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It's something we don't think about much.  After all, we were vaccinated for measles and mumps and chicken pox years and years ago. But a new study  is finding that millions of Americans are not getting vaccinated against whooping cough (which can kill newborns), tetanus, shingles, and other diseases, according to Jennifer Brown at the Denver Post. Just 14 percent of adults 19 and older are vaccinated against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough. Only 20 percent age 60 and older received the shingles vaccination, and only about 35 percent of women ages 19 to 26 are immunized against HPV, or human papillomavirus, she writes. The low vaccination rates are leading to outbreaks, CDC officials have said, Brown points out. More than 48,000 cases of whooping cough, for example, were reported in 2012 — more than any other year since 1955. The illness, named after its excessive coughing that ends in a whooping noise, costs far more to treat than the vaccine costs-- $2,000 vs. a...

Can't they ever make up their minds?  Now moderate alcohol consumption may be okay? Despite just this week seeming to imply that women should drink very little, if at all, compared to men, a new study now says that a glass of wine at dinner may actually boost the immune system and improve its response to vaccination, according to medicalnewstoday.com. Scientists vaccinated two sets of monkeys against smallpox.  One group was given 4% alcohol while the other, sugar water. The monkeys were monitored for 14 months, then vaccinated again at seven months. During this time the mice's alcohol intake varied, with some classified as "heavy" drinkers and others, moderate drinkers. In the end, the heavy drinkers had a more muted response to the vaccine than the ones given sugar water. Those considered moderate drinkers had the best response to the vaccine. So what does this mean for people?  "If you have a family history of alcohol abuse, or are at risk, or have be...

I thought so.  As a kid, I had all three -- measles, mumps and chicken pox.  Everyone did.  It was a rite of passage. Vaccines weren't around in those days (the '50s, yes, I'll admit it) and well, you just got whatever was going around.  In those days we went outside and played with all the neighborhood kids, and if Ginny got scarlet fever, I knew I'd be next. I guess sitting behind a computer all day like today, you're a little more protected, but still, we vaccinate our kids to be safe, and I believe you can't enter most public schools unless you are vaccinated (though parents can opt out for medical or religious reasons).  I remember my son receiving the dreaded measles and mumps vaccine as an infant, and watching him like a hawk (there were rumors this caused autism and other terrible things), and about the worst that happened was a high fever and a kid who cried so much when I took him out in the jogging stroller I did something I've never done befo...