There has been a lot of stories in the media about this year's flu season being the worst. "There have so far been 2,257 hospitalizations associated with laboratory-confirmed flu virus, the CDC report said. Among children, there have been 18 deaths reported during this season." http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/us-flu-season/index.html
"New Jersey is one of the only states in the nation to require flu shots for young schoolchildren, from six months through 5 years old." http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/08/new-jersey-boy-not-allowed-back-to-school-without-flu-shot/
A little boy from this school is not allowed to return to school until he receives a flu shot but he can't because he is allergic to raw eggs (and vaccines are grown in eggs).
I think that it is a good idea for the school to require that the students get flu shots because of how fast the flu can spread among children and how dangerous the flu can be (as indicated by this season already having 18 child deaths). I learned in my microbiology class last semester that many of the rumors about flu shots are false. For example, many people claim that vaccines contain thymersol which is a neurotoxin. In the 80s and 90s vaccines did contain small amounts of thymersol to help with preservation of the vaccine. There was a study done and it revealed that no children who took the vaccine with thymersol showed any nerve problems. However, they decided to stop using thymersol anyway. The other major myth about vaccines is that they cause autism. There have been numerous studies done to investigate this claim for many years and there is no evidence that vaccines are connected to autism. Many of these claims stir from Andrew Wakefeild, who was a doctor in England. He performed tests on children that were done inappropriately and published an article saying that autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) were connected. It was later found out that he was manufacturing his own form of the vaccine that would only be successful if the old one was gotten rid of. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked into this and retracted the article and revoked Wakefeild's medical license.
I do feel that it is wrong of the New Jersey School to not allow the little boy to come to school since he is not vaccinated, because he has a legitimate reason for not being able to. If he were to contract the flu the other children in the school should not be affected because they are all already vaccinated so I don't see what the problem is.
How do other people feel about this? Do you think it is a good idea to require students to be vaccinated? What do you think about vaccines? What do you think about the New Jersey school not letting the little boy come back until he is vaccinated?
I think flu vaccines are good to get. I actually did just get the flu shot on Tuesday because I am going to be working with children as a substitute teacher. Within schools students should constantly be reminded to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer, cough/sneeze into a tissue or cover their mouth/nose. I do not think students should be required to get the flu shot but for it to be highly recommend. If the student does have an allergy to eggs then obviously they should not get the shot but can they look into other vaccines that could help prevent the flu (if there are any)? Another view I have is I think the media exaggerates the "death caused by the flu" subject because several news stories I have read seem to focus on "Flu Death" but the person who died from the flu also had other illnesses.
And a question I would like to add.. I have heard you can still get the flu after having the shot. So why do we even need to get the vaccine if it doesn't 100% prevent the flu?
I think this a really interesting topic. I do not feel as though the child should be restricted to coming to school because he can not receive the flu vaccine due to allergies. For him receiving the shot could be dangerous and cause anaphylatic shock or death. I would not risk that for my child just so he could go back to school. Also there is herd immunity for that child. If he was accepted back into the school with all the children and teachers being vaccinated, there is basically no place for that virus to exist within the school walls and he would most likely not contract the virus.
Emily- I do not know if this is correct but I think you can still contract the flu after being vaccinated because the virus is ever evolving and you could catch the new strain. Also, I think people receive a vaccine that is a live-attenuated virus. I think that is basically the flu virus with some of its nucleotide bases switched. This type of vaccine I heard is the best type to use because the virus is still "alive" and you will have the best immune response. But I think the virus could possibly mutate back to its original form.
I feel that flu vaccinations are good even though I haven't received one this year. The reason I think that they are helpful, they prevent the spread of the flu to others and it insures the prevention of the flu. I do think that it is a great idea to require students to get vaccinated because it prevents the spread of the flu through the schools, however I do disagree with the New Jersey school for not allow the child to come to school because there other ways to prevent the flu besides vaccinations. If the student practices good hygiene and eats right then he would lower his risk for the getting the flu. Also he is allergic to a substances in the vaccine, this might be more dangerous than him getting the flu.
I agree with most of the people above in saying that flu shots are very good. Whether or not people should get them is indeed very controversial, but I think as you explained, Roslyn, if people understood that it does not have some of the presumed side-effects (e.g. autism), it might not be such an issue. I, for one, had my flu shot, both because I do not have the time to get sick and it was required by my work.
To address your second point, I do NOT think that students should be REQUIRED to get the flu shot. Unless homeschooling is an option, at a young age, going to school is almost compulsory, and so by requiring a flu shot to go to school makes the vaccine compulsory as well. Your point about the child allergic to eggs having to get the shot is a good example, but I don't any children should HAVE TO get the flu shot. It is the decision of the parents and the individuals themselves if the person wants to have a flu shot. It should not be forced upon people by local government or a school board.
Hopefully, however, hearing about the volumes of sick individuals and the deaths that accompany the virus, as well as education that vaccines are generally harmless, will motivate parents and individuals to be responsible and get their flu shot.
I feel that flu shots are benificial not only for the person recieving the shot, but also for society. I also remember in microbiology "herd immunity", meaning that if 80% of the population were to recieve the recommended vaccines that it would protect not only themselves but those who are unable to get the vaccines. With that said, I do not feel that it is right of the school to keep any child from attending for this reason. I believe he has a legitimate reason not to recieve the vaccine, and that the children who have been vaccinated should be protected. If good hand hygiene is practiced and the children learn proper techniques to keep from spreading germs, they should be fine.
Emily- There are two main types of flu vaccinations, the shot and the nasal vaccination. In the shot version the virus has been inactivated and in the nasal vaccination the virus is still alive but has been weakened, or attenuated, so much that the body is able to fight it off. Vaccinations work by allowing the body's immune system to come into contact with the virus and start making antibody for that specific virus. In this way the body has created memory cells of that particular antibody. This is important because if the body were to come into contact with the virus a second time, it will be able to produce this antibody at a faster rate than it would if it were only the body's first exposure. In this way the body can fight off the virus much faster and prevent the virus from replicating to high enough amounts that would cause the individual to exhibit the flu symptoms.
With the shot version of the vaccine the body produces a smaller immune response than it would to the live virus in the nasal spray. There are two reasons I can think of for how people can still get the flu even after receiving a flu vaccination. One is because it takes up to two weeks for the body to produce the antibody and the individual may come into contact with the virus in that time. The second is that there is always the chance that the body will not be able to fight off the weakened the virus fast enough (mainly with the nasal vaccination) and the individual may end up having similar symptoms of the flu but at a lower level.
The reason that it is important to get vaccinated every year is because the virus mutates. This means that the memory cells for the antibody that fought off the previous year's flu virus will not be as successful because the new virus will most likely require different antibody.
With that being said, there is actually one other reason that people may still get the flu even after being vaccinated. It takes a long time to produce vaccines and if the doctors and other people who make the vaccines waited until the first case of the flu for the current year appeared and then made the vaccines it would take too long and the flu season would most likely be over by the time they were done. Instead they look into the history of the previous years' flu outbreaks and guess what virus they think will cause the next year's flu outbreak and make a vaccine based off their guess. It is possible that they can guess wrong, which would lead to the vaccine not being as helpful.
Also, it is said that an individual is at 1,000 times greater risk of being injured or dying from the disease (in this case the flu) than they are at being hurt or dying from the vaccine itself.
This touchy subject of vaccinating children before they may enter the school is always going to be debated over with little give and take from either side. I agree completely with Emily in that good hygiene should be taught to children to prevent influenza as best they can. I personally have a severe fear of needles to the point of my throwing up on some occasions. This being said, my girlfriend made me get one because she works at Children's hospital in fear that she would not be able to work if I got her sick. I asked my mother (an elementary school nurse in Ohio) when she got hers; my mom's reply was that she had never had a flu vaccination in her entire career. Faculty and staff, in my opinion, should all be required to get a vaccination so the school cannot be held responsible if any child becomes ill. People have become hospitalized, and in few cases, killed by the influenza virus. Many people must become more aware of preventing these cases by doing small things such as: washing hands, no sharing food/drinks, wearing proper clothing for the situation.
This video really got me thinking about flu vaccinations and if I should get a shot or not. My girlfriend is a registered nurse and gets vaccinations every year because she understands the illness and how it effects the body better then anyone i know. That being said she always tells me to get a vaccination because I have had the flu before. But reading other people's comments and questions, I do have to agree with Emily. She raised a good question about the flu shot not being 100% effective. That should worry users and if so it is not 100% effective, why should we get the shot in the first place if their is the risk of still getting the flu?
Ok so if many of you all did not know there has recently been two more shootings at schools; one here in Kentucky and another in St. Louis. I am not sure of the details being as they occurred yesterday. Today President Obama will speak about gun control and a plan to help gun violence; but will this honestly help? I also would like to know what others think about teachers being armed in the classroom in order to help protect their students; is this a helpful idea?
I recently have watched a video that many of my friends on Facebook posted about the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, and how it is very misleading and possibly was planned by the government (?)(just as some say 9/11 was too). I am not sure what to think about the video (and if the events are even true that are brought up in the video) but I will go ahead and post a link to it in case you would like to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9GxXYKx_8&bpctr=1358355602
I am not saying I believe the government planned this horrible event. I believe it occurred just as the news has told me. These events cannot usually be explained fully, and I understand that. The Sandy Hook shootings hit me pretty hard because I am planning on becoming a teacher. Two days before it occurred I finished student teaching in Kindergarten/First Grade. I could never imagine a gunman walking into a classroom that I am teaching in and kill all of my students and myself. That is something that teachers are not trained to deal with because frankly school shootings should not occur as often as they do. I have been through lock down procedures but nothing more than that. I just wanted put my thoughts about school shootings/guns and I could probably continue with my thoughts but I will stop there.
Well this just happened a few days ago.. the verona murder. Apparently three guys decided to kill and dismember someone who is said to be a heroin dealer. The three said they were doing the world a favor. I've seen mixed reactions. Some agree that they did, and the deceased got what was coming to him. Others are appalled and state they shouldn't play god. I can't stand drug dealers, but I don't think they need to be murdered. I don't know if there was any other circumstances but seems like the three could of just found away to get him taken in by the law. What do you all think?
Hey everyone, just read this thing on yahoo about euthanasia, or medical suicide, in Europe. It is basically people having the option to have doctors medically euthanize patients at hospitals. But there were these two deaf twins from Belgum that were going blind. They had a very close relationship, and could not stand to think of living and never be able to see each other again and decided euthanasia. Just google "Belgian twin euthanasia" and you can read a story on it, but its a very interesting thing I think that will maybe spark some conversation on here... so converse away!
This was a terrific story, Dr. Cate. It must have so insightful to understand what Ms. Keochareon was thinking in the very last moments of her life. One of the interesting aspects of the story is Ms. Santiago's regret that she was not able to talk to Ms. Keochareon more about the acceptance she appeared to display towards death. How and when does one reach that point where he or she accepts the finality of death and is ready to go? It would have been interesting to hear what Ms. Keochareon would have had to say. Indeed, this was a powerful article, to say the least.
A friend of my family has been battling cancer for a very very long time. She chose to treat the cancer aggressivley, thus it allowed her to live a longer life and she was able to spend more years with her children. She says that the pain and suffering that the chemotherapy brought her was worth it because she was able to help raise her kids even though she was sick and maybe her quality of life was not the best. But nonetheless she fought her hardest and just this past saturday her battle finally ended and heaven gained another angel.
Just read an article on how they may think that hearing loss is associated with declines in memory and cognitive thinking. A study was done by Dr. Frank R. Lin of Johns Hopkins University. He states that hearing loss usually goes untreated because elderly adults chuck it up as just another part of becoming older. About two years ago Lin and his associates published a paper showing that hearing loss was associated with greater risk for developing dementia. “Fortunately most of us will never develop dementia, but most of us will experience some kind of cognitive decline over time,” explained Lin. She then decided to lead a test of her own where she took 2,000 older adults enrolled in a long-term study which began in 1997. All subjects included in the study had no dementia or cognitive impairment. Each subject went through an audiometric assessment performed in a sound-treated booth, which Lin described as “the gold standard” for hearing testing. Their memory, thinking abilities and decision-making were also tested. Both tests were repeated at three, five and six years, and researchers looked at average decline in memory and thinking abilities, comparing people with normal hearing to those with reduced hearing. The tests were astounding! It showed that those with hearing loss had a greater decline in memory retention and simple cognitive thinking and it also showed that with the increase in the severity of hearing loss there is also an increase in the severity of memory retention and simple cognitive thinking. The causes of this is unkown to scientists, there are many explainations including one provided by Dr. Lin, he states that "When people suffer from hearing loss, it’s not that they can’t hear. It’s that the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that converts a complex sound to a precise signal that goes to the brain for decoding, isn’t doing a good job converting, so people hear a garbled signal." Lin describes it like a bad cell phone connection. The only advice that can be given at this time is to seek medical treatment as soon as you notice a change in your quality of hearing.
This is really interesting! Could you post a link or where you found the article so that I could read it? I have a friend who is the audiology graduate program at UC and I would like to pass it on to her and pick her brain about the article and see if she has read anything that is similar to this article!
There has been much news lately about the hostage situation at a gas plant in Algeria perpetrated by the terrorist group Al Qaeda in response the French storming of bastions in northern Mali where other such terrorists are stationed. Algerian forces stormed the location last week, resulting in the death of thirty-seven hostages as well as additional captors and Algerian troops. Some of the hostages who were able to escape recounted details of their imprisonment: They were heavily guarded, restrained and blindfolded, and--for some them--strapped to explosives. I cannot even begin to imagine how they grappled with their situation and wonder what many of them thought leading up to their deaths. I think this harrowing situation has a lot of overtures to the story of Ivan Ilyich and some of the sections in the textbooks.
I just read an article about a 15 year old boy who shot and killed his mother, father, two younger sisters, and his younger brother this past Saturday morning. When I was reading the article I could not believe that a 15 year old boy would be capable of such evil. I can not imagine anyone wanting to kill their family. In addition, just the way that he did it was so incredibly sick. He shot his mother first while she was sleeping and then he shot his two sisters after he made them look at their mothers dead bloody body, then he shot his brother, and finally he waited four hours for his father to come home and shot and killed him too. However, not only did he kill his family, but he also sent a picture of his dead family to his girlfriend as if he was proud of what he had done. This article was very shocking to me and like I said before, I can not understand how someone can be capable of such evil.
I just read an article today that was in USA Today that 27 are dead in Egypt riots after a verdict was given. I think this was because the court ordered 21 death sentences in connection with the lethal soccer melee last year.
There is so much news coming out of Egypt nowadays, and I have even read about how the people are starting to revolt against the newly established government. I cannot even fathom living in a country so unstable and where power is constantly changing hands, not to mention all of the riots and people dying. It seems that the country is struggling to stay on its feet after one revolution, and another one might be on its way.
Last night as I was driving home from Xavier University I saw about 6 cops and channel 12 news not too far from the campus. When I got home I watched the news to see what had happened. Apparently a man was shot 3 times in the chest in his car. There is a drug problem around this area, so it is suspected that the shooting was drug related. I later found out from my boyfriend, who attends XU, that there was a shooting the day before outside of a gas station near campus, where a 16 year old was shot and killed. Two shootings within 500 feet of Xavier's campus in two days. Yet, XU has not announced anything to the students about safety precautions or even acknowledging the shootings and informing the students. Do you think universities and colleges should take on the responsibility to notify and make their students aware of any violence that has occured in the area?
I believe that universities and colleges should notify their students of violence within the area. With this knowledge the students will be more aware of their surroundings. As a new transfer into Thomas More College, I do feel much safer on this campus compared to the prior college I attended. There were never any notifications by the previous school I attended of incidences that occured on or around the campus, but I had overheard numerous rumors of females being taken advantage of in the parking lot/parking garage. For many years I attended night classes so I was always fearful yet I took safety precautions into my own hands. I would walk out with groups of people and avoided walking out alone unless I was on the phone with a family member. I also would continuously view my surroundings, always aware of who was around. I always trusted my gut instinct and if I didn't feel comfortable approaching someone, I would distance myself. In doing this I felt safer. My intensions in the future are to further my education with self defense.
There was a hostage situation in Alabama a few weeks ago, when an armed man entered a schoolbus dropping off children. Only one person died--the busdriver, who heroically fended off the assailant, as the children escaped out of the back of the bus--but the man was able to take one child as hostage and moved into an underground bunker. For about a week, the gunman and the five-year-old were in the bunker as the police tried to negotiate with him. A few days ago, the police used some kind of explosion that killed the man without hurting the child.
I am sure the man must have been comtemplating his own life in the week he was in the bunker, because he was in a very precarious situation. Also, his death raises some ethical questions: Was it okay to kill the man? It certainly saved the child, but--assuming he did not want to die--who has the authority to authorize the use of the explosive to kill him. I'm not trying to say what the gunman was doing was even remotely right, but rather just trying to propose a different perspective.
A link to the story: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567643/alabama-hostage-5-year-old-boy-happy-to-be-home-says-family-member/
This was a very touching story. I feel really bad for the wife that her role has changed from a "lover" to a caregiver. I am thankful that there are hospice facilities that can provide respite for people like her. I think it is important that the person dying get the care that they need to be comfortable. At first this can bring a lot of stress to the person who has been taking care of them because they want what is best for their loved one, but they need to be cared for too during this difficult time.
There has been a lot of stories in the media about this year's flu season being the worst. "There have so far been 2,257 hospitalizations associated with laboratory-confirmed flu virus, the CDC report said. Among children, there have been 18 deaths reported during this season." http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/09/health/us-flu-season/index.html
ReplyDelete"New Jersey is one of the only states in the nation to require flu shots for young schoolchildren, from six months through 5 years old." http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/08/new-jersey-boy-not-allowed-back-to-school-without-flu-shot/
A little boy from this school is not allowed to return to school until he receives a flu shot but he can't because he is allergic to raw eggs (and vaccines are grown in eggs).
I think that it is a good idea for the school to require that the students get flu shots because of how fast the flu can spread among children and how dangerous the flu can be (as indicated by this season already having 18 child deaths). I learned in my microbiology class last semester that many of the rumors about flu shots are false. For example, many people claim that vaccines contain thymersol which is a neurotoxin. In the 80s and 90s vaccines did contain small amounts of thymersol to help with preservation of the vaccine. There was a study done and it revealed that no children who took the vaccine with thymersol showed any nerve problems. However, they decided to stop using thymersol anyway. The other major myth about vaccines is that they cause autism. There have been numerous studies done to investigate this claim for many years and there is no evidence that vaccines are connected to autism. Many of these claims stir from Andrew Wakefeild, who was a doctor in England. He performed tests on children that were done inappropriately and published an article saying that autism and the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine (MMR) were connected. It was later found out that he was manufacturing his own form of the vaccine that would only be successful if the old one was gotten rid of. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looked into this and retracted the article and revoked Wakefeild's medical license.
I do feel that it is wrong of the New Jersey School to not allow the little boy to come to school since he is not vaccinated, because he has a legitimate reason for not being able to. If he were to contract the flu the other children in the school should not be affected because they are all already vaccinated so I don't see what the problem is.
How do other people feel about this?
Do you think it is a good idea to require students to be vaccinated?
What do you think about vaccines?
What do you think about the New Jersey school not letting the little boy come back until he is vaccinated?
I think flu vaccines are good to get. I actually did just get the flu shot on Tuesday because I am going to be working with children as a substitute teacher. Within schools students should constantly be reminded to wash their hands, use hand sanitizer, cough/sneeze into a tissue or cover their mouth/nose. I do not think students should be required to get the flu shot but for it to be highly recommend. If the student does have an allergy to eggs then obviously they should not get the shot but can they look into other vaccines that could help prevent the flu (if there are any)? Another view I have is I think the media exaggerates the "death caused by the flu" subject because several news stories I have read seem to focus on "Flu Death" but the person who died from the flu also had other illnesses.
DeleteAnd a question I would like to add.. I have heard you can still get the flu after having the shot. So why do we even need to get the vaccine if it doesn't 100% prevent the flu?
I think this a really interesting topic. I do not feel as though the child should be restricted to coming to school because he can not receive the flu vaccine due to allergies. For him receiving the shot could be dangerous and cause anaphylatic shock or death. I would not risk that for my child just so he could go back to school. Also there is herd immunity for that child. If he was accepted back into the school with all the children and teachers being vaccinated, there is basically no place for that virus to exist within the school walls and he would most likely not contract the virus.
DeleteEmily- I do not know if this is correct but I think you can still contract the flu after being vaccinated because the virus is ever evolving and you could catch the new strain. Also, I think people receive a vaccine that is a live-attenuated virus. I think that is basically the flu virus with some of its nucleotide bases switched. This type of vaccine I heard is the best type to use because the virus is still "alive" and you will have the best immune response. But I think the virus could possibly mutate back to its original form.
I feel that flu vaccinations are good even though I haven't received one this year. The reason I think that they are helpful, they prevent the spread of the flu to others and it insures the prevention of the flu. I do think that it is a great idea to require students to get vaccinated because it prevents the spread of the flu through the schools, however I do disagree with the New Jersey school for not allow the child to come to school because there other ways to prevent the flu besides vaccinations. If the student practices good hygiene and eats right then he would lower his risk for the getting the flu. Also he is allergic to a substances in the vaccine, this might be more dangerous than him getting the flu.
DeleteI agree with most of the people above in saying that flu shots are very good. Whether or not people should get them is indeed very controversial, but I think as you explained, Roslyn, if people understood that it does not have some of the presumed side-effects (e.g. autism), it might not be such an issue. I, for one, had my flu shot, both because I do not have the time to get sick and it was required by my work.
DeleteTo address your second point, I do NOT think that students should be REQUIRED to get the flu shot. Unless homeschooling is an option, at a young age, going to school is almost compulsory, and so by requiring a flu shot to go to school makes the vaccine compulsory as well. Your point about the child allergic to eggs having to get the shot is a good example, but I don't any children should HAVE TO get the flu shot. It is the decision of the parents and the individuals themselves if the person wants to have a flu shot. It should not be forced upon people by local government or a school board.
Hopefully, however, hearing about the volumes of sick individuals and the deaths that accompany the virus, as well as education that vaccines are generally harmless, will motivate parents and individuals to be responsible and get their flu shot.
I feel that flu shots are benificial not only for the person recieving the shot, but also for society. I also remember in microbiology "herd immunity", meaning that if 80% of the population were to recieve the recommended vaccines that it would protect not only themselves but those who are unable to get the vaccines. With that said, I do not feel that it is right of the school to keep any child from attending for this reason. I believe he has a legitimate reason not to recieve the vaccine, and that the children who have been vaccinated should be protected. If good hand hygiene is practiced and the children learn proper techniques to keep from spreading germs, they should be fine.
DeletePlease get your flu shot, unless there's a family history of side effects or you are allergic to the components of the vaccine.
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ReplyDeleteEmily- There are two main types of flu vaccinations, the shot and the nasal vaccination. In the shot version the virus has been inactivated and in the nasal vaccination the virus is still alive but has been weakened, or attenuated, so much that the body is able to fight it off. Vaccinations work by allowing the body's immune system to come into contact with the virus and start making antibody for that specific virus. In this way the body has created memory cells of that particular antibody. This is important because if the body were to come into contact with the virus a second time, it will be able to produce this antibody at a faster rate than it would if it were only the body's first exposure. In this way the body can fight off the virus much faster and prevent the virus from replicating to high enough amounts that would cause the individual to exhibit the flu symptoms.
ReplyDeleteWith the shot version of the vaccine the body produces a smaller immune response than it would to the live virus in the nasal spray. There are two reasons I can think of for how people can still get the flu even after receiving a flu vaccination. One is because it takes up to two weeks for the body to produce the antibody and the individual may come into contact with the virus in that time. The second is that there is always the chance that the body will not be able to fight off the weakened the virus fast enough (mainly with the nasal vaccination) and the individual may end up having similar symptoms of the flu but at a lower level.
The reason that it is important to get vaccinated every year is because the virus mutates. This means that the memory cells for the antibody that fought off the previous year's flu virus will not be as successful because the new virus will most likely require different antibody.
With that being said, there is actually one other reason that people may still get the flu even after being vaccinated. It takes a long time to produce vaccines and if the doctors and other people who make the vaccines waited until the first case of the flu for the current year appeared and then made the vaccines it would take too long and the flu season would most likely be over by the time they were done. Instead they look into the history of the previous years' flu outbreaks and guess what virus they think will cause the next year's flu outbreak and make a vaccine based off their guess. It is possible that they can guess wrong, which would lead to the vaccine not being as helpful.
Also, it is said that an individual is at 1,000 times greater risk of being injured or dying from the disease (in this case the flu) than they are at being hurt or dying from the vaccine itself.
This touchy subject of vaccinating children before they may enter the school is always going to be debated over with little give and take from either side. I agree completely with Emily in that good hygiene should be taught to children to prevent influenza as best they can. I personally have a severe fear of needles to the point of my throwing up on some occasions. This being said, my girlfriend made me get one because she works at Children's hospital in fear that she would not be able to work if I got her sick. I asked my mother (an elementary school nurse in Ohio) when she got hers; my mom's reply was that she had never had a flu vaccination in her entire career. Faculty and staff, in my opinion, should all be required to get a vaccination so the school cannot be held responsible if any child becomes ill. People have become hospitalized, and in few cases, killed by the influenza virus. Many people must become more aware of preventing these cases by doing small things such as: washing hands, no sharing food/drinks, wearing proper clothing for the situation.
ReplyDeleteThis video really got me thinking about flu vaccinations and if I should get a shot or not. My girlfriend is a registered nurse and gets vaccinations every year because she understands the illness and how it effects the body better then anyone i know. That being said she always tells me to get a vaccination because I have had the flu before. But reading other people's comments and questions, I do have to agree with Emily. She raised a good question about the flu shot not being 100% effective. That should worry users and if so it is not 100% effective, why should we get the shot in the first place if their is the risk of still getting the flu?
ReplyDeleteOk so if many of you all did not know there has recently been two more shootings at schools; one here in Kentucky and another in St. Louis. I am not sure of the details being as they occurred yesterday. Today President Obama will speak about gun control and a plan to help gun violence; but will this honestly help? I also would like to know what others think about teachers being armed in the classroom in order to help protect their students; is this a helpful idea?
ReplyDeleteI recently have watched a video that many of my friends on Facebook posted about the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings, and how it is very misleading and possibly was planned by the government (?)(just as some say 9/11 was too). I am not sure what to think about the video (and if the events are even true that are brought up in the video) but I will go ahead and post a link to it in case you would like to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wx9GxXYKx_8&bpctr=1358355602
I am not saying I believe the government planned this horrible event. I believe it occurred just as the news has told me. These events cannot usually be explained fully, and I understand that. The Sandy Hook shootings hit me pretty hard because I am planning on becoming a teacher. Two days before it occurred I finished student teaching in Kindergarten/First Grade. I could never imagine a gunman walking into a classroom that I am teaching in and kill all of my students and myself. That is something that teachers are not trained to deal with because frankly school shootings should not occur as often as they do. I have been through lock down procedures but nothing more than that. I just wanted put my thoughts about school shootings/guns and I could probably continue with my thoughts but I will stop there.
Well this just happened a few days ago.. the verona murder. Apparently three guys decided to kill and dismember someone who is said to be a heroin dealer. The three said they were doing the world a favor. I've seen mixed reactions. Some agree that they did, and the deceased got what was coming to him. Others are appalled and state they shouldn't play god. I can't stand drug dealers, but I don't think they need to be murdered. I don't know if there was any other circumstances but seems like the three could of just found away to get him taken in by the law. What do you all think?
ReplyDeleteHey everyone, just read this thing on yahoo about euthanasia, or medical suicide, in Europe. It is basically people having the option to have doctors medically euthanize patients at hospitals. But there were these two deaf twins from Belgum that were going blind. They had a very close relationship, and could not stand to think of living and never be able to see each other again and decided euthanasia. Just google "Belgian twin euthanasia" and you can read a story on it, but its a very interesting thing I think that will maybe spark some conversation on here... so converse away!
ReplyDeleteThis was a terrific story, Dr. Cate. It must have so insightful to understand what Ms. Keochareon was thinking in the very last moments of her life. One of the interesting aspects of the story is Ms. Santiago's regret that she was not able to talk to Ms. Keochareon more about the acceptance she appeared to display towards death. How and when does one reach that point where he or she accepts the finality of death and is ready to go? It would have been interesting to hear what Ms. Keochareon would have had to say. Indeed, this was a powerful article, to say the least.
ReplyDeleteNew story on patient-centered care
ReplyDeletehttp://nyti.ms/Sj5vbf
A friend of my family has been battling cancer for a very very long time. She chose to treat the cancer aggressivley, thus it allowed her to live a longer life and she was able to spend more years with her children. She says that the pain and suffering that the chemotherapy brought her was worth it because she was able to help raise her kids even though she was sick and maybe her quality of life was not the best. But nonetheless she fought her hardest and just this past saturday her battle finally ended and heaven gained another angel.
DeleteJust read an article on how they may think that hearing loss is associated with declines in memory and cognitive thinking. A study was done by Dr. Frank R. Lin of Johns Hopkins University. He states that hearing loss usually goes untreated because elderly adults chuck it up as just another part of becoming older. About two years ago Lin and his associates published a paper showing that hearing loss was associated with greater risk for developing dementia. “Fortunately most of us will never develop dementia, but most of us will experience some kind of cognitive decline over time,” explained Lin. She then decided to lead a test of her own where she took 2,000 older adults enrolled in a long-term study which began in 1997. All subjects included in the study had no dementia or cognitive impairment. Each subject went through an audiometric assessment performed in a sound-treated booth, which Lin described as “the gold standard” for hearing testing. Their memory, thinking abilities and decision-making were also tested. Both tests were repeated at three, five and six years, and researchers looked at average decline in memory and thinking abilities, comparing people with normal hearing to those with reduced hearing. The tests were astounding! It showed that those with hearing loss had a greater decline in memory retention and simple cognitive thinking and it also showed that with the increase in the severity of hearing loss there is also an increase in the severity of memory retention and simple cognitive thinking. The causes of this is unkown to scientists, there are many explainations including one provided by Dr. Lin, he states that "When people suffer from hearing loss, it’s not that they can’t hear. It’s that the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that converts a complex sound to a precise signal that goes to the brain for decoding, isn’t doing a good job converting, so people hear a garbled signal." Lin describes it like a bad cell phone connection. The only advice that can be given at this time is to seek medical treatment as soon as you notice a change in your quality of hearing.
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! Could you post a link or where you found the article so that I could read it? I have a friend who is the audiology graduate program at UC and I would like to pass it on to her and pick her brain about the article and see if she has read anything that is similar to this article!
DeleteThere has been much news lately about the hostage situation at a gas plant in Algeria perpetrated by the terrorist group Al Qaeda in response the French storming of bastions in northern Mali where other such terrorists are stationed. Algerian forces stormed the location last week, resulting in the death of thirty-seven hostages as well as additional captors and Algerian troops. Some of the hostages who were able to escape recounted details of their imprisonment: They were heavily guarded, restrained and blindfolded, and--for some them--strapped to explosives. I cannot even begin to imagine how they grappled with their situation and wonder what many of them thought leading up to their deaths. I think this harrowing situation has a lot of overtures to the story of Ivan Ilyich and some of the sections in the textbooks.
ReplyDeleteLink: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/01/22/opinion/algeria-hostage-crisis-opinion/?hpt=hp_c1
I just read an article about a 15 year old boy who shot and killed his mother, father, two younger sisters, and his younger brother this past Saturday morning. When I was reading the article I could not believe that a 15 year old boy would be capable of such evil. I can not imagine anyone wanting to kill their family. In addition, just the way that he did it was so incredibly sick. He shot his mother first while she was sleeping and then he shot his two sisters after he made them look at their mothers dead bloody body, then he shot his brother, and finally he waited four hours for his father to come home and shot and killed him too. However, not only did he kill his family, but he also sent a picture of his dead family to his girlfriend as if he was proud of what he had done. This article was very shocking to me and like I said before, I can not understand how someone can be capable of such evil.
ReplyDeleteI believe I heard that he did all of that because he was mad at his mother. A coworker and I were talking about that last night. How horrible.
DeleteI just read an article today that was in USA Today that 27 are dead in Egypt riots after a verdict was given. I think this was because the court ordered 21 death sentences in connection with the lethal soccer melee last year.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much news coming out of Egypt nowadays, and I have even read about how the people are starting to revolt against the newly established government. I cannot even fathom living in a country so unstable and where power is constantly changing hands, not to mention all of the riots and people dying. It seems that the country is struggling to stay on its feet after one revolution, and another one might be on its way.
DeleteCNBC is going to air a special called "Death it's a living" about the business of funeral homes on Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 9 pm.
ReplyDeleteLast night as I was driving home from Xavier University I saw about 6 cops and channel 12 news not too far from the campus. When I got home I watched the news to see what had happened. Apparently a man was shot 3 times in the chest in his car. There is a drug problem around this area, so it is suspected that the shooting was drug related. I later found out from my boyfriend, who attends XU, that there was a shooting the day before outside of a gas station near campus, where a 16 year old was shot and killed. Two shootings within 500 feet of Xavier's campus in two days. Yet, XU has not announced anything to the students about safety precautions or even acknowledging the shootings and informing the students. Do you think universities and colleges should take on the responsibility to notify and make their students aware of any violence that has occured in the area?
ReplyDeleteI believe that universities and colleges should notify their students of violence within the area. With this knowledge the students will be more aware of their surroundings. As a new transfer into Thomas More College, I do feel much safer on this campus compared to the prior college I attended. There were never any notifications by the previous school I attended of incidences that occured on or around the campus, but I had overheard numerous rumors of females being taken advantage of in the parking lot/parking garage. For many years I attended night classes so I was always fearful yet I took safety precautions into my own hands. I would walk out with groups of people and avoided walking out alone unless I was on the phone with a family member. I also would continuously view my surroundings, always aware of who was around. I always trusted my gut instinct and if I didn't feel comfortable approaching someone, I would distance myself. In doing this I felt safer. My intensions in the future are to further my education with self defense.
DeleteThere was a hostage situation in Alabama a few weeks ago, when an armed man entered a schoolbus dropping off children. Only one person died--the busdriver, who heroically fended off the assailant, as the children escaped out of the back of the bus--but the man was able to take one child as hostage and moved into an underground bunker. For about a week, the gunman and the five-year-old were in the bunker as the police tried to negotiate with him. A few days ago, the police used some kind of explosion that killed the man without hurting the child.
ReplyDeleteI am sure the man must have been comtemplating his own life in the week he was in the bunker, because he was in a very precarious situation. Also, his death raises some ethical questions: Was it okay to kill the man? It certainly saved the child, but--assuming he did not want to die--who has the authority to authorize the use of the explosive to kill him. I'm not trying to say what the gunman was doing was even remotely right, but rather just trying to propose a different perspective.
A link to the story: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57567643/alabama-hostage-5-year-old-boy-happy-to-be-home-says-family-member/
This was a very touching story. I feel really bad for the wife that her role has changed from a "lover" to a caregiver. I am thankful that there are hospice facilities that can provide respite for people like her. I think it is important that the person dying get the care that they need to be comfortable. At first this can bring a lot of stress to the person who has been taking care of them because they want what is best for their loved one, but they need to be cared for too during this difficult time.
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