Vaccine hesitancy can be exhausting for everyone involved. Those who are uncertain may feel badgered by well-meaning friends, and well-meaning friends may feel frustrated by combatting misinformation.

But we know that the hesitant can become confident because our two guests have been there. Join this fun conversation about how we can all talk to each other, featuring Lydia Greene and Heather Simpson from Back to the Vax (https://backtothevax.com/)

Don't forget to download our app to help you have those tough conversations: https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/resources/

In statehouses across the U.S., 1,000 anti-vaccine bills have been filed. From bills that would pave the way to rescinding school entry requirements to bills that would levy fines against employers for requiring proof of vaccination, these bills are a threat to public health and safety.

Fortunately, a new organization--SAFE Communities Coalition (https://safecommunitiescoalition.org/)--is working hard to combat bad vaccine legislation and promote the good stuff. So we invited Northe Saunders and Becky Christensen from this group to discuss their work.

Links from the show:

➡️ VFV's new app! https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/resources/#1648753936656-cffc4e3a-d834

➡️ Japan reinstates HPV vaccination: https://www.science.org/content/article/japan-relaunches-its-hpv-vaccination-drive-thousands-women-it-may-be-too-late#.YkYKFQbSeLg.twitter

➡️ Sweden and their not-so-great COVID response: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01097-5

Few experts are as well-poised to answer questions about the pandemic we found ourselves in as Dr. Tara Smith--infectious disease epidemiologist who knows all about zoonotic transmission. But even with that expertise, we have found ourselves so divided that those closest to her do not necessarily trust the information she makes available to them.

Join us for this conversation with Dr. Smith as we explore how we can get ourselves out of division over disease prevention and find ourselves again in a world where we care about each other.

Before the interview, Nathan and Karen discuss COVID vaccination for the under 5 crew.

Parents have a lot of questions about COVID vaccines and their kids, so we invited those parents to a Zoom chat with nationally-known expert and pediatric nurse practitioner, Patsy Stinchfield. They got a chance to ask their questions, and we all got answers.

We begin with a discussion between Nathan and Karen on Dr. Peter Hotez and saving the world through equitable, accessible, and affordable vaccination. See article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-covid-vaccine-for-all/

COVID, always up to something, has spun out a new variant: Omicron. There are so many unknowns, and so much anxiety caused by the unknown, that we invited Dr. Katelyn Jetelina (a.k.a. Your Local Epidemiologist) to help us get our facts straight.

Links from the show:

Myocarditis and COVID: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/the-real-risk-of-heart-inflammation-to-kids-is-from-covid-19not-the-vaccine

Magic Dirt: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/magic-dirt-internet-fueled-defeated-pandemics-weirdest-mlm-rcna6950

It's not shocking that social media spreads misinformation, but a new report from the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights just published a chilling report detailing how fertile social media platforms are for breeding misinformation. We discussed the report and its implications with IREHR's Devin Burghart.

Links from the episode:

The report: https://www.irehr.org/reports/facebook-and-covid-denial/

"The Lies You Will Be Told" https://kckidsdoc.substack.com/p/the-lies-you-will-be-told

Science types hate predicting the future--and LJ Tan from immunize.org is no exception. So we invite him on to the podcast to discuss what we do know about the upcoming influenza season co-occurring with our long-enduring pandemic. And, of course, we talk about the vaccines for both.

Links from the episode:

Marcie's Legacy: https://mtyc.co/uiixzf

"I Am So Tired" by Daniel Summers: https://www.arcdigital.media/p/i-am-so-tired

Family Guy PSA: https://youtu.be/yJ0NgeMHOyQ

In this episode, we cover so much COVID-19 information that it may break the podcastosphere. Want to know about Delta? Talked about it. Kids in school? Check. Surges? Yep. And third doses? Oh boy, did we talk about that.

With Dr. Paul Offit, everyone's favorite pediatric infectious disease doctor from the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Few people have studied internet disinformation for longer or in more depth than NBC's Brandy Zadrozny, so we invited her to swing by and talk to us about vaccine disinformation. A must-listen podcast if you are interested in how people are subjected to the onslaught of incorrect vaccine information online that leads them to make poor health decisions.

Links from episode:

Fundraiser: https://acommunitythrives.mightycause.com/organization/Voices-For-Vaccines

Dance Parties: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/anti-vaccine-groups-changing-dance-parties-facebook-avoid-detection-rcna1480

With the pandemic bringing a bright spotlight on vaccine hesitancy, people are under the impression that confidence varies by race and background. Why would that be, and how is it related to health equity? And what is health equity anyhow?

We invited University of Minnesota School of Medicine professor and health equity expert Dr. Nate Chomilo to our podcast to ask him all the questions about health equity we could think of and to drill down about vaccine equity, as well.

Links from show:

Summer 2021 shirt: https://dissentpins.com/collections/vaccine-collection/products/summer-2021-brought-to-you-by-vaccines-t-shirt

Myocarditis: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/safety/myocarditis.html

Check out our Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/vfvcommunitychampions