I am part of a family of five, and neither me nor my siblings received any childhood or adolescent vaccines. My mom is somewhat of a unique anti-vaxxer, in the sense that she believes that the use of vaccinations means we are being too human-centered and are harming other species on the planet as a […]
No vaccine for coronavirus exists (yet?), but learning about this newest emerging disease and watching how the epidemic is handled can teach us a lot about public health strategies that include vaccines. So we invited Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University, on to talk about coronavirus. Links from the episode: Interim CDC Flu […]
Noah was two years old when we noticed that something was terribly wrong. We took him to the emergency room one night because he was unresponsive, limp, and starting to turn blue. We were sent home from the emergency room that night with a diagnosis of constipation and told to start him on Miralax. The […]
I want to tell you about the children that are impacted by those who choose not to vaccinate—children like my 4 year old grandson who has leukemia. His chemotherapy treatment will last 3 ½ years, and by the end, it will wipe out any immunity he had received from vaccinations. He is also immuno-compromised during […]
What happens when you bring to HPV Vaccine is Cancer Prevention champions together? A great conversation about how to encourage parents to start and complete the HPV vaccine series in order to prevent six forms of cancer. For this episode, we brought Minnesota champion Dr. Andrea Singh to talk to Karen and Nathan–the Iowa HPV […]
Editor’s note: This post deals with sexual matters, including non-consensual sexual assault and may not be suited for all audiences. I will always advocate for the HPV vaccine because I don’t want anyone else to go through what I’ve been through. I’ve heard people say the HPV vaccine isn’t necessary, that as long as you’re […]
Ever since I was a child, I hated needles. I think many people would say the same thing. Even as I went through pharmacy school and learned about the value of vaccines in regard to public health, I kept thinking the same thing: “Seriously, does it always have to be a needle that makes things […]
Shelle Allen’s healthy, happy daughter, Madi, was 12 years old when she asked to be picked up from a birthday party. After a day, she figured Madi had “just the flu.” She never imagined that what would follow would be a months-long battle with influenza for Madi’s life. In the end, everything about their lives […]
I’ve always felt that National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW, which is this week, falls strangely late in the year. The CDC advised everyone get their flu shots before the end of October–or a month in the past. I, myself, even told people to get their flu shots before they bought their Halloween candy. So where […]
We know that parents refusing vaccines is an area of concern for all of us, but more frequently, parents are asking doctors to give vaccines at a slower rate or in different combinations than the CDC recommends. What is behind these requests, and are these “alternative schedules” a good idea? We asked Dr. Paul Offit […]