#influenza vaccine for children

[boxhillsuperclinicaustralia]

Promoting Children's Health: The Importance of Flu Vaccination at Box Hill Superclinic

 Introduction:

At Box Hill Superclinic, we understand the critical role that vaccination plays in safeguarding the health and well-being of our community, especially among children. With flu season fast approaching, we are launching a campaign to promote flu vaccination uptake, particularly among our young patients. In this offsite blog, we'll delve into the importance of flu vaccination for children and highlight how our clinic is working to ensure optimal protection for the little ones in our care.

Understanding the Importance of Flu Vaccination for Children:

Influenza vaccination for children, protecting a serious respiratory illness commonly known as the flu, is a contagious respiratory illness that can cause mild to severe symptoms and, in some cases, lead to serious complications, especially in young children. Flu is not the same as viruses that cause the common cold, which generally do not cause people to be too unwell, but unfortunately many use the word flu interchangeably with the word cold, when they are very different illnesses. While anyone can contract the flu, children are particularly susceptible due to their developing immune systems and frequent exposure to germs in school, daycare, and other communal settings. 

The children flu vaccine is the most effective way to prevent influenza and its associated complications in children. By receiving the flu vaccine annually, children can develop immunity against the circulating strains of the virus, reducing their risk of infection and its potential consequences. Additionally, flu vaccination helps protect vulnerable individuals within the community, including infants, elderly individuals, and individuals with underlying health conditions.

Key Benefits of Flu Vaccination for Children:

Reduced Risk of Illness: Flu vaccination significantly reduces the likelihood of children contracting the flu virus, minimizing their chances of experiencing flu-related symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, and body aches.

Prevention of Complications: Children who receive the flu vaccine are less likely to develop severe complications associated with influenza, such as pneumonia, sinus infections, ear infections, and exacerbation of underlying health conditions like asthma and diabetes.

Protection of Family Members: By getting vaccinated, children not only protect themselves but also help shield their family members and caregivers from contracting the flu. This is particularly important for households with vulnerable individuals who may be at higher risk of flu-related complications.

School Attendance and Academic Performance: Flu vaccination can help minimize absenteeism due to illness, allowing children to attend school regularly and participate in academic and extracurricular activities without interruption. Maintaining good health also contributes to improved academic performance and overall well-being.

Community Health: High vaccination rates among children contribute to community immunity, also known as herd immunity, which helps prevent the spread of influenza within the population. By vaccinating children against the flu, we create a protective barrier that reduces the overall transmission of the virus, ultimately benefiting everyone in the community.

Box Hill Superclinic's Flu Vaccination Campaign for Children:

As part of our commitment to promoting children's health and well-being, Box Hill Superclinic is launching a comprehensive flu vaccination campaign tailored specifically to our young patients. Our campaign will include:

Dedicated Flu Vaccination Clinics: We will offer convenient and child-friendly flu vaccination clinics to make it easier for families to access flu shots for their children. Our experienced healthcare professionals will ensure a comfortable and stress-free experience for young patients.

Educational Resources: We will provide parents with educational resources and information about the importance of flu vaccination for children. This includes facts about influenza, children flu vaccine safety, and the benefits of annual vaccination.

Promotional Materials: Our clinic will utilize various promotional materials, including posters, flyers, and social media posts, to raise awareness about the flu vaccination campaign and encourage families to schedule appointments for their children.

Outreach Efforts: We will collaborate with local schools, childcare centers, and community organizations to reach families and encourage participation in our flu vaccination campaign. This may include hosting informational sessions, distributing educational materials, and organizing on-site vaccination events.

Appointment Scheduling Options: To accommodate busy schedules, we offer flexible appointment scheduling options, including online booking through our website and phone consultations. Families can easily schedule flu vaccination appointments for their children at their convenience.

Conclusion:

At Box Hill Superclinic, we recognize the importance of flu vaccination in protecting the health and well-being of children in our community. Through our comprehensive flu vaccination campaign, we are committed to ensuring that every child receives timely and effective protection against Influenza vaccination for children. By vaccinating our young patients, we not only safeguard their health but also contribute to the overall health and resilience of our community. Schedule your child's flu vaccination appointment at Box Hill Superclinic today and join us in promoting children's health and wellness.

Reference URL on Promoting Children's Health: The Importance of Flu Vaccination at Box Hill Superclinic

[emanfamily3]

Save us before it's too late ‏🍉🥺

Please, don���t skip 🙏😭

I’m verified 🍉🇵🇸

Hello, I am Iman from Gaza 🍉, a science teacher, a mother of five children: Nada (11), Rahaf (8), Sarah (5), Sham (3), Zeina (9 months). Technology is a beautiful, beautiful life. When the war broke out, everything turned upside down. My school that she uses was bombed, my husband lost his job, our house burned down, and our children lost their schools, clothes, toys, dreams, and future. We lost ten members of the group and lived in a tent that did not protect us from the cold of winter or the heat of summer. We were displaced more than ten times to escape the hell of war and there was no safe place in Gaza! We would flee from another place until we were besieged and miraculously escaped death! Until we set up the tent on the Mawasi of Yu Khanis and lived in it. It was not suitable for human habitation. In the winter, the rain would drown the children and the tent would be flooded with rain, with the lack of stimulants that made my daughters suffer from influenza, colds, and diarrhea. They would shiver from the cold of winter and the winds almost tore the tent apart!! And we stayed in the tent until summer came with its dangerous, scorching sun and its many harmful insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, scorpions and mice. The heat almost melted my daughters' bodies, as they were symptoms of skin diseases, ulcers, hepatitis, epidemic and pollution, all this in a wretched tent that could not accommodate two heads, as it was the kitchen, the one that was gloomy and the one that was high enough for sleeping.

‏We suffer from fetching water long distances on foot, and it is not enough, and if we find it, it is not polluted and not fit for drinking or use.

‏In this tent, my little girl Zeina was born and she left the hospital to the tent under direct health conditions. We suffer from good morning to crazy in terms of selling prices and completing vaccinations and medicines, and my daughter stopped due to malnutrition.

‏Do you think the tent is safe? No, by God, other tents were bombed near us and my children and I were shot at by occupation naval boats while we were on the sea, but we survived!

‏Since the beginning of the war, we have been living on canned food and my children crave water, fruits, meat and dairy products, but they are expensive. They crave sweets that are not simple!

‏As for our house, its walls have been bombed and everything in it, including beds, children's clothes, their clothes and belongings, has been burned. They are always crying, wanting their clothes and their clothes!!

‏We have been suffering from power outages since the beginning of the war (a year ago) and gas outages. My children are working by collecting firewood to cook food in primitive ways. !

‏Save us from the hell of war before it is too late. We are growing slowly every day 😭 Please donate to my children, help us get out of Gaza and escape this deadly war 🙏🥹🍉

https://gofund.me/77751696

@appsa @90-ghost @90-ghost @el-shab-hussein @nabulsi @sar-soor @sayruq @queerstudiesnatural @appsa @communistchilchuck @fairuzfan @neptunerings @just-browsing1222 @appsa @akajustmerry @feluka @marnota @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @tortiefrancis @flower-tea-fairies @tsaricides @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @vivisection-gf @belleandsaintsebastian @ear-motif @animentality @kordeliiius @brutaliakhoa @raelyn-dreams @troythecatfish @violetlyric-blog @the-bastard-king @tamaytka @4ft10tvlandfangirl @northgazaupdates @skatehan @awetistic-things @nightowlssleep @baby-girl-aaron-dessner @friendshapedplant @mangocheesecakes @commissions4aid-@timetravellingkitty @tiredguyswag @brokenbackmountain @imjustheretotrytohelp @sylvianritual @magnus-rhymes-with-swagness @aces-and-angels @marnota @cenobutch @transmutationisms

[babybumpbuzz]

The 5 most common diseases that occur in young children and prevention methods that parents should know:

Protect your child from common diseases! Learn about the top 5 illnesses that affect young children and their prevention methods, including influenza, dengue fever, hand-foot-and-mouth disease, and measles.#childhealth #diseaseprevention

When it comes to diseases that occur in children, there are certainly many different diseases, each of which causes great anxiety for many parents. However, for various diseases that are considered to be the most popular diseases that occur frequently in young children and diseases that parents should know about prevention methods, there are 5 diseases as follows: 1. Influenza Influenza mostly…

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

1. A branch of the flu family tree has died and won't be included in future US vaccines

A type of flu virus that used to sicken people every year hasn't been spotted anywhere on Earth since March 2020. As such, experts have advised that the apparently extinct viruses be removed from next year's flu vaccines.

The now-extinct viruses were a branch of the influenza B family tree known as the Yamagata lineage. Scientists first reported the apparent disappearance of Yamagata viruses in 2021.

2. Hospitals must obtain written consent for pelvic and similar exams, the federal government says

Hospitals must obtain written informed consent from patients before subjecting them to pelvic exams and exams of other sensitive areas — especially if an exam will be done while the patient is unconscious, the federal government said Monday.

New guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services now requires consent for breast, pelvic, prostate and rectal exams for “educational and training purposes” performed by medical students, nurse practitioners or physician assistants.

3. Germany approves new law that will allow adults to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption and store up to 50 grams at home.

Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat, cleared the way to partially legalize cannabis on Friday. Adults aged 18 and over will be allowed to carry up to 25 grams of cannabis for their own consumption.

4. Tick-killing pill shows promising results in human trial | Should it pan out, the pill would be a new weapon against Lyme disease.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing a pill for humans that could provide protection against the tick-borne disease for several weeks at a time. In February, the Irvine, California–based biotech company announced results from a small, early-stage trial showing that 24 hours after taking the drug, it can kill ticks on people, with the effects lasting for up to 30 days.

5. Thailand moves to legalise same-sex marriage

Thailand has taken a historic step closer to marriage equality after the lower house passed a bill giving legal recognition to same-sex marriage.

It still needs approval from the Senate and royal endorsement to become law but it is widely expected to happen by the end of 2024, making Thailand the only South East Asian country to recognise same-sex unions.

6. French Revolution: Cyclists Now Outnumber Motorists In Paris

Official measurements have found that Paris is rapidly becoming a city of transportation cyclists. In the suburbs, where public transit is less dense, transport by car was found to be the main form of mobility. But for journeys from the outskirts of Paris to the center, the number of cyclists now far exceeds the number of motorists, a huge change from just five years ago.

7. 'Miracle' operation reverses blindness in three-year-old girl giving her 'promising' future

A three year old with a genetic condition that causes blindness is doing incredibly well after unique pioneering operation to restore her sight.

The UK is the only country performing keyhole eye surgery to inject healthy copies of a gene into sufferers’ eyes. It is being used to reverse blindness in children born with a rare condition which means they can only distinguish between light and dark. And it has given little Khadijah Chaudhry, born with Leber congenital amaurosis-4, a chance at seeing properly again.

---

That's it for this week :)

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Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog this post with your friends.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive (Archive.is link on this page if you can't access the original source)

By Iris Gorfinkel

The lack of masking in health care facilities will needlessly spread disease. As in past autumns, cooler weather will bring a spike in flu and cold viruses while kids in Ontario have settled back into crowded classrooms and COVID-19 threatens to reach a 3-year peak, writes Iris Gorfinkle.

Imagine you — or a vulnerable loved one — needs urgent medical care. If you’re lucky enough to have a family doctor, you head to their clinic. Like most, yours is housed in a building with low ceilings and little air filtration. You enter the waiting room where several patients sit shoulder-to-shoulder waiting.

You have no choice but to sit alongside people sneezing, coughing and blowing their noses. Few if any, patients and health care workers are wearing a mask. While grateful for the hand sanitizer on offer, you begin to wonder if that will be enough to prevent your picking up an infection you hadn’t anticipated.

It’s an all-too-familiar scenario.

The most common reason people see a GP is to assess an upper respiratory infection. They most frequently start after inhaling infected droplets or aerosols or from having touched an infected surface.

An N95 or KN95 mask helps block transmission, whether it’s SARS CoV-2, influenza or a common cold virus like RSV. They’re not perfect, but they reduce viral transmission by 30 per cent. Yet in spite of their benefits, most health-care workers and patients no longer routinely mask, even during assessments requiring close contact with an increased risk of disease spread.

Many of my most vulnerable patients are keenly aware of the potential health risks this presents. Yet most say nothing and would never dream of asking their clinician to wear a mask.

There are sound reasons for this.

The first has to do with long wait times. A visit to the specialist is a precious commodity that cannot be risked. Several months pass before patients are seen, raising the urgency for care.

This is only the first of many factors to come that can silence even the most assertive of patients.

Many don’t want to appear disrespectful by asking their health-care workers to mask. They fear being labelled “difficult” or “demanding” and become distressed at the prospect of questioning their clinician’s judgment, even if it should put them in harm’s way.

Patients become more passive when burdened with the anxiety, dread and fatigue that accompanies illness. Deep-seated fears are ignited that further increase the dependency on health-care workers and squelch any remaining likelihood of their requesting that their clinicians mask.

Masking policies in health-care facilities don’t have to be all-or-none edicts. Patients who are hard of hearing often benefit when they’re able to read lips. Both patients and health care workers sometimes struggle because of anxiety. Young children may not co-operate, and there are people who simply cannot — or will not — tolerate them.

These are special cases though, not the rule. Smart policies in health care facilities need to have latitude for such exceptions. But tightening the policy on masking also recognizes that SARS CoV-2 is a stealthy virus.

One-in-three people infected have no symptoms yet can still transmit COVID-19. It can result in serious physical and mental harms that last 3 years and possibly longer following the initial infection. Since the start of the pandemic to the end of 2023, long COVID has affected 6 per cent of adults and 1 per cent of children.

Vaccines don’t lower viral transmission. Where they shine is at lowering the severity of cases and keeping Ontario’s hospitals from being overwhelmed, but they’re poor at reducing mild cases. It’s short-sighted to gamble on the hope that future vaccines will prove any different.

What’s more certain is that the lack of masking in health care facilities will needlessly spread disease. As in past autumns, cooler weather will bring a spike in flu and cold viruses while kids in Ontario have settled back into crowded classrooms and COVID-19 threatens to reach a 3-year peak.

The duty of care doesn’t land on patients. It’s the clinicians’ job to ensure patients don’t pick up an unintended infection. Patients have a right to safety in health care facilities. In the meantime, I can only advise my concerned patients to wear an N95 or KN-95 when in health care facilities and suggest they not be shy when asking clinicians to do the same.

[elon-btch]

‏Hello, I am Iman from Gaza 🍉, a science teacher, a mother of five children: Nada (11), Rahaf (8), Sarah (5), Sham (3), Zeina (9 months). Technology is a beautiful, beautiful life. When the war broke out, everything turned upside down. My school that she uses was bombed, my husband lost his job, our house burned down, and our children lost their schools, clothes, toys, dreams, and future. We lost ten members of the group and lived in a tent that did not protect us from the cold of winter or the heat of summer. We were displaced more than ten times to escape the hell of war and there was no safe place in Gaza! We would flee from another place until we were besieged and miraculously escaped death! Until we set up the tent on the Mawasi of Yu Khanis and lived in it. It was not suitable for human habitation. In the winter, the rain would drown the children and the tent would be flooded with rain, with the lack of stimulants that made my daughters suffer from influenza, colds, and diarrhea. They would shiver from the cold of winter and the winds almost tore the tent apart!! And we stayed in the tent until summer came with its dangerous, scorching sun and its many harmful insects, such as flies, mosquitoes, scorpions and mice. The heat almost melted my daughters' bodies, as they were symptoms of skin diseases, ulcers, hepatitis, epidemic and pollution, all this in a wretched tent that could not accommodate two heads, as it was the kitchen, the one that was gloomy and the one that was high enough for sleeping.

‏We suffer from fetching water long distances on foot, and it is not enough, and if we find it, it is not polluted and not fit for drinking or use.

‏In this tent, my little girl Zeina was born and she left the hospital to the tent under direct health conditions. We suffer from good morning to crazy in terms of selling prices and completing vaccinations and medicines, and my daughter stopped due to malnutrition.

‏Do you think the tent is safe? No, by God, other tents were bombed near us and my children and I were shot at by occupation naval boats while we were on the sea, but we survived!

‏Since the beginning of the war, we have been living on canned food and my children crave water, fruits, meat and dairy products, but they are expensive. They crave sweets that are not simple!

‏As for our house, its walls have been bombed and everything in it, including beds, children's clothes, their clothes and belongings, has been burned. They are always crying, wanting their clothes and their clothes!!

‏We have been suffering from power outages since the beginning of the war (a year ago) and gas outages. My children are working by collecting firewood to cook food in primitive ways. We have been cut off from the outside world for five months, as there were no communications or internet!

‏Save us from the hell of war before it is too late. We are growing slowly every day 😭 Please donate to my children, help us get out of Gaza and escape this deadly war 🙏🥹🍉

https://gofund.me/77751696

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-eman-and-her-children-escape-gaza

Guys, please donate to help them! If you can't, share it with as many people as possible‼️‼️‼️

[mariacallous]

Gaza’s recently confirmed polio outbreak is a barometer of the catastrophic public health conditions created by the Israeli military—but what many Israelis don’t realize is that the systematic assault by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on health care and public health infrastructure in Gaza has now come back to haunt them.

It has placed hundreds of thousands of Israelis at risk of contracting an ancient virus that strikes suddenly, paralyzing limbs and even sometimes lungs. It is so contagious that each afflicted person means several hundred others are simultaneously and invisibly spreading this incurable disease.

Although polio has been eradicated in most developed nations, Israel has particular reason to be concerned about the disease. The country has at least 175,000 vulnerable children—the offspring of the ultra-Orthodox, or haredim, who are notorious for their opposition to vaccinations.

Because the haredim comprise 17 percent of Israel’s Jews and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs their support to remain in power, his government has exempted hundreds of thousands of haredim from Israel’s immunization program against polio as well as measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis and HPV, influenza, and COVID-19—despite the threat to domestic and global health from these vaccine-preventable diseases.

That decision, coupled with his stubborn refusal to negotiate a permanent cease-fire in Gaza, has now put Israel’s unvaccinated at risk of contracting polio.

Thursday’s announcement that Israel will allow limited combat pauses in Gaza for vaccination at designated sites is insufficient to prevent ongoing spread of the deadly virus because parents will be required to bring their children to those sites while combat elsewhere in Gaza rages; most parents simply won’t risk it. That fighting also makes impossible the kind of active outreach by healthcare workers among Gaza’s displaced population needed to obtain the near-universal vaccination required to stop the outbreak.

Shortly after polio was detected in Gaza’s sewers, the Israeli government began offering vaccinations to troops returning from Gaza. These optional shots protect soldiers from contracting polio but not from taking it back to Israel, effectively turning them into dangerous vectors of this incredibly contagious disease.

Most Israelis have largely tuned out the suffering of Palestinians caused by Israeli bombs, but the potential for the spread of a deadly disease to their own children could finally get their attention.

The risk of another polio outbreak in Israel also provides a strong incentive for Netanyahu to agree to regular prolonged humanitarian pauses to allow systematic mass vaccination to proceed in Gaza, where efforts have lapsed during the war. That could also lay the groundwork for a lasting cease-fire.

More than 10 months of Israeli bombardment has destroyed Gaza’s water sources and sanitation systems and forced almost 2 million people from their homes into crowded camps. The humanitarian blockade imposed by Israeli authorities has withheld essential nutrition, critical medicines, and lifesaving public health technology. Meanwhile, in more than 1,000 attacks on health care facilities, equipment, and staff, the Israeli military has killed or detained more than 800 medical personnel.

To Palestinians, the international community’s laser-like focus on polio after a single unimmunized infant was partially paralyzed may seem perverse. After all, Palestinian children are far more likely to be crippled by Israeli bombs than paralyzed by a virus not seen in Gaza since 1985. Although it is no longer the world’s most feared disease, polio still cripples hundreds of children every year and suffocates some to death. It now threatens Israeli children, too. And if polio is what it takes to humanize the horrors facing civilians in Gaza, the international community must seize the opportunity.

In July, analysis of environmental samples in Gaza detected type 2 vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV2), suggesting months of circulation and similarities with a strain found in sewers in Egypt, the country from which most aid trucks for Gaza arrive. A slightly different  strain found in Jerusalem’s sewers was linked to outbreaks in 2022 and 2023.

A vaccine-derived poliovirus comes from the weakened live poliovirus contained in oral vaccines. In a fully vaccinated population it is not a threat, but if this weakened form of the virus has the opportunity to circulate among those lacking herd immunity or those compromised by prolonged starvation and disease, it can mutate into a form of poliovirus that causes illness and paralysis.

Despite a degraded public health system, lack of safe drinking water, and constant cross-border movement, Gaza’s health authorities protected the population for decades by maintaining very high vaccination rates. They used intramuscular polio vaccines to protect individuals, in addition to oral polio vaccines, which create protection against transmission, to protect the whole population. The associated herd immunity protected Gaza’s immunosuppressed and partially immunized infants.

War typically disrupts routine immunization services, regardless of the location. But in Gaza, polio immunization rates have dropped dramatically, from 99 percent in 2022 to about 86 percent by mid-2024—below the level required for herd immunity.

The way that Israel has waged the current war has exacerbated the situation. Chlorine is the only reliable way to disinfect contaminated water—as polio is relatively resistant to heat and acid. Yet since Oct. 7, Israeli troops have withheld chlorine from Gaza and destroyed all wastewater treatment plants.

Since May, nearly 800,000 people have been displaced to Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, where samples were collected on June 23. The squalid living conditions, lack of safe water, starvation, and attacks targeting health care facilities make routine vaccination impossible. This is the ideal environment for the oral vaccine to mutate into vaccine-derived polio and emerge as a virulent stealth virus. Movement makes contact tracing challenging and turbocharges transmission of the virus.

Without a rapid test for polio, detection depends on clinical diagnosis. Fewer than 1 percent of polio cases result in paralysis, and most symptoms—fever, fatigue, headache, and vomiting—are common to hundreds of illnesses. As a clinician familiar with polio and war zones, I know firsthand how hard polio is to diagnose.

Laboratory confirmation relies on collecting two stool samples within two days of infection from kids who cannot always defecate when doctors ask. Gaza’s physicians are experts in war trauma, but few of them have ever seen polio.

In these circumstances, a mass vaccination campaign with oral polio vaccines is vital to stop the spread. The World Health Organization (WHO) has promised 1.6 million vaccine doses, and some have arrived , but that is only the beginning. Aid organizations must now organize the vaccination campaign while war rages.

To remain viable, vaccines must be stored at between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius, yet because Israel withholds fuel for refrigeration, the WHO has to deliver cold-chain equipment. Summer heat, persistent insecurity, and Israel’s ongoing obstruction of aid compound the challenges.

The most successful polio campaigns rely on multiple door-to-door visits, but since more than 80 percent of Gaza’s buildings have been destroyed, parents will have to bring children to fixed posts; the ongoing threat of bombing and general insecurity make it hard to achieve high coverage in such circumstances, despite Israel’s agreement to limited combat pauses in certain areas.

As if to underscore the point, Israel’s vow to allow limited pauses for vaccination came a day after the World Food Program suspended its own food delivery because one of its vehicles was fired upon a few meters from an Israeli army checkpoint.

Prolonged humanitarian pauses permitting multiple vaccination campaigns could curtail and control this dreaded virus in Gaza and, by extension, for over 100,000 of Israel’s unvaccinated and under-vaccinated citizens.

Israel, like all countries, cares about polio and other contagious threats.After Israel’s 1988 outbreak, the government copied Gaza’s immunization program: High uptake among the non-haredi population successfully eliminated wild polio.

For the next 33 years, the Israeli government protected its unvaccinated population through well-developed public health services and regular surveillance. But for the fast-growing unvaccinated ultra-Orthodox population, highly concentrated chlorinated water is no longer enough. In February 2022, an outbreak in an ultra-Orthodox district of Jerusalem crippled an unvaccinated 3-year-old girl. In 2022, polio reported from dozens of samples in Jerusalem sewers was linked to the May 2022 outbreak in New York and another in northern Israel in February 2023.

Because the only way to protect the unvaccinated ultra-Orthodox in Israel is to control polio in Gaza—and because Netanyahu depends on ultra-Orthodox parties’ support to stay in power—the Israeli government now has an incentive to agree to the prolonged humanitarian pauses needed for a successful vaccination campaign. Such calls may be especially attractive to Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, who are hardly members of Israel’s peace camp.

The determination of public health organizations to end one of the world’s most dreaded diseases and a diplomatic effort to enforce prolonged pauses for polio vaccinations could help change the narrative in Gaza from indifference and devastation to one of solidarity and hope in the face of a deadly disease.

[aressida]

Wrote a long one cos the in law family wanted him to take the flu shot, I said no.

"Dear Family, Friends, and Medical Professionals,

I am writing to share some thoughts and questions about vaccines, particularly in light of recent developments.

Do we believe that vaccines are the ultimate solution in medicine?

It is commonly known that influenza vaccines are reformulated each season due to the virus’s constant mutation, making it challenging to predict and protect against new strains accurately.

Is it true that these vaccines bypass the liver’s natural filtration system, potentially causing a shock to our bodies?

How should we classify these ingredients—as toxic or benign?

Here are just some vaccine ingredients, and these are being injected into your body and into your children’s bodies if you choose to vaccinate:

– Formaldehyde/Formalin – Highly toxic systemic poison and carcinogen.

– Betapropiolactone – Toxic chemical and carcinogen. May cause death or permanent injury after very short exposure to small quantities. Corrosive chemical.

– Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide – May cause damage to the liver, cardiovascular system, and central nervous system. May cause reproductive effects and birth defects.

– Aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, and aluminum salts – Neurotoxin. Carries risk for long-term brain inflammation/swelling, neurological disorders, autoimmune disease, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and autism. It penetrates the brain where it persists indefinitely.

– Thimerosal (mercury) – Neurotoxin. Induces cellular damage, reduces oxidation-reduction activity, cellular degeneration, and cell death. Linked to neurological disorders, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and autism.

– Polysorbate 80 & 20 – Trespasses the blood-brain barrier and carries with it aluminum, thimerosal, and viruses; allowing them to enter the brain.

– Glutaraldehyde – Toxic chemical used as a disinfectant for heat-sensitive medical equipment.

– Fetal Bovine Serum – Harvested from bovine (cow) fetuses taken from pregnant cows before slaughter.

– Human Diploid Fibroblast Cells – Aborted fetal cells. Foreign DNA has the ability to interact with our own.

– African Green Monkey Kidney Cells – Can carry the SV-40 cancer-causing virus that has already tainted about 30 million Americans.

– Acetone – Can cause kidney, liver, and nerve damage.

– E. Coli – Yes, you read that right.

– DNA from porcine (pig) Circovirus type-1

– Human embryonic lung cell cultures (from aborted fetuses)

You can view all of these ingredients on the CDC’s website. I encourage everyone to do their own research. Look up the MSDS on these chemicals. Read the thousands of peer-reviewed studies that have evaluated the biological consequences these chemicals can have on the body, especially when being injected.

Injecting foreign substances directly into the bloodstream—viruses, toxins, and proteins—has been linked to various diseases and disorders. These include conditions like atypical measles, cancer, leukemia, multiple sclerosis, and even SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome).

Conditions like Addison’s disease, anaphylactic shock, arthritis, asthma, asymptomatic COVID-19, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, facial paralysis, fibromyalgia, fetal distress syndrome, foreign body embolism, genital herpes, hepatitis, hyperthyroidism, inflammatory bowel disease, jugular vein embolism, lung abscess, lupus, meningitis, MERS-CoV test positive, migraine-triggered seizures, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, multiple sclerosis, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, pneumonia, stiff leg syndrome, stiff person syndrome, stillbirth, sudden heart attack, sudden respiratory failure, type 1 diabetes, uterine rupture, viral bronchitis—and much more.

This does not mean everyone will experience these reactions, but a significant number of test subjects have experienced one or more.

It is more than enough evidence to show that vaccine mandates are completely anti-scientific.

How can you make an informed decision if you do not have all the information?

We have also seen a shift where flu vaccines are now mRNA-based. But does a "vaccine" really prevent a virus or its recurrence as we expect it to?

The annual flu shot is, at best, a partial defense, aimed at last year’s strain. Does it truly help against the ever-mutating new flu, or is it just a temporary fix?

My concern is that this mindset—that a vaccine is a quick fix for everything—is flawed. The immune system may struggle to handle these types of agents, leading to breakthrough infections and potentially higher mortality rates.

For those who are vaccinated, I respect your choice. I simply ask for the same respect in return for my decision not to vaccinate. My reasons are personal and grounded in a belief that the government should not dictate my health choices and my family's.

Have you heard about Pfizer’s side effects?

Have you read the Pfizer documentation? Ask yourself if a drug with 32 pages of side effects is right for you.

The list of potential vaccine side effects released by Pfizer is alarming, ranging from autoimmune disorders to serious conditions like multiple organ dysfunction and sudden respiratory failure. Yet, this information was kept under wraps and only recently made public. Shouldn’t we be informed of the risks?

Do we even know the medium- or long-term effects of these vaccines?

Are they still in clinical trials? Is there a control group? What about Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE) – has it been adequately tested? And why are ingredients like formaldehyde and mercury, known toxins, included in these vaccines?

Do you truly think this vaccine is 100% safe?

Transparency is crucial.

How can we make informed decisions if we are not given all the information?

We must ask ourselves, do we trust the pharmaceutical companies and their relationships with organizations like the CDC and FDA?

The FDA requested 75 years to release data on the Pfizer vaccine—why? Why did it take only 108 days to approve this vaccine, yet it supposedly requires decades to fully understand its effects?

Do you believe that SARS-CoV-2 has been isolated?

How well-informed are you about the CDC, FDA, pharmaceutical companies, and their donors? Do you think their qualifications are reliable?

These are important questions that deserve honest discussions. And, I believe it is crucial to acknowledge the existence of these alternative perspectives and engage in open discussions to gain a more comprehensive understanding.

Our health and freedom are at stake, and I urge everyone to think critically and seek out all the information before making decisions.

Thank you for taking the time to consider these points."

[arctic-hands]

Watching vaccine conspiracy theories extend to your basic yearly flu shots is so bizarre to have witnessed in live time. As a kid, there were a few years where the vaccine was in short supply and the lines to get it at the pharmacy would extend for blocks. Being an immunocompromised child, my mother and I were expedited to the front and the hostility we faced was potent. Glares and flat out shouting at us for "cutting in line". People were so scared they were willing to yell at a sickly child if it meant they could get vaccinated.

Anyway Andrew Wakefield needs to be brought up on charges for crimes against humanity or something

[darkmaga-retard]

By Alex Newman August 15, 2024

Government schools across the United States must “urgently” prepare to re-impose COVID-style policies on students and staff in response to an expected upcoming pandemic, warned a former high-ranking “public-health” bureaucrat in the Obama administration. Among the key measures: A push for mass vaccination.  

Writing in an article published last month in the left-wing outlet STAT News, the far-left former pandemic official offers wide-ranging advice to school district officials on how to prepare for COVID 2.0 – in this case, likely Bird Flu, or H5N1 Avian Influenza.

Dr. Mario Ramirez, former acting director of the Office of Pandemic and Emerging Threats within the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), warned that the H5N1 Avian Influenza could “jump to humans” in the near future. As such, schools must prepare to deal with it.

The warnings come as a front group for Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the World Economic Forum known as the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) just issued similar warnings.

At a summit last month, CEPI, which basically wrote the script for COVID response in its 2017 business plan, called on governments and international “health authorities” to get ready for mass vaccination ahead of “disease X.”  

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is convening an emergency meeting to consider declaring a public health emergency of international concern. And an “International Bird Flu Summit” in D.C. in October will prep for “mass fatality management planning” and delivery of “vaccines,” according to its website.

[gumjrop]

CDC Recommends Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for Fall/Winter Virus Season

Media Statement

For Immediate Release: June 27, 2024 Contact: Media Relations (404) 639-3286

Today [June 27, 2024], CDC recommended the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines and the updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines to protect against severe COVID-19 and flu this fall and winter.

It is safe to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same visit. Data continue to show the importance of vaccination to protect against severe outcomes of COVID-19 and flu, including hospitalization and death. In 2023, more than 916,300 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and more than 75,500 people died from COVID-19. During the 2023-2024 flu season, more than 44,900 people are estimated to have died from flu complications.

Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation

CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 this fall and winter whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine. Updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year. This recommendation will take effect as soon as the new vaccines are available.

The virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, is always changing and protection from COVID-19 vaccines declines over time. Receiving an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine can restore and enhance protection against the virus variants currently responsible for most infections and hospitalizations in the United States. COVID-19 vaccination also reduces the chance of suffering the effects of Long COVID, which can develop during or following acute infection and last for an extended duration.

Last season, people who received a 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine saw greater protection against illness and hospitalization than those who did not receive a 2023-2024 vaccine. To date, hundreds of millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine under the most intense vaccine safety monitoring in United States history.

Updated 2024-2025 Flu Vaccine Recommendation

CDC recommends everyone 6 months of age and older, with rare exceptions, receive an updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine to reduce the risk of influenza and its potentially serious complications this fall and winter. CDC encourages providers to begin their influenza vaccination planning efforts now and to vaccinate patients as indicated once 2024-2025 influenza vaccines become available.

Most people need only one dose of the flu vaccine each season. While CDC recommends flu vaccination as long as influenza viruses are circulating, September and October remain the best times for most people to get vaccinated. Flu vaccination in July and August is not recommended for most people, but there are several considerations regarding vaccination during those months for specific groups:

Pregnant people who are in their third trimester can get a flu vaccine in July or August to protect their babies from flu after birth, when they are too young to get vaccinated.

Children who need two doses of the flu vaccine should get their first dose of vaccine as soon as it becomes available. The second dose should be given at least four weeks after the first.

Vaccination in July or August can be considered for children who have health care visits during those months if there might not be another opportunity to vaccinate them.

For adults (especially those 65 years old and older) and pregnant people in the first and second trimester, vaccination in July and August should be avoided unless it won’t be possible to vaccinate in September or October.

Updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines will all be trivalent and will protect against an H1N1, H3N2 and a B/Victoria lineage virus. The composition of this season’s vaccine compared to last has been updated with a new influenza A(H3N2) virus.

For more information on updated COVID-19 vaccines visit: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) | CDC. For more information on updated flu vaccines visit: Seasonal Flu Vaccines | CDC.

The following statement is attributable to CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen:

“Our top recommendation for protecting yourself and your loved ones from respiratory illness is to get vaccinated,” said Mandy Cohen, M.D., M.P.H. “Make a plan now for you and your family to get both updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ahead of the respiratory virus season.”

[liminalweirdo]

Covid-19 deaths displace influenza and pneumonia, becoming the top cause of death caused by any infectious or respiratory disease. It caused “substantially” more deaths than any vaccine-preventable disease historically, the researchers wrote.

[contentment-of-cats]

Pandemic pantry now past-tense

I was raised by a family that had food scarcity trauma. My maternal grandmother was so malnourished as a child that she developed rickets. My maternal grandfather routinely had to go out and shoot his breakfast post-1906 earthquake. My paternal grandmother was from coal country, so malnourished as a child that she never exceeded being 4 ft 10 in tall and bow-legged from rickets as well. My paternal grandfather, despite living in a thriving metropolis was just three generations removed from the potato famine that sent his survivor ancestor across the Atlantic.

These are people who survived first World War, the 1918 influenza, the Great Depression, and the second World War. In particular, my maternal grandparents went through the Great Depression with young children. For all of these people, food was love. A full pantry and refrigerator, plus a freezer chest in the basement meant that the hard times would at least have a cushion. Hunting meant that you didn't have to rely on money for the butcher. A garden next to the house supplied fruit and vegetables.

My pandemic pantry grew out of my emergency food, since I live in earthquake country. I was better prepared than a lot of people, but I also had that generational paranoia about an empty shelf. I kept well-stocked until after I had received my vaccines. Then I started to gradually dwindle the stockpile and replace it with fresher items.

Then in October of 2021, I wasn't feeling too good. I've had a diagnosis of fibromyalgia since 2007. I understood not feeling good, but this was a new level. I was told that it was probably menopause and the fact that I was exercising a lot at home. Never mind that my periods had stopped when I was 52. I couldn't eat. The fatigue was so intense that I would actually fall asleep if I sat down. In my home office, I stood up and paced in order to stay awake. Finally in March of 2022, everything came to a head, and came to a stop. I had stage 4 colon cancer and a 10 cm tumor in my gut.

From my first week on chemotherapy and radiation I could not eat. I was hospitalized for dehydration due to the vomiting and diarrhea. The next five weeks were a fine line between killing the patient, and killing the cancer that was killing the patient. My diet consisted of saltine crackers, soda water, baby food packets, and little else. When I would go in for my chemotherapy treatments, they made sure to give me a small enough dose of steroids that I would get hungry on top of a big dose of Zofran to stamp down the nausea. I remember the infusion clinic tuna fish sandwiches very fondly. Usually the steroids would stick with me long enough to get another meal down when I got home.

Even after I finished chemotherapy in August of 2022, chemotherapy was not finished with me. It stayed in my body for weeks afterwards. I was still losing weight, my hair was still falling out. I hadn't needed to trim my nails or shave my legs for months. Then I had the big operation in November with a full hysterectomy, a ureter and bladder resection, a colon resection, and an ileostomy. I still couldn't eat. The weight loss continued even after the resection was opened and the ileostomy closed in February of 2023.

During all that time the pantry just sat there and gathered dust. Some of it expired. In March of this year I started using bits and pieces because my appetite had started to come back slowly. I rapidly found out there were many things that I had enjoyed previously that I could no longer eat. Bit by bit I emptied that pantry, thinking of my grandparents, and even my mother and aunts, ever paranoid about food and having a conflicting relationship with it to the point of disordered eating. I thought about my own relationship with food, and being a size 3 in my twenties. Sometimes you face your demons, other times you vomit them out, other times you eat them.

Emptying my pandemic pantry by box and by can has been another part of my journey. As someone who was divorced from food for so long, much of my enjoyment has returned. I appreciate being able to eat more than I ever did before. I appreciate not only the opportunity, but the ability. Now that my pantry is empty, I'm thinking about what to stock it up with. I won't put anything in it just for the sake of having it, or filling an empty space. Each box and can must have a purpose, must be appreciated and enjoyed.

So today, I am going to make one of my grandfather's favorites. Creamed chipped beef on toast with an egg over easy, coffee, and a glass of orange juice. You're never going to find an epicurean or a gourmet tucking into this modest breakfast made with dried beef and canned milk. I have always enjoyed it though, and appreciate the history that brings it to my table today.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Health experts warn against COVID complacency in schools amid surge - Published Aug 25, 2024

Health experts are urging school staff and families to take active steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 amid rising infections as school districts stick to their previous plans to combat the virus similarly to how they would the flu or strep throat.

Weekly deaths from COVID-19 have steadily risen in the United States since mid-June, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID Data Tracker.

And wastewater viral activity for the disease — which is monitored as a means of detecting where a potential outbreak may occur — has gradually climbed since May, with the national level now “very high,” according to the CDC.

The rising rates are having little effect on the start of the school year, however. Schools have largely chosen to treat COVID-19 like RSV or the common flu, at the recommendation of health organizations like the CDC.

“COVID forever changed the landscape of education. As it stands now, in both districts (Meridian CUSD 223 and Oregon CUSD 220) I have the pleasure of leading we are moving forward full steam ahead and treating COVID in the same form and fashion we would treat influenza or strep throat,” said PJ Caposey, superintendent of Meridian School District in Illinois.

“The impact COVID has had on schools and on society cannot be understated, but currently it is not impacting how we operate and serve kids,” he added.

School districts are still feeling tremendous impacts from the coronavirus and the widespread closures it drove earlier in the pandemic, such as students struggling to catch back up academically.

Recent data from nonprofit research group NWEA found that students going into high school are a full year behind academically.

Since the CDC has classified COVID-19 under the umbrella of respiratory illnesses, in the same category as the flu, schools have dropped precautions previously put in place to mitigate the spread of the virus such as masks or social distancing.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), for instance, previously had policies requiring students and faculty to stay out of school longer if they contract COVID-19 and to wear masks for a certain period when they came back.

LAUSD posted on social media in August that due to high vaccination rates, COVID-19 will be treated like RSV. The district stressed that those with COVID-19 need to stay home if they have symptoms or a fever and cannot come back until symptoms start improving and the fever is gone for 24 hours without medicine.

Amid the current rise in COVID-19 cases and with another likely surge looming during the fall or winter months ahead, health experts are urging school communities not to become complacent when fighting against the virus’s spread.

The most important thing families and school staff can do to protect themselves is to get vaccinated, according to Jodie Guest, senior vice chair of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.

As of May, only about a quarter of U.S. adults and about 14 percent of children were reported to be up to date on a COVID-19 vaccination, according to CDC data.

The Food and Drug Administration approved updated Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines Thursday to more closely target the recent strains of the virus, as well as potential fall and winter variants.

Adults and children 6 months and older are eligible for the updated vaccines, according to the CDC. Children 5 years old and up will need one shot of an updated vaccine to remain current, while children between 6 months and 4 years old might need multiple shots.

The updated shots will likely be on pharmacy shelves within “the coming days.” Those who have recently been infected with COVID-19 can delay getting the updated vaccine for up to three months, per CDC guidelines.

On top of getting the shot, Guest encourages school staff and parents to regularly test themselves and children for COVID-19 infections because testing “still really matters.”

“If your kid comes home and is not feeling well and showing signs that might be COVID, might be something else, going ahead with at-home testing is an important way to stop spread in your family and to stop spread in schools,” she said.

Sick adults and children should test themselves multiple times at home to ensure they do not have the virus, Guest said. If a first at-home antigen test is negative, she recommends taking a second test 36 to 48 hours later “to make sure it’s a true negative.”

School staff members who think they are sick should stay home, health experts agree. Parents should also keep their children home from school if they are sick to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 to others.

“If you are sick, stay home. Don’t infect others,” said David Weber, epidemiologist and associate chief medical officer of UNC Health Care.

While COVID-19 infections are typically less severe in children, kids can still suffer complications from contracting the virus, like long COVID, which may appear differently in adolescents than in adults.

Children can also serve as vectors for the virus, potentially spreading it to more vulnerable people like older relatives.

“You really don’t want to bring this home particularly if you have grandparents living with you,” said Andrew Pekosz, a professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who studies respiratory illnesses including COVID-19.

However, it appears unlikely that schools will change their standards to fight COVID-19 without official recommendations from the CDC.

“Schools put measures in place through the COVID-19 pandemic to mitigate the spread of infection including vaccination clinics, cleaning procedures, and mitigation protocols that should be followed just as with any other communicable diseases such as the seasonal flu,” said Jeanie Alter, executive director of the American School Health Association, a group that supports health professionals in schools and advocates for healthy school environments.

“It will be important for schools to review and update these practices and continue with best practice guidance from reputable science-based organizations such as CDC,” she said.

[mynah-bird-death]

I was walking through a beautiful cemetery while on vacation over labor day weekend with my wife and our mutual friend. I was excitedly being a nerd and information dumping about memorial art and epitaphs, like ya do.

I will point out I am the only death nerd in this group and our mutual friend arranged stopping at this cemetery specifically for me. But I digress.

My wife looked up and offhandedly commented "I wish there were happy stories sometimes, ya know?"

Without thinking I responded:

"The stories are only tragedies if death is the enemy."

For example family graves. Especially older ones from the time before vaccines for whooping cough or influenza or even chicken pox. You see the graves of so many children who were carried off by what were these common childhood diseases.

Each child's grave is a testament to how loved and wanted they were. And their parents made sure that people would know their baby had been here, had lived, had been so very loved and remained loved.

To me the graves of parents near those children? Are a monument to grief and loss yes, but also the end of a mother missing her child. It's the entire family together in a way they couldn't be in life, where nothing can meaningfully separate them again. It's a forever reunion.

Regardless of any belief in any sort of afterlife, their names or at least the evidence of their existence, is linked together etched in stone. And that is a happy story.