Vaccine News & Notes — January 2020

Vax Talk — Alternative Vaccine Schedules with Dr. Paul Offit

Parents sometimes wonder whether too many vaccines overwhelm their children’s immune systems. To ease this fear, they often ask healthcare providers to spread out vaccines instead of following the schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But are these “alternative schedules” a good idea?

In this Vax Talk podcast, Dr. Paul Offit explains the science behind the recommended vaccine schedule and the dangers of delaying vaccines.

Vax Talk is produced by the parent-led organization called Voices for Vaccines. You can learn more about their efforts at voicesforvaccines.org.

Shot of Prevention video blog

Shot of Prevention, the popular blog hosted by Vaccinate Your Family, has added a new video feature. The video series will feature Taryn Chapman, creator of The Vaccine Mom blog. Chapman is a molecular biologist and medical writer. The topic of the first video is flu vaccine.

• Watch the episode, Vaccine Mom Busts Flu Myths.
• Learn more about the Shot of Prevention blog.
• Visit The Vaccine Mom blog.
• Visit the Vaccinate Your Family website.

Smart Travel Enrollment Program

U.S. citizens traveling or living abroad can sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive the latest security updates for their location. Offered by the U.S. Department of State, the free service enables the U.S. embassy or consulate to contact its citizens in an emergency.

Learn more about STEP and enroll today.

Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure, it is also a good idea to keep the U.S. embassy number handy in case of an emergency:

• From the U.S. or Canada: 1-888-407-4747
• From other countries: 00-1-202-501-4444