To Vaccinate or Not?

A man in a red tank top, white surgical mask, and brown baseball hat stares into the distance as a gloved hand gives him a vaccination.

Researcher Caitlin Fields explores how people decide whether to get the Covid-19 vaccine. When the Covid-19 vaccine first became available, Caitlin Fields was puzzled. After a series of lockdowns, social distancing and masking, and hundreds of thousands of deaths from Covid, she struggled to understand why there was so much hesitancy and debate about getting […]

Fear of Needles is Common. Here’s How to Work Through the Anxiety

Needle injection phobia

When Charlie thinks about getting an injection, he shudders. “I am terrified of needles,” says the 45-year-old Pilsen resident, who asked that his last name be withheld for privacy. He ticks off a montage of past needle disasters: At 9 years old, he had his tonsils out. When he awoke from surgery, he was so […]

Chicago’s Mass Vaccination Sites Are ‘Not Enough’ for Vaccine Equity

vaccine inequity

Staying up all night. Constantly refreshing the webpage. Trying to book an appointment for the Covid-19 vaccine in Chicago has looked a lot like scoring tickets to your favorite band’s concert. Ashwini Deshpande of Vernon Hills struggled for nearly one month to book appointments for her 77-year-old grandparents, who live in Chicago. With overloaded call […]

Inside the First Chaotic Days of the Effort to Vaccinate America

Covid vaccine, Chicago Health Magazine Online

One tray of Covid-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer contains 975 doses — way too many for a rural hospital in Arkansas. But with the logistical gymnastics required to safely get the Pfizer vaccine to rural healthcare workers, splitting the trays into smaller shipments has its own dangers. Once out of the freezer that keeps […]

Vax Facts

Baby getting a vaccine shot

As vaccination rates decline, old diseases are making a sharp comeback In less than two decades, the rate of unvaccinated children age 19 to 35 months has quadrupled, growing from 0.3% of toddlers in 2001 to 1.3% of toddlers in 2015. The increase in the anti-vaccination movement is partially responsible for the steep decline in […]

Protection from pertussis by the TdaP vaccine doesn’t last very long

Child receiving a vaccine

Harvard Health Blog When my patients come in for their 11-year check-up, I give them the TdaP vaccine. I explain to them that a big part of the reason we give it is to protect them against pertussis, or whooping cough. I talk about outbreaks that are happening all the time, how it can be […]

Which immunotherapy is right for your allergies?

Man with allergies sneezing

By Andrew Smith, M.D., and Timothy J. Sullivan, M.D. Allergen immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, can help people who suffer from allergic rhinitis (nasal allergy), allergic conjunctivitis and allergic asthma caused by allergens such as pollen, mold, animal dander and house dust mites. Patients who receive immunotherapy are safely injected with small but increasing […]

Doctor’s Orders

Vaccinations don’t cause autism, they save lives By Dr. Gena Vennikandam For a lot of kids, a trip to the doctor is a dreaded experience that quickly turns mom or dad into a reviled villain. Only the meanest of parents would subject their child to the evil doctors wielding their torturous needles. At least, that’s […]