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Save the date for our annual Community Immunity Luncheon

We hope you'll join us for our 13th Annual Community Immunity Luncheon on April 6, 2022. We use this special event to focus community leaders on the importance of immunization issues, to raise funds to support our programs, and to honor individuals who have advanced immunizations and increased immunization rates. We will present Dr. Jason V. Terk with the Ralph D. Feigin, MD Award for Excellence, and H-E-B with the John R. Boettiger, Jr. Award for Community Partnership. Dr. Terk is with Cook Children’s Physician Network in Keller, Texas. We also will honor Venus Ginés with our first Community Immunization Champion Award. She is CEO and Founder of Dia de la Mujer Latina.

Brendan Borrell, PhD, is our keynote speaker. He is a Los Angeles-based journalist and author who grew up in Texas. Through his compelling new book, The First Shots: The Epic Rivalries and Heroic Science Behind the Race to the Coronavirus Vaccines, Dr. Borrell offers a behind-the-scenes look into how we got today’s COVID-19 vaccines. We hope you will join us to hear more about his dynamic experiences as he developed a multi-faceted account of the unprecedented scientific achievements and vaccine journey, and the political and social influences impacting vaccine development and manufacturing along the way.

We also want to thank our dedicated chairs, Catherine Mitchell and Kay Tittle, MS, RN, FACHE, for all their work to return this year’s luncheon to an in-person event. You can make your reservation and get more information on the luncheon website.

 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month is for everyone

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. Time to remind you of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. It dramatically reduces incidents of cervical cancer plus other cancers in girls and boys, such as anal, penile, vaginal, vulval, and oropharyngeal. Also, cervical cancer no longer is the leading cause of cancer death among women in the US, thanks to regular Pap tests and the HPV vaccine. Check with your healthcare provider about both if you are uncertain. For you and those who love you.

 

TIP expertise in-person and online

Rekha Lakshmanan, TIP Director of Advocacy and Policy, participated in two immunization discussions in December 2021 and January 2022.

She was part of the World Vaccine & Immunotherapy Congress Keynote Panel in San Diego, Calif., on Dec. 2, 2021 to talk about US Immunization Policy – what have we learnt that could better prepare us for the next public health crisis. This was an in-person panel as part of the international event that brought together experts from around the world. And Texas.

These days, it is starting to look like COVID-19, with all its various variants, is here to stay in one form or another. On Jan. 25, Rekha joined US Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA); Leana S. Wen, MD, MSc, Research Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at The George Washington University; and Emily Gee, VP and Coordinator for Health Policy at the Center for American Progress, for a Progressive Policy Institute webinar about the importance of sustainable public health policies to combat COVID-19 and how to live with it. Not only for policymakers, but also for employers, families, and all of us faced with changing guidelines and conflicting information.

 

Hotez and Bottazzi: COVID-19 game changers

Two TIP Scientific Advisory Council members may have developed a COVID-19 vaccine game-changer. Peter Hotez, MD, PhD, and Maria Elena Bottazzi, PhD, received emergency use authorization from regulators in India at the end of 2021 for their vaccine, CORBEVAX. The Indian vaccine manufacturer Biological E Ltd is making it. The company is producing 100 million doses per month and has already sold 300 million doses to the Indian government.

Hotez and Bottazzi made the vaccine formula available to everyone. This means vaccine makers in other countries can produce it and do it cheaper. Dr. Hotez is Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. He and Dr. Bottazzi are Co-Directors of Texas Children's Hospital Center for Vaccine Development. She also is Associate Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor. A heartfelt congratulations and thank you to these leaders in the fight to end the pandemic.

 

5 ways to help end vaccine hesitancy

The longer we’re in the COVID-19 pandemic, the more frustrated some folks get with friends and family members who still don’t get it. Here are five tips that may help you help them help all of us.

Hat tip to Rupali Limaye, PhD, a behavioral and social scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

  1. Presume getting any vaccination is the norm. This is called presumptive communication. Parents can do this by posting on social media when their kids get vaccinated or by bringing it up to other parents.
  2. Tailor the message by asking open-ended questions, such as “What worries you” and “How can I help you think through this?"
  3. Listen actively. Turn off your phone. Don’t roll your eyes, cross your arms, or look away. Those signal disrespect or defensiveness.
  4. Show empathy to build trust and then validate their emotions without validating their misinformation. If someone says vaccines change your DNA, say, “That would be really scary. The good news is that no vaccine changes DNA, and I have some science-based information I can share with you.” (TIP can provide that information.)
  5. Debunk misinformation and myths. Limaye says starting with debunking won’t work.
 

Advocating for ALL vaccines to prevent illness and death

We are grateful for individuals who selflessly help us keep our communities free from vaccine-preventable diseases. Riki Graves is the mother of a daughter who, at 17-days-old, was the youngest heart transplant recipient at Texas Children’s Hospital. Because she is a transplant recipient and cannot receive certain vaccines, immunization and herd immunity are critical to her health and survival. Riki partnered with TIP and Immunize Texas to walk the halls of the Texas Capitol and educate lawmakers about the life-saving and life-changing importance of vaccines. TIP worked with Riki to provide testimony during public hearings to support pro-vaccine bills and to oppose anti-vaccine legislative efforts.

TIP Meme of the Month

Human parents could take lessons from our critter counterparts who don’t need mandates to help keep their critter kids safe. COVID-19 is just the latest health threat to our families for which we have vaccines to protect them. Make sure you and all your family are up-to-date with their vaccines, because, as we know, vaccines work and vaccines save lives.

 

Mobi vs. The Shield

Mobi explains community immunity and the importance of keeping those who are unable to receive vaccines safe from harm. You can receive a 50% discount on your book order by using coupon code: TIP

English version: Hard cover or Paperback 

Spanish version: Hard cover or Paperback

If you would like to order bulk copies of the book, please email kgore@immunizeUSA.org.

Return to school at TIP’s Immunization University

Are you a nurse who needs professional continuing education credit? We can help through Immunization University (IZU). This new online platform provides nursing educational courses/modules, which include information about immunizations and vaccine-preventable diseases.

The nursing-approved continuing education credit program is through a partnership with Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth. We also offer non-credit courses. These free courses are open to everyone. To take any of the courses, please click here.

 

Remember TIP in your philanthropic giving

The Immunization Partnership is the only organization in Texas dedicated solely to improving the health of ALL Texans through immunizations. We provide healthcare professionals, the public, the media, and policymakers with current evidence-based immunization information, news, and materials.

We are proud to be your trusted resource.

Please consider TIP when deciding where to make your philanthropic donation. We do not charge for what we do. Instead, we rely on generous supporters like you to help us make the greatest impact in providing the education, information, and advocacy that will keep Texans healthy today and for generations to come.

You can find out more about our programs and how you can help us by going to our website.

We appreciate all you do to help keep Texans healthy and thriving because we can’t educate and advocate for immunizations without support from folks like you.

 

The Immunization Partnership Podcasts

Along with our regular podcasts, we now offer a daily immunization news digest: TIP News.

You can listen to these podcasts at your convenience on either of our podcast platforms. Vaxx Voice covers general immunization information while Vaxx to the Future features COVID-19 virus and vaccine information. All of our podcast episodes are free. No subscription necessary, and they are available on most podcast platforms. Click on one of the images above to access that podcast.

 

Partner with TIP

We partner with a wide variety of stakeholders to effectively collaborate on eradicating vaccine-preventable diseases across Texas. We greatly appreciate the help of these diverse and strong alliances. Here’s where you can learn more about our partners and how to become one.

 

TIP in the News

Find out what TIP is saying about COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases, and what the media are saying about TIP by visiting our TIP in the News page.

Also, you can catch up on past Vaxx Voice newsletters here.

 

TIP's mission is to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases by educating the community, advocating for evidence-based public policy, and supporting immunization best practices.

The Immunization Partnership
240 West Galveston Street #1985  | League City, Texas 77574-1985
281-400-3689 | info@immunizeUSA.org

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