Vaccination Archives - HandbagMafia

Whooping Cough and Babies

Some stories hit the news and never really leave our collective memories. There are many, but a couple of names will always make my heart clench whenever I read them. Those names are Dana McCaffrey and Riley Hughes. Both babies were only a few weeks old when they died, several years apart, as a result of contracting whooping cough (pertussis). If their names bring a tear to my eye, I can only imagine what it would be like to have carried them, birthed them, held them in my arms and loved them.

Babies under 6 months old are at the highest risk from whooping cough. They are too young to be fully vaccinated against it and make up the majority of pertussis-related hospital admissions. Approximately 1 in 200 babies who contract it will die due to brain damage or pneumonia associated with the disease.

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“Should I get the flu shot?”

Lots of people are still on the fence, wondering if they should get the flu shot. If you’ve ever uttered words to the effect of

“I’m not anti-vaccine! But, the flu shot…”

via GIPHY

There’s something you should know. You might not consider yourself anti-vaccine, but a pinch of the anti-vaccine crowd’s propaganda has almost certainly made it’s way past your defenses. Certain vaccines have a specific set of rumours and myths around them and the flu vaccine is definitely one of them. The amount of misinformation I see, propagated by otherwise rational people, isn’t surprising when you see how hard anti-vaxxers work at getting their dangerous ideas spread all over the internet. So, it’s important to counter it where we can, I reckon.

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If vaccinations work, why are unvaccinated children a threat to your vaccinated one?

Ever seen a meme, blog post, tweet or a debate online about this very question? If you haven’t, you don’t have to look very far to find one. It seems like a simple question and it is often trotted out by those against vaccination as a way to defend their choices. If vaccines protect people from illness, why should vaccinated people care if some people choose not to vaccinate, right? How could unvaccinated children present any threat if vaccines work? It’s a personal choice, isn’t it?

It’s really not that simple.

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If you’ve been here before, there’s a good chance you know I’m a fan of vaccines. I just think the science behind them is amazing. I have spent almost a decade reading up on them and the HPV vaccine is no exception. I started reading about it years ago, as it was being rolled out in Australia.

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Pregnant? Protect Yo Self! (and baby too!)

Whooping Cough and Babies

Get The Flu Shot, Because Flu Sucks!

“Should I get the flu shot?”

Why are unvaccinated children a “threat”?

The HPV Vaccine