With my first child, I chose to delay and selectively vaccinate. I considered myself reasonably well-informed, and saw this as a way to mitigate perceived risks. However, when my daughter turned one, still behind on her jabs, I wavered on vaccinating her at all and eventually decided not to continue her immunizations, even on the […]
When the good folks at WithinReach in Washington state invited us to come talk at their immunization summit, we were more than thrilled. Recording a podcast in front of a live audience brings new dimensions to the podcast, and these new dimensions gave us an opportunity to talk about a subject we have been saving […]
We love that our members are active podcast listeners, too. The purpose of the Vax Talk podcast is to start conversations that engage regular (read non-vaccine advocacy) folks. We were thrilled to discover another vaccine-advocacy podcast on the block! We hope you subscribe to both, and we invite you to listen to this cross-pod episode […]
With the birth of my daughter came the mom’s group—a place where first-time mothers can go in sweatpants, baby in tow, and not feel guilty about it. Normally, this wouldn’t have been my jam, but I needed some kind of solidarity and there it was. This world of mom was new, but so was being around so […]
As my child turns two this year, I’m looking back at some of the earlier memories I have of motherhood. During pregnancy, I recall one of my good friends asking me in secret, “Are you planning on vaccinating your child?” “Yes, of course,” I replied. She said she did as well, and I remember thinking […]
It was 1998, and the chickenpox vaccine was just coming out. At that time–the chickenpox vaccine became available in 1995—my daughter was four and completely up-to-date on all of the recommended vaccinations. However, I didn’t see the point of taking her in to get that one—I mean, chickenpox was no big deal, right? I was […]
Or: Confessions of a Broken Record I post about two things on social media – science fiction and vaccines. The first, because I love it. I am a hardcore Trekkie/Star Wars/Firefly/Isaac Asimov-loving type of girl. The second, because I am a nurse and I practice evidence-based medicine. I never realized that opposition to vaccination was […]
In 2009, I turned in my pipettes and decided to pursue a career outside of the laboratory. I was living in Boulder, Colorado, and had clearly been shielded up to that point from the fact that there were people who are fearful of or against vaccination. In the beginning, I found this topic enraging and […]
August is National Immunization Awareness Month, the month set aside for reminding parents to get their babies, older children, teenagers, and themselves vaccinated. While Voices for vaccines is always all about vaccines, most people simply go in for immunizations and never give vaccines a second thought. This month, let’s get everyone talking to their friends, family, […]
I was still trying to come to terms with how things had played out. In the space of just over a week I’d gone from winding down my work so I could go on maternity leave before experiencing what I hoped would be a natural hospital birth to holding a teeny preemie who had just been […]