Shot of Prevention

Last week I heard about a woman, opposed to vaccines, that presents business cards to random strangers, like the pregnant teller at the bank.  The card directs people to information that is intended to deter them from immunizing their children.  While this woman is a prime example of the vocal minority, the truth is that the majority of parents vaccinate their children as recommended.  They just don’t feel the need to advertise it to strangers.  But perhaps it’s time for this to change.

The Moms Who Vax blog is an excellent representation of parents who are speaking out in favor of immunizations.  With increasing cases of vaccine preventable diseases, along with growing numbers of intentionally unvaccinated children, some parents are becoming more vocal in their immunization advocacy efforts.  Parents, like Jessica Parker, have decided to speak out – on blogs, on Facebook threads, in mommy chat rooms, directly to their members of Congress and, most importantly, to other parents who are faced with decisions concerning their children’s health and immunizations.

Jessica explains why she has become so passionate about this issue;

“I never even knew of the pro-/anti-vax battleground until I had children. It was never something I questioned, and it was never an option to consider not protecting them. The mere list of symptoms and long-lasting effects of preventable diseases was enough to convince me to vaccinate my kids. Then, when I got pregnant with my second child, a friend gave me an anti-vax book in hopes that I would change my mind. I’ll admit, it made me angry. The outright lies were easy to see through. All it did was fuel my passion to educate others on vaccination.”

Recently, Jessica returned from a trip where she made a surprising discovery.  A disease, which is now vaccine preventable, had impacted her family in ways she had never known.  Her story appears on Moms Who Vax to remind parents of the differences vaccines have made in our lives today – for us, as parents, as well as for our children.   

How Measles Made a Mark on My Family, by Jessica Parker

I’m sure many mothers can relate when I say that family is my world. My extended family tells me where I came from. My parents helped shape who I am today. My sister was my first friend. My husband is my teammate. My children are my legacy. Family is one thing I will never tire of investing in (though I do have my moments of needing a break), and my children are one thing I will always fight to protect. Read more…

This week marks the 18th celebration of National Infant Immunization Week (NIIW), observed in conjunction with the World Health Organization’s first annual World Immunization Week.

As we highlight the importance of childhood immunizations, it’s important that we also recognize the impact that vaccines can have on people in our communities that are not able to be vaccinated.  Since infants don’t begin receiving vaccinations for many diseases until they are two months old, they remain vulnerable at a time when they are also most fragile.  Additionally, we must consider the children and adults on chemotherapy or who have immune system deficiencies.  Often these patients can’t be vaccinated because of their condition or the vaccines are ineffective for them.  For these patients to be protected, it’s important that other members of the community do their part and help reduce the spread of disease by keeping up to date with their vaccines.

It only takes one tragedy – like that experienced by Jonathan Alcaide and Kathy Riffenburg, who recently loss their son Brady – to remind us that we can help protect one another from a highly contagious infection known as pertussis, or whooping cough.

In a recent interview with WWLP News out of Chicopee, MA, Barbara Stechenberg,  Chief of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at  Baystate Children’s Hospital, explains how pertussis can often be contracted by an infant through an adult who has not been given a Tdap booster shot.

“One of the important things to know is most babies who develop whooping cough get it from an older child or an adult in the family,” said Dr. Stechenberg.

In the case of Jon and Kathy, their son Brady was a healthy and happy baby born on November 20, 2011 and weighing in at 8 lb 6 oz.  As excited as they were, they thought they were taking every precaution with their baby son.  They even insisted that visitors wash their hands or use hand sanitizer before they were permitted to pick him up.

But then in early January, they noticed Brady was coming down with what they assumed was a cold.  When his fever spiked to 104 they brought him to the ER where they completed a multitude of tests.  They finally sent him home, requesting that they keep an eye on the cold. Kathy kept her friends and family updated on Brady’s condition through her own Facebook posts. Read more…

How is it possible that one tiny baby, who only graced this planet for a mere 27 days, can have such an enormous impact on people today?

I believe it has to do with passion…persistence… and the horrible impact of a disease called pertussis.

Kaliah was only 27 days old when she lost her life to pertussis.  However, her life – like every other child’s life – was precious.  And her family – like every other family – did everything possible to try to prevent this tragedy.  Now Kaliah’s family is grieving.  But they are also fighting.  Fighting to find the strength and courage to share Kaliah’s story to spare other families from experiencing their unimaginable pain.

The story begins with the heartfelt words of her young mother, Chelsey, who explains

 “When I first held her, my entire life changed at that moment.” 

She shares the pain of this devastating disease as she reveals the shocking discovery that both she and her baby had pertussis.  She elaborates on the details of the difficult days that followed, as we come to learn that Kaliah would not survive.  One can’t help but feel the sorrow as we hear how Kaliah was suffering.   Chelsey concludes her story by saying,

“I keep telling myself that god gave me Kaliah for a reason, even if I couldn’t have her forever. I knew that when she passed I would make her live on and share her story to save other babies from this horrible disease. I would not let her die for no reason. She was too beautiful for the earth. I am doing my best to educate the world by telling Kaliah’s story.”

According to Shot By Shot, who recently featured this story as one of the many stories of vaccine preventable diseases that they have posted on their website, the details of Kaliah’s life…and death…have already been shared with 1.5 million viewers in just a matter of a few days.  And it’s clear that this story is getting so much attention because it’s touching people in real ways.

Unfortunately, this is just one of the many stories we hear about children dying from pertussis.   There are plenty others like it.  Like Carter’s story, Callie’s story, Gabrielle’s story and many, many more.  In fact, at this very point in time, there are pertussis outbreaks in Washington state, as well as Wisconsin, Colorado and various other states.  People of all ages may currently be suffering with pertussis.  But the worst part is that they may not even know it.  Some, may even be passing it unknowingly on to their own infant children.

Fortunately there is a vaccine to help prevent pertussis.  It’s called a Tdap and it provides immunity for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.  However, just because there is a vaccine to prevent pertussis, doesn’t mean people no longer suffer from this illness.  There are a number of reasons why there continue to be outbreaks around the country. Read more…

Last week I made the nine-hour round trip trek up to beautiful Montpelier, Vermont to testify in front of the House Committee on Healthcare.  As I made my way over the lovely mountain towns and stunning valleys en route to the hearing, I was certain that my testimony could help sway the committee to vote in favor of the Senate’s bill to eliminate “philosophical beliefs” as a reason to override Vermont laws mandating vaccination of children enrolled in licensed daycares and public schools.  With the strength of Every Child By Two’s board and cofounders behind me, and the personal stories of families whose children have suffered the consequences of vaccine preventable diseases, I made my way across the state confident that we could make a difference.

As I sat in front of the committee, the chairman made it clear that the committee had already spent the week reviewing mounds of data on exemption rates and vaccination levels, listening intently to opinions from both sides of the issue and were hoping to hear something new.

With the gauntlet laid before me, I began by explaining why our organization, a national organization based in Washington, DC, would be concerned with the public health mandates of the state of Vermont, or any other state for that matter.  Why would a former first lady and the wife of a retired Senator continue to be concerned about the vaccination policies that exist in every state to ensure the health of school-age children? I explained that our founders, Rosalynn Carter and Betty Bumpers, began their efforts to vaccinate the children of their own home states during their tenures as First Ladies of Georgia and Arkansas in the early 70s.

During the Carter Administration Mrs. Bumpers, whose husband had since been elected to the U.S. Senate, worked side-by-side with First Lady Rosalynn Carter to establish the National Childhood Immunization Initiative with two goals: the attainment of childhood immunization levels of 90% by 1979 and establishment of a permanent system to provide comprehensive immunization services to the 3 million children born each year in the U.S.  During that time, Mrs. Carter and Bumpers were instrumental in the passage of laws mandating school-age vaccination prior to enrollment in public schools in every state. They traveled all over the country to speak to legislatures about this important issue because they knew it would save the lives of children. Read more…

Today’s post is a continuation of Lara’s Story: Growing Up Anti-Vaccine.  Despite being raised in an anti-vaccine household, Lara Lohne looked to science to determine whether she should vaccinate her own children.  After much consideration, Lara weighed the risks and benefits and proceeded to vaccinate with her children with confidence that she was making the best choice for the health of her children.

As an unvaccinated child, Lara had suffered many vaccine preventable diseases first hand. Although she had survived, she recognized that there was always a risk that her children might not.  Besides, she certainly didn’t want to see her own children suffer in the same ways she had.  By vaccinating them, she hoped to minimize the risks of vaccine preventable diseases in her family.  However, she knew that there was one thing vaccines could not prevent…or even cause.

And that would be autism. 

I must admit that it was through conversations with a coworker that I began to suspect something might be wrong with my youngest son.  It concerned me so much that I started looking for information online. I read some of the stories and they sounded similar to what I was experiencing with my son – with the symptoms, the regression and the age at which it all started to become apparent. He was born in 2007 and by 2009 he had already begun Early Intervention. 

Oddly enough, due to financial constraints she was dealing with at the time, Lara had yet to vaccinate her son.

Perhaps that bit of fate was a good thing since I might have fallen back into the anti-vaccine sentiment if he had been vaccinated prior to his diagnosis.  I hadn’t heard about the vaccine/autism link until after we suspected something.  Then I recall thinking, “Wait a minute, he isn’t vaccinated so vaccines didn’t cause it in him.” It was just a few months later that Andrew Wakefield was discredited so I figured that was the end of that. I assumed common sense and science would set the record straight. But I forgot how all-encompassing the anti-vaccine feeling can be.

Lara was determined to do all she could to support her son and over the years she has become very involved in autism organizations to help promote awareness and education.  However, this has required her to navigate a rather difficult road – one that requires support and understanding from the autism community, while also accepting her conviction that vaccines do not cause autism. Read more…

Lara Lohne grew up in an anti-vaccine household.  Although her father was fully vaccinated, the decision for Lara and her siblings not to be vaccinated rested primarily with her mother.  Several of her extended family members happened to be chiropractors, including her grandfather and two uncles, and Lara believes that they were a big influence on her mother’s position.

Lara explains that as a young child she didn’t realize that most people were, in fact, vaccinated.

 “I lived an extremely sheltered life growing up, and I was essentially taught that what my parents (or my mom) believed was the only point of view that mattered.  Any other view was considered as rebellion and betrayal.  In my house, people who were vaccinated were contaminated and less pure than those who chose not to vaccinate. I remember when I asked my dad if he was vaccinated.  He told me he was because he served in the Marine Corps and it was required for service.  It was a huge disappointment to me and I had difficulty not feeling resentful toward my dad because of it. Of course I was only eight years old at the time and only had what my parents told me as the basis to form my beliefs and opinions.”

Lara remained unvaccinated throughout her childhood and recalls a time when there was a measles outbreak in school.  She was in the ninth grade at the time and she didn’t want to be removed from class.  She asked her mom if she might be vaccinated so she wouldn’t have to miss school.

“She had told me we’re not going to let them inject us with poison. It is only a trap, trying to force us into their way of thinking. She used to say, over and over again, “We are not sheep!” She told me that the shot would cause me to get sick, make me go crazy or retarded (her word) or even kill me. She successfully talked me out of it at the age of 14.”

Despite her mother’s insistence, two years later, Lara was surprised that her parents took her to receive her first MMR shot at the age of 16.  Read more…