Given that we are living through THREE global health emergencies (COVID, polio, and monkeypox), new vaccines, new outbreaks, and the reality that being healthy is actually a radical selfless act of loving others (read: we need to redefine what it means to be healthy), “Three Things Thursday” highlights three things I am paying attention to or experiencing (read the about our dinnertime conversations below) as an epidemiologist each week.
Hoping these posts help to educate and empower you to be healthy and create healthy communities.
Here we go… Three Things Thursday.
Dinnertime conversations — did I actually get my polio vaccine as a kid?
Over the weekend, we were talking about polio at dinnertime (yes, we talk about diseases all of the time). The conversation centered on vaccinations — both of my parents participated in the Salk vaccine trials, I received the Sabin vaccine as a kid, the kids received the Salk vaccine, and my sweet husband admitted he didn’t know if he received the polio vaccine as a kid. He wasn’t born in the States and attended elementary school on the other side of the globe — so he doesn’t have the same childhood vaccination records or connections to a pediatrician from his past. This led to a discussion about vaccination records (and a lot of complaining on my part about the downsides of not having universal healthcare or a national organization to maintain vaccination records). By the end of our dinnertime conversation, I ended up down a rabbit hole looking for an answer to the question where can I find my vaccination records? how do I ensure I have all my required vaccinations?
So — if you are like my husband and cannot remember or do not have a record of your childhood vaccinations (especially polio at this point in time!), here are some places you may want to check out to see if you can find your vaccine history:
Previous healthcare providers
Records your parents may have kept (my mom has handwritten vaccine records from my first doctor)
Schools or colleges you previously attended
Local & state registries — again, there is no universal/centralized registry. You will need to go back to the state/county where you were living and may have been vaccinated as a kid. A complete list of registries can be found online.
If you cannot find your records, you should talk to a healthcare provider. You need to ask if you should “catch up” on your vaccinations.
You are never too old to get vaccinated!
Monkeypox is a Global Health Emergency
Over the weekend, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the monkeypox outbreak a Global Health Emergency. Declaring the Global Health Emergency is a preventative step; it officially activates the public health community to work towards containment of the outbreak. It is NOT a reason to panic!
Monkeypox is spread through close, in-person, or physical contact. Human-to-human transmission can occur through respiratory droplets or aerosols from prolonged face-to-face contact, contact with bodily fluids (including the fluid from the monkeypox lesions), or indirect contact with contaminated items (like bedding or clothing) with fluids or sores/scabs. Monkeypox can spread from the time symptoms begin until the sores have healed and a fresh layer of skin forms over the rash. This can take 3-4 weeks.
It is important to note that the infectious period begins when symptoms first present. The disease is not spread before symptoms arise (read: no asymptomatic spread). And an individual can be vaccinated during the incubation period (the time between exposure and the first sign of disease) to slow the disease progression, prevent illness, and break the chain of transmission.
One of the big public health FEARS is that new animal reservoirs of disease could develop as human-to-human spread increases across the globe. Stopping the spread of disease in our communities is essential. You can learn more here —
Looking into my COVID crystal ball — what to expect this fall
School begins here in Pennsylvania in less than 5 weeks and the official start of fall is just 55 days away. As we look to the 3rd COVID fall, there is no doubt that we are all exhausted and ready to be done with all things COVID.
HOWEVER — looking into my crystal ball, COVID is going to be disruptive this fall.
We should expect sickness as we send our kids back to school. We should expect that there will be outbreaks in schools. We should expect teachers to become sick. And on top of COVID, we should expect to see influenza cases in our communities.
My back-to-school advice will be available in the coming weeks. Be sure you are subscribed so you do not miss it!
As we head into back-to-school season and the fall, we need to recognize that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is still unstable, and the virus continues to evolve. New variants continue to arise, and the newest variants are highly contagious and are evading our immune systems. It is frustrating to see vaccinated individuals becoming sick and individuals being reinfected. But that is the reality of endemic COVID in our communities.
(Fun fact) Did you know that nearly 80 percent of all Americans have had COVID since 2020? And that those of us who have not had COVID yet are being labeled COVID virgins?
During the next few weeks, I am anticipating that we will get news about second boosters for those of us under 50 years old. I am also waiting to hear more about new COVID vaccines, namely the Omicron-specific vaccine and the mucosal vaccine (the nasal spray vaccine). I am hoping we will learn more about the effectiveness of masking and increased ventilation in reducing the spread of COVID, especially disease caused by the new variants.
Bottomline — as students head back to school (and all of our college students head back to campus), we should expect an increase in cases. We are all going to need an extra dose of patience and understanding. COVID is going to disrupt our lives in the coming weeks and months!
Best advice — get vaccinated! And stay tuned for some back-to-school advice in the coming weeks.