skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Parents Urged to Discuss Immunizations with Child's Doctor

play audio
Play

Friday, September 23, 2016   

SEATTLE – The school year has started, and the State of Washington is asking that school-age children be up-to-date on their immunizations against such highly-contagious diseases as measles. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends a number of vaccinations aside from those required for school, including the seasonal flu vaccine.

John Dunn, assistant medical director for preventative care at Group Health, said he knows that for parents, these decisions can be tough, but they are important.

"We like to have them be a part of a decision-making process," he said. "I, as a provider, don't want to dictate what people are going to do, I want to talk to them about what's going on, I want to let them know about their options, and I want to let them make up their own mind."

He said Group Health is a proponent of immunization, but realizes some parents don't immunize children for religious reasons. Others are worried about potential health problems associated with some vaccines, although those risks are reported to be very small.

The CDC recommends older children also be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus, or HPV. Dunn said the HPV vaccine is often misunderstood. In the short term, he said, it only seems to be immunizing against a sexually-transmitted infection, but the vaccine is meant for longer-term prevention of cervical cancer in women and other kinds of cancers in men.

"Because there's a disconnect between what it is that the virus causes right away, and what it is that we're really worried about and really trying to prevent, a lot of people don't understand exactly why it is that we think it's so important," Dunn Explained.

According to the CDC, nearly half of boys ages 13 to 17 received at least one dose of the HPV vaccination last year. Group Health has created a foundation to make immunizations accessible to families that want them but otherwise can't afford them.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …


Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …


More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social media platform X temporarily shutdown searches of "Taylor Swift" following the release of explicit deepfake images in early 2024. (Mdv Edwards/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

Environment

play sound

A farm group is helping Iowa agriculture producers find ways to reduce the amount of nitrogen they use on their crops. Excess nitrates can wind up …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021