Vax Talk

When her firstborn was just a baby, Catie heard some frightening rumors about vaccines that made her stop immunizing completely (until she learned how wrong that rumor was). Erica, however, has always been a staunch vaccine advocate, but her relatives are vaccine refusers. Nathan and Karen talk to both Catie and Erica to learn what we can do to change the minds of the parents of the unvaccinated kids we love.

This episode includes some of the latest research on the topic and updates on what is happening Around the Web concerning vaccines.

Many people like the idea of highly immunized communities, but they aren't sure what they can do to solve the problems of vaccine refusal and hesitancy. We talk to Dr. Tara Smith about her ideas, which she outlines in a new article, "Vaccine Rejection and Hesitancy: A Review and Call to Action."

Links from this episode:

Seattle Mama Doc flu: http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/2017-flu-season/

Dr. Tara Smith's article: https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/doi/10.1093/ofid/ofx146/3978712/Vaccine-rejection-and-hesitancy-a-review-and-call

Kimberly Coffey was only a few days from high school graduation when she fell sick with what she thought was the flu. Patti Wukovits, her mother, joins us to remember Kimberly and to encourage parents to vaccinate their teens and pre-teens fully and on-time. Patti Wukovits is the founder and Director of the Kimberly Coffey Foundation.

When you turned 19, you entered a different landscape in the vaccine world. Recommendations, access, funding, and so much else changed for you. We turned to Dr. Bill Schaffner (Vanderbilt University) and asked him what all adults need to know about vaccines and what we can anticipate in the future.

Did you know that your baby receives her first vaccines before she is even born? In this episode, Nathan and Karen discuss maternal vaccines with Dr. Flor Munoz from Texas Children's. We cover a broad range of how, why, when, and where concerning an expectant mother's vaccines, and discuss what the future of maternal immunization holds.

It's National Immunization Awareness Month! This week, Nathan and Karen introduce NIAM to listeners, talk about how anyone can advocate during the month of August, and discuss the importance of infant immunizations. Plus, we give an important update about last month's episode. Find the Vaccine Book list at listchallenges.com/vaccine-books.

Why would a pro-vaccine advocate take hiatus from his job and embark on a multi-state journey following the notorious Wakefield Vaxxed Bus? We invited Craig Egan to discuss his tour protesting this anti-vaccine bus and his philosophy about countering anti-vaccine misinformation.

Everyone knows Andrew Wakefield as the author of "that paper," but few know the full extent of his dealings in the anti-vaccine community. We talk to Ken Reibel and Matt Carey, two father of autistic children and active writers and autism advocates, to learn more. You might think you know about Wakefield, but there is so much to learn.

The worst measles outbreak in Minnesota in 25 years, sparked by anti-vaccine misinformation, has us asking how officials handle outbreaks. We talk to Joe Kurland, Infection Preventionist at Children's Minnesota, and Minnesota Representative Mike Freiberg to get answers.

We kick off our NIIW celebration

William Shatner (topic, not guest)

#ivax2protect

What diseases can we prevent in early childhood?

Genevieve's son and rotavirus

Emily's daughter and pertussis