Showing posts with label Immunization Awareness Month. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immunization Awareness Month. Show all posts

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Colorado's Non-Medical Vaccine Exemption Form Ruffles Anti-Vaccine Feathers

Back to school time. Show your child you care about their health.
Image Source: South Florida Caribbean News
Note: see update at the end of the article.
 
School is nearing (or already upon us) in many states. Parents are out buying notebooks, pens and pencils, folders, and new clothes for their children to make sure they're ready for the first day. It's also the time when many parents need to make sure that their children are up to date on their vaccinations in order to attend school. Naturally, this is also a time that anti-vaccine activists absolutely hate, especially in states where public health officials have taken efforts to ensure parents are better informed about vaccines and the diseases they prevent, as well as making opting out of vaccinations closer to the same burden that exists for those who choose to protect their children from diseases.

One of the latest battlegrounds is Colorado. Anti-vaccine activists and organizations, like the National Vaccine Information Center, are really upset with Colorado. Nothing has changed with regard to the law in that state, though. Non-medical exemptions haven't been removed, like they have in California. Parents aren't required to sit through an educational session on the benefits and risks of vaccines and the diseases they prevent. All that changed is this year's vaccine exemption form and the rules around its use.

Friday, August 28, 2015

Ethan Posard's The Shots Book

Be a community immunity superhero!
I meant to do this post at the beginning of the month. I really did. But life finds ways of interfering. In case you didn't know, August is National Immunization Awareness Month. I've posted stuff for NIAM before, like my lineup of vaccine preventable disease wanted posters. I've also written other posts for past Vaccine Awareness Weeks that could fit in well with NIAM, too, like the myth that if vaccines work, then it doesn't matter if you vaccinate your kid or not. Some years, though, I've let August slip past without writing anything specifically for NIAM, even though I have written posts with some vaccination issue as the main topic.

Not this year. I could write about outbreaks of diseases or the activities of the anti-vaccine movement, but I'd rather keep things nice and positive, at least for now. In July, I received a review copy of The Shots Book: A Little Brother's Superhero Tale, by Ethan Posard. Rather than publishing a post about the book right away, I wanted to hold off until Immunization Awareness Month. Then, as sometimes happens, life decided to muck up my good intentions and delay me for a while. Better late than never, right?

Ethan is the younger brother of Camille Posard, one of the talented young high schoolers who wrote and produced the film Invisible Threat, which I discussed last year. Although the film was met with exceptionally harsh criticism from the anti-vaccine movement (without their even having viewed the documentary), the teens who produced it proudly stood up to the bullies that tried to silence them and shut down screenings. One portion of the film follows Ethan as he goes in for one of his scheduled shots, and it's that experience with both the shot and the film that inspired him to write this book.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Imunization Awarness Month - The Vaccination Chronicles

It's National Immunization Awareness Month! I didn't have time to write up a big, long post, so instead, I thought I would share this video from Richard Saunders. This short documentary, The Vaccination Chronicles, was a personal endeavor by Saunders as an effort to educate the public about the importance of vaccinations. Enjoy.


Friday, October 25, 2013

More VPD Cards Available

[UPDATE 3/8/16: I am out of VPD wanted poster card sets. Thank you to everyone who requested a set! You made it all worthwhile.]

In March of this year, I announced that I was making prints of an art project of mine available for free. These were sets of sixteen 4" x 5" cards with information about each of the diseases that is prevented by a vaccine on the current childhood immunization schedule. The cards are modeled after wanted posters, complete with mug shots and vital statistics of each virus or bacterium, as well as a description of what the disease does (its modus operandi, if you will). I received a lot of positive feedback on them, and I recently sent out the last of my initial 100 sets.

Because of continued requests, I've decided to do another printing. If you would like a set of VPD cards, click on that link or click the button below or in the sidebar to the right. Remember, it's absolutely free, though if you'd really like to open your wallet, please make a donation to a science-based autism charity or to support vaccine research. Here are some suggestions, which I have supported myself, or give to your favorite charity.


Much of the information is drawn from the CDC's Pink Book chapters on each disease, which I've tried to summarize in an easy-to-read format. These cards are a great way to learn about vaccine preventable diseases. Some people have even turned the cards into a game, shuffling and dealing them out, then playing hands of "who has the worst disease".

Friday, March 15, 2013

Have You Seen This Pathogen?

UPDATE: 10/22/13: I will be printing more card sets. If you would like a set, go ahead and click the "Send Me a Set" button below or to the right and as soon as I get them in, I will send yours out.

UPDATE 9/22/13: I am currently out of card sets. If I receive enough requests, I will run another printing.

They're heeere.

Back in August 2012, I introduced a little art project I had been working on. It consisted of a series of sixteen digital posters. Since August was Immunization Awareness Month, and my posters were somewhat related, I thought it a fitting time to publish them, releasing them one a day over fifteen days (with a bonus two-for-one in the middle).

Well, I finally got around to printing up 4" x 5" cards of my Vaccine Preventable Disease Wanted Posters.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Complete VPD Wanted Poster Lineup

I hope you enjoyed the Vaccine Preventable Disease Wanted Posters and found them informative. They are meant to be educational materials, presented in an easily approachable manner. As I mentioned before, if you would like a print version of the posters, either as a poster or as a card, please let me know.

For ease of reference, here are all 16 posters (after the break).

Wanted: Rubeola morbillivirus


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Wanted: Rubella virus


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Wanted: Mumps


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Wanted: Influenza


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information. I can also provide it in electronic format for printing on regular 8.5"x11" paper.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Wanted: Varicella zoster virus


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Wanted: Poliovirus


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Wanted: Streptococcus pneumoniae


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Wanted: Neisseria meningitidis and Human papillomavirus



Neisseria meningitidis image from the Public Health Image Library. Human papillomavirus image from NCI Visuals Online. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Wanted: Hepatitis B


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Wanted: Hepatitis A


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Wanted: Rotavirus A


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Wanted: Haemophilus influenzae type B


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Wanted: Clostridium tetani


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Wanted: Corynebacterium diphtheriae


Image from the Public Health Image Library. Logo design by Maggie McFee. More VPD Wanted Poster details here. If you are interested in a print version (16"x20" poster or 4"x5" card), please email me for more information.