Herd Immunity: We’re all in this together!

I love the community I live in. I choose Colorado because of the mountains, the four seasons of outdoor fun, the friendly people and fresh air. I raise kids, work and volunteer in my community. I feel a sense of responsibility to the people in my community.

Whether attending a school board meeting, joining in the St. Patrick’s Day parade, attending worship on Sundays or going to the club for a workout, I am aware of my community what it gives me and my family and how we give back. I look around at the playgrounds, kids clubs, schools, church nurseries, sports complexes and bike trails and think “I’m glad I live here and can be a part of it.” These people are my family, friends, and neighbors, it’s my herd. Being a member of a herd has it privileges and responsibilities.

One of these responsibilities is to help protect the herd’s safety. I can do this by choosing to vaccinate my children. My children have a strong immune system; they have no allergies to medications or vaccine ingredients, and appear to respond well to vaccines. By protecting them with vaccines, I protect others in my herd that are too young to get vaccines , have severe allergies to vaccine ingredients, have a medical condition that prevents them from getting vaccinated, or that small number of kids who are unable to build immunity even when they get vaccinated.

A child who cannot get immunity through vaccines relies on us to protect them. They rely on the herd to protect them! If my child is immune to measles, she can’t infect a child who is too young to vaccinate. But if my daughter never got the vaccine, she can not only get measles herself, she can spread it to others who are not immune. She could spread measles to my medically fragile nephew or to my colleague’s premature daughter with compromised respiratory system and asthmatic complications or to my neighbor’s new born who at five weeks won’t be eligible for his first set of shots for three more weeks! My herd is vulnerable.

Herd immunity only works well when those who can do vaccinate! It has been proven time and again that once healthy people choose to stop vaccinating disease rates go up.

Although vaccines have been very successful in preventing disease, we have not eliminated these nasty illnesses. Without the protection of a highly immunized population, disease will begin to rise. Risk remains.

Think about your community, who needs protecting? What choices can you make to ensure protection?

Getting the Chickenpoxs is Not Cool, Trendy or Fun

My six-year-old daughter was invited to a friend’s birthday party recently. It was an ambitious party plan of going to a performance at our local children’s theater. I think the mom probably deserves a medal for herding 10 bubbling kindergarteners.

A week before the party the hosting mom called to ask if my daughter had been vaccinated for chickenpox. I said “yes” and asked why. She told me that another child’s mother called and said that her son had been exposed to the chickenpox and wanted other children who plan to attend the party to know this.

What scared me about this was that the boy’s mom wasn’t calling to see if it was okay if he still go to the party, but instead she was calling only to inform others that her son would possibly be infectious.

In retelling this story to my husband he pointed out that the mom was being responsible by calling to let people know about the situation. The more I thought about it, if I were the hosting mom, would have taken a different path.

If this had happened to me, I would have gently told the mom that her son should not attend the party because he had the potential of infecting other children. I would gently and kindly remind her that we were going to a theater with the potential of interacting with 400 other children and adults that he could infect. I’d set-up a play date for a few weeks in the future (past the infectious period) and have my child celebrate with him at a separate time. It would be a hard conversation, but something I know is the right thing to do.

Sometimes parents don’t fully understand the potential of the diseases we protect against. Some parents don’t see the bigger picture. They often don’t see that their actions have bigger implications of spreading disease to healthy kids or even vulnerable populations like pregnant moms.

I think parents are too complacent about chickenpox. Lots of parents think it’s a minor disease and even a “rite of passage” for kids to be sick for a week. For most children who get the disease it is mild but for about 1 in 10 unvaccinated children who get the disease will have a complication from chickenpox serious enough to visit a health-care provider. Chickenpox is highly contagious and dangerous for kids and pregnant women. We cannot predict who will have a mild case of the disease, who may end up hospitalized or who could end up with a deadly case.

We know the vaccine is effective. Did you see the January 2010 Kaiser Permanente study about the risks of skipping the chickenpox vaccine? Children who are not vaccinated against chickenpox are NINE times more likely to get the disease. By not vaccinating you are placing your child at a greater risk for disease.

It scares me but chickenpox parties are back. Chickenpox parties are when an infected child’s family invites their friends over to be exposed to the disease. This was a very common practice before we had the very safe and effective chickenpox vaccine. Today, some parents still want their children to be naturally exposed to the disease. Some mothers think they are doing a favor by exposing my child. I say “No thank you!”

The idea of a pox party freaks me out. It seems very strange that you would intentionally infect your child with a disease. It’s like “Hey I have mono! Wanna make out? Or here’s my used Kleenex in case you wanted my sinus infection!” Sharing a hug or toys on a playground is one thing…intentionally sharing your infectious disease is quite another. It is irresponsible.

What about you? What’s your RSVP status on pox parties? Is your kiddo going to the party?

What Do You Think About the Flu?

A Guest Post by Katie Kern, mom of two elementary school kids and a healthcare communications expert for the Colorado Immunization Program

Wow, what a year. H1N1, or swine flu, raised its ugly oinking head and made many of us parents pretty scared.

It seems so long ago that world health officials declared the 2009 H1N1 flu a pandemic and many parents worried about what was on the horizon.

Beginning last summer, we saw camps closing and kids being sent home after flu outbreaks. Then as school started, we saw the number of H1N1 cases rise forcing some schools to close.

We taught our kids (and ourselves) the great art of washing hands, sneezing into our sleeves and using hand sanitizer like it was going out of style.

Many of us rushed to get our seasonal flu vaccinations and then waited, not so patiently, for manufacturers to get their H1N1 vaccines to the public. Then when H1N1 vaccine finally arrived we waited again to let those at highest risk get their vaccinations first.

Despite having a vaccine and our public health’s quick response, in Colorado we lost 12 children due to the H1N1 flu virus or complications from it. I can’t even imagine the anger and heartache those families must feel, losing a child to the flu?!  Try for a moment to fathom that anguish and it’s easier to understand why health officials have been so concerned about this novel virus called H1N1 that hits our young people with such intensity.

I know many parents, myself included, are relieved that the number of flu cases has dropped off and we’re not seeing major outbreaks anymore. We certainly hope the worst is over but realize, as the flu experts remind us, we likely haven’t seen the last of 2009 H1N1 or seasonal flu. The “traditional” flu season can last through April.

NOW is the time to get the second shot for children under age 9, and get you vaccinated too. There is plenty of supply and it’s often as easy as going to your doctor’s office or local pharmacy.

We can also feel reassured knowing that the vaccine is safe. The CDC says between 70 and 90 million Americans got the H1N1 vaccine and we know there have been few big problems or side effects. Just this month, researchers in California and the Centers for Disease Control released a study that found one in every 10,000 Californians who contracted H1N1 died. This is in stark contrast to the 13 million Californians who were vaccinated for H1N1 and only three people died (and those deaths were due to other health-related causes).

Right now, experts in the healthcare field are looking back to gauge the lessons learned about this very different flu season. We hope you’ll help us by taking this short survey for the Colorado Immunization Program at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GBNG36G

The surveys are anonymous. If you like, at the end you can enter to win a $250 gift certificate for the wonderful Tall Grass Spa and Salon in Evergreen for sharing what you think about the flu.

We sure hope we won’t experience another flu season like this one again, but your feedback will help public health officials in Colorado learn what worked and what needs to be worked on to protect our community if a similar challenge arises.

Thimerosal: Something to Worry About?

I’m back to talk about childhood vaccines ingredents.  In this episode I talk specifically about thimerosal and if you should worry about your child’s health.

If I’ve never heard of it and can’t pronounce it, is it safe to put in my baby’s body?

Lactalbumin…hydrolysate…formaldehyde…aluminum:  ingredients used in the most common childhood vaccines which protect against diseases like poliomyelitis (polio for short), diphtheria, hepatitis A and B. If you have a vaccinated child between the ages of two months and eight years, your kiddo (like mine) has gotten at least one, if not several, of these.

When I read the ingredients listed in a vaccine, I recognize very few. The ones I do know, formaldehyde and aluminum, make me hesitate.

Formaldehyde takes me back to 8th grade biology class.  Who can forget the smell from the container of preservative where the frogs were kept before dissection?

And aluminum, haven’t I stopped using certain pots, pans and deodorant to avoid the long-term effects of exposure?  This is scary stuff. No wonder there is much being said, blogged, and tweeted about the safety of vaccine ingredients.

Vaccines are safe, yet the individual ingredients can be scary. I encourage parents to ask questions. Find out why a particular ingredient is used. Many of the elements I found scary in vaccines have a critical role in ensuring its safety and effectiveness.

Toxicity, or the degree to which something is poisonous, is defined by the presence of an ingredient, how it is used, when it is added to the process and if it is taken out. The simple fact that the ingredient is present DOES NOT make it harmful to humans.

Let’s look at two common examples of labeling compound elements as good or bad.  Vitamin C is on our “good for you” list. However, taken in large quantities it can lead to complications, overdose, and even death by kidney failure. Vitamin C, at certain levels, can be toxic.

Chlorine, a strong cleaning agent used to kill bacteria can cause severe burns if drank or inhaled, which I AM NOT recommending. However, when chlorine is combined with another element, sodium (a highly reactive element that explodes when it comes into contact with water), you have a safe compound: table salt.

There are rigorous studies by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on every newly recommended vaccine before it is approved for use by doctors. Vaccines must be tested first on their own merit for safety and effectiveness, then on how they interact with existing vaccines. This is to make sure there are no negative interactions among vaccines. Here is a link on evidence of this because I know that some parents doubt this fact.

The government is very careful and forthcoming about vaccine ingredients. I am confident that no one is attempting to poison our children.  There is no “hiding” what goes into vaccines. You can find all the ingredients used in childhood, adult and travel vaccines here.

Vaccines have a proven track record of being safe, being effective in preventing disease and in saving lives. This is proven time and time again.

BTW…Lactalbumin is cheese whey. Hydrolysate is a process used to create proteins that feed cells.  Formaldehyde is used to “kill” the live virus so the body can fight the weaken disease while building immunity. Aluminum is used to boost the vaccines effectiveness.

So what do you think about ingredients? Did this post put you at ease or just make you want to learn more?

Melanie = Full-Time Mommy, Part-Time Employee, Novice Blogger, Passionate Vaccine Advocate

If I wasn’t blogging right now, I’d be reading a book or reading a book to my kids. That’s who I am – a learner, a seeker of ideas who craves to know more, and always wanting to understand things better. I like sharing what I learn. I like talking about concepts and trying to understand how they relate to or impact my world.

I’m Melanie and I am your Colorado Mom2Mom.

I’m a Gen X-er who grew up as the second of five children. I was heavily influenced by my parent’s Midwestern values. I went to a state school for my undergraduate degree in liberal arts. After that, I traveled and lived abroad for three years before returning to complete a Master’s degree in Public Health Administration. On my 20 year high school reunion blog page it says “I’m a full-time mom, part-time employee, and impassioned advocate for children’s health” (specifically vaccines). That is what this blog is about: vaccines, immunizations, shots, inoculations…okay, well you get the idea…

What qualifies me to write a blog about vaccines? First off, and most importantly, I’m a mom of two beautiful, healthy, fully vaccinated girls aged 3 and 6. Being a mom and listening to my gut intuition is something I do every day. In addition to that, I work in public health promoting immunization best practices to parents and providers. This work feeds my passion for research, study and my never ending quest for knowledge.

In my work in children’s health care, I know healthy kids and I know sick kids. For sure there are health factors that are out of our control, but there are many decisions parents make daily that can affect and ensure good health.

Vaccines are one of those good health decisions that we can control. There are a lot of sources of information about vaccines. The internet is bursting with seemingly authoritative, yet contradictory information about vaccines. What I’ve seen and read in the last few years about vaccines concerns me and, in some cases, makes me angry. It raises my blood pressure and makes me think, “I have to be in this discussion.” I NEED to be a part of the conversation. Bad information about vaccines can be misleading, confusing and harmful. I need to share my beliefs on vaccines, so I am.

Vaccines are arguably the greatest public health invention of the 20th century, yet ironically they have become one of the most controversial issues of the 21st century. Some parents are abandoning scientific fact and reason for personal persuasion and opinion. This scares me, but it also makes me want to speak up.

I want to talk about the hot topics that all parents wonder about such as vaccines and autism, ingredients used in vaccines, the need to vaccinate and whether infants are getting too many too soon. But more than that, I’d like to hear what you think. I want to participate in a discussion with you.

I hope you spend time with me on my blog, watch my videos and start a discussion with me. I want to read your comments, opinions or questions about vaccines. I’m a mom, and after many mommy gut-checks, research, asking questions and having discussions with my doctor – I choose to vaccinate my kids. This was my process. I would like to learn what yours is.

What are you thinking, feeling, fearing or debating about vaccines? Please comment below.