Introduction Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) marketing has increased considerably since the product entered the US market in 2007, thereby warranting additional surveillance to monitor recent trends in population-level awareness and utilization. We assessed the prevalence, characteristics, and trends in e-cigarette awareness and use among nationally representative samples of US adults during 2010–2013. Methods Data came from the 2010–2013 HealthStyles survey, an annual consumer-based web survey of US adults aged ≥18 years. Sample sizes ranged from 2,505 (2010) to 4,170 (2012). Descriptive statistics were used to assess e-cigarette awareness, ever use, and current use (use within the past 30 days) overall and by sex, age, race/ethnicity, education, income, US region, and cigarette smoking status. Trends were assessed using logistic regression. Results During 2010–2013, increases (p < .05) were observed for e-cigarette awareness (40.9%–79.7%), ever use (3.3%–8.5%), and current use (1.0%–2.6%). Awareness increased among all sociodemographic subpopulations during 2010–2013 (p < .05); an increase in ever use of e-cigarettes occurred among all sociodemographic groups except those aged 18–24 years, Hispanics, and those living in the Midwest (p < .05). During 2010–2013, ever use increased among current (9.8%–36.5%) and former (2.5%–9.6%) cigarette smokers (p < .05), but it remained unchanged among never smokers (1.3%–1.2%). Conclusions Awareness and use of e-cigarettes increased considerably among US adults during 2010–2013. In 2013, more than one-third of current cigarette smokers reported having ever used e-cigarettes. Given the uncertain public health impact of e-cigarettes, continued surveillance of emerging use patterns is critical for public health planning.

This article describes perceptions of the COVID‐19 vaccine among US adults, and reports that younger adults, women, non‐Hispanic Black adults, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas, adults with less education and income, and adults without health insurance have the highest estimates of nonintent to receive vaccination; due to concerns about side effects and safety of the COVID‐19 vaccine, lack of trust in the government, and concern that COVID‐19 vaccines were developed too quickly are the primary reasons for deferring vaccination. Solid organ transplant candidates and recipients may harbor similar concerns about vaccination, and further, may rely more heavily on herd immunity for protection from COVID‐19, since the efficacy of COVID‐19 vaccination among immunosuppressed individuals remains ill‐defined. Promoting vaccine confidence among transplant candidates, transplant recipients, and the general population will thus be critical to preventing spread of COVID‐19.

On February 9, 2021, this report was posted as an MMWR Early Release on the MMWR website (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr). As of February 8, 2021, 59.3 million doses of vaccines to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) had been distributed in the United States, and 31.6 million persons had received at least 1 dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (1). However, national polls conducted before vaccine distribution began suggested that many persons were hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccination (2). To examine perceptions toward COVID-19 vaccine and intentions to be vaccinated, in September and December 2020, CDC conducted household panel surveys among a representative sample of U.S. adults. From September to December, vaccination intent (defined as being absolutely certain or very likely to be vaccinated) increased overall (from 39.4% to 49.1%); the largest increase occurred among adults aged ≥65 years. If defined as being absolutely certain, very likely, or somewhat likely to be vaccinated, vaccination intent increased overall from September (61.9%) to December (68.0%). Vaccination nonintent (defined as not intending to receive a COVID-19 vaccination) decreased among all adults (from 38.1% to 32.1%) and among most sociodemographic groups. Younger adults, women, non-Hispanic Black (Black) persons, adults living in nonmetropolitan areas, and adults with lower educational attainment, with lower income, and without health insurance were most likely to report lack of intent to receive COVID-19 vaccine. Intent to receive COVID-19 vaccine increased among adults aged ≥65 years by 17.1 percentage points (from 49.1% to 66.2%), among essential workers by 8.8 points (from 37.1% to 45.9%), and among adults aged 18-64 years with underlying medical conditions by 5.3 points (from 36.5% to 41.8%). Although confidence in COVID-19 vaccines increased during September-December 2020 in the United States, additional efforts to tailor messages and implement strategies to further increase the public's confidence, overall and within specific subpopulations, are needed. Ensuring high and equitable vaccination coverage across all populations is important to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has issued interim recommendations for COVID-19 vaccine allocation, with initial limited supplies of vaccines recommended for health care personnel and residents of long-term care facilities (phase 1a); frontline essential workers and persons aged ≥75 years (phase 1b); and persons aged 65-74 years, persons aged 16-64 years at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness because of underlying medical conditions,* and other workers in essential and critical infrastructure sectors † not included in phases 1a and 1b (phase 1c) (3,4). Vaccinating a large proportion of persons in the United States against COVID-19 is critical for preventing SARS-CoV-2associated morbidity and mortality and helping bring an end to the global pandemic. During September 3-October 1, CDC conducted a probabi...

Mutations in optic atrophy 1 (OPA1), a nuclear gene encoding a mitochondrial protein, is the most common cause for autosomal dominant optic atrophy (DOA). The condition is characterized by gradual loss of vision, color vision defects, and temporal optic pallor. To understand the molecular mechanism by which OPA1 mutations cause optic atrophy and to facilitate the development of an effective therapeutic agent for optic atrophies, we analyzed phenotypes in the developing and adult Drosophila eyes produced by mutant dOpa1 (CG8479), a Drosophila ortholog of human OPA1. Heterozygous mutation of dOpa1 by a P-element or transposon insertions causes no discernable eye phenotype, whereas the homozygous mutation results in embryonic lethality. Using powerful Drosophila genetic techniques, we created eye-specific somatic clones. The somatic homozygous mutation of dOpa1 in the eyes caused rough (mispatterning) and glossy (decreased lens and pigment deposition) eye phenotypes in adult flies; this phenotype was reversible by precise excision of the inserted P-element. Furthermore, we show the rough eye phenotype is caused by the loss of hexagonal lattice cells in developing eyes, suggesting an increase in lattice cell apoptosis. In adult flies, the dOpa1 mutation caused an increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) production as well as mitochondrial fragmentation associated with loss and damage of the cone and pigment cells. We show that superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), Vitamin E, and genetically overexpressed human SOD1 (hSOD1) is able to reverse the glossy eye phenotype of dOPA1 mutant large clones, further suggesting that ROS play an important role in cone and pigment cell death. Our results show dOpa1 mutations cause cell loss by two distinct pathogenic pathways. This study provides novel insights into the pathogenesis of optic atrophy and demonstrates the promise of antioxidants as therapeutic agents for this condition.