Several societies concerned with countering the spread of infectious diseases issued a call for mandatory immunization of all healthcare workers. They outlined their reasons, but those are quite obvious and this mandate is long overdue, as we here at ACSH have been saying for years.
immunization
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Childhood contagions, such as measles, polio, meningitis and pertussis (whooping cough) can threaten the lives of people from all economic backgrounds.
According to a survey published this month in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, less than one third of obstetrician-gynecologists give eligible patients the HPV vaccine and only half adhere to the guidelines published in 2009.
These guidelines recommend vaccinating women ages 11 26 years, a recommendation that has been in effect since 2006. In 2009, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) added additional guidelines recommending biannual Pap tests for women between the ages of 21 and 29.
A very large retrospective analysis performed by researchers affiliated with Kaiser-Permanente Northern California (KPNC) has confirmed what numerous prior studies have shown: there is no discernible link between influenza vaccine and the neurological condition, Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS).
If you need another reminder about the importance of vaccinations, just look to the events of this past weekend. A Wisconsin college student and a Los Angeles man died of meningitis, and the New York City Department of Health issued an alert stating that five measles cases occurred in Borough Park, Brooklyn this past month in children who had not been vaccinated. They also followed up saying that a large number of exposures occurred throughout the community and more cases are expected.