Despite Katie Couric’s Advice, Doctors Say Ultrasound Breast Exams May Not Be Needed

Image
usf health primary care :: Article Creator The VA Adds A Veterans Health Clinic In An East Tampa Neighborhood A new satellite clinic run by the Department of Veteran Affairs in East Tampa is open for veterans to get primary care, mental health support and other services. It's part of a growing partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Officials from both agencies celebrated the Sabal Park clinic's grand opening during a ceremony on Monday. In the last year, the VA reported nearly 33,000 veterans in Florida signed up for health care. Many of them live in the Tampa Bay region, which has one of the largest veteran populations in the U.S. "It is always a challenge to have capacity meet that ever-growing demand, but it is our obligation to catch up to that demand as much as possible," Dr. Shereef Elnahal, VA Under Secretary for Health, said at the event. Stephanie Colombini / WUS

Vaccine Hesitancy and Administration of Influenza Vaccine to Children - AAP News

In the midst of a pandemic with the fall and winter seasons upon us, the fear of a “twin-demic” involving increasing cases of both COVID-19 and influenza are of critical concern. Will there be enough resources to provide care for these two serious illnesses and will some patients actually get both at the same time? The reason to vaccinate against influenza while we await the availability of a safe and effective coronavirus vaccine has never been so important. Yet, there is a significant amount of vaccine hesitancy. How much is there? To answer that question, Santibanez et al (10.1542/peds.2020-007609) examined the 2018 and 2019 National Immunization Survey on Influenza (NIS-Flu), which included a 6-question survey on vaccine hesitancy. Their results are shared in detail in a study we are early releasing this month in our journal. Over 35,000 parents were surveyed to determine if they were vaccine hesitant, why that might be, and whether they had vaccinated their child over the past year to influenza. The results are concerning to say the least.

Overall, nearly 26% of survey respondents in 2018 and 20% in 2019 reported they were vaccine hesitant. The authors identify a key reason for this hesitancy is worrying about long-term side effects, reported by 27% of vaccine hesitant parents in 2018, and admittedly was the reason for their hesitancy, dropping down to 22% in 2019. What is even more concerning? The prevalence of having a child receive their influenza vaccine was 26% less for parents who were vaccine hesitant than for parents of children who were not vaccine hesitant. Not surprisingly, states with high rates of vaccine hesitant parents have lower influenza vaccination rates.  

The authors discuss the important role we play in educating families about the benefit of vaccines and having the critical supportive versus confrontational conversations that will build trust and result in vaccine hesitant parents becoming less hesitant to vaccinate their children against influenza. If we want to avoid an outbreak of influenza in our communities, we must talk with our patients now and use the tools and communication strategies offered by organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to improve the vaccination rates for children and adults. Link to this important study and learn more.

Copyright © 2020 American Academy of Pediatrics



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Observership Program listings for international medical graduates

Vaccination Sites | Covid-19

Vaccination Sites | Covid-19