Vax Talk Voices for Vaccines

A new study seems to connect childhood vaccines to asthma. Or does it?

We invited our friend and hero, Dr. Paul Offit, to the show to discuss this study and the other studies from the past investigating vaccines and aluminum adjuvants. Don't miss his take!

Link to the study: https://www.statnews.com/2022/09/27/possible-link-aluminum-childhood-vaccines-asthma-risk-caveats/

Remember the old refrain: polio is only a plane ride away? Well, it's hit New York, in the same community that saw a massive measles outbreak in 2019.

We invited the excellent Blima Marcus, a nurse practitioner who worked on building vaccine confidence in this community in 2019, to talk to us about this polio outbreak.

Providers working in clinics and hospitals have noticed something: non-COVID respiratory viruses are acting differently. Flu is lingering into June, RSV is messing with kids off-season, and summer is no barrier between us and a cold.

To find out what is happening (and okay, it might have to do with COVID) and how vaccines can help, we talked to Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Dr. Bill Schaffner (one of Karen's favorite docs).

Link from the episode: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/13/covid-flu-rsv-viruses/

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.