Vaccines, shots, innoculations, immunizations

I wasn't sure what else to title this post. It's a short one. It's also controversial and not directly related to speech and language therapy. One of those posts will come this weekend.

I am very pro-vaccination. My parents were vigilant in keeping up with my booster shots and once I reached adulthood, I've made sure to get my MMR shot and yearly flu shot (fun fact: I've only missed my flu shot once in the past five years, and it was the one year during which I came down with influenza). Today, I got a Tdap shot.

It's true that there are risks and benefits to vaccinations. The risk touted by those most (unfortunately) visible and vocal is the link between thimerosol/MMR vaccines and autism (debunked). Some people are also afraid that getting shots will make them sick (and to be fair, some people do suffer from side effects which include body aches, soreness, and cold symptoms). Benefits of widespread vaccination include the eradication of infectious diseases (obviously) and lower healthcare costs to the general public (the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases outlines this information; there is a link to journal article with even more). Furthermore, once a certain percentage of a population is vaccinated, then that whole population is better protected (we call this "herd immunity").

To me, there shouldn't be much of a question re: whether to vaccinate. Pertussis/Whooping Cough is making something of a come-back in the Pacific Northwest and it's a scary illness. Think of the other diseases that vaccines prevent - Measles, diphtheria, tetanus, and more.

So what does this have to do with being a school-based SLP?

I'm still working on that answer. In the meantime, make sure you're up to date on your shots. It'll be good for you and your students. Better safe than sorry.