Immunize For Good | Respect the Facts. Protect Your Child. Immunize for Good.

Great news: The first clinical trials for a Zika vaccine are slated to start as early as next spring. As the disease has spread, research has shown that Zika can cause devastating birth defects, including microcephaly and associated brain abnormalities. Preventing congenital Zika infections is the primary goal of a Zika immunization initiative, and for good reason: There have already been 16 infants born with Zika-related birth defects and 5 known Zika-related fetal losses in the U.S. Even if the virus does not become epidemic here, international travel and sexual transmission ensures that it will continue to pose a real risk. [+] more

Dr. Robert Sears is one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccination world, a hero to parents suspicious of childhood immunizations that public health officials say are crucial to preventing disease outbreaks. So when the Medical Board of California announced last week that it was moving to pull the Orange County pediatrician’s medical license, it immediately set the stage for a new battle in the long-running fight over whether schoolchildren should be vaccinated. At the heart of the case is whether Sears used sound medical practices when he wrote a doctor’s note for a 2-year-old boy, saying he should have “no more routine childhood vaccines for the duration of his childhood.” In its six-page accusation, the medical board said Sears made that conclusion without obtaining even basic medical information, such as a detailed history of vaccines the boy previously received and any reactions that occurred, before deciding to recommend against future immunizations. [+] more

More than 13 percent of Americans disagree with the statement that "vaccines are safe," according to a new study by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. That puts America in the middle of the pack of 67 countries where researchers examined views towards immunizations in what they believe to be the largest survey on vaccine confidence to date. [+] more

The idea of injecting our infants with anything is terrifying to all parents. Let’s just get that straight. You don’t need to be an anti-vaxxer to be made nervous by the thought of a needle going into your child’s body and dispensing an immunization. We’re parents. We worry. That’s where doctors come in. We are not doctors. We look to doctors to reassure us, to help us feel good about the decisions we’re making for our children. And our pediatricians should be well versed in the recommendations that come from numerous and extensive studies. If a doctor is advising against those studies, what gives? That’s the question many have had for Dr. Bob Sears — specifically pertaining to his alternative vaccine schedule. And he’s presently in hot water for exempting a two-year-old from all future vaccines, without adequately documented medical reasons. The way Sears approaches vaccines — and medicine — may finally cause him to lose his medical license. [+] more