A conversation with Seattle
Search on “vaccination” in the iTunes app store, and you’ll see a wealth of results, from the American College of Physicians Immunization Advisor (aimed at medical professionals) to all-in-one milestone-guide apps like Baby Sense and Tot Tracker, which include vaccination suggestions. (There are also apps that sort out travel vaccinations for you.) Continue reading Smartphone Apps Track Vaccination Shots for Tots
The tour means to “educate adults 18 through 64 years of age about the seriousness of influenza and vaccine options available.” For instance, did you know that the majority of your neighbors are passively trying to infect you with the flu? During the 2010-11 flu season, only 36 percent of Washington adults 18-to-64 got immunized. Continue reading No Better Time for Your Flu Shot or Nasal Spray
A little over a month since whooping cough crossed the epidemic threshold in Washington State, political officials seem persuaded that the nagging cough is not going to go away on its own. Last week, Governor Gregoire announced that she’d be making available, along with $210,000 already allocated from the Department of Health, an extra $90,000 from the emergency fund to combat pertussis. Continue reading What’s Washington Doing to Stem Our Whooping Cough Epidemic?
In summer 2011, Reuters singled Seattle out as a wrong-way leader: “In the Seattle area between 2002 and 2007, 136 out of every 100,000 infants developed whooping cough each year, on average. Among every 100,000 U.S. infants overall, however, only 97 developed whooping cough in 2005.” But it’s in Snohomish County, to the north, that whooping cough has reached epidemic proportions. To combat the contagion, they’re offering free vaccinations. Continue reading Is Washington Losing the War on Whooping Cough?