My grandfather wanted to be an opera singer.
But, you see, his youngest brother died of whooping cough, just a few years before the Pertussis vaccine would be developed.
So my grandfather did not become an opera singer. He always loved opera, listened to it, would sing along to his vinyl records of it, play it on the radio whenever he could. But it wasn’t his profession.
No. He became a pediatrician.
It’s about what kind of world he wanted to live in, you know?
Whooping cough cases in the US are the highest they’ve been in a decade | CNN
I’m so sad and so angry.
Also, you need a DTaP booster (Diptheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis) every 10 years. People generally forget about it as an adult unless they have a tetanus scare, but if you are ever regularly around kids, it’s important to stay up to date.
The Measles vaccine is good for life, especially if you got the full 2 doses as a kid. But DTaP is different! Make sure you have that up to date!
I got my last standard DTaP in 2017.
Got a pertussis booster while I was pregnant.
TH is fully vaccinated for their age, including flu and covid boosters.
In 2018 I had my measles immunity checked, because I heard that some people don’t develop immunity properly and some batches of vaccine don’t cause persistent immunity as reliably. Turns out, my primary care doc has an immune compromised child. Doc was only too happy to order the blood work, probably would have given me another MMR right there if I’d asked.
You never know whose life you’re protecting when you participate in public health by getting vaccinated. By ensuring I’m immune, I help to keep someone’s child safe. Nothing could be more important.
I lived in an area with a major measles outbreak in 2015, and my company required everyone to either show proof of vaccination or have tests done to show proof of immunity. I could not find my childhood vaccine records, so I had the test done.
It turns out I *was* immune to measles. I was also immune to Rubella. And Varicella (chicken pox), which I was never vaccinated for, but did have as an infant. I was not, however, immune to mumps, because even though I had been fully vaccinated, vaccines don’t work 100% of the time. I had been protected by other people’s immunity (herd immunity) for 20ish years.
My company offered to give me the MMR for free, as they were giving it to anyone who needed it, so I am proud to say I’ve had more MMRs than the average person.
I got TDaPs (DTaP and TDaPs immunize against the same diseases, but in general TDaPs are for people over 7 years, and DTaPs are for little kids) in 2016 and 2018 when I was pregnant, as did most of my family because I insisted that if they wanted to see my babies, they needed flu shots and whooping cough immunizations.
Vaccines save lives. Even if you think you’re tough and you can take it, getting vaccinated means you don’t pass it on to other people who can’t. Vaccinate yourself, and if you have them, vaccinate your kids.
Oh yeah, I found out that husbff’s mother was vaccine hesitant, and flipped shit. I said that anyone who wanted to see tiny TH needed to be vaccinated like it was the first day of school. My mother, retired RN, got extra vaccinations so she could be there when her grandbat was born. Husbff’s mom still hasn’t met TH. Her loss. TH has so much love in their life, and everyone who gets to spend time with them participates in keeping them healthy and safe.
amhrancas 