Immunization of Health-Care Providers: Necessity and Public Health Policies

Summary of Research: Healthcare providers (HCPs) are at increased risk of acquiring and transmitting vaccine-preventable diseases. Requirements for vaccination of HCPs vary significantly between countries and among organizations. HCPs have a moral responsibility to protect the health of their patients and a professional responsibility to limit absenteeism, disruption of healthcare services, and the costs associated with testing, treatment, and infection control measures related to vaccine-preventable diseases.

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Keeping Measles from “Going Viral”

The Clark County measles outbreak (in and around Vancouver, WA) is still going! The most recent case was confirmed on Tuesday, March 13. This brings the grand total thus far to 72 infected individuals. Of these, the majority are under 10 years of age with only 4 cases being over the age of 18. 63 … Read more

Social Media’s Anti-Vaccine Crackdown – and Why It’s Necessary

If you have been paying attention to the news of late, you may have noticed headlines like… How Pinterest Jumped Into the Fight Against Health Misinformation – NPR, Audie Cornish, Feb. 22, 2019 Amid measles outbreaks, Facebook considering how to reduce spread of anti-vaccine content – CNN, Jacqueline Howard, Feb. 15, 2019 YouTube pulls ads … Read more

Prenatal Vitamins May Help Decrease Autism Risk in Infants

Summary of Research: Prenatal vitamins may help to lower the risk of autism in children, even for high-risk families. In prior studies, the use of prenatal vitamins, specifically folate (which is taken as a dietary supplement known as folic acid), has been shown to significantly lower the risk of developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

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Vote “yes” for the health of our children

Dear Legislators, My name is Gretchen LaSalle and I am a family physician in Spokane, Washington. I am unable to attend the hearing on House Bill 1638 in person but wanted to express my strong support. While you may not see as many white coats outside of your chambers as you do people gathering to … Read more

Vaccine Video/Story of the Week

Feb. 17, 2019: A video by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows the path of a vaccine for children from development through monitoring. It also shows the three phases of clinical trials, vaccine licensing and manufacturing, how a vaccine is added and how vaccine safety is monitored. Follow this link to see the video.