Shot of Prevention

By Amy Pisani

ECBT Spokesperson Brendalee Flint, whose daughter Julieanna contacted Hib during the 2008 outbreak in Minnesota was featured in a story by the Minnesota Pioneer Press regarding a study of 1,631 children conducted by local health officials and presented to the CDC last week. While the children tested in 2009 did not exhibit traces of Hib bacteria, officials were alarmed that 5 percent of the parents involved in the study had concerns about vaccines.  Eight percent of the families had not vaccinated their children using the CDC Recommended Immunization Schedule.  Two additional cases of Hib meningitis were reported in young children in 2009 and there is a fear that rising anti-vaccine sentiment may be weakening the community’s defense against diseases.  Brendalee, who is an outspoken advocate for vaccines after witnessing Julieanna’s suffering states “I’m totally open to listening to people — whatever choices they’re making” about refusing vaccines, she said, “but I also let them know, ‘I’m sorry, then your kids can’t play with my kids.’ “To read the full story click  here.

[Ed. Note - In honor of National Influenza Vaccination Week, we are having a post each day related to influenza. I wanted to re-share with you today a post by Dena Penner that was published shortly before the holiday.   I think it’s worth another read, or a first read if you hadn’t seen it already. Dena is a mother of two young children  who is also a long time advocate for vaccines and children’s health.  Her patience and her beliefs were tested last year during flu season when they ALL fell ill with the flu even though they had been vaccinated . Keep reading to see why Dena is still such a firm believer in vaccines]

A Mom Explains Why She’s Still A Flu Shot Fan

By Dena Penner

Dena Wichansky Penner is a health education and communications consultant to non-profit maternal and child health organizations, including Every Child By Two.  She is the former Director of Communications for the National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition and the National Partnership for Immunization.

“You must have gotten the flu from your flu vaccine.”  I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that statement during last year’s flu season!  Despite being vaccinated against seasonal flu early last October, my 5-year-old daughter, one-year-old son and I all contracted the flu several months later.  Through my coughing, I patiently explained to the questioners that it would be impossible for us to “catch” the flu from a flu shot, since the viruses used in the vaccine are inactivated.  As someone who has worked on the issue of immunization for many years, this was the ultimate irony.  I am a firm believer in immunization, and I had done everything right, getting vaccinations for myself and my children at the start of that flu season.  In fact, I wouldn’t have believed that we actually had the flu if it hadn’t been confirmed by nose swab tests.  (This is a procedure where you feel as if the nurse is sticking a cotton swab through your nose and into your brain.  Almost a year later, my daughter still fearfully asks me each and every time we visit the pediatrician, “Do we have to get a nose test?”

Unfortunately, while the flu vaccine provides excellent protection from the virus, it is not 100% effective.  When the flu vaccine is created each year, its manufacturers must match the virus strains in the vaccine with those circulating in the community.  If these virus strains are not closely matched, the vaccine is less effective.  However, getting vaccinated is still extremely beneficial, because even if you get sick, it reduces the severity of flu symptoms.  My guess is that this is what happened to us.  Despite our bout with the flu, I am still a strong believer in the vaccine, and my children and I were vaccinated again this year.  Why?  Because, of the three of us, I was actually the one who had the worst symptoms of the flu.  Both children had low-grade fevers, but once they had some Tylenol in them, they were basically back to their normal selves, running and playing.  The importance of the vaccine was made clear when I was at the pediatrician’s office for the second time with my daughter (who actually got sick with two different strains of the disease).  I expressed my frustrations about the situation to the doctor, and wondered why I had bothered to get vaccinated.  My doctor looked at my daughter dancing around the exam room and commented, “Be glad you got them vaccinated.  If you hadn’t, you would have been carrying her in here.”  I have seen the tragic stories of families whose children were completely healthy one day and seriously ill or dead the next after contracting the flu.  I will do everything possible to make sure my family isn’t one of those stories.

By Carol J. Baker, MD

Carol J. Baker, MD is Professor of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Immediate Past President, NFID, Chair, NFID’s Childhood Influenza Immunization Coalition

Last spring H1N1 pandemic influenza catapulted influenza onto the “A list” of newsworthy topics. After months of being in the news, much of what we’re hearing now is about how the worst is behind us. But I’m not breathing a sigh of relief. Already one of my patients, a 5 month old, has died.  Another healthy 13 year old with asthma is left with amputations of his fingers and toes.  Flu cases may be down, but they are not gone.  I’m advising parents in my practice to stay on guard and I think you should, too.

In reality, we’re only just beginning the stretch generally considered – in non-pandemic years – to be the “flu season.” In most “typical” flu seasons, the virus doesn’t peak until around February, and remains in circulation at least until early spring. And given the unpredictability of flu virus, it’s entirely possible that another H1N1 wave could hit – and perhaps circulate simultaneously with strains of seasonal flu – long before we can reliably deem flu viruses as down for the count this season. Since there’s no way to know with certainty how the  next act of this current flu season tragedy will play out, it makes sense to eliminate the risk and get your children vaccinated for both seasonal influenza and H1N1 this winter.     

For all you parents reading this, I urge you, as I urge parents in my own practice, to get the facts about flu! As your children return to school after their holiday break, and congregate indoors through the coming coldest months, they’re more likely to spread and catch germs – including flu virus. Why leave them unprotected? Know that influenza can be a serious illness that each year causes hospitalizations and deaths in children – even previously healthy ones. It’s impossible to predict which kids will be most seriously affected with flu complications, including pneumonia – a leading cause of children’s death. But one thing we do know is that vaccination is the best way to protect against influenza.

Flu can spread quickly through a family. If you act now, you’ll help ensure that your family won’t be laid up with flu through the President’s Day and Spring Break holidays. Call your pediatrician or local health department to locate the most convenient source of immunization in your area.

Choose to do your part to make 2010 a happy and healthy new year for your family!

By Amy Pisani

I wanted to bring everyone up to speed and report back on some excellent articles that I saw over the holidays. Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and president-elect of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, wrote a great opinion piece for msnbc.com that highlights five positive outcomes of the H1N1 influenza pandemic.  While there was a lot of negativity earlier in the season about flu vaccine shortages, it seems like the supply has increased to a point where most people are able to find the vaccine, and cases seem to be on the decline. While we don’t want to be too optimistic and say that the H1N1 pandemic is behind us, and we certainly don’t want to overlook the many deaths and illnesses that were suffered as a result of H1N1, I do think it is important to reflect on some of the positive outcomes that came of it. Here are some of the things that Dr. Schaffner lists:

• Positive No. 1: By the end of 2009, our influenza enterprise will have supplied almost 200 million doses of flu vaccine in the U.S.
• Positive outcome No. 2: We have the capacity to produce more vaccine than the American public usually demands.
• Positive outcome No. 3: Public demand for vaccine is up this year — way up. Right now that means news reports of “shortages” as vaccine supply continues to roll out.
• Positive No. 4: While manufacturers are private enterprises that need to consider profits, they’ve shown great flexibility and willingness to alter their plans and work to achieve goals established by our public health leaders.
• Positive No. 5: Flu awareness has increased.

 I encourage you to read the full article here.

By Amy Pisani

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe, happy and healthy holiday season. It seems like we are heading into 2010 with some great news. I just read this report on msnbc.com by Reuters about a study showing that more kids in the U.S. are fully vaccinated than ever.  The report, conducted by the CDC, shows that disparities in vaccine coverage are shrinking.  Back in 1991 when Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers founded the organization Every Child By Two, their main goal was to eliminate disparities in vaccine coverage in the U.S. As executive director, I am so proud that the work of our founders is coming to fruition and that nearly 20 years after the inception of ECBT, we are entering a new decade where kids are protected against disease regardless of their socioeconomic status.  The study reports that in 2008, 72% of children with public providers were fully immunized, as were nearly 81% of children with no siblings. Although we are still working to correct misinformation about vaccines, it’s reassuring to know that initiatives such as the Vaccines for Children Program have made it possible for all children to have access to life-saving vaccines.

 To read the article and find out more about the CDC study, click here.

By Phil Plait

[Ed. note: This is an excerpt of Phil's blog. Click here to read the full post.]

You may have heard the recent news that an expert panel of pediatricians reviewed the literature on gastrointestinal disorders and autism, and found no link between them. A key phrase in their findings was

The existence of a gastrointestinal disturbance specific to persons with ASDs (eg, “autistic enterocolitis”) has not been established.

They also found that there was no evidence that special diets help autistic kids. Mind you, this was a panel of 28 experts, scientists who have devoted their careers and lives to investigating autism.

So if you were a reporter at ABC News, who would you turn to to get an opinion on this? If you said Jenny McCarthy, then give yourself a gold star, because that’s just what ABC News did. Go and watch that interview (have some antacid ready). In it, she says that scientists need to take anecdotes seriously, a statement so awful it’s hard to know where to start with it.

Visit Phil’s blog at Discover Magazine online to read the full post at: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2010/01/06/abc-news-embraces-the-nonsense/