The CDC recommends the pertussis (whooping cough) and flu vaccines during every pregnancy. The pertussis vaccine is particularly important during pregnancy. Pertussis can be life-threatening to your newborn. The pertussis vaccine (most commonly given in the Tdap vaccine–includes tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis) should given between 27-32 weeks gestation. The earlier the better. It will […]
The DTaP vaccine protects your child from getting tetanus (lockjaw), diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (whooping cough). All three of these are potentially life-threatening bacterial infections. Tetanus The bacteria the causes tetanus is called Clostridium tetani and is often found in the soil. In the United States, tetanus is most often transmitted through a break in […]
When our bodies become sick with a virus, bacteria, fungi, parasite, etc., our adaptive immune system, the one that “remembers” microbes, not only fights off the microbe but creates protective immunity against it. Protective immunity is the body’s ability to resist a certain disease. The body’s source of protective immunity against microbes comes from the […]
A vaccine’s main goal is to teach your immune system to recognize and remember a bacteria or virus. The word “vaccination” means to stimulate the immune system to make antibodies against the bacteria or virus targeted by the vaccine. “Immunization” is different; it’s used in relation to injecting a person with pre-formed antibodies to a particular […]