Lately, I have noticed how anti-vaccine activists are using the law to shape how we are all talking about vaccines. Sometimes they file lawsuits, sometimes they fight legislation, and sometimes they claim malfeasance in past legal battles. On this last point, we have a recent claim by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an environmental lawyer by […]
The HPV (human papilloma virus) vaccine lags far behind other adolescent vaccines when it comes to immunization rates. In 2016, 60% of adolescents received at least one dose of HPV, while 88% received the vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. All of those diseases are serious, and HPV causes six types of cancer, so it […]
Every year, I post on social media asking who among my friends needs to be pestered to get a flu shot. And every year, some smart aleck tells me he isn’t getting one because he doesn’t believe in flu shots. So what about flu shots? Are they worth it? Is influenza even a big deal? […]
The past three years have been grueling. During that time, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 Adenocarcinoma at age 36. I was a single mother with two children, ages 6 and 8. I got the diagnosis in a roundabout way, as, unfortunately, many of us do. I had had abnormal pap smears starting 8 years […]
1 Week Prior to Doctor Appointment Zoe: “I don’t want to get a shot. Will I have to get a shot?” Me: “Yes, you will have to get at least one shot.” Zoe: “I DON’T WANT TO GET A SHOT? Why? Why do I have to get a shot?” Me: “To keep you healthy.” Zoe: […]
Is there wiggle room about the idea that vaccines do not cause autism? Is it possible that sometimes in some particularly vulnerable children that vaccines act as a trigger for autism? Dr. Peter Hotez’s new book Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel’s Autism leaves no wiggle room in the answer. Vaccines have nothing to do with […]
My brother, who is six years older than I am, has a scar where his smallpox vaccine was administered when he was a child. I do not have this same scar because smallpox had been eliminated from the United States by the time I was born and would be declared eradicated from the planet within […]
I sat down to write this piece and I asked myself “Where do I start?” My best answer for that would be to start at the end of December. Scott and I had moved to a decent apartment, the bottom half of a pretty house. We loved that apartment; it had a lot of space. We had […]
Nurses are trusted healthcare providers because they are caring, smart, and hard-working. We all love our nurses, so when they speak out against vaccines, they present a special danger. A few nurses have publicly come out or made the news for being anti-vaccine, and we want to provide ways for pro-vaxxers to combat this threat. […]
Who’s your favorite Superman? Christopher Reeve? Dean Cain? Henry Cavill? Ours is Jason Mendelsohn, the unassuming father of three who defeated Stage IV HPV throat cancer in order to urge parents to vaccinate their children in order to prevent it for them. Parents of boys are often confused by the HPV vaccine. Both Nathan and […]