American Academy of Pediatrics
Here’s why experts say now is an ideal time to protect yourself from flu
It’s October and time for flu shots. Medical experts urge getting a flu vaccination soon, before influenza starts spreading widely — and to get up to date on protection against other fall respiratory viruses, too. Updated COVID-19 shots are available now, plus shots for people especially vulnerable to another winter risk called RSV. While these […]
Doctors warn about the risks energy drinks pose to kids. What families need to know
Sean and Heidi Cripe will never forget the call from their son’s high school saying Davis was being taken to the emergency room. “He chugged an energy drink — like, just trying to be cool,” said Sean Cripe, recounting the day nearly a decade ago. The teen’s heart soon fell out of rhythm and he […]
US school vaccination rates inch down yet again and exemptions reach record high
NEW YORK | U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates inched down again last year and the share of children with exemptions rose to an all-time high, according to federal data posted Monday. The fraction of kids exempted from vaccine requirements rose to 4.2%, up from 3.6% the year before. That’s an estimated 155,000 children nationally during the […]
PERRY: US gets a double dose of stupid from the guys pimping the Golden Age of Quackery
President Donald Trump has now turned his dangerous and unfounded suspicion about childhood vaccines into federal policy. It is a menacing assault on the hard-won victories of science, medicine and evidence. Trump on Monday signed an executive order calling for doctors and medical practitioners to dispense childhood vaccines across separate medical visits, and for the […]
FACT FOCUS: Trump makes false claims as he signs order urging revisions around childhood vaccines
While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, President Donald Trump and others in his administration repeated several false claims about those vaccines, as well as their relationship to autism. The order recommends separating the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine into three separate single-disease shots and […]
School backpack overload: Heavy bags can strain kids’ bodies
Backpacks can be fashionable and functional, but they can also be too heavy — weighed down by digital devices, musical instruments, sports equipment and more. Some kids carry home a laptop or tablet and textbooks, too. It’s good to be prepared, but kids who walk to school or participate in extracurricular activities may be lugging […]