“I read this awful story about a girl who got that vaccine and…” Yep, social media and vaccines: the intersection where the worst information spreads the fastest and friendships end. We’ve all been there. It’s not all bad news. Social media can help us learn more about vaccines hesitancy and vaccines confidence, and we can […]
There’s a narrative amongst anti-vaccine activists that people who work in the vaccine world are doing it for the money. Be they pediatricians or advocates or pharmaceutical employees or government workers, the story goes that they are primarily motivated by money. Of course, this story is false. I’ve met hundreds of “vaccine people,” as I […]
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 […]
If I had a penny for every time I said, “I’m talking about mothers here because mothers are the people who usually make decisions about healthcare for their children,” I’d probably have a dollar. Still, we talk a great deal about motherhood, Crunchy Moms, Mom Tribes, mommy groups, and so forth when we talk about […]
When I first heard that Dr. Chad Hayes (from Demystifying Pediatrics) and Natalie Newell (from the Science Moms film) were teaming up to do a podcast, I knew we had to talk to them. I’m glad we did talk, because the result was a great podcast episode covering topics from integrative medicine to Andrew Wakefield […]
I don’t know if Dr. Paul Offit (author and doctor in Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) counts as famous, but for many in the pro-vaccine world, he certainly appears to be so. What might surprise his fans is that he is as kind and generous as he is intelligent. A few years ago, […]
Five years ago, Voices for Vaccines relaunched as a pro-vaccine parent organization. On a personal level, working with Voices for Vaccines these past five years has been an honor and almost always a true joy. The absolute best part of this job, and of my efforts to coalesce a pro-vaccine movement to do good, has […]
“My sister-in law won’t vaccinated my nieces and nephews.” “My cousin has been posting anti-vaccine memes on Facebook.” “My best friend is convinced her child’s autism was caused by vaccines.” Voices for Vaccines receives many emails, but the ones about a loved one who is vaccine hesitant catch my attention first. Because of the volume […]
If you don’t know Tara Smith from Kent State, you should. That may be the main reason we asked her to be a guest on our most recent podcast. She’s smart, witty, and determined. But the excuse me made to have her on the podcast was a recent article she published, “Vaccine Rejection and Hesitancy: […]
Crossing the threshold into adulthood is marked by rites of passage: graduations, first jobs, and lowered vaccine uptake. Perhaps getting fewer vaccines isn’t a rite of passage, but ignoring vaccines as a hallmark of preventive health seems to be ubiquitous among adults who adhere gladly to well-child checks and immunization schedules for their children. Just […]