Adolescent

No two parents are the same. When it comes to vaccines for their children, parents can range from being pro-vaccine to anti-vaccine, to somewhere in the middle, simply looking for reliable and accurate information about vaccines.

Vaccines are one of the greatest public health success stories, and while US immunization rates for children and adolescents are high, adult immunization rates remain notably low. As a result, each year more than 50,000 US adults die due to vaccine‐preventable diseases and related complications.

Every August, National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM) provides an opportunity to highlight the importance of vaccines across the lifespan. Get involved with NIAM and help spread the word to encourage healthy behaviors. Vaccines are among the safest and most effective ways to protect yourself and those you love from infectious diseases.

Viral hepatitis is caused by five distinct hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, and E. Infection from these viruses causes acute and chronic liver disease and results in nearly 1.5 million deaths each year, mostly from hepatitis B and C.

Special thanks to Christian John Lillis, Executive Director of the Peggy Lillis Foundation, for this guest blog post featuring perspectives from individuals who suffer from Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).

The independent and multi-layered vaccine review process can be complicated but is in place to ensure that vaccines are held to the highest standards of safety. Moreover, continuous monitoring of health problems after vaccination ensures that the US has a safe and effective vaccine supply.

An app a day keeps vaccine-preventable diseases away…

The following list of immunization apps can be valuable tools to help you and your family stay aware and up-to-date with recommended immunizations. The list of free apps below was developed with patients and parents as end-users in mind and are available for download at no charge from iTunes and/or the Google Play Store.

Special thanks to Allison Kempe, MD, MPH, Professor of Pediatrics at University of Colorado School of Medicine and Director of the Children’s Outcomes Research (COR) Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado for summarizing results from a recent study, Physician Response to Parental Requests to Spread Out the Recommended Vaccine Schedule. The study found that virtually all healthcare providers encounter requests to spread out vaccines and, despite concerns, most agree to do so.

You may know Kristen Bell from her role as Veronica Mars, or more recently, her role as the voice of Anna in Frozen. But, Kristen is also becoming well-known as she is the latest celebrity to publicly announce her pro-vaccine stance.

Colds, flu, most sore throats, and bronchitis are caused by viruses. Antibiotics do not help fight viruses — they only cure bacterial infections, such as strep throat or whooping cough. Using antibiotics to treat a virus may actually do more harm than good. Taking antibiotics when they are not needed increases your risk of getting an infection later that resists antibiotic treatment, otherwise…

Invisible Threat is an eye-opening 40-minute documentary produced by California high school students that explores the science of vaccination and how fears and misperceptions have led some parents to make dangerous decisions.  In recognition of the national launch of the Invisible Threat movement on May 1, 2014, we are participating in a blog relay to raise awareness of this important…

NFID hosted a successful inaugural Twitter chat on 2/20/14 to discuss the new National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) Standards for Adult Immunization Practice. With 50 tweets from nearly 20 contributors, the estimated reach of the chat was approximately 5,000 accounts and 29,000 impressions. Highlights of the discussions follow. Topic 1 focused on how healthcare professionals (HCPs) could best ASSESS the immunization status of adult…