This Seattle mom shares the story of her infection, and consequently, that of her newborn son.
Whooping Cough – How Quickly it Spreads
10 12 2012Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: immunization, immunize, Pertussis, vaccine, Whooping Cough
Categories : Pertussis, Uncategorized
Orange Nose Day is 5 October 2012!
20 08 2012
Orange Nose Day is just around the corner!
One day a year (October 5th), health educators don an orange nose and start talking. And here’s why . . .
Most days of the year, educators get out there and talk the talk, saying the same things repeatedly: wash your hands, get immunized, floss, eat fruits and veggies, and so on.
When we hear these messages often enough, they become white noise.
But, somebody puts on an orange nose and turns to us with the same messages, we start smiling and we’re all ears. That’s the spark that created Orange Nose Day.
If you have a health message to share, visit www.orangenoseday.org, get an orange nose on your photo, and use that photo on your social media sites come 5 October. Also, join the collaborative by sending in your organization’s logo and become a partner on the website!
The Orange Nose Day collaborative identifies five steps to good health and encourages you to add your own. The day isn’t about any particular message, but about sharing whatever health message you want your patients or public to hear.
There are lots of downloadables, including posters, web banners, and stickers, that are available free of charge on the site.
Hey, there are plenty of reasons to not kid around when we’re talking about health, but occasionally bringing a little levity to the message is a good thing.
Come, join the fun.
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Tags: Handwashing, immunize, orange nose day, wash hands
Categories : Orange Nose Day
Mat Releases are Good!
11 06 2012We’ve all written more press releases than we can count, and they do the job they’re supposed to do. But, here at PKIDs, we’re also quite fond of mat releases. They reach smaller publications by the hundreds and chances are, the words we write will get published without editing.
They’re a good way to get our news into communities across the country.
A mat release is a short feature story (approximately 400 words) written by you or someone in your organization. It’s distributed to small regional or local daily or weekly newspapers through a service such as NAPS or PR Newswire.
The story is usually run as-is by the editors, but is sometimes given a little editing. Small newspapers like mat releases because most don’t have the budgets to hire enough reporters to create all the features they need or would like, and a mat release is a ready-made story.
Mat releases are usually not too topical, as they take time to get into circulation and they’re picked up and used by editors for months after the release date.
If you include some sort of contest or other fun component in your mat release, it will increase the likelihood of its being picked up by editors. This isn’t always possible, but keep this approach in mind.
Artwork (usually a photo) will need to be included in any mat release you distribute. Editors love artwork and will sometimes use a story, or a bit of it, just to get artwork into their papers.
What A Mat Release Isn’t
Mat releases are not press releases. In a mat release, you share information in the format of a feature story that is of value or interest to a large group of people. You don’t “advertise” your services or products.
Cost
As a nonprofit, you should get a discount from the distributor. Even so, mat releases aren’t cheap—costing about $5,000. The upside is that they eventually reach lots of readers, so they’re considered a solid way to spend funds.
Writing
Distributors work with you on the writing of your mat release. They want you to be happy and will be diligent about editing and improving your work, if you need the help.
You have about 400 words to tell a story and share your important information.
Sample Mat Release (writtten for a program we did a few years ago, with notes on content)
Silence the Sounds of Pertussis
(The headline matters, so take your time to come up with something of interest.)
(NAPS)—New parents know to vaccinate their babies to protect against a number of childhood diseases. But what about vaccinating themselves to keep from spreading illnesses to their child? (This makes readers curious, so they want to read further.)
Most parents do not think of whooping cough, also known as pertussis, when they think of potential threats to their child’s health. However, this disease is making a strong comeback in the U.S., with a total of more than 25,000 reported cases in 2004 alone. (A strong fact that sets the expert tone of the piece and lets the reader know this is a serious problem.)
Luckily, there is a simple way to ease new parents’ minds: immunize mom and dad with the whooping cough booster. (They’ve heard the problem, and now they know there’s a solution. They want to find out more.)
Because of the growth of this disturbing trend, new mom and award-winning actress Keri Russell is teaming up with the nonprofit organization, Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases (PKIDs), to launch a public awareness campaign: Silence the Sounds of Pertussis. The initiative aims to educate new parents about the dangers of this disease (especially to babies), and to encourage them to get the Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis booster (called the Tdap vaccine) to keep their babies safe. (Here’s your solution to the problem: Talk about your program, clinic, or other topic you want people to know about.)
A recent study out of the University of North Carolina found that parents are the source of more than 50 percent of infant cases of whooping cough.
“When I found out that parents were infecting their children with this dangerous disease, I asked my doctor what I could do to prevent it from happening to my infant son,” Keri Russell said. “He recommended that my husband and I get the Tdap booster.” (Get some quotes in the piece from spokespersons/experts as this helps keep it personal.)
The Tdap is strongly recommended by the CDC for anyone who has close contact with a baby.
In adults, whooping cough symptoms often disguise themselves to look like a common cold, making the disease difficult to diagnose and easy to spread. (More facts to enhance the piece.)
Babies under 12 months of age are not only the most vulnerable to whooping cough, they are also the age group for which the infection is most life-threatening. Babies too young to have completed their primary vaccine series account for the majority of pertussis-related complications, hospitalizations, and deaths. In fact, more than 90 percent of pertussis-associated deaths were among babies less than six months old.
“The good news is that whooping cough is a problem that has a solution,” said Dr. Gary Freed, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School. “If every new and expectant parent receives the Tdap booster before or immediately after the birth of their baby, we could really reduce the risk of young babies getting whooping cough. If you provide care for a baby, talk to your doctor about how to protect him or her from pertussis.” (The “ask” or what you want the reader to do.)
For more information on how you can help Silence the Sounds of Pertussis, visit the PKIDs website. (Give them contact information so they can find out more.)
Bottom Line
Are mat releases worth the cost? Yes, if you can include that cost in a grant budget, it is worth it. Mat releases stay out for months and continue getting picked up long past the point you’d think they would. This release that we’re sharing in the blog ran for months and months. We were surprised (and happy) at the shelf life it had, and at the number of editors who ran it.
If you have any mat releases you’d like to share with others, put them in the comments section. We’d all benefit from seeing them!
Remember, these are not advertisements or advertorials. Keep them as features full of information people want, and editors will pick up the stories.
This article comes from PKIDs’ Communications Made Easy program.
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Tags: immunize, Keri Russell, mat release, Pertussis, press release, vaccinate, Whooping Cough
Categories : Communication
Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E
10 05 2012The month of May is well-used. Mother’s Day is in here. May Day too, of course, along with graduations galore and, not insignificant for us, a date with the IRS that nonprofits shouldn’t miss.
It’s also Hepatitis Awareness month, although World Hepatitis Day is in July. We can’t explain why.
The important part is that we can use this month to remind moms and dads that hepatitis is around and some of it can be prevented by vaccination.
Hepatitis C is a bloodborne virus that attacks the liver. It is not vaccine-preventable. If babies are infected it’s usually from their hepatitis C+ mothers or, and this is unlikely these days, from a blood transfusion. It’s unlikely because the screening process of donated blood is pretty darn thorough. But, germs have slipped through that screening process.
Teens and young adults may become infected, primarily through sharing of needles, sex with an HCV+ person, or sharing personal items such as razors or toothbrushes that may be contaminated with HCV.
There are effective treatments that work on a good portion of hepatitis C-infected children. But not on all infected children. Work is ongoing in this area.
Hepatitis C is frequently a chronic infection, meaning that if treatment is not effective, you will be infected for your lifetime.
Hepatitis A is vaccine-preventable. Normally, it’s passed person-to-person through the fecal-oral route, which is when something you eat or drink has been contaminated with hepatitis A+ poop. If you haven’t been vaccinated, chances are you will become infected.
This virus makes you feel lousy and can, rarely, do serious damage to the body. It does not become a chronic infection. It infects you and then goes away, like a cold virus.
Hepatitis B is vaccine-preventable. It’s transmitted in a lot of ways—mom to newborn, sharing needles or personal items, sex with an infected person, even household (nonsexual) contact. If a mom is aware of her infection prior to giving birth, shots can be given to the baby within 12 hours of birth that are effective at stopping tranmission of the virus from mom to baby. However, when babies are infected, almost half of them in the US will become chronically infected. In developing countries, that figure shoots up to 90 percent.
Today, despite the vaccine, approximately 1,000 babies become chronically infected with hepatitis B each year in the US. Many of the moms-to-be who are infected are unaware of their infection. Every pregnant woman should be tested for hepatitis B so that action can be taken at birth to prevent infection of the newborn.
Hepatitis D is an odd virus. You have to be infected with hepatitis B before you can get hepatitis D. It’s vaccine-preventable in that, if you get immunized against hepatitis B, you won’t be able to get hepatitis D.
Hepatitis E is similar to hepatitis A in the way it is transmitted—the fecal-oral route. It’s rarely a chronic infection. For most people, they get it, get sick, and get over it. It can however be dangerous for pregnant women, with a 10% – 30% fatality rate for this group. It’s not often found in the US but can be easily picked up in some other parts of the world.
That’s about it for hepatitis in the US. To prevent a hepatitis infection (and lots of other infections), wash your hands throughout the day, put barriers between yourself and another person’s blood or body fluid, and use the available vaccines. The trick is to do these things with everyone. It’s impossible to tell who is infected with what, most of the time, so the safest course of action is to assume everyone is infected with something and then act accordingly.
Got any tips? Hope you share them will us in the comments.
Image courtesy of Johns Hopkins
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: barriers, Handwashing, HAV, HBV, HCV, Hepatitis, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D, hepatitis E, immunization, immunize, liver, liver disease, vaccination
Categories : Hepatitis
Rebecca’s Son
24 10 2011(Christopher died from a devastating case of chickenpox. His mom, Rebecca, shared her son’s story until the day she died, and we’d like to share it with you. This is taken from testimony she gave to a U.S. House of Representatives’ committee.)
My name is Rebecca Cole, and I am the mother of five children. I am speaking to you today because I have faced the worst nightmare any parent can possibly face. There is no experience on earth that compares to the horror and devastation of losing a child. It is shattered dreams, crushed wishes, and a future that suddenly vanishes before our eyes. It cannot be wished away, slept away, prayed away, or screamed away. It is darkness, agony, and shock. It leaves our hearts broken, bleeding, and bursting with pain.
My life changed forever on June 30, 1988, when I had to stand by helplessly as an infectious disease claimed the life of my oldest child, Christopher Aaron Chinnes, at the age of 12.
Christopher was a beautiful little boy who had light blonde hair, and deep, brown eyes. He was full of compassion, joy, and energy. He loved baseball, and every living creature on the earth. He wanted to be a scientist or doctor. I can honestly say that my son was one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever known, and I am proud to have been his mother.
Christopher was born a very healthy child, but at the age of eight he developed asthma. It was never a problem for him, and it never kept him from doing the things he loved. But, on June 16, 1988, four years after he was diagnosed, he suffered his first and only severe asthma attack. He had to be hospitalized and was treated with all of the normally prescribed drugs, including a corticosteroid. (Anti-inflammatory drugs used in asthma, arthritis, allergies, etc.) He was released four days later with several medications to finish at home, and he was well on his way to recovery.
On June 23, exactly one week after the asthma attack, he broke out with the chickenpox. “Don’t worry, you’ll get over it,” I told him. What I didn’t know was that the corticosteroid had lowered his body’s immune response and he could not fight the disease. The chickenpox began to rampage wildly through his young body. As I drove him to the emergency room, on June 27, my four younger children watched silently in shock and horror as their brother went into seizures, went blind, turned gray, and collapsed due to hemorrhaging in his brain.
That afternoon, Christopher was flown from Camp Lejuene’s Naval Hospital to East Carolina University’s Medical Center, but the chickenpox was uncontrollably sweeping through him like a wildfire, and there was nothing anyone could do.
The next day Christopher suffered a cardiac arrest and slipped into a coma. As my son lay swollen beyond recognition, and hemorrhaging from every area imaginable, including out into the blisters on his skin, I learned that a vaccine existed, but was not yet licensed by the FDA—a vaccine that could have prevented the unimaginable suffering of my child, and all who knew him.
On June 30, 1988, exactly one week after breaking out with chickenpox, Christopher passed away. The chickenpox virus had destroyed every organ in his body, and it cut pieces from the hearts of everyone who witnessed its devastation.
Christopher wanted to be a scientist or doctor, but because of the unavailability of a vaccine, we will never know what contributions he might have made to society.
Vaccines prevent countless deaths each year. Without them the number of valuable human beings we’d lose would be staggering. There are children and adults who come in contact with the public everyday who would die if they were exposed to the diseases we can prevent.
If everyone around them is vaccinated, they are also protected. We owe it to them and to ourselves as a nation to achieve the highest level of protection possible. We must win the war against infectious disease, and vaccines are our most powerful weapons. We cannot win, however, if we do not use them. Leaving any of our population unprotected is like surrendering to a defeatable foe. We must never surrender.
Rebecca Cole
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Tags: chickepox, immunize, rebecca cole, vaccination, vaccine
Categories : Chickenpox, Immunizations
A Thoughtful Choice
25 08 2011I remember lining up at school in the ‘60s to get vaccinated against smallpox and a few other diseases for which there were vaccines.
I also remember the years when my brothers and I took turns at getting measles, mumps and other diseases for which there were no vaccines.
In the end, we three were fortunate—no permanent harm from our maladies.
Fast-forward 30 years. My daughter was four months old when she was diagnosed with hepatitis B. She had not been vaccinated and subsequently developed a chronic infection.
It all sounds mundane when read as words on a screen. But in those early years, the heartache and anger I felt at having my daughter’s life so affected by something that was preventable . . . well, it was almost more than I could bear.
But again, we were fortunate. After years of infection, her body turned around and got control of the disease. Although we have bloodwork done every year to keep an eye on things, she has a good chance of living the rest of her life free of complications from this infection.
Over the years, I’ve met other parents whose children were affected by vaccine-preventable diseases. Some, like Kelly and Shannon, chose not to vaccinate their kids and ended up with horrible consequences. Kelly’s son Matthew was hospitalized for Hib and they came within a breath of losing him. Shannon did lose her daughter Abigale to pneumococcal disease, and almost lost her son. He recovered and was released from the hospital, at which time they had a funeral for their daughter.
Because of my job, I talk to and hear from many families with similar stories. Some children have died, some remain permanently affected, and some have managed to recover.
Also because of my job, I hear from parents who believe vaccines are not safe, and that natural infections are the safer choice. I understand and have experienced the emotions we as parents feel when something happens to our children. In a way, I was lucky. I knew exactly what caused my daughter’s problems. A simple test provided a definite diagnosis.
If we can’t identify the cause of our children’s pain or suffering, we feel like we can’t fix it and we can’t rest until we know the truth. When the cause can’t be found, we latch onto if onlys. What could we have done differently to keep our kids safe? If only we hadn’t taken her to grandpa’s when she didn’t feel good. If only we hadn’t vaccinated him on that particular day. If only. The problem is, the if onlys are guesses and no more reliable routes to the facts than playing Eenie Meenie Miney Mo.
The deeper I go into the world of infections and disease prevention, the more obvious it is to me that the only way to find the facts is to follow the science. Now granted, one study will pop up that refutes another, but I’ve learned that when multiple, replicable studies all reach the same conclusion, then I can safely say I’ve found the facts.
In our family, we vaccinate because for us, it is the thoughtful choice.
Originally posted on Parents Who Protect
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Tags: hepatitis B, Hib, immunize, infection, infectious disease, pneumococcal, prevention, vaccinate, vaccination
Categories : Immunizations, Uncategorized
Vaccine Fears: What You Can Do
22 08 2011
What’s not to fear directly about vaccines? There’s a needle that someone pokes into your child. Your child screams. You tense up. What’s in there? you wonder. Viral or bacterial bits that, in ways that are mysterious to a non-immunologist, will keep your child well when intuition seems to say they ought to make your child sick.
Needles, screaming, microbial bits…these naturally would make any parent blanch. The number of vaccines has added to the fear for at least a decade, leading to non–evidence-based calls to “spread out” the schedule or reduce the number of vaccinations.
In fact, the evidence supports the schedule as it’s recommended.
The fear of vaccination is not new. Since Edward Jenner and his cowpox inoculation at the turn of the 19th century, people have latched onto the fear of the known—those needles!—and unknown—what’s in those things?
What might be considered the first anti-vaccine cartoon appeared in response to Jenner’s proposed inoculation of cowpox to combat smallpox.
The vision of cows growing out of arms is comical, but the reality of possible side effects from today’s vaccines can lead some parents to keep their children away from the doctor’s office. Indeed, this anxiety has done so since the days of the 19th century anti-vaccination leagues, aligned against the widespread use of Jenner’s smallpox vaccine.
The vaccine wars in those days were just as bitter and divisive as they are today, including an 1885 march in England in which anti-vaccination forces carried a child’s coffin and an effigy of Jenner himself. Today’s most fanatical crusaders against vaccines may not carry coffins or effigies, but death threats against those who promote vaccines for public health are not unknown.
The fact that the vast majority of parents overcame those fears and had their children vaccinated has led to some of the greatest public health successes of the 20th century. Thanks to the willingness of people to participate in vaccination programs, smallpox disappeared and polio became a thing of the past in much of the world. Indeed, people in those eras knew, often from personal experience, what these diseases could do—maim and kill—and the fear of those very real outcomes outweighed fears of the vaccinations.
But today, we’re different. In the United States, most of us under a certain age have never witnessed a death from diphtheria or tetanus or smallpox or measles. We haven’t seen a child drained of life as a rotavirus rapidly depletes the molecules she needs to live. Many of us have not witnessed the sounds of pertussis, the vomiting, the exploding lungs in an agony of infant death. Why? Because of vaccines.
This very success has, ironically, led to the resurgence of fear and misgiving about vaccines. No longer weighed against anxiety of death or disability from disease, the fear of vaccines now aligns against the bright picture of a nation of children largely free of life-threatening illness.
Without the collective memory of days when children played on the playground one day and died the next of vaccine-preventable disease, the calculus of parental fear pits only the side effects of vaccines against the healthy child. Vaccination requires intentional agency—parental agreement—to impose on that healthy child the very small risk that vaccines carry. Some parents simply are not comfortable either with that intentionality or that risk.
Feeding this reluctance is the explosion of Internet sites that warn against vaccines or disseminate incorrect information about them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided abundant information about vaccines, including a page devoted to countering erroneous information with facts.
This information will not move the fiercest anti-vaccine groups that lump the CDC in with pharmaceutical companies and others in an alleged conspiracy to harm millions via a money-making vaccine industry. However, it certainly helps concerned parents who simply seek to calm fears, weigh evidence, and make an informed decision about choosing vaccines over the life-threatening illness and compromised public health that result when people don’t vaccinate.
Indeed, these threats to public health have grown considerably with recent large outbreaks of measles and pertussis. The growing threat has led to calls for more stringent requirements for childhood vaccines, including dropping exemptions and requiring that all children be vaccinated over parental objections. This tactic likely would increase vaccination rates among children attending school.
But instead of strong-arming parents into having their children vaccinated, what we really need is a two-fold approach to education. First, we need sober, non-sensationalist reporting from the news media about vaccine-related stories, including stories about side effects, research, and court cases. These articles—and their sensational headlines—are in all likelihood among the prime drivers of the rumor mill against vaccines.
Second, when parents read these stories and turn to a medical professional for input, that input must come as part of a two-way communication between the health professional and the parent, not in lecture format or as patronizing. A little, “I understand your concerns because I’ve had them, too, but here’s what I know that gives me confidence in vaccines,” is considerably better than, “Your child has to be vaccinated, or you can get out of my office.”
As centuries of history attest, no efforts will completely eradicate vaccine fears. Motivations fueling anti-vaccine sentiment that go beyond information gaps range from personal economic benefit to a desire to out-expert the experts to the inertia of fear.
But a careful and persistent information campaign and outreach efforts from medical professionals in the trenches may help keep vaccination rates sufficiently high. To ensure adequate rates requires either these efforts or a resurgence of the deadly diseases that have graphically demonstrated the real balance of the threats at issue here.
Which one would we rather have?
Image courtesy of ajc1
Comments : 8 Comments »
Tags: bacteria, bacterial, fear, immunization, immunize, jenner, vaccination, vaccine, viral, virus
Categories : Vaccines
Virus Slams Unvaccinated
7 07 2011
A deadly disease is marching its way across the United States and Canada. It’s a disease that infects about 20 million people every year and kills about 200,000. The United States once was a hotbed of infection, seeing almost 900,000 cases of this disease in 1941. But by the 1990s, that number had dropped to fewer than 150 cases annually. Why? Vaccinations.
The disease is measles. It sounds . . . childish, doesn’t it? And people often refer to it as a “childhood disease.” But make no mistake. It’s a virus, one that doesn’t care whom it infects or what tissues it targets, whether brain or lungs. A virus that has a 90% infection rate. A virus that kills children who seem perfectly healthy one day and are dead from lung complications or encephalitis the next. Roald Dahl’s daughter died of measles. Mark Twain almost did. Even though the descriptive “childhood” often accompanies it, there’s nothing remotely childish or casual about this virus. Hospitalization rates are high, and death is not uncommon. In 2005, for example, a total of 311,000 children worldwide died from measles.
And a couple of shots in the arm (or leg) can prevent all of it.
You might think that the outbreak in 2008 would’ve spurred some parents to ensure vaccinations for their children. After all, that year saw more measles cases in the United States than had happened in any year since 1997. Of the people infected, 90% had not been vaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now, this year is well on its way to besting that record and then some.
Some notable facts about this year’s outbreak through May 20, 2011:
- From 2001 to 2008, a median of 56 measles cases were reported annually to the CDC.
- During the first 19 weeks of 2011, 118 were reported.
- 89% of this year’s cases have been linked to import from other countries.
- About 89% of those who have contracted measles so far have been unvaccinated.
- 40% of those who have contracted measles in this outbreak have been hospitalized.
- All but one of the hospitalized patients were unvaccinated (the one vaccinated patient was hospitalized for observation only).
- Rates of hospitalization have been 52% for children under 5 years and 33% for children over age 5 and for adults.
- Transmission has occurred in households, childcare centers, shelters, schools, emergency departments, and at a large community event.
- One outbreak alone in Minnesota has encompassed 21 people so far, including seven infants too young to have been vaccinated.
This virus doesn’t care who you are, how old you are, how healthy you are, whether or not you were breastfed or organically fed or loved beyond all measure. It’s a virus. It kills, with pain and distress. And, it bears repeating, a couple of shots in the arm can stop it.
Image courtesy Wellcome Library, London
Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags: deadly, immunization, immunize, measles, outbreak, vaccination, vaccine, virus
Categories : Measles, Uncategorized
Babies, Kids, and H1N1
3 09 2009
Delivery/Post-Partum and H1N1 – what do I do?
Breastfeeding may help protect newborns against influenza, but mom’s good handwashing habits before and after breastfeeding are just as important. If you are on medication for flu, you can still breastfeed. Your provider may suggest that you wear a mask when near your baby. If you have symptoms, you can still breastfeed; the milk is not contagious. But stay away from your baby if you are feverish.
Mothers who are infected with H1N1 when they deliver do not necessarily have to be separated from their newborn. A mother on medication should be able to breastfeed; separating her from her infant would not be advantageous. A mother who is actively sick with symptoms will not be very capable of caring for an infant and will need help, which will also help minimize contact and transmission. All caregivers should be vaccinated, and should also get a Tdap vaccination (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis).
Do I need to worry about outbreaks in schools?
Because of the H1N1 outbreaks in community settings (camps, e.g.) this summer, experts do expect schools to be breeding grounds for H1N1.
School closure is an option, but is not expected to be necessary. Students (or anyone) with flu symptoms should stay home.
Other Concerns
Getting the pneumococcal vaccine can help reduce your risk of developing pneumonia as a complication of influenza infection.
For mothers infected with H1N1, masks are recommended in certain circumstances. Talk with your provider if you’re concerned. You should not need to wear a mask or gloves at home.
Do NOT attend a “flu party.” You should NOT purposefully infect yourself, or your children, with H1N1.
Recommendations
- Fever and respiratory symptoms need to be taken seriously. Call your provider if you have any symptoms or concerns. Ask them for specific instructions; for example, they may want you to put on a mask before entering their office to help prevent infecting pregnant women.
- Get vaccinated for both seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses. The seasonal vaccine will not protect you against H1N1.
- Wash your hands often.
- Maintaining good nutrition and getting plenty of rest will also help prevent illness.
- Continue to receive prenatal care from your provider.
- Everyone who is sick should stay home.
To get vaccinated, talk with your provider. OB/GYNs are supposed to receive vaccine to have on hand, in addition to clinics, pharmacies, and other typical venues for flu vaccine administration. If you have any concerns, about anything, at any time, talk with your provider – that’s what they’re there for!
To explore this issue further, visit:
Check with your provider to see if immunization is right for you and your family.
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Tags: breastfeed, contagious, Flu, flu party, gloves, H1N1, hand, hand washing, immunize, influenza, mask, Pertussis, Pneumonia, school, vaccine
Categories : H1N1, Influenza (flu)
