Chris writes:
Hi I am an avid listener and I would appreciate your opinion on the importance of fall boosters for kids 4-9. My daughter in law says their pediatrician isnt recommending vaccines and is saying “they all have had covid” and that their risks of the disease are low as healthy kids. I do not agree but do not know how to present it to my daughter in law. They have had only the initial three shots and do not have any health conditions that raise the risk of covid illness. Thanks!
Chris
Mary writes:
Hello, thank you for your ongoing commitment to providing science-based information about Covid and other infectious diseases. The first thing I do on Saturday morning is listen to you and Vincent in the Clinical Update and it starts my day on a positive note.
In the November 22 episode you mention that you care for some people who have a long-Covid-like syndrome after vaccination. A close friend had her life turned upside down after her second Pfizer shot. Her symptoms are similar to those of people suffering from PASC. She is having a really hard time getting (sympathetic) care here in our small town, Corvallis, Oregon. Are there any resources that you could direct her to? I have done a lot of searches to try to find something, anything, without luck.
Again, thank you.
Cheers, and happy holidays!
Mary
Corvallis, Oregon
Susan writes:
Hi Dr. Griffin,
I had a preemptive kidney transplant almost five years ago. I am definitely up to date with vaccines and boosters(11!) plus two Evusheld injections and three Permgarda infusions! Additionally I had Covid two years ago and received Belatacept when it was authorized.
When I ask my transplant center about treatments they always say…well…the disease isn’t so serious these days. No remdesivir if you’re not in the hospital, and you could try molnupiravir if you don’t want Paxlovid
My feeling is that the disease hasn’t changed but we are coping with it better because of vaccines and acquired immunity from infections.
Is my center right?
Thank you and Vincent for your work!
Susan
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” Mark Twain
Walter writes:
Dear Dr. Griffin,
Thank you for the invaluable insights you share on your podcast—I greatly appreciate your expertise and clear explanations.
I have a question regarding Broncho-Vaxom (OM-85) and its use for preventing recurring respiratory tract infections (RTIs). My primary healthcare provider, who notably does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines even for elderly patients anymore (yes, I know I may need to reconsider my choice of doctor), recently suggested Broncho-Vaxom to help with my recurrent RTIs, which I suspect are viral in nature.
For context, I’m a 40-year-old otherwise healthy male. Does this recommendation make sense given the evidence for Broncho-Vaxom’s effectiveness, particularly in such cases? I’d greatly value your thoughts on whether it’s worth considering or if alternative approaches might be better.
Thank you for your time and for addressing this if it fits into an upcoming episode.
Best regards,
Walter (Bern, Switzerland)
Zaharoula writes:
Hello Dr. Griffin,
First, these comments are my own and do not represent my organization or hospital.
Thank you for all that you and the other MicrobeTV hosts do to keep all of us informed and up to date on the current science and personal medical and public health recommendations.
I just wanted to clarify something that was said in TWiV Clinical Update 1168. Parents have ALWAYS had to consent for any type of medical treatment for their child including getting vaccinations. (I can’t even give their child Tylenol without their consent.) They also receive Vaccine Information Statements (VISs) from the CDC for each type of vaccine that their child is receiving at that time BEFORE the vaccinations are given. “Federal law requires that healthcare staff provide VISs to a patient, parent, or legal representative before vaccinations are given.” This is required in both public and private sector healthcare settings.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/vis/index.html
We as medical professionals do not make the decision to vaccinate children. Their parents do. It has always been the parents’ decision to proceed with vaccination or not. HOWEVER, paraphrasing Dr. Offit, there are no risk-free decisions. Choosing not to vaccinate your child is still a decision and one that carries extremely great risk. Nothing in life is risk free. And choosing NOT to do something-is still a choice- and all choices have consequences.
I try to explain to parents that choosing NOT to vaccinate their child carries the greater risk of getting the vaccine preventable disease-a risk that includes death. Unfortunately, during my 32 years as a pediatrician, I have taken care of pediatric patients with polio who lived in iron lungs, kids who have died of varicella pneumonia pulmonary complications, kids who died of epiglottitis/respiratory failure/sepsis from Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (HIB), kids who died from pneumococcal sepsis, babies who died from pertussis, kids who were not vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine and had MIS-C and needed critical care, kids in respiratory failure from influenza infection and countless other children who had life-long disabilities after having vaccine preventable diseases.
So, parents have always had the right to choose to vaccinate their children, they have always had the information about the vaccine given to them BEFORE proceeding with the vaccinations and they have always had the opportunity to discuss the vaccinations with their pediatric provider. In addition, there are the post-vaccination safety monitoring systems including the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), V-Safe, the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) and the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Project.
I am confused as to what RFK Jr. thinks we have been doing all this time. I would also ask, in his career as a lawyer, how many patients has he treated? Has he actually sat at the bedside of an infant struggling to breathe with pertussis? Has he had to talk with a grieving parent after their child died from pneumococcal meningitis?
And I wonder… would he be willing to do that now?
Thank you again for all of your efforts in educating all of us and for all the great science communication.
I am proud to be a MicrobeTV supporter.
And in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for all that you and the other hosts of MicrobeTV do.
Zaharoula A. Viennas, M.D., FAAP
CSG Division of Urgent Care
Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Eastern Virginia Medical School at ODU