Vaccine News & Notes — February 2020
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Parents PACKNew videos featuring Dr. Stanley Plotkin, inventor of the rubella vaccine
Talking about Vaccines with Dr. Stanley Plotkin is a new video series recently published by the Vaccine Education Center (VEC). In each one- to two-minute video, Dr. Plotkin answers a question about vaccine science.
- What is an adjuvant, and why are they used in vaccines?
- How can we still use a fetal cell line from the 1960s to make vaccines today?
- How is a vaccine processed by the body when it is given as a shot?
- What does it mean if a vaccine trial is double-blinded?
- How do clinical trials work?
- What does the FDA monitor during vaccine clinical trials?
The video series can be accessed from the “Talking about Vaccines with Dr. Stanley Plotkin” webpage. You can see all of the VEC’s video offerings on this page of our website vaccine.chop.edu/videos.
No More Measles: The Truth About Vaccines and Your Health
Looking for a good general information book about vaccines? No More Measles: The Truth About Vaccines and Your Health, by Laurie Endicott Thomas, describes the role of vaccines in society as well as the reasons for the debate around them. Written for laypersons, the book describes biological and political aspects of vaccines, as well as offers information about individual diseases that can be prevented through vaccination.
The book is available from Amazon.
New app helps users sort facts from fiction
“Margarine is one molecule away from plastic; and shares 27 ingredients with paint. Bon Appetit!”
Do you think this statement is based on evidence?
With the vast amount of information that we are exposed to on any given day, it is easy to read something without stopping to think about its quality. A free new app offered by the News Literacy Project (NLP) aims to help with that. Called Informable, players can practice differentiating between good and bad information they find online. The app enables players to evaluate information in four categories: news or opinion, advertisement or other type of information, evidence or not, and fact or opinion.
The above example is from the “evidence or not” section, and the answer is “no” because although the statement might seem like a fact, the author does not provide evidence in the form of either chemical structures or ingredient lists.
Download Informable today from the App Store or Google Play.
You can also find out more about how to assess online information, using criteria developed by the World Health Organization’s Vaccine Safety Net project, by downloading these website evaluation cards offered by the Vaccine Education Center.
VEC recognized as a credible source for vaccine information
Pinterest has recognized the Vaccine Education Center (VEC) as a trusted source for vaccine-related information. As such, when people use the platform to search for vaccine and disease information, search results from the VEC, along with other credible organizations, will be displayed. This includes information offered by the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and Vaccine Safety Net (VSN).
Categories: Parents PACK February 2020, Vaccine News & Notes
Materials in this section are updated as new information and vaccines become available. The Vaccine Education Center staff regularly reviews materials for accuracy.
You should not consider the information in this site to be specific, professional medical advice for your personal health or for your family's personal health. You should not use it to replace any relationship with a physician or other qualified healthcare professional. For medical concerns, including decisions about vaccinations, medications and other treatments, you should always consult your physician or, in serious cases, seek immediate assistance from emergency personnel.