WEBVTT - Your Biggest Vaccine Questions with Dr. Richard Besser 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:09.080 Who baby A baby? I need you, Oh how I 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:13.200 need you? What to expect? As a production of I 0:00:13.400 --> 0:00:17.239 Heart Radio, I'm your host Heidi Murkoff and I'm a 0:00:17.360 --> 0:00:19.880 mom on a mission, a mission to help you know 0:00:20.079 --> 0:00:25.959 what to expect every step of the way. To say 0:00:25.960 --> 0:00:29.120 the vaccines are a hot button topic is an understatement 0:00:29.560 --> 0:00:33.599 In a time when vaccine misinformation on social media spreads 0:00:33.720 --> 0:00:38.159 faster than a virus in a pandemic, it's understandably harder 0:00:38.240 --> 0:00:42.680 for parents to sort science fact from science fiction, or 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:45.839 not to feel shamed or blamed by others in the 0:00:45.920 --> 0:00:50.920 online community as they do their information gathering. Today, we're 0:00:51.000 --> 0:00:54.800 giving you the facts about vaccines, from how they work 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:59.040 to why they're so important and pregnancy and for your baby. 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:04.600 No game, no blame, no judging, no spin, nothing but 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:07.920 the facts. I'm so excited to welcome one of the 0:01:07.959 --> 0:01:11.840 best people to have this conversation with. Dr Richard Besser's 0:01:11.920 --> 0:01:16.680 the former acting director for the CDC under the Obama administration. 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:20.560 He's been a chief medical correspondent for ABC News and 0:01:20.720 --> 0:01:24.839 is currently President of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. And 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:29.319 he's a pediatrician who is passionate about making the world 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:33.520 a safer, healthier place to live for all our children. 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.440 Thank you so much for being here today, Dr Besser. 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:40.080 One of the many things you said that spoke to 0:01:40.160 --> 0:01:44.280 me was about the role of the pediatrician as translator, 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:51.120 taking complicated medical topics and turning them into plane language 0:01:51.280 --> 0:01:54.240 that parents can relate to. Do you want to tell 0:01:54.520 --> 0:01:58.600 us a little bit about why that's important. Yeah, I 0:01:58.680 --> 0:02:01.720 did more than seven hundred views last year, and I've 0:02:01.760 --> 0:02:04.360 never had that question. That's that's a that's a great one, 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:09.040 but it's it really speaks to um to kind of 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:13.200 my approach to health and what I really enjoy. I'm 0:02:13.240 --> 0:02:16.480 a general pediatrician and normally I see kids a half 0:02:16.560 --> 0:02:19.360 day a week, and what I really love about the 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.520 experience is how much I learned from the families that 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:25.280 that I'm with. And I do see my role as 0:02:25.280 --> 0:02:31.079 a pediatrician as translating complex information helping people make more 0:02:31.120 --> 0:02:35.680 informed decisions about their lives. And what I learned in 0:02:35.800 --> 0:02:39.600 pediatrics was that you need to treat people with respect 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:44.200 and that you, as a healthcare provider, have a specialized 0:02:44.960 --> 0:02:47.919 language of jargon that may be good for talking to 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:51.000 other people in healthcare, but it puts up an immediate 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:55.600 barrier to your patients. And it is recognizing as well 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:59.120 that when people are frightened, when people are scared as 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.520 they are during a pan emoic or when they're child sick, 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:06.720 their ability to take in complex information goes down dramatically, 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.720 And so you have to repeat, you have to simplify 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:13.000 still with that that air of respect, and you have 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:15.440 to check back in and say that makes sense. Did 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.440 you understand what I was saying there? Yeah? Absolutely. Another 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.520 premise that I always start with is knowledge is power. 0:03:21.600 --> 0:03:25.480 It's especially powerful when you're pregnant, you have a new baby, 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.799 you're a new parent, and what you don't know can 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.079 actually hurt you or hurt your child, and also can 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:35.080 make you suspicious. So of course they're going to be 0:03:35.120 --> 0:03:39.720 worried about a vaccine. How would you come them down 0:03:39.800 --> 0:03:43.120 and explain that vaccines in fact, do not hurt an 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:48.520 unborn baby. It's natural to worry about an unborn baby 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.680 a life that's developing, And so one of the things 0:03:52.080 --> 0:03:56.440 scientists look at is there any concern about this vaccine 0:03:56.800 --> 0:03:59.680 doing any harm? And if they see any signal of that, 0:04:00.200 --> 0:04:02.760 then that's it. It's It's not something that would be 0:04:02.800 --> 0:04:05.480 given to someone who is pregnant, and so by the 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:09.000 time of vaccine is recommended or approved, you can feel 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:12.360 comfortable that you are not doing harm to your baby, 0:04:12.440 --> 0:04:15.200 but you're in fact helping to protect them by protecting 0:04:15.240 --> 0:04:20.520 yourself and your baby from a potentially dangerous infection. So, 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:22.640 you know, it's one thing to say to our parent, 0:04:22.960 --> 0:04:25.960 vaccines work, But how do they work? Can you give 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:32.839 the simple science behind that vaccines are pretty miraculous? Before vaccines, 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:37.719 I mean, many of the most families experienced the loss 0:04:37.720 --> 0:04:43.760 of children because they're infectious diseases that are so dangerous 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:48.320 and deadly to kids. Vaccines, you know, at out of 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.160 the simplest level, they fool your body into thinking that 0:04:51.200 --> 0:04:55.200 you've been infected with a virus or back bacteria, a 0:04:55.279 --> 0:04:58.479 germ that could cause disease, and they cause your immune 0:04:58.520 --> 0:05:02.760 system to react like it's seeing that bad virus, are 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.239 that that bacteria, But it's not. It's not seeing something 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:09.040 that's harmful to you. But your body is saying, oh wow, 0:05:09.080 --> 0:05:12.200 I'm seeing whooping off. The immune system kicks into gear 0:05:12.360 --> 0:05:14.880 to fight it off. And what that does is it 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:18.359 means that if you ever see the real thing, So 0:05:18.480 --> 0:05:23.240 the real whooping cough bacteria, or catanus or I mean rotavirus. 0:05:23.279 --> 0:05:27.000 Are so many vaccines now that prevent against serious infections. 0:05:28.080 --> 0:05:31.120 Then when your body sees that, the immune system is 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:33.080 ready and it fights it off like it's seen it 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:35.560 before and it knows what to do, and that is 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.120 I think absolutely incredible. You know, they're all different ways 0:05:39.200 --> 0:05:41.680 that it's done. You know, there are different approaches, and 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:45.720 even now with COVID. Right now we have vaccines that 0:05:45.760 --> 0:05:48.360 are either in trial or on the market that use 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:52.920 three different mechanisms, three different approaches to fooling your immune system. 0:05:53.160 --> 0:05:55.719 So what kind of research goes into making a vaccine 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:59.800 these days? So the process for making vaccines usually takes 0:06:00.000 --> 0:06:04.320 any many years early research first to say how can 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:07.599 you fool the immune system into thinking it's being attacked 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:11.919 by a particular agent. And then okay, if that's the 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.919 way you're gonna fold the immune system, is that safe? 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:16.920 Is that a safe way to do it? And so 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:20.200 when there is what's called a candidate vaccine, something that 0:06:20.279 --> 0:06:22.560 scientists think, yeah, we think this will fold the immune 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.000 system and we think, well, we know what will be saved. 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:27.880 Then it's tested in a small number of people to 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:30.560 look to see early on, well how much of it 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:33.599 we have to give. That's called a dosing study. And 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:36.279 then the next level of studies looks to see, okay, 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:39.560 in maybe several hundred people, is it safe or we're 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.640 seeing reactions or side effects, you know, sore arms or 0:06:42.640 --> 0:06:45.640 fevers or anything that we need to be concerned about 0:06:46.160 --> 0:06:49.039 um and then it moves on to bigger trials. And 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:53.160 these the trials all tend to start in adults, and 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:55.000 then it's looks to say, okay, does it protect from 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:58.479 the illness that we wanted to protect from? Then how 0:06:58.480 --> 0:07:02.000 long does the protection last? Those studies can take years 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:05.000 to do, often because the infection that you're trying to 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.960 protect against while out there isn't common enough that you 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.960 can do those kind of studies quickly in order to 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:15.520 see if it protects from a certain infection, that infection 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:18.280 has to be out about that can take time to do. 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:20.880 And then once a vaccine is found to be safe 0:07:20.880 --> 0:07:24.280 and effective in adults, then they'll look in younger and 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:27.440 younger populations. This is what's going on with COVID safe 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:29.880 and adults. Now their studies being done, is it safe 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:32.440 in teens? And then as a queens? And then younger 0:07:32.480 --> 0:07:35.800 than that younger down. You know, occasionally for diseases that 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:39.960 only occur in children, where the risk of those diseases 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:43.400 it's really really severe, you'll do some initial safety studies indults, 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:46.080 but then you'll go to your trials right away. When 0:07:46.080 --> 0:07:49.480 I was in training to be a pediatrician, UM there 0:07:49.560 --> 0:07:54.040 was something called h flu or havoflos influenza and UM 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:58.360 it would cause a very very serious form of meningitis. 0:07:58.480 --> 0:08:01.760 And I remember in my train seeing kids who died 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:05.200 from that, children who had brain damage or lost their hearing, 0:08:05.320 --> 0:08:08.280 had various of your illness. And then I remember, I 0:08:08.280 --> 0:08:09.960 think it was in the last year my training that 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:15.000 a vaccine came out and it was miraculous because all 0:08:15.000 --> 0:08:19.080 of a sudden we weren't seeing this horrible, horrible disease. 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:21.960 It was so devastating to children and their families. It 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:26.840 was gone. And when you've seen that progression from something 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.960 that just causes so much devastation to all of a 0:08:30.000 --> 0:08:33.320 sudden it's gone, it's amazing. And when you work in 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:36.760 countries that don't have as a robust of vaccine program 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.000 and you see diseases that have been pretty much wiped 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:43.360 out in the United states, it's just an eye opener 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:48.120 to the power of vaccination to to really change the 0:08:48.160 --> 0:09:03.680 prospects of cod We're in a pandemic like any other 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:07.880 public health emergency. This led to a drop in vaccination 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:12.359 rates and by the way, in maternal healthcare. By November 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:17.400 of routine childhood vaccines have fallen by as much as 0:09:17.440 --> 0:09:21.319 twenty and parents are also afraid to bring their kids 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:26.199 in for routine appointments. And another reason beyond that, of course, 0:09:26.360 --> 0:09:30.360 is the vaccine skepticism, which I think has been fueled 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:34.040 not only by the Internet. I mean, vaccine skepticism has 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:36.880 always been around since they were vaccines, but it's kind 0:09:36.880 --> 0:09:41.080 of reached a fever pitch, and the Internet has accelerated 0:09:41.160 --> 0:09:45.360 the anti science fiction. And also, you know, maybe the 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:48.840 speedy development of the COVID nineteen vaccine. People are like, well, 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:52.600 it should take time and this isn't possible. What are 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:55.920 your thoughts about this and what concerns you most about 0:09:55.960 --> 0:10:02.439 these dropping vaccination rates. Well, when it comes to COVID vaccine, 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:05.880 I think it's important to recognize that most people want 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:10.120 to get vaccinated. There are some people who have concerns 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:13.960 who don't want to get vaccinated. And I wouldn't lump 0:10:13.960 --> 0:10:17.240 all those people together. And the reason for that is that, 0:10:17.320 --> 0:10:20.319 you know, even when it comes to childhood humanizations, where 0:10:20.360 --> 0:10:24.840 you know plus percent of children get get fully vaccinated, 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.160 there's a hardcore group of people there who are anti vaccine, 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.880 anti science, who will never, no matter what you say, 0:10:32.080 --> 0:10:35.920 willingly let their children get vaccinated and won't get vaccines themselves. 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:38.760 But there are also some people who say, you know what, 0:10:39.559 --> 0:10:44.480 I understand that these vaccines are really effective, and I 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:47.320 understand that they were reviewed and approved by the Food 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:51.160 Drug Administration, and I understand COVID's bad, but I also 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:53.280 understand that they were approved based on two months of 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.080 safety data, and I kind of like to wait until 0:10:56.080 --> 0:11:00.679 they've been in some more people, and people perception of 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.199 risk will vary, and it's important to respect that and 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:07.599 and not say to someone who's a little hesitant today 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:10.920 that it's here's your one chance, and it's done. I 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.720 think it's people know more and more of their friends 0:11:14.160 --> 0:11:17.079 and family members who have been vaccinated, they're gonna want 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.079 to get vaccinated. And we're seeing that. We're seeing the 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:23.119 numbers go up in terms of people wanting wanting vaccine, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.560 and part of that is also you know, now that 0:11:25.640 --> 0:11:29.360 it's been given to more than twenty million people, that's 0:11:29.520 --> 0:11:33.079 different than the trials where it's tens of thousands of people, 0:11:33.720 --> 0:11:37.400 and the CDC and FDA are doing follow up look 0:11:37.440 --> 0:11:41.080 and see are there any side effects that we're not 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:43.280 picked up In the smaller studies, they've been able to 0:11:43.320 --> 0:11:47.480 share data on severe allergic reactions to show how really 0:11:47.600 --> 0:11:50.760 rare they are and how easily managed they are to 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:54.600 get vaccinated in the clinic setting. When it comes to 0:11:55.040 --> 0:11:58.200 COVID vaccine, I think the numbers are going to continue 0:11:58.240 --> 0:12:01.319 to go up and up, and I think some of 0:12:01.360 --> 0:12:05.640 that has to do with how the vaccines last year. 0:12:06.120 --> 0:12:09.160 We're talked about the phrase work speed. Well, it's good 0:12:09.200 --> 0:12:13.440 for rockets, it's good for for really high speed trains, 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:17.200 but in terms of making people feel comfortable that all 0:12:17.240 --> 0:12:21.000 of the safety steps were taken the terms of little 0:12:21.080 --> 0:12:24.360 challenging it's absolutely miraculous that we have safe and effective 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:27.560 vaccines this quickly, you know, within a year of a 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:32.520 new virus being discovered, that is that's never happened before, 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:37.280 and that's absolutely incredible, But you need to recognize that 0:12:37.360 --> 0:12:40.560 with that kind of speed comes some some sense of 0:12:40.679 --> 0:12:43.360 woe was just too fast, and there wasn't I think, 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:47.000 enough attention to the full story that scientists have been 0:12:47.040 --> 0:12:52.360 working on what are called m RNA vaccines for more 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:54.960 than a decade and so it's all of that science 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:57.760 that was done over decades that allowed them to create 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.880 within a year this this vaccine. So it wasn't as 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:04.240 speedy as it seemed. It was really speedy from from 0:13:04.320 --> 0:13:08.760 day of discovery to the development, but the science that 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.160 led them to be able to do that, it took 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:14.079 place over a long period of time. What what gives 0:13:14.080 --> 0:13:16.360 me comfort in this whole process is, you know, I 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.319 watched the review committee for FDA UH and I listened 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.559 to their deliberations, and I read the materials that FDA posted, 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:28.080 and I believe that the vaccines that are have been 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:31.400 approved for emergencies are safe and effective. I can't wait 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:35.240 until I get called and I can get vaccinated. My parents, 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:38.520 who are you know, both over ninety, have both been vaccinated. 0:13:39.000 --> 0:13:43.360 But I also recognized that some people want to see 0:13:43.400 --> 0:13:46.880 a little bit more data. And in particular, although the 0:13:46.920 --> 0:13:50.319 majority of Black Americans want to get vaccinated, the rates 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.960 of hesitancy and concern are higher, and I think a 0:13:52.960 --> 0:13:56.280 lot of that reflects you disrespect from the healthcare system, 0:13:57.000 --> 0:14:01.040 historical experimentation on people of color by our health care 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:04.400 system and the public health system. I think it also 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:09.920 can be addressed by ensuring that people are hearing from 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.800 people they trust and in different communities, trusted voices will vary. 0:14:13.840 --> 0:14:17.360 So at our foundation, Robert Johnson Foundation, we're supporting a 0:14:17.360 --> 0:14:20.680 lot of outreach work so that people can hear from 0:14:20.680 --> 0:14:22.800 trusted voices in their communities. I think it's going to 0:14:22.880 --> 0:14:24.800 be the kind of the same kind of efforts that 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.200 are used for get out the vote will will be 0:14:27.240 --> 0:14:30.920 effective here hearing from people they know and they trust. 0:14:31.000 --> 0:14:34.240 You know that effective grassroots connection is going to I think, 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.040 build the desire for more people to effect them. So 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.840 I do want to ask so many moms on what 0:14:39.960 --> 0:14:43.440 to expect. Of course, the questions are coming in so 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:46.960 that I get the COVID nineteen vaccine when it's offered, 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:49.040 If it's offered, and I know that a lot of 0:14:49.400 --> 0:14:52.960 health care professionals who are pregnant have already received it, 0:14:53.040 --> 0:14:56.520 and in some states it's being offered in a higher 0:14:56.680 --> 0:15:00.480 order of priority. But there are of as a lot 0:15:00.520 --> 0:15:04.840 of concerns from pregnant women. Is it safe now? Of course, 0:15:04.880 --> 0:15:08.240 the infection itself has been shown not to be particularly 0:15:08.280 --> 0:15:12.680 safe for pregnant women, especially those with comorbidities. If you 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:16.080 have just saial diabetes or if you have hypertension, that 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:18.480 puts you a greater risk if you're a mom of color. 0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:23.000 So I know that the medical community has had you 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:27.040 know who came out with certain recommendation, CDC came out 0:15:27.080 --> 0:15:30.160 with others, And basically the bottom line is always talked 0:15:30.200 --> 0:15:32.480 to your doctor, which is what I would say, But 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.000 what would you say? I think you've hit the critical 0:15:36.040 --> 0:15:39.800 points is that you're balancing risks here, and that's really 0:15:39.800 --> 0:15:45.240 important because it's human nature to put more value on 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:49.280 the risk from something that you intentionally do. So, you know, 0:15:49.320 --> 0:15:51.920 we see that with children's vaccinations as well. So I 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:56.000 know somebody who had this incredible allergic action to a 0:15:56.080 --> 0:15:59.480 vaccine that was so severe. Wow, yeah, you know, that's 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.000 that kind happen. But it's so incredibly rare. The disease 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:07.640 that it's preventing killed thousands of children each year, you know, 0:16:07.680 --> 0:16:10.920 So it's it's balancing those risks here. With COVID, we 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.720 are learning that there is some increased risk for pregnant 0:16:14.720 --> 0:16:17.880 women when you need to balance I think, and in 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:20.160 talking with your doctor, because this is one of those 0:16:20.200 --> 0:16:23.440 personal decisions that you have to make, is what is 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:26.720 your risk of exposure? So you know, if you're someone 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:29.600 who is working in a setting where you're more likely 0:16:29.640 --> 0:16:33.160 to be exposed, whether it's in healthcare or you know, 0:16:33.240 --> 0:16:36.280 food production or transportation or anything where you're out and 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:39.640 about and you're pregnant, you have a real risk of 0:16:39.640 --> 0:16:42.720 being exposed and getting COVID, you know, in that setting. 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:47.520 I think that personally, if it were my family member, 0:16:47.520 --> 0:16:51.280 I would say, yeah, I would recommend getting vaccinated. Their 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:54.120 studies being done, but there's theoretically there's nothing that we 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.640 would see with this vaccine that would make us think 0:16:57.000 --> 0:17:00.280 ahead of time that it could pose an increase risk 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:02.760 to someone who is pregnant. If, on the other hand, 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.000 you are at home, you are not out at all, 0:17:06.200 --> 0:17:09.560 and your risk is really really low, You're you're not 0:17:09.600 --> 0:17:12.800 exposed to very many people, and you may say, well, 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:14.880 now you know what, I'm not going to get vaccinated. 0:17:15.280 --> 0:17:18.840 Of course, I have to ask will trials be done 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:21.680 on pregnant women or is this just always like an 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:27.880 extrapolation My understanding is that companies are doing trials in 0:17:27.880 --> 0:17:31.399 in pregnancy. And the reason for that is that you know, 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:35.439 this pandemic is widespread, it's rampant, uh, and we know 0:17:35.520 --> 0:17:39.119 that there is increased risk during pregnancy. And so you know, 0:17:39.200 --> 0:17:42.920 given you've got a vaccine that has a terrific safety profile, 0:17:43.160 --> 0:17:45.840 very safe, then you're gonna want to do that. You know, 0:17:45.880 --> 0:17:47.960 it's not hear to me how they're gonna do those 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:52.000 studies because you don't want to withhold vaccine. It may 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:55.000 be historical data so that they'll vaccinate and they'll be 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.960 able to compare people who got vaccinated now to those 0:17:58.560 --> 0:18:02.160 who didn't before. There are some pregnant women who were 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:07.040 in the initials trials right became pregnant. Yeah, And it 0:18:07.080 --> 0:18:09.679 may be that across the numbers of trials there are 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:12.680 enough women who got pregnant during the trial that they'll 0:18:12.680 --> 0:18:15.200 be able to answer to answer that question that way too. 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:18.760 It again, it's the balance for women who have who 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:22.560 have a particular medical condition that can be life threatening, 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:27.399 the balance between stopping your medication or your treatment and 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.800 potential risks. Both you know, have the benefits and potential risks. 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:34.120 But one of the things that we're learning though, which 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:37.680 I think is really interesting, is that just like with 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:42.000 other vaccines, the flu shot, moms pass on protective factors 0:18:42.080 --> 0:18:45.480 to their babies, which is so amazing. I think that's 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:49.600 such an incredibly important point, and you are protecting that 0:18:49.920 --> 0:19:10.880 very vulnerable newborn baby. I wanted to ask you about 0:19:10.920 --> 0:19:13.760 the t DApp because I get questions about that all 0:19:13.800 --> 0:19:17.280 the time, and of course I give the recommendation that 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:19.800 you should get it with every pregnancy, so even if 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.240 you've had it before, even if you had a booster before, 0:19:22.280 --> 0:19:24.359 and dad's got to get in and grandma's gotta get it, 0:19:24.400 --> 0:19:28.080 everybody's got to get it. The flu vaccine is another 0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:31.200 vaccine that every pregnant woman should get, and that again 0:19:31.359 --> 0:19:35.119 is not only to protect her baby, but because even 0:19:35.200 --> 0:19:38.360 more so, as far as we know then with COVID 0:19:38.560 --> 0:19:43.000 influences really dangerous potentially for pregnant women and they're more 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:46.680 risk for hospitalization. Yeah, now, those are those are all 0:19:47.560 --> 0:19:50.960 key points. I remember when I was at ABC News 0:19:51.080 --> 0:19:54.040 doing a story on a mom on a family that 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:58.960 lost their newborn to whooping cough and she hadn't been 0:19:59.000 --> 0:20:04.879 offered yeah during pregnancy, and you know, she had other kids. 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:07.560 They're not sure you know how whooping toff got into 0:20:07.600 --> 0:20:11.840 the into the home, But to lose a child to 0:20:12.119 --> 0:20:15.080 something that's preventable, it was devastating. And she's gone on 0:20:15.119 --> 0:20:18.400 now to become a real advocate around this issue. That's 0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:24.960 the ap THET. Yeah, that can be a really severe 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:29.520 infection in really young kids. And we start vaccinating about 0:20:29.560 --> 0:20:33.840 two months, so in a really early period's the only 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:38.440 protection that the baby has is from their mom. Absolutely. Now, 0:20:38.520 --> 0:20:41.480 of course we can't talk to you your pediatrician, without 0:20:41.520 --> 0:20:46.600 talking about childhood vaccines. I think we've already established why 0:20:46.680 --> 0:20:49.199 they're so safe, because they've gone through so many years 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:53.400 of testing and there's so much data, and yet these 0:20:53.680 --> 0:20:59.800 miss persist, and these concerns persist again understandably because you 0:21:00.040 --> 0:21:02.600 want to keep your baby safe, and there are so 0:21:02.640 --> 0:21:06.640 many vaccines headed your baby's way in that first year 0:21:06.640 --> 0:21:09.359 and beyond, and it seems, oh, isn't it going to 0:21:09.520 --> 0:21:12.359 overwhelm their immune system? All of this it can be 0:21:12.400 --> 0:21:14.880 really hard to tell the difference out there between what's 0:21:14.880 --> 0:21:17.600 good science and what someone's opinion and what is just 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:21.720 false is a hoax, And so you see all this information. 0:21:21.800 --> 0:21:25.639 I mean, I remember as a new parent. It was 0:21:25.680 --> 0:21:28.719 a long time ago. Our oldest is twenty six. I 0:21:28.760 --> 0:21:33.320 remember with the first shot that he got feeling really nervous, 0:21:33.480 --> 0:21:35.840 and it's like, oh my, you know, feeling good because 0:21:35.840 --> 0:21:37.880 we're doing it, but also it's like, well, we're giving 0:21:37.920 --> 0:21:42.960 a shot. We're doing something, and whenever you're doing something, 0:21:43.359 --> 0:21:45.639 you always have in this mind, well, wow, you know, 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:47.120 I know that this is the right thing to do. 0:21:47.760 --> 0:21:50.840 I just hope it's that everything goes really well, and 0:21:51.160 --> 0:21:55.400 that's a natural feeling to to have. I think it's 0:21:55.440 --> 0:21:59.679 so important for parents to have trusted sources of information. 0:22:00.040 --> 0:22:04.879 I think that having a healthcare provider who you trust, 0:22:04.880 --> 0:22:09.040 who you can ask anything to, can be really really valuable. 0:22:09.520 --> 0:22:14.119 And knowing what sources of information online are trusted, are 0:22:14.280 --> 0:22:17.480 good science can be really really valuable, and it can 0:22:17.560 --> 0:22:21.400 help you avoid some of the noise it's out there. 0:22:21.480 --> 0:22:24.720 Because there's so much noise, it can be overwhelming. And 0:22:24.720 --> 0:22:27.959 when there's that much information coming out at you, a 0:22:28.000 --> 0:22:31.560 lot of people's reactions we are I'm just gonna wait. 0:22:31.920 --> 0:22:34.399 Can't take it all in, so I'm just gonna wait. 0:22:34.800 --> 0:22:38.840 And a waiting itself can be a dangerous thing for 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:43.119 a little baby. Exactly, and so a lot of parents 0:22:43.119 --> 0:22:45.560 are like, oh, well, maybe I'll just you know, have 0:22:45.720 --> 0:22:48.520 a few here, a few there, but not lump them 0:22:48.520 --> 0:22:51.919 all together, like delay the schedule a little bit. What 0:22:52.040 --> 0:22:55.000 do you say to parents who are concerned about so 0:22:55.080 --> 0:22:58.479 many thoughts at one appointment or in one year. You know, 0:22:58.520 --> 0:23:04.200 our mutism are amazing, They're incredible. We are barraged all 0:23:04.320 --> 0:23:09.040 day long, all night long by germs that are around us. 0:23:09.119 --> 0:23:11.359 They're on our skin, they're on our nose, they're they're 0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:14.280 on our dogs and our cats, and they're everywhere, they're 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:20.520 on surfaces, and our immune systems react to those constantly. 0:23:21.160 --> 0:23:26.760 So getting a dozen more exposures to different things over 0:23:26.800 --> 0:23:30.159 those those first months is not in any way, shape 0:23:30.200 --> 0:23:32.480 or form going to overwhelm your immune system. Part of 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:35.880 the testing that's done with vaccines, they're looking to see 0:23:35.880 --> 0:23:38.560 which vaccines can you give together? Are there any that 0:23:38.600 --> 0:23:40.720 you can't give together at the same time? There are, 0:23:41.000 --> 0:23:43.520 and so doctors don't administer those at the same time. 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:47.520 But the goal and pediatrics is to protect children as 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:51.399 quickly as possible for things that they may face early 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:55.400 in life, and so that's why you do them. And 0:23:55.800 --> 0:24:00.879 I'm always really nervous about measles. And it's not because 0:24:01.520 --> 0:24:03.840 we give it so young. It's because we can't give 0:24:03.880 --> 0:24:08.160 it younger. You know, around hew measles is the big 0:24:08.240 --> 0:24:11.560 killer of children, But we don't give it to children 0:24:11.960 --> 0:24:16.399 until they're one year old because your immune system is 0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:20.239 developing constantly, and won't we act enough to give you 0:24:20.280 --> 0:24:23.920 the right level of protection until about a year. But 0:24:24.680 --> 0:24:27.240 if we had a measles vaccine that could work, you know, 0:24:27.320 --> 0:24:30.560 right at birth, I'd be all for me too. And 0:24:30.600 --> 0:24:34.200 I just want to share a personal story. My grandson, Lennox, 0:24:34.359 --> 0:24:38.760 who's about to turn eight, was three weeks old when 0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:42.960 he was hospitalized with SEPs us. It was a staff 0:24:43.000 --> 0:24:46.719 infection that it had started at his umbilical site. Super 0:24:46.760 --> 0:24:49.840