Thanks to decades of awareness campaigns, parents are no longer surprised at a well-child check that their babies will be getting vaccines. But often, they are surprised or confused by how many vaccines are given, what diseases they prevent, how immunizations are monitored for safety, and how to make the shots less painful for their […]
I guess it all started with my fascination with herbal medicine and other alternative healing practices. I had a very nice and sizeable herbal remedy bookshelf, the pride of which was my ‘The Green Pharmacy‘ by Dr James D. Duke. I’ll come back to that in a bit. I also used ‘Healing Foods‘ by Miriam […]
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 […]
As the person at the helm of Voices for Vaccines, I frequently hear the newest claims made by anti-vaccine activists about the alleged dangers of vaccines. Part of my job is investigating these claims, talking to experts about them, and helping to communicate to parents about which of these claims are valid and which are […]
There has been a lot of talk since 1998 as to whether vaccines cause autism. Though I have been loath to enter this conversation, it has become apparent that perhaps I should speak in order to provide a helpful, even fresh perspective. Here is our family’s story. In 1987, my youngest sister was born, the […]
As you graduate high school or start work or college, getting protected against vaccine-preventable diseases probably isn’t very high on your to-do list. Once you realize that these diseases, like measles, flu, and meningococcal meningitis, etc., might in the best case scenario just keep you out of school for a few weeks, but can also […]
As a pediatric nurse practitioner, I have given thousands of vaccines to children. But most people don’t know something very important about me. I have a history with vaccinations that I have kept quiet for a long time. I was anti-vaccinations I am the first born of four children to wonderful parents. My mom and […]
The subject of vaccination is both a personal and a professional issue for me. After my daughter was born, there was never any question that we would vaccinate. Of course we worried about a rare adverse event, and seeing that sweet baby flesh poked by needles made us more upset than our daughter. As a physician, however, I […]
The best critical thinkers can fall victim to misinformation—even nurses like me. I was recently reminded of a time I had been misguided when I read a news report of a pregnant nurse who had refused a flu shot and was subsequently fired. She based her decision not to receive the flu vaccine on Internet […]