factor for Childhood Hearing Loss: A Systematic Review.” Ear and hearing 42,6 (2021): 1447-1461. doi:10.1097/AUD.0000000000001055. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33928914/
CMV Treatment in Pregnancy: Shahar-Nissan, Keren et al. “Valaciclovir to prevent vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus after maternal primary infection during pregnancy: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.” Lancet (London, England) 396,10253 (2020): 779-785. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31868-7 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32919517/
CMV Treatment for Baby After Birth: Kimberlin, David W et al. “Effect of ganciclovir therapy on hearing in symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus disease involving the central nervous system: a randomized, controlled trial.” The Journal of pediatrics 143,1 (2003): 16-25. doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(03)00192-6 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12915819/
Duration of CMV Treatment for Baby After Birth: Kimberlin, David W et al. “Valganciclovir for symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus disease.” The New England journal of medicine 372,10 (2015): 933-43. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1404599 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25738669/
Long Term Impairment from Congenital CMV Infection: Korndewal, Marjolein J et al. “Long-term impairment attributable to congenital cytomegalovirus infection: a retrospective cohort study.” Developmental medicine and child neurology 59,12 (2017): 1261-1268. doi:10.1111/dmcn.13556 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28990181/
 
ABOUT THE PODCAST 
 
Welcome to Cocooned, part of Cocooned Health podcasting. This is your podcast on infections and vaccines in pregnancy and the newborn period.🤱🤰
We are: Dr Eliz Kilich 👩‍⚕️(Infectious Diseases ST4, UK) and Dr Lydia Yarlott 👩‍⚕️(Paediatrics ST4, UK) here to talk to you about evidence about how you can help keep you and your little one safe.
 
🎤 We generate podcast episodes with expert guest speakers to discuss the latest evidence, to help you understand the public health guidance, and what things you can do to make this period as protected/ cocooned as possible.🎤
 
Whilst no information is perfect, it changes, we have done our best to bring together information to the best of our knowledge. Information is always subject to change. The views here are our own and do not represent that of any institution or affiliated body although we do discuss public health guidance in general. It is always important to discuss anything we talk about with your own healthcare provider. This is not direct personal medical advice as you are not our patients however, we want to give the public the information we already have, so you are more informed to make your own choices.
 

Whooping Cough vaccinesDr Lydia Yarlott & co-host Dr Eliz Kilich,
is joined by our special guest  Professor Adam Finn,
who is a Professor of Paediatrics at the University of Bristol, in the UK.
 
His research interests include immunity to bacterial respiratory illnesses. He is also a senior clinician in the paediatric immunology and infectious diseases service at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children and the South West region and heads the Bristol Vaccine Centre. 
 
In addition, he was Chairman of the WHO European Technical Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization from 2011 to 2022. He has spent ten years as ex officio member of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, Member of the UK Department of Health Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation from 2014-2024). He also spent 4 years during 2015-2019 as President of the European Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases.Also check out Professor Adam Finn's TED talk below:
Tinyurl.com/afinnwhoop
References: 
Amirthalingam, Gayatri et al. “Effectiveness of maternal pertussis vaccination in England: an observational study.” Lancet (London, England) vol. 384,9953 (2014): 1521-8. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60686-3
D'Heilly C, Switzer C, Macina D. Safety of Maternal Immunization Against Pertussis: A Systematic Review. Infect Dis Ther. 2019 Dec;8(4):543-568. doi: 10.1007/s40121-019-00265-6. Epub 2019 Sep 17. PMID: 31531826; PMCID: PMC6856234.Briga, M., Goult, E., Brett, T.S. et al. Maternal pertussis immunization and the blunting of routine vaccine effectiveness: a meta-analysis and modeling study. Nat Commun 15, 921 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44943-7Abu-Raya B, Forsyth K, Halperin SA, Maertens K, Jones CE, Heininger U, Hozbor D, Wirsing von König CH, Chitkara AJ, Muloiwa R, Tan TQ. Vaccination in Pregnancy against Pertussis: A Consensus Statement on Behalf of the Global Pertussis Initiative. Vaccines (Basel). 2022 Nov 23;10(12):1990. doi: 10.3390/vaccines10121990. PMID: 36560400; PMCID: PMC9786323.
 
Aim of the Podcast
What is Whooping cough / the bug that causes it - Bordetella pertussis?
Why is the pertussis vaccination and what are the recommendations for it in pregnancy and in childhood?
The safety data for the vaccines
Why the whooping cough/ pertussis vaccine is repeated in infancy after maternal vaccination and the benefits of this approach? 
To talk about newer vaccines that are being developedABOUT THE PODCAST Welcome to Cocooned, part of CocoonedHealth podcasting. This is your podcast on infections and vaccines in pregnancy and the newborn period.🤱🤰We are: Dr Eliz Kilich 👩‍⚕️(Infectious Diseases ST4, UK) and Dr Lydia Yarlott 👩‍⚕️(Paediatrics ST4, UK) here to talk to you about evidence about how you can help keep you and your little one safe.🎤 We generate podcast episodes with expert guest speakers to discuss the latest evidence, to help you understand the public health guidance, and what things you can do to make this period as protected/ cocooned as possible.🎤Whilst no information is perfect, it changes, we have done our best to bring together information to the best of our knowledge. Information is always subject to change. The views here are our own and do not represent that of any institution or affiliated body although we do discuss public health guidance in general. It is always important to discuss anything we talk about with your own healthcare provider. This is not direct personal medical advice as you are not our patients however, we want to give the public the information we already have, so you are more informed to make your own choices.

Have you wanted more details about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines?
Let's delve into the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and boosters in pregnancy - a conversation between three doctors from the UK & Canada. 
 
Expert Guest: Dr Manish Sadarangani 
Dear Listeners,
 
We hope to give pregnant women more information about the public health message of why SARS-CoV-2 vaccines are recommended in pregnancy (the benefits) and join us for Part 2 on their safety. Thank you for joining us Dr Lydia Yarlott (ST4 Paediatrics, UK) and Dr Eliz Kilich (ST4 Infectious Diseases/ Medical Microbiology UK) with our special guest Dr Manish Sadarangani speaking about why the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine is recommended in pregnancy and its benefits.
ENJOY! References/Links for the Video of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Pregnancy
Part 1 and Part 2
 
https://canvas-network.ca/covid-study/ McClymont E, Albert AY, Alton GD, et al. Association of SARS-CoV-2 Infection During Pregnancy With Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes. JAMA. 2022;327(20):1983–1991. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.5906
 
Velez MP, Fell DB, Shellenberger JP, Kwong JC, Ray JG. Miscarriage after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination: A population-based cohort study. BJOG. 2023 Nov 16. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.17721. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37973606. 
Jorgensen SCJ, Drover SSM, Fell DB, Austin PC, D'Souza R, Guttmann A, Buchan SA, Wilson SE, Nasreen S, Schwartz KL, Tadrous M, Wilson K, Kwong JC. Newborn and Early Infant Outcomes Following Maternal COVID-19 Vaccination During Pregnancy. JAMA Pediatr. 2023 Dec 1;177(12):1314-1323. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2023.4499. PMID: 37870875; PMCID: PMC10594175.
 
 Jorgensen SCJ, Hernandez A, Fell DB, Austin PC, D'Souza R, Guttmann A, Brown KA, Buchan SA, Gubbay JB, Nasreen S, Schwartz KL, Tadrous M, Wilson K, Kwong JC; Canadian Immunization Research Network (CIRN) Provincial Collaborative Network (PCN) Investigators. Maternal mRNA covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy and delta or omicron infection or hospital admission in infants: test negative design study. BMJ. 2023 Feb 8;380:e074035. doi: 10.1136/bmj-2022-074035. PMID: 36754426; PMCID: PMC9903336.
 
 Matsuo K, Green JM, Herrman SA, Mandelbaum RS, Ouzounian JG. Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality of Pregnant Patients With COVID-19 Infection During the Early Pandemic Period in the US. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(4):e237149. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.7149
 
 Villar, et al. Maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality Among pregnant women With and without COVID-19 infection The INTERCOVID multinational cohort study. JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175: 817–826 
 
Disclaimer:We discuss the available evidence and aim to keep our listeners as informed as possible. Please review our disclaimer and note that this is not personal medical advice, as we are not your doctors!
However, we aim to inform to the best of our ability but as always still consult your own healthcare professional going forward. We do not accept liability for personal decisions made on behalf of the podcast.