Dr. Lasser, Nurse Practitioner Kathy Feroli, Physicians Assistant Carolyn Blair  The Current Immunization Schedule:
There is a lot of misleading information about vaccines. Below are recommended sites that give reputable information about vaccines. Again, please ask us if you have questions. Basic Vaccine Info: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ http://www.aap.org/immunization/ If you have concerns about vaccine safety: http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/ If you have concerns about specific issues with vaccines such as autism, thimerisol, adjuvants, etc.: http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/hot-topics/ IMMUNIZATION TRIVIA!! (Information is Taken from the Vaccine Education Antigens are the parts of vaccines that cause an immune response. Who do you think received more antigens from vaccines: children in the 1940s or children today?Although children in the 1940s only received vaccines to prevent four diseases, they got about 3,200 antigens whereas today’s children receive vaccines to prevent 14 diseases but only get about 156 antigens. Scientific understanding of immunology and technological advances in the laboratory have allowed scientists and manufacturers to make vaccines that are more purified and contain fewer antigens while still affording immune protection. Previous trivia questionsWhat two vaccines prevent forms of cancer?The two vaccines that prevent cancers are hepatitis B and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Hepatitis B is a common cause of liver cancer. HPV is a common cause of cervical cancer as well as cancers of other reproductive organs and on occasion, the head and neck region. Which disease is known to be more commonly spread from adults to children as compared with the usual direction of transmission from children to adults?Pertussis is spread more commonly from adults to children. Learn more in the Feature Article “The 100-Day Cough.” Which vaccine is given to girls to protect their future unborn babies?The rubella vaccine is given to girls to protect their future unborn babies. Clinically, rubella takes two forms—rubella and congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). While rubella is acquired when someone comes into contact with the saliva of an infected person, such as through coughs or sneezes, CRS occurs when a pregnant woman is infected with rubella. About 85 of 100 babies of women infected during the first trimester of pregnancy will be born with abnormalities such as deafness; cataracts or other eye damage; heart defects; mental retardation; damage to liver, spleen, or skeleton; diabetes; and autism. Boys are immunized to protect their future partners and to help decrease transmission of disease in the community. June 2010 Which vaccine-preventable disease is also known as German measles?The disease also known as German measles is rubella. May 2010 Development of which vaccine slowed after the invention of antibiotics?Development of the pneumococcal vaccine slowed after the invention of antibiotics which could treat pneumococcal infections. However, as doctors realized that some pneumococcal infections were no longer responding to antibiotics, development of a vaccine again became a priority. April 2010 Which vaccine may be updated each year in response to changes in the virus it protects against?The vaccine that may be changed as often as every year is the influenza vaccine. These updates are necessary because as the virus replicates, it changes itself. These changes are significant enough that a protective vaccine one year may not work the next year. March 2010 Whooping cough is the common name for what vaccine-preventable disease?Whooping cough is the common name for pertussis; it comes from the sound that children make when they try to breathe air in against their narrowed windpipe. The windpipe is clogged by thick, sticky mucus resulting from toxins made by the bacteria. Feb. 2010 What vaccine is given to boys to prevent infections in girls and women, particularly during pregnancy?The rubella vaccine has been given to boys for years to reduce the number of rubella infections in the community. It is of particular importance to prevent rubella infections in pregnant women as these infections can lead to congenital rubella syndrome in the fetus. In fact, if 100 women are infected with rubella during the first three months of pregnancy, 85 of their babies will be born with disabilities such as deafness, heart defects, mental retardation, or damage to the eyes, liver or spleen. Recent recommendations to give HPV vaccine to boys will also help to protect women affected by cancers of the cervix and reproductive tract by reducing the spread of HPV in the community. Jan. 2010 What is the only disease to be eradicated from the world by a vaccine? Do you know the answer?Smallpox has been eradicated from the world through widespread vaccine use. The disease was both dreaded and deadly in its day; in fact, 3 of every 10 people who got smallpox died. Edward Jenner was the first to realize that because of their exposure to cowpox, milkmaids were immune when smallpox outbreaks occurred. He began arm-to-arm inoculations by taking pus from the scab of a person and transferring it to another. By the 1940s, technology allowed for large-scale growth of cowpox and subsequent immunization of entire populations. The last case of natural smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977. Smallpox virus now only exists in two laboratories in the world and is heavily guarded as it is considered a possible agent of bioterrorism. Dec. 2009 | |||||||||
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