Happy August, everyone! Here we are with children ready to go back to school already. I guess it won’t be long until the pumpkin spice items are coming at us from all sides! Haha!
I am doing our check-in today to introduce our topic of the month: Immunizations. This is a topic that we typically bring up during the month of August because it is National Immunization Awareness Month.
This year, we feel it is important to bring this topic into focus because so much emphasis has been placed on the COVID-19 vaccine. While that is an important vaccine, it is not the only one that is important for us to discuss.
I don’t want our community to forget that there are other germs lurking in our environment that were around before COVID and are still out there with the potential to cause serious illness. These are viruses such as influenza (flu), pneumonia, whooping cough, and shingles.
It was pretty common over the last year and a half to use telehealth for doctor’s appointments to avoid unnecessary exposure to coronavirus. That was a good option for people who needed to see a doctor but could do so from the comfort and safety of their own homes. During that time, though, did the use of telehealth cause people to miss out on getting vaccines they need? Probably so.
Here is my pitch to you all – before the pumpkin spice hits the shelves, consider talking to your health care provider about which vaccines you need this year. Do you need a pneumonia vaccine? What about one to prevent shingles? The flu shot is needed every year, so we can all use that one. And it would be worth asking about the shot to prevent whooping cough, or pertussis. These vaccines are safe, available, and work very well to prevent you from being sick.
So what about you? Are you familiar with these vaccines? Are you up to date, or plan to get your shots soon?