“When Father Myers got up at Mass and told everyone to pray for Ben and Barbara’s daughter, MaryAnne, we thought you were never coming home again,” my sister Jan would say, wide-eyed and animated. I was MaryAnne, the subject of the prayers, but because I have my own memories of what happened that winter’s night […]
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? […]
It is National Infant Immunization Week, and that means we are talking vaccines in infancy. In particular, we are encouraging people who are expecting babies and their loves ones to discuss the benefits of immunizing on-time! When I say we are talking vaccines, I mean we are talking about vaccines everywhere! First, Nathan and I […]
“Mandy, can he try Jello?” my mother asks me conspiratorially, as she cuddles her last grandchild in her arms at the Chinese buffet. Mikey Wale is my third child, so the answer is almost always yes. “Why not?” I say, and she tenderly feeds him a tiny red morsel. He drools it right back onto […]
When I first had babies, long before I became The Vaccine Lady, I took my children to be immunized as a matter of course, without any real sense of what I was protected them against. I knew that the diseases I was hoping to shield them from were bad, but I didn’t know the path […]
In recognition of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), Voices For Vaccines is participating in a blog relay to discuss the critical role vaccines play in protecting children, families, and communities against vaccine-preventable diseases. NIIW is sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). You can follow the NIIW conversation on social media using hashtag #NIIW. I have […]
We got our flu vaccines before I found out I was pregnant. Our provider had their flu clinic in September, and we all went. It’s an annual ritual at this point. The line was long, and our little boy ran back and forth from us and (as usual) chatted non-stop about a whole variety of […]