If you had chicken pox as a kid, you have a one-in-three chance of developing shingles in your old age, and that can spell months or even years of searing pain. There’s an effective vaccine to protect against shingles, but it’s seldom used, and therein lies a story of the inadvertent clash between patient safety….
Continue ReadingVaccinations
Vaccine Recommended Specially for Adult Smokers
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel that advises the federal government, is recommending that adult smokers under 65 should get a pneumococcal vaccine that was previously only recommended for anyone 65 or older. Federal officials usually take the advice of this panel, according to the article, and this is the first time an….
Continue ReadingAdults Slack on Vaccinations
Laura Landro, in her column “The Informed Patient,” discusses the problem of adults neglecting to get vaccinated for new illnesses. Not only that, but adults forget or are unaware that some childhood vaccinations lose efficacy after some time and need to be re-done. Skipping pre-travel vaccinations is also a common error. Part of the problem….
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