Tag: immunization

Should your family receive vaccinations? YES

This coronavirus pandemic is serious. We don’t yet have a vaccine or effective treatments. To protect ourselves, our familes, and our entire communities we should all be practicing social distancing until advised otherwise. Please review these guidelines to prevent spead of this disease.

2020 vaccination recommendations from the CDC

There is a related and updated version of this post at this link

Vital questions you should ask about immunization

This coronavirus pandemic is serious. We don’t yet have a vaccine or effective treatments. To protect ourselves, our familes, and our entire communities we should all be practicing social distancing and other hygiene measures as we wait for a safe, effective vaccine and treatments.

With a few exceptions for medical reasons I believe all adults should discuss vaccination with their physician and be immunized for any diseases for which they are at risk.

And I recommend that parents do the same for their children and adolescents.

questions to ask about vaccines and the immunization process include.

  • What contagious diseases is a person likely to be exposed to?
  • What are the risks of those diseases?
  • What are the risks of a particular vaccine for that person?
  • What are the risks versus benefits to other people?
  • What else can we do to prevent an infection?

Infectious disease control methods

The  developed countries  have eliminated or controlled many of the environmental sources of contagious disease by manipulating our environment.

  • indoor plumbing
  • water treatment facilities
  • screens on windows
  • air purification
  • wear gloves to prepare food
  • inspect restaurants
  • signs in public restrooms reminding us to wash our hands.
Hand hygiene saves lives.
Hygiene remains vital to infection prevention even when immunizations are given.

However, we haven’t eliminated another source of infectious disease- other humans.

Rarely do we isolate or quarantine people with infections. Most of us have gone to work, school or social events with symptoms suggestive of infection- a cough, runny nose, upset stomach- putting our friends and colleagues at risk.

This coronavirus pandemic is serious. We don’t yet have a vaccine or effective treatments. To protect ourselves, our familes, and our entire communities we should all be practicing social distancing until advised otherwise. Please review these guidelines to prevent spead of this disease.

15 DAYS TO SLOW THE SPREAD

RESOURCES FOR understanding COVID-19

an electron microscope image of the coronavirus
used with permission, CDC.GOV

Tips from your Family Doctor

CDC-Coronavirus Disease 2019

exploring and sharing the HEART of health

Thanks for reading and sharing this important information about protecting the HEART of health.

Dr.  Aletha 

These may be good options as long as we need to stay in our homes.

a way to exercise at home

a way to get medical supplies delivered

a source for food if you don’t have local delivery

homeschool resources

Measles Cases Surge in the U.S.: Understanding the Outbreak

Measles cases in the U.S. have surged recently. Measles is highly contagious with serious complications, though largely preventable via vaccinations like the MMR. Public health officials express concern over these outbreaks.

update March 10, 2025

Measles in the U.S. has climbed to its highest level in 25 years, closing in on 700 cases this year in a resurgence largely attributed to misinformation that is turning parents against vaccines.

“This is alarming,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccine expert. Not only is measles dangerous in itself, but its return could mean other vaccine-preventable diseases seemingly consigned to the past may be coming back as well, he said.

APNEWS.COM, APRIL 24, 2019

What is measles?

At one time, measles was one of the “usual childhood diseases” that most people Born before 1957 contracted as children prior to the use of the vaccine. It is caused by a virus in the Paramyxoviridae family and spread by person-to-person contact.

The other childhood diseases were

  • Rubella, or  German measles
  • Chicken pox, or  varicella
  • Roseola
  • Fifth Disease, or erythema infectiosum

These all cause a rash, called an exanthem.

Mumps was also a common childhood disease but does not usually cause a rash.

Symptoms of measles include

  • cough,
  • nasal drainage,
  • reddened, inflamed eyes, and
  • a rash as pictured below.
the rash of measles
image courtesy of the CDC- Centers for Disease Control , U.S. government

Treatment of Measles

Management of measles involves supportive care, meaning controlling fever for comfort, ensuring adequate nutrition and fluids to prevent dehydration.

Vitamin A supplementation is recommended by the World Health Organization and the CDC.

An antiviral drug, ribavirin has been used to treat severe life-threatening cases. It has not been studied in controlled trials, so the FDA has not approved its use.

Most of those infected recover uneventfully but there can be serious complications including pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain).

Preventing measles and other exanthems

After the measles vaccine was introduced in 1963 the number of reported cases was reduced by 99%. In 2000 measles was declared no longer endemic (occurring routinely) in the United States. U.S. public health officials consider an outbreak a major setback in the control of infectious disease.

Measles vaccine is usually administered as a “3 in 1” vaccine- the MMR, which has been vilified as a possible cause of autism, although that has been thoroughly discredited.

The other two letters in the mix stand for mumps and rubella (also known as German measles) both of which are also caused by viruses and for which no treatment exists.

No vaccine exists for roseola or Fifth Disease, but we have an effective vaccine for varicella, commonly called chickenpox.

MEASLES OUTBREAK 2025

According to KFF Health News

“Since the outbreak emerged three weeks ago, the Texas health department has confirmed 90 cases with 16 hospitalizations, as of Feb. 21. Most of those infected are under age 18.

Officials suspect that nine additional measles cases reported in New Mexico, across the border from the epicenter of the Texas outbreak in Gaines County, are linked to the Texas outbreak. Ongoing investigations seek to confirm that connection.

Health officials worry they’re missing cases. Undetected infections bode poorly for communities because doctors and health officials can’t contain transmission if they can’t identify who is infected.

“This is the tip of the iceberg,I think this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”

Rekha Lakshmanan, chief strategy officer for The Immunization Partnership in Houston, a nonprofit that advocates for vaccine access.

Continue reading this report at

Texas Measles Outbreak Nears 100 Cases, Raising Concerns About Undetected Spread

sharing the HEART of health

My family receives vaccines and believe any potential risk is worth the benefit. I urge you to think carefully and talk to a trusted physician before you make vaccination decisions for yourself and your children.

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Dr. Aletha 

The cover image for this post was created using AI.