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Vax Talk

84 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★ - 329 ratings

Vax Talk is the podcast for people who want to do something about outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and who understand that knowledge is power. We will discuss the latest news about vaccines and the impact they have on our communities, our families, and our friendships.

Medicine Health & Fitness Science Life Sciences
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Episodes

Ep. 27: Vaccine Updates from ACIP and HELP!

March 08, 2019 19:11 - 44 minutes - 81.3 MB

Vaccine buzz is buzzier lately, with a new, young advocate (Ethan Lindenberger) traveling to Washington, D.C. to testify about why he got vaccinated after his mother had refused to vaccinate him and with anti-vaccine activists trying to "inundate" the ACIP meeting at the CDC. We will tackle those topics and talk to three special guests about ACIP updates. L.J. Tan discusses with us the latest flu data, Lori Boyle talks about why nurses need to represent, and Amy Pisani talks HPV and PCV. Lin...

Ep. 26: Vaccine Court, Autism, and a New Conspiracy Theory

February 12, 2019 19:31 - 50 minutes - 92.3 MB

It's been more than a decade since a U.S. court, in an omnibus proceeding, found that vaccines do not cause autism, but that finding has sparked a new conspiracy theory, thanks in part to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. We invited vaccine law expert Dr. Dorit Reiss to our show to discuss with her how this new conspiracy theory does not hold up to scrutiny.

Ep. 25: HPV Vaccine and How We Decide

January 29, 2019 18:31 - 42 minutes - 77.7 MB

The HPV Vaccine seems to have a special place--not as a cancer-preventing tool but as something people sometimes fear. But when the science is clear that this vaccine is safe and needed, why do some refuse it? For answers, we talk to Dr. Noel Brewer, a health behavior expert and chair of the National HPV Roundtable. Links from the episode: Guardian Facebook article: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jan/24/anti-vaxxers-spread-misinformation-on-social-media-report National HPV Vaccin...

Ep. 24: The One About Influenza

December 10, 2018 19:32 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MB

Do you get your flu shot? Does everyone you know get one, too? We invited Dr. LJ Tan to talk to us about last year's flu season, this year's flu forecast, flu vaccine uptake, and Riverdale. Links from this episode: Wonder Woman Vaccinates--https://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Gal-Gadot-joins-Israeli-vaccine-campaign-amid-measles-outbreak-572950 Parent(hetical) Science Podcast--https://www.parentheticalscience.com/ Ideas Start Here Podcast--https://stchealth.com/category/podcast/

Ep. 23: Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism

November 05, 2018 21:29 - 40 minutes - 37 MB

Dr. Peter Hotez is a pediatrician, a vaccinologist, and a parent of Rachel, who is autistic. His new book, Vaccines Did Not Cause Rachel's Autism, leaves no wiggle room for doubt about whether or not he embraces scientific consensus concerning vaccines. In this episode, we talked to Dr. Hotez about his book, about his daughter, about why vaccines cannot cause autism, and about the anti-vaccine movement. Links from the episode The book: https://www.amazon.com/Vaccines-Did-Not-Cause-Rachels-A...

Ep. 22: Measles Eradication and Elimination

October 16, 2018 00:58 - 44 minutes - 40.7 MB

If measles has been eliminated from North America, what's up with these outbreaks? Is it even possible to get rid of it globally and for good? We invited CDC's Dr. Mark Papania and Dr. Manisha Patel to answer all of our measles eradication questions. This episode was sponsored by the Task Force for Global Health in honor of Dr. Samuel Katz and Dr. Walter Orenstein, both of whom have played critical roles in eliminating measles.

Ep. 21: Anti-Vaccine Nurses

September 11, 2018 19:31 - 50 minutes - 69.3 MB

A PICU nurse contemplates swabbing a measles patients to infect her own child. A nurse practitioner makes a video about how to school pediatricians on vaccines. What is a pro-vaccine advocate to do? We invited Nurses Who Vaccinate's Melody Butler to discuss all things anti-vaccine nurses. Links from the show Nurses Who Vaccinate: http://www.nurseswhovaccinate.org/ CDC Pink Book Webinar: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/ed/webinar-epv/index.html CHOP webinar: https://www.chop.edu/centers-programs...

Ep. 20.4: Superman, Cancer, and Vaccines

August 27, 2018 19:22 - 43 minutes - 39.9 MB

At age 44, Jason Mendolsohn was diagnosed with Stage IV HPV throat cancer, and now he's on a mission to convince families to prevent this cancer in their children through immunization. Check out Jason at https://supermanhpv.com/. In this episode, we also chat about Russian bots. Here's the link to that study: https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304567

Ep. 20.3: Young Superheroes Protect Herd Immunity

August 20, 2018 13:57 - 36 minutes - 33 MB

Please note: This episode IS appropriate for kids of all ages, and we invite everyone to listen. Ethan Posard has a film credit and has published a book--and he's only 17. Meet vaccine advocacy's most influential young hero in this week's episode about teens, kids, vaccines, and advocacy.

Ep. 20.2: Protecting Our Littles w/Dr. Jacobson

August 13, 2018 13:43 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MB

New parents have many questions about vaccines. What is the best way to answer those questions and to handle potential vaccine concerns? We talked to Mayo Clinic's Dr. Bob Jacobson and tapped into his wealth of experience about all things vaccines before age two!

Ep 20.1: All the Pregnant Ladies w/ Heidi Murkoff

August 03, 2018 13:35 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MB

It's National Immunization Awareness Month, week 1. We are focused on vaccines during pregnancies, the two-for-one that protects both mom and baby. To talk about this important topic, we invited What to Expect's Heidi Murkoff to share her expertise and give us all advice about how to reach women during pregnancy and encourage immunization,

Ep 19: Hashtag Vaccines: the Social Media Episode

July 08, 2018 22:48 - 55 minutes - 51.3 MB

Echo chambers, Dunning-Kruger, misinformation, and conspiracy theories. These bad parts of social media are what pro-vaccine advocates battle daily and are the subject of this episode. Nathan and Karen talk to Dr. Jen Golbeck, director of the Social Intelligence Lab at the University of Maryland, College Park. (Plus, hear our new intro!) Find our NIAM t-shirts at cafepress.com/voicesforvaccines

EP 18: Advocacy We Believe In with People We Like

May 26, 2018 14:18 - 1 hour - 63.9 MB

Karen traveled to Atlanta for the National Immunization Conference and met many amazing people, a few of whom are featured in this episode. Nathan talks about the great pro-vaccine advocates we know, and they both discuss why we all advocate and what we can do to create more vaccine confidence. This episode is sponsored by the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: vaccine.chop.edu/parents Links mentioned... Dear Pro-Vaxxers response: vaxopedia.org/2018/05/17/dear...

Ep 17: Mamas, don't let your babies miss NIIW

April 25, 2018 15:00 - 54 minutes - 75.3 MB

Nathan and Karen talk to Every Child By Two's Amy Pisani about how the immunization challenges have changed over the decades and what challenges we face in our work together combatting vaccine-preventable diseases. Links from the episode: Every Child By Two/Vaccinate Your Family, http://vaccinateyourfamily.org/ Hotez/Caplan article, https://www.seattletimes.com/opinion/anti-vaccine-misinformation-denies-childrens-rights/ New Jersey hearing video, https://www.facebook.com/NowThisNews/videos...

Ep 16: What about the dads?

March 27, 2018 15:45 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MB

So much of vaccine advocacy is aimed at mothers, but where are the dads in all of this? To find out, Nathan and Karen talked to Dean Masello, writer, comedian, and SAHD. Find him at wokedad.com. This episode was made possible by a generous donation from Immunization Action Coalition: immunize.org.

Ep 15: Parenthetical Science

March 01, 2018 19:23 - 52 minutes - 48 MB

Karen and Nathan host Dr. Chad Hayes and Natalie Newell from the Parenthetical Science podcast for a rousing discussion about how parenting is harder than it needs to be and how people fall into the neverending woo rabbit hole. Links from the episode: Social media/HPV article: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1WeU26gdZRcH6E Nathan's Needlephobia video: https://www.facebook.com/PedsGeekMD/videos/1460845477371119/ Parenthetical Science podcast: https://www.parentheticalscience.com/

Ep 14: Ask Dr. Offit

February 05, 2018 18:09 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MB

Nathan and Karen talk to Dr. Paul Offit--head of infectious diseases at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and all around good guy. Dr. Offit took the time to answer questions our listeners submitted online, covering topics from influenza to pertussis to advocacy.

Ep. 13: HPV Cancers, Vaccines, and Cervivors

January 09, 2018 19:02 - 1 hour - 62.1 MB

It's Cervical Cancer Awareness Month! In this episode, Nathan and Karen talk to Tamika Felder about her battle with HPV-caused cervical cancer and her organization, Cervivor. Links from this episode: http://cervivor.org/ Someone You Love: https://www.hpvepidemic.com/ Mother Jones article: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/there-is-a-whole-cottage-industry-of-doctors-helping-parents-skip-their-kids-vaccines/ Leon's story: https://www.facebook.com/ltlyman/posts/10104570897037495?pnre...

Bonus Episode: Live at NFID

December 26, 2017 17:22 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MB

In November, Nathan and Karen traveled to Bethesda, MD to record a live episode at NFID's Vaccinology Course. They discussed vaccine messaging with the good people there, and now, as a holiday treat, are sharing it with you. Watch for more great VAX TALK episodes in 2018, and support our mission at www.voicesforvaccines.org/support. This episode was made possible through the sponsorship of NFID. Learn more at nfid.org.

Ep 12: Get Your Flu Shot

December 06, 2017 22:40 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MB

It’s also National Influenza Vaccination Week, which means it isn’t too late to get your flu shot. We invited Dr. Bill Schaffner (Vanderbilt) to discuss the difference between influenza and colds/tummy illnesses, this year’s flu season, the effectiveness of flu vaccines, and why your children are the most likely vectors of the flu. We also invited Serese Marotta (Families Fighting Flu) to discuss her family’s experience with H1N1 in 2009. Episode links: Donate: www.voicesforvaccines.org/dona...

Ep 10: The Unvaccinated Kids I Love

October 17, 2017 17:17 - 59 minutes - 54.3 MB

When her firstborn was just a baby, Catie heard some frightening rumors about vaccines that made her stop immunizing completely (until she learned how wrong that rumor was). Erica, however, has always been a staunch vaccine advocate, but her relatives are vaccine refusers. Nathan and Karen talk to both Catie and Erica to learn what we can do to change the minds of the parents of the unvaccinated kids we love. This episode includes some of the latest research on the topic and updates on what ...

Ep. 9: What Can I Do?

September 13, 2017 18:12 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MB

Many people like the idea of highly immunized communities, but they aren't sure what they can do to solve the problems of vaccine refusal and hesitancy. We talk to Dr. Tara Smith about her ideas, which she outlines in a new article, "Vaccine Rejection and Hesitancy: A Review and Call to Action." Links from this episode: Seattle Mama Doc flu: http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/2017-flu-season/ Dr. Tara Smith's article: https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/doi/10.1093/ofid/ofx146/3978...

Ep. 8.4: Remembering Kimberly; Teens & vaccines

August 21, 2017 09:00 - 33 minutes - 30.6 MB

Kimberly Coffey was only a few days from high school graduation when she fell sick with what she thought was the flu. Patti Wukovits, her mother, joins us to remember Kimberly and to encourage parents to vaccinate their teens and pre-teens fully and on-time. Patti Wukovits is the founder and Director of the Kimberly Coffey Foundation.

Ep. 8.3: Vaccines aren't just for kids!

August 14, 2017 09:00 - 32 minutes - 30 MB

When you turned 19, you entered a different landscape in the vaccine world. Recommendations, access, funding, and so much else changed for you. We turned to Dr. Bill Schaffner (Vanderbilt University) and asked him what all adults need to know about vaccines and what we can anticipate in the future.

Ep. 8.2: Pregnancy and vaccines w/ Dr. Munoz

August 07, 2017 04:30 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MB

Did you know that your baby receives her first vaccines before she is even born? In this episode, Nathan and Karen discuss maternal vaccines with Dr. Flor Munoz from Texas Children's. We cover a broad range of how, why, when, and where concerning an expectant mother's vaccines, and discuss what the future of maternal immunization holds.

Ep. 8.1: NIAM 17, Baby!

July 30, 2017 18:36 - 38 minutes - 35.1 MB

It's National Immunization Awareness Month! This week, Nathan and Karen introduce NIAM to listeners, talk about how anyone can advocate during the month of August, and discuss the importance of infant immunizations. Plus, we give an important update about last month's episode. Find the Vaccine Book list at listchallenges.com/vaccine-books.

Ep. 7: Craig's Pro-Vax World Tour

July 11, 2017 16:38 - 1 hour - 58 MB

Why would a pro-vaccine advocate take hiatus from his job and embark on a multi-state journey following the notorious Wakefield Vaxxed Bus? We invited Craig Egan to discuss his tour protesting this anti-vaccine bus and his philosophy about countering anti-vaccine misinformation.

Ep. 6: Andrew Wakefield

June 07, 2017 15:03 - 1 hour - 57.7 MB

Everyone knows Andrew Wakefield as the author of "that paper," but few know the full extent of his dealings in the anti-vaccine community. We talk to Ken Reibel and Matt Carey, two father of autistic children and active writers and autism advocates, to learn more. You might think you know about Wakefield, but there is so much to learn.

Ep. 5: Measles in Minnesota

May 15, 2017 18:23 - 1 hour - 68.4 MB

The worst measles outbreak in Minnesota in 25 years, sparked by anti-vaccine misinformation, has us asking how officials handle outbreaks. We talk to Joe Kurland, Infection Preventionist at Children's Minnesota, and Minnesota Representative Mike Freiberg to get answers.

Ep. 4: National Infant Immunization Week!

April 23, 2017 22:45 - 1 hour - 61.3 MB

We kick off our NIIW celebration William Shatner (topic, not guest) #ivax2protect What diseases can we prevent in early childhood? Genevieve's son and rotavirus Emily's daughter and pertussis

Ep. 3: Vaccines and Legislation Updates

March 20, 2017 21:31 - 1 hour - 68.5 MB

Statements made by HHS Secretary Price Sarah Despres from ECBT The AHCA and president's budget State legislative roundup Jinny Suh from Immunize Texas How you can make a difference

EP. 2: Outbreaks! with Dr. Paul Offit

February 13, 2017 17:33 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MB

Mumps, pertussis, HPV, influenza, and measles. What is causing outbreaks of these diseases and what can you do to protect your family. Nathan and Karen discuss the whole issue with Dr. Paul Offit from the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Ep. 1: HPV Vaccine and Someone You Love

January 17, 2017 03:02 - 1 hour - 63.6 MB

RFK Jr. "Vaccine Safety Commission The Conjunction Vaccine Cervical Cancer and HPV Cancer Deaths HPV Vaccine safety Frederic Lumiere and Christine Baze (30 min)

Ep 0: Big News!

December 20, 2016 16:44 - 2 minutes - 1.91 MB

If the idea that we can debate prevention and science has your attention, then we have a podcast for you. Karen Ernst (Voices for Vaccines) and Dr. Nathan Boonstra (Blank Children's Hospital) introduce a new podcast all about vaccines and the conversations surrounding them.

Guests

Heidi Murkoff
1 Episode

Twitter Mentions

@voices4vaccines 1 Episode
@thereal_truther 1 Episode
@peterhotez 1 Episode
@bjarkemoensted 1 Episode
@stkirsch 1 Episode