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Speaker 1: Welcome to the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast, a weekly

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Speaker 1: conversation about mental health, personal development, and all the small

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Speaker 1: decisions we can make to become the best possible versions

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Speaker 1: of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr Joy hard and Bradford,

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Speaker 1: a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. For more information or

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Speaker 1: to find a therapist in your area, visit our website

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Speaker 1: at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. While I hope

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Speaker 1: you love listening to and learning from the podcast, it

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Speaker 1: is not meant to be a substitute for a relationship

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Speaker 1: with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, thanks so

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Speaker 1: much for joining me for session two sixty three of

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Speaker 1: the airp for Black Girls Podcast. We'll get right into

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Speaker 1: our conversation after a word from our sponsors. Although restrictions

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Speaker 1: related to COVID nineteen may have lessened around the country,

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Speaker 1: the risk has not gone away. Vaccines have been an

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Speaker 1: important part of protecting our health throughout the pandemic, but

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Speaker 1: so far they haven't been available as the children under

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Speaker 1: the age of five, which has loved parents and caregivers

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Speaker 1: in a very difficult position. Last week, the FDA authorized

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Speaker 1: use of the vaccine in this age group, so we

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Speaker 1: can't expect administration in this group to start soon. If

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Speaker 1: you're a parent or a caregiver, you probably have lots

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Speaker 1: of questions. Joining me this week to help answer some

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Speaker 1: of these questions is Dr Nina Ford Johnson. Dr Johnson

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Speaker 1: is a board certified pediatrician who has been serving the

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Speaker 1: families of the Mobile, Alabama area for ten years. With

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Speaker 1: her expertise and serving children of all ages, Dr Johnson

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Speaker 1: has been a go to voice for black children's health

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Speaker 1: during the pandemic. Her recent national campaign, I'm a Mom First,

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Speaker 1: is by moms and four moms who have concerns about

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Speaker 1: vaccinating their children. Our conversation explores what's in the COVID

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Speaker 1: vaccine and how it works, breaking down common concerns and

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Speaker 1: debunking myths around the vaccine, how to identify COVID symptoms

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Speaker 1: at home, and she shares advice to caregivers who might

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Speaker 1: be struggling with the decision to have their children vaccinated.

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Speaker 1: If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, please

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Speaker 1: share with us on social media using the hashtag TBG

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Speaker 1: in Session or join us over in the sister circles

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Speaker 1: to talk more in depth about the episode. You can

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Speaker 1: join us at community dot Therapy for Black Girls dot com.

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Speaker 1: Here's our conversation. Well, thank you so much for joining

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Speaker 1: us today, Dr Johnson. Thank you. I'm so glad to

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Speaker 1: be here. Thank you for just having me. Yeah, So

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Speaker 1: this is such an important topic and it feels like

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Speaker 1: there's new information almost every day, right, So I would

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Speaker 1: love for you to get started. I know that when

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Speaker 1: we talk about children, there's lots of anxiety, lots of

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Speaker 1: concerns about perhaps getting your child vaccinated with the covidacine vaccination.

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Speaker 1: Can you talk to us a little bit about what

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Speaker 1: the vaccine is and what it does for children. And

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Speaker 1: this is such an important conversation because we are seeing

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Speaker 1: cases starting to uptick a little bit and our children,

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Speaker 1: and so it's so important that we still tell our

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Speaker 1: parents and their family members how important it is for

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Speaker 1: these children to get vaccinated. This covid vaccine is very safe.

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Speaker 1: It does not have any eggs, it does not have latex,

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Speaker 1: it does not have any preservatives whatsoever. The vaccine, as

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Speaker 1: we call it, is very clean and it is made

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Speaker 1: with excellent technology by our medical scientists. So we're so

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Speaker 1: proud of this vaccine. This vaccine contains a couple of

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Speaker 1: salts like magnesium and others. It contains lipids, which allows

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Speaker 1: the vaccine to deliver it very effectively to what it's

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Speaker 1: supposed to, and it contains m RNA and it does

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Speaker 1: not change the child's DNA. It basically tells the immune

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Speaker 1: cells to protect against the virus and it allows them

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Speaker 1: to protect against the spike protein. And the spike protein

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Speaker 1: of COVID nineteen is what causes this virus to be

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Speaker 1: so virulent and very scary, and it does freak havoc

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Speaker 1: in our immune systems of our children and adults. And

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Speaker 1: then once the m RNA does what it's supposed to

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Speaker 1: do into the cells, it degrades very rapidly and does

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Speaker 1: not cause any problem. So it does not change the

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Speaker 1: person's DNA at all. It just allows it to be

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Speaker 1: very effective for what it's supposed to do. So, Dr Johnson,

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Speaker 1: can you break that down into maybe simpler terms because

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Speaker 1: some of the words I understand and what you're saying,

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Speaker 1: but I definitely want to make sure people understand exactly

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Speaker 1: what the vaccine does for the kues. M RNA is

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Speaker 1: basically as a as a cousin. We can say to

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Speaker 1: d NA, which basically genetic code that makes us also

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Speaker 1: different and very special. And so the vaccine basically is

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Speaker 1: encoded into the m RNA, which is is basically put

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Speaker 1: in m morna, which allows it to go into our

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Speaker 1: different cells which helps us fight different viruses and bacteria

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Speaker 1: and the like, and COVID nineteen it produces a protein

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Speaker 1: and basically this protein is called spike, and it allows

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Speaker 1: the spike protein that COVID nineteen produces to attack different

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Speaker 1: cells of the body, which is where we see why

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Speaker 1: COVID nineteen has caused a lot of problems with the lungs.

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Speaker 1: So it attacks the lungs, it can attack the heart,

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Speaker 1: it can attack blood vessels. So you'll see a lot

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Speaker 1: of people, especially when COVID nineteen first came out, it

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Speaker 1: coust a lot of clots and stuff like that, so

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Speaker 1: it'll attack that system as well. And so what the

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Speaker 1: vaccine does it causes an antibody which basically fights that

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Speaker 1: spike protein. If someone was to become in contact with

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Speaker 1: COVID nineteen, so they've already produced an immune response to

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Speaker 1: the virus even before they've even been introduced to the virus,

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Speaker 1: meaning before they've even got infected with it. So this

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Speaker 1: vaccine is very good and I hope that helps. It

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Speaker 1: does it does, So it's basically helping you, like, should

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Speaker 1: you become infected, if you get the vaccine, it helps

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Speaker 1: your body to fight against that infection. So then maybe

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Speaker 1: you don't become asset as you might if you didn't

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Speaker 1: have the vaccine. That is correct, That is very correct.

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Speaker 1: Thank you got it? Got it okay? And so you

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Speaker 1: mentioned that there's no eggs, no layes hex. So those

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Speaker 1: are some of the common concerns with other vaccinations. And

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Speaker 1: I know that for some of the very early childhood vaccinations,

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Speaker 1: you often hear parents talk about like trying to space

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Speaker 1: them out or do we give them all at once?

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Speaker 1: Is there any concern with having to space this out,

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Speaker 1: say from your regular flu shot or from other vaccinations

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Speaker 1: that a child might have. Good question, But no, again,

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Speaker 1: this vaccine is very good. I've actually given it in

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Speaker 1: conjunction with the flu shot, same day, same time. I've

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Speaker 1: actually given it in conjunction with a child who came

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Speaker 1: in for their yearly check up and they needed shots.

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Speaker 1: And so for like my eleven year old to come

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Speaker 1: in ready to go to middle school and needing those

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Speaker 1: shots to get in. They've actually received that vaccine as well,

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Speaker 1: right along with the other ones and have done completely fine.

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Speaker 1: So there's no need to face out any of your

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Speaker 1: other vaccines to get that COVID vaccine. Or also, if

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Speaker 1: you were to get the flu shot when it is

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Speaker 1: flue season, it's okay to get the COVID vaccine right

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Speaker 1: along with it. Got it. And are there any fine

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Speaker 1: effects or risk that you have found or heard about

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Speaker 1: related to the vaccine for kids? Good question. The main

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Speaker 1: thing that I've seen our fevers, so a fever for

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Speaker 1: like a day or so, and of course you may

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Speaker 1: get some armed tenderness and they hurt where the shot

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Speaker 1: was given, and that may happen for a couple of days.

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Speaker 1: Another side effects are just chills or feeling more fatigued

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Speaker 1: or tired than usual. Again, those symptoms just usually last

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Speaker 1: twenty four to forty eight hours, just a couple of days.

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Speaker 1: I say, take some motoring, get plenty of liquids, get

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Speaker 1: plenty of rest, like you would with any vaccine, like

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Speaker 1: you would with the flu shot or of anything like that,

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Speaker 1: and those usually go away. You know, Dr Johnson, I

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Speaker 1: feel like I've heard lots of different information about how

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Speaker 1: COVID actually impacts kids right so, and it feels like

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Speaker 1: maybe sometimes that the severity of how sick kids get

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Speaker 1: is different between the different streams right now, so I

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Speaker 1: knew that there's like a new stream I think on Harrizing,

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Speaker 1: can you see a little bit about how COVID nineteen

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Speaker 1: does show up in kids, like is it typically less

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Speaker 1: severe than we see an adults or you know, should

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Speaker 1: we be just as concerned about kids being infected with

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Speaker 1: COVID nineteen as adult? You know what, from what I've

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Speaker 1: seen in my office, the symptoms are less severe. So

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Speaker 1: a kid I saw two weeks ago just had like

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Speaker 1: a little cold, stuffy nose, barely even had a fever,

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Speaker 1: So that was his symptoms. And so COVID nineteen is

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Speaker 1: a virus, so it affects you from head to toe.

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Speaker 1: So headaches, you may get, some red eyes, running nose,

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Speaker 1: sore throat, you may cough a little, vomiting, diarrhea again

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Speaker 1: affects you from head to toe. So usually the symptoms

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Speaker 1: that I've seen in my office mainly look like the flu,

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Speaker 1: or may come in looking like a stomach virus because

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Speaker 1: they got a lot of vomiting and diarrhea. Because of that.

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Speaker 1: Very rarely have I had to admit. One of my

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Speaker 1: children who had COVID nineteen one did get a at it,

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Speaker 1: but this child had several other chronic ailments and conditions,

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Speaker 1: and so a couple of long term effects though I

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Speaker 1: have seen with kids with COVID, and those have been

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Speaker 1: more so my teenagers, where they've had headaches for long

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Speaker 1: periods of time, or one had issues with her taste

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Speaker 1: and so couldn't taste or couldn't smell things for like

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Speaker 1: a couple of months and so lost weight because of

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Speaker 1: that fatigue. Or they had what we call that brain

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Speaker 1: fog when they couldn't really think through like their school work,

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Speaker 1: so they had to go to homeschool and not do

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Speaker 1: in person school. So that's been a couple of effects.

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Speaker 1: But I will say this, it is still very very

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Speaker 1: important for children to get the COVID vaccine because I

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Speaker 1: believe it was last year, I can't remember the year,

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Speaker 1: but it was the eleventh cause of death of children

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Speaker 1: in the United States. So it's still very serious, and

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Speaker 1: it's still very important for children of African American descent

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Speaker 1: to still get the COVID vaccine because I hate to

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Speaker 1: say it like this, but this is true. When white

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Speaker 1: people get a cold, Black people get flu or pneumonia,

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Speaker 1: So it does affect us more serious. So our rates

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Speaker 1: are higher for hospitalization and serious illness because of this

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Speaker 1: than other nationalities. More from my conversation with Dr Johnson

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Speaker 1: after the break, he can you speak to a little

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Speaker 1: bit about why that is. That's a good question, and

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Speaker 1: we really don't know why. I'll say, there's black women.

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Speaker 1: We've seen COVID affect us pretty hard, and we are

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Speaker 1: more prone to get conditions like lupus and other things

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Speaker 1: like that, other autoimmune problems, and so we're wondering if

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Speaker 1: it's because maybe the clotting system is friend because when

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Speaker 1: it first came out, we thought we were going to

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Speaker 1: be safe from COVID nineteen because majority of us have

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Speaker 1: OH positive blood. But that's not true at all. So

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Speaker 1: we really don't know why. We don't know if it's

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Speaker 1: because it's late presentation. Are we coming to our doctors

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Speaker 1: too late to be treated? Is it because the medical

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Speaker 1: system still does not I'm trying to say this where

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Speaker 1: I won't offend anyone but still tell the truth, right,

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Speaker 1: And so when we come and when we go to

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Speaker 1: the emergency room, and when we go to the doctor,

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Speaker 1: it's usually at a last resort, right. We try to

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Speaker 1: do our best at home, take all the medicine and

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Speaker 1: everything we can before we go to our doctor. So

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Speaker 1: is it because we're showing up sicker than usual? Then

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Speaker 1: we would have if not. And so when this first

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Speaker 1: illness first came out, I told the medical society and

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Speaker 1: the community here locally in Mobile County and Alabama that

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Speaker 1: when your patients arrive to the e R or to

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Speaker 1: your office, believe them when they say that they're sick,

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Speaker 1: because they wouldn't come otherwise. They're not just gonna show

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Speaker 1: up just to show up. They're having to take off work,

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Speaker 1: they're having to get to the e R or to

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Speaker 1: their doctor's office the best way they can. And they're

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Speaker 1: not just showing up just because it's something for them

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Speaker 1: to do. They're showing up because they're ill and you

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Speaker 1: have to take them serious for m hmm, yeah, I mean,

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Speaker 1: and I think that speaks to the long standing like

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Speaker 1: institutional racism we see, right, so the misinformation that has

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Speaker 1: existed related to lots of different illnesses and medical experience.

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Speaker 1: I mean, there's a long history. And then know that

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Speaker 1: a lot of that has fed into some of these

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Speaker 1: concerns as well. Definitely, definitely, And so that's why it's

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Speaker 1: so important that what you're doing and what others are

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Speaker 1: doing is putting out correct and right information for our

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Speaker 1: communities to receive. You mentioned a lot of symptoms, Dr Johnson,

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Speaker 1: and I'm in Georgia, and so all of this stuff

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Speaker 1: with like running nose and scratchy throat and all of

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Speaker 1: that also sounds like allergies. And I'm wondering for our kids,

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Speaker 1: should we be using like the COVID nineteen at home

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Speaker 1: tests to test them if they have any of these symptoms,

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Speaker 1: or should we bring them strange the doctor's office, Like

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Speaker 1: how should you proceed with any of these concerns or

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Speaker 1: any symptoms you've mentioned. You know, that's a good question.

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Speaker 1: And allergy season is big right especially around this time

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Speaker 1: of the year and sometimes all year round. So if

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Speaker 1: you have to know your children, if you see them

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Speaker 1: like running nose and cough and congestion, but now they're

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Speaker 1: sleeping more than usual or they're not eating as much,

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Speaker 1: then that would be the time to either do it

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Speaker 1: at home test or take them to their doctor to

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Speaker 1: find out what's going on. But especially if they have

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Speaker 1: other past medical problems like asthma or something like that,

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Speaker 1: or even high blood pressure diabetes. Those are the kids

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Speaker 1: who you don't want to play around with, who it

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Speaker 1: will not hurt for them to be seen by their

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Speaker 1: doctor just in case, because we know that if a

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Speaker 1: child or an adult has other comorbidities like diabetes, high pressure,

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Speaker 1: having to use a c PAP because they have sleep apnia,

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Speaker 1: then those are concerns that they need to see their

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Speaker 1: physician quicker than someone who does not have any medical

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Speaker 1: problems at all. Got it? And R. Johnson, what is

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Speaker 1: the latest update about vaccinations for children under five? So

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Speaker 1: I hear these parents and my heart goes out of them, right,

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Speaker 1: because it does feel like there's a large segment of

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Speaker 1: our population who just have not had any options, like

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Speaker 1: they're too young for the vaccine, and a lot of

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Speaker 1: them are too young even from mass And so what

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Speaker 1: is the latest update about when we might expect any

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Speaker 1: information about vaccines for kids younger than five? Good question,

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Speaker 1: because my three are all younger than five, and so

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Speaker 1: I'm ready. They got to go to school right without delay.

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Speaker 1: So what I've been hearing is that by the end

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Speaker 1: of june's a good possibility that the vaccine will be

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Speaker 1: ready for them, and it's at eight percent effective, which

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Speaker 1: is still really good. The COVID vaccine for US adults

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Speaker 1: is around, but I will still take for those five

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Speaker 1: and under children, and so as soon as that is available,

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Speaker 1: I do recommend. I was looking at the news and

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Speaker 1: I saw this update while I was in the bed,

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Speaker 1: and I turned over. I said, well, my kid's gonna

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Speaker 1: be first in line, Chad, because they need that vaccine

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Speaker 1: because they're sick so often, they're exposed to so much.

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Speaker 1: You know. Of course they see me with my mask,

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Speaker 1: but my kids are three and they're not even trying

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Speaker 1: to wear a mask. I put it on their face

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Speaker 1: and it's all here or here, it's everywhere. So yeah,

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Speaker 1: so as soon as it comes out for them, I

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Speaker 1: totally recommend it. For those six months and older, got

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Speaker 1: it And will it also be two doses or is

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Speaker 1: the doss changed for children you're going than five. I

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Speaker 1: think it will be two doses, and it may even

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Speaker 1: be three. So and I think it's like, you know,

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Speaker 1: you get one, that child gets one, and they come

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Speaker 1: back in about a month and get that second dose,

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Speaker 1: and then we'll see what they say about when the

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Speaker 1: third one should be given. So I think it's at

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Speaker 1: least two, but it may be right, got it, Got it.

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Speaker 1: We've already talked about some of the concerns around why

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Speaker 1: our community is sometimes hesitant to believe that we should

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Speaker 1: trust vaccines and all of those things, and what kinds

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Speaker 1: of information are wisdom would you like to share for

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Speaker 1: parents who might still feel a little hesitant about vaccinating

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Speaker 1: their children. Yeah, and it's a difficult conversation to have,

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Speaker 1: but a necessary one. And we don't want to just

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Speaker 1: give our children shots just willy nilly. But these vaccines

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Speaker 1: have been tried and proven. Right, we don't see people

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Speaker 1: with smallpox walking around or yellow fever or polio anymore

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Speaker 1: in our modern day society. And so that's because the

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Speaker 1: vaccines work. And so I encourage parents. And there's still

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Speaker 1: parents even in patients I take care of, who are

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Speaker 1: against it. And they've seen my commercial, right, they see

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Speaker 1: me on TV, they've heard me on the radio, and

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Speaker 1: they're still hesitant. But the main thing is I don't

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Speaker 1: try to brow beat them about it. I just encourage

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Speaker 1: the conversation. If they say no today, they may say

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Speaker 1: no the next time. They may say no a year later.

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Speaker 1: You know, we talked about it more often. What kind

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Speaker 1: of concerns they have? So talk to your pediatrician about

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Speaker 1: it and get the right information. M Yeah. So you

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Speaker 1: know the other thing, Dr Johnson, is that we are

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Speaker 1: seeing now on the news about monkey pox. Is this

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Speaker 1: something that we should be concerned about? And I don't remember.

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Speaker 1: Is there a monkey Pops vaccination we get its children? No,

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Speaker 1: not at all. I saw the Lord. I said, Lord,

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Speaker 1: I can only take one thing. So luckily I don't

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Speaker 1: know what's going on with this monkey Pops thing. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure we'll get more and more information about it. It's

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Speaker 1: nothing that I've seen in my office or anything yet,

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Speaker 1: nothing that they're warning us against. Then we need to

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Speaker 1: be out on the lookout for. There's nothing that the

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Speaker 1: state Public Health Department has put out and says, hey,

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Speaker 1: you need to watch out for this and this yet,

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Speaker 1: so when it comes time, we'll be ready. But right now,

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Speaker 1: just to have parents just concentrate on this and then

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Speaker 1: we'll move on to the next thing, because there's always

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Speaker 1: the next thing. Yeah, understandable. So what other vaccines do

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Speaker 1: we get those? As kids? I feel like, you know,

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Speaker 1: I have two young ones, and so I don't remember

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Speaker 1: all of what they've gotten or what all I got

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Speaker 1: as a kid. So what other vaccines are kids typically getting,

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Speaker 1: Like you know, there are shots or school so to speak,

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Speaker 1: whooping cough, polio vaccine. Again, I was telling somebody, like,

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Speaker 1: the last time I saw somebody with polio was my

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Speaker 1: great aunt Flossie. It was a beautiful woman, but she

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Speaker 1: had one leg that was shorter than the other because

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Speaker 1: she had polio. But that's something that we protect against.

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Speaker 1: Chicken pox. I had chicken pox as a child, but

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Speaker 1: they didn't have the vaccine available. And so my sister,

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Speaker 1: who is eight years younger than me, she's never had

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Speaker 1: chicken pox because she's had the vaccine. And so we

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Speaker 1: like to vaccinate against different strands of hepatitis, which is

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Speaker 1: an infection of the liver that is caused by a

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Speaker 1: virus and that can be given to people or children

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Speaker 1: by something as simple as eating something that is not

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Speaker 1: cooked properly, and so that's something we like to protect

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Speaker 1: against as well. And there's a numerous other bacteria we

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Speaker 1: protect against that can cause pneumonia and meningitis, pneumonias and

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Speaker 1: an infection of the lungs and meningitis is an infection

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Speaker 1: of the brain, so we protect against that for children

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Speaker 1: and our teenagers, especially the ones who are going off

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Speaker 1: to high school and college as they start living in

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Speaker 1: those close communities and quarters where it's more easily to

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Speaker 1: catch something than another child who may not be living

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Speaker 1: with their classmates. There are a number of vaccines and

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Speaker 1: stuff that we protect our children against, but it's very necessary.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for Dr Johnson. More from my conversation with

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Speaker 1: Dr Johnson after the break. The other conversation that I

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Speaker 1: think that has been happening in parallel to the conversation

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Speaker 1: around vaccines is also the mental health tool that this

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Speaker 1: has taken on our kids. There's lots of new research

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Speaker 1: coming out talking about anxiety getting higher in kids. We

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Speaker 1: do see, sadly, an increase in youth suicide rates, and

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Speaker 1: so can you talk a little bit about some of

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Speaker 1: the mental health impact we've seen from the pandemic on children. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and it's been really challenging, especially the anxiety portion of

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Speaker 1: it that we're saying. I'm having kids who are in

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Speaker 1: elementary school having issues dealing with going out in public

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Speaker 1: now to the point where they don't like to go

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Speaker 1: to the store. They just want to stay at home

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Speaker 1: and parents are having to homeschool them. They are actually

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Speaker 1: saying like their stomach hurts. Their mental health problems is

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Speaker 1: now becoming more somatic, meaning they're blaming it on a

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Speaker 1: headache or they're having issues with their stomach and having

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Speaker 1: to see different specialists, and the specialists telling them, hey,

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Speaker 1: your stomach is totally fine, but it's all up here.

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Speaker 1: And so the main thing I tell with parents is

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Speaker 1: to have real conversations with your children and be upfront.

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Speaker 1: Even if you have anxieties or something that makes you

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Speaker 1: concerned or nervous yourself, say hey, I understand what you're feeling,

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Speaker 1: because mommy is also feeling a little concerned about this

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Speaker 1: as well. But as your mother, as your parents, that

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Speaker 1: is my job to take care of you, so you

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Speaker 1: don't have to worry about that. And so seeing the

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Speaker 1: anxiety portion has been very concerning, and there have been

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Speaker 1: some uptick and depression, and some of the depression I

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Speaker 1: think has to deal with loss of family members. So

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Speaker 1: I have several kids who are now orphans because of

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Speaker 1: the COVID, and so you have to talk about these

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Speaker 1: mental health issues and our children. But also in some

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Speaker 1: of these surviving parents, because I've had children who've lost

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Speaker 1: grandparents due to COVID and that was their primary caregiver.

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Speaker 1: So it's been very challenging these past couple of years

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Speaker 1: having to navigate the system. Where as you know, Dr Joy,

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Speaker 1: it's not funded as well, especially in our communities, giving

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Speaker 1: them the resources that they need to be successful in

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Speaker 1: terms of that because the mental health portion plays such

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Speaker 1: a key part in their academics and also their physical

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Speaker 1: well being. You talked about, you know, the loss of

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Speaker 1: family members that I think a lot of kids also

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Speaker 1: like the loss of social interaction. There was a time

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Speaker 1: they were back in school or they were doing virtual school, right,

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Speaker 1: and so I think the loss of just like hanging

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Speaker 1: out with their friends and all of that has lived

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Speaker 1: to maybe some increase in depression and anxiety. Definitely, definitely,

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Speaker 1: and now they just miss a um. I took my

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Speaker 1: kids to Disney World at the end of last year

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Speaker 1: and they couldn't give Mickey Mouse a hug. It's really

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Speaker 1: just a small thing. So I know that you are

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Speaker 1: a pediatrician by training, and so mostly you see the

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Speaker 1: little people, but you also come into contact with their

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Speaker 1: parents right when parents are bringing and so what kinds

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Speaker 1: of conversation have you been having with parents about their

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Speaker 1: own mental health, because that has been a huge tool

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Speaker 1: as well. It's so important, especially my mom's who just

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Speaker 1: had babies and so you have postpartum depression and we're

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Speaker 1: talking about that, and so then you're wondering, like, in

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Speaker 1: the height of COVID, what could my child get COVID

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Speaker 1: because they're at daycare. Also, make sure that my parents

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Speaker 1: and my grandparents are staying on top of their physical

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Speaker 1: health in terms of making sure they're getting their annual checkups.

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Speaker 1: Don't forget your mammograms, don't forget your colonoscopies, all those

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Speaker 1: other things that sometimes gets put off because of COVID.

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Speaker 1: They don't want to go to the doctor because they're

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Speaker 1: scared they're gonna get COVID. Yeah, all that has been

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Speaker 1: very real. It has felt very hard, I think, to

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Speaker 1: make some of those decisions. And I think that's where

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Speaker 1: some of the frustration has come, is that it doesn't

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Speaker 1: feel like there was a largely like solid messaging in

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Speaker 1: place to help people figure out how to determine their

433
00:24:53,480 --> 00:24:58,120
Speaker 1: risk around certain things exactly exactly. And so that's why

434
00:24:58,240 --> 00:25:01,160
Speaker 1: it's still so important that they hear because people are

435
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,240
Speaker 1: still dying from heart attacks, they're still dying from strokes.

436
00:25:04,840 --> 00:25:08,680
Speaker 1: Kids now more than ever, especially at home, we're seeing

437
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,480
Speaker 1: what the COVID fifteen, the COVID twenty pounds more because

438
00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:15,080
Speaker 1: they're eating so much. So we're still seeing diabetes and

439
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,159
Speaker 1: high blood pressure and our children. So it's still something

440
00:25:18,200 --> 00:25:20,159
Speaker 1: that you hate, even though we may be in a

441
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,160
Speaker 1: pandemic or hopefully starting to inch our way out of it.

442
00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,960
Speaker 1: You can exercise, you can go outside, get some of

443
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:28,560
Speaker 1: that vitamin D. So you bring up another good point

444
00:25:28,640 --> 00:25:32,439
Speaker 1: around people have different opinions around vaccinations for kids, and

445
00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:35,200
Speaker 1: I think that this has cautome tension. I think even

446
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,640
Speaker 1: in families. Let's say you have a sister who has

447
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,440
Speaker 1: kids that she doesn't plans and vaccinate, Like, is it

448
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,200
Speaker 1: still okay for them to have play dates with other

449
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:46,520
Speaker 1: people who are not vaccinated? Can you give us some

450
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,479
Speaker 1: guidelines around how we should move forward with kids in

451
00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,919
Speaker 1: terms of maybe interacting with other kids who may not

452
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,359
Speaker 1: be vaccinated, or how do we make some decisions around that?

453
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,199
Speaker 1: And that could be tough because you don't want to

454
00:25:56,240 --> 00:25:59,680
Speaker 1: shelter your own children, right You can ask the parent

455
00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,000
Speaker 1: you are they having any symptoms, any cough front he knows,

456
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,600
Speaker 1: do your activities outside instead of in a confined space,

457
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,760
Speaker 1: So at a park where everybody's running around and doing

458
00:26:09,800 --> 00:26:12,680
Speaker 1: everything like that. Like I said, just plant the seed.

459
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,280
Speaker 1: And if they don't accept it then and that's okay

460
00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,639
Speaker 1: because at least you did what you know, you thought

461
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:21,359
Speaker 1: was right. If they know we're coming from a good place,

462
00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,320
Speaker 1: then I think people will be more apt to receive

463
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:28,040
Speaker 1: and well, thank you. So are there considerations or things

464
00:26:28,080 --> 00:26:30,480
Speaker 1: we should be thinking about in preparation for I know,

465
00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,600
Speaker 1: one school year just into maybe not even for some

466
00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:35,399
Speaker 1: people right, but in thinking about going back to school

467
00:26:35,440 --> 00:26:38,000
Speaker 1: in August? All the things we should be thinking about

468
00:26:38,040 --> 00:26:41,199
Speaker 1: in terms of talking with teachers around like mitigating risks.

469
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:43,680
Speaker 1: Are there anything that you suggest for that we still

470
00:26:43,760 --> 00:26:47,119
Speaker 1: keep up that good hand hygiene. We still gotta wash

471
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:49,880
Speaker 1: our hands. We still have to make sure we keep

472
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,320
Speaker 1: our hands out of our face and out of our mouths.

473
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:55,280
Speaker 1: Even as adults, we still have to do that. The

474
00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,080
Speaker 1: child shot records and all that stuff is up to date.

475
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,680
Speaker 1: You want to encourage your kids is to make sure

476
00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,639
Speaker 1: they're seen by their physician for their annual check up

477
00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:07,680
Speaker 1: so we can talk about even school readiness. Right, every

478
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,560
Speaker 1: time I see a kid come in for an office visit,

479
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:12,719
Speaker 1: whether they're sick or well, I always ask them how

480
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,080
Speaker 1: they're doing in school, because to me, that shows such

481
00:27:16,080 --> 00:27:19,920
Speaker 1: an important part how their physical and their mental health

482
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:22,960
Speaker 1: is doing, is how are they doing in school? And

483
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:25,600
Speaker 1: so we can talk about things like are they having

484
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,280
Speaker 1: issues with attention or how do you feel their reading

485
00:27:29,320 --> 00:27:33,160
Speaker 1: comprehension is doing, or their math or or their handwriting

486
00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:36,920
Speaker 1: skills and stuff like that, so that's something to be addressed.

487
00:27:36,920 --> 00:27:40,639
Speaker 1: And then we can also their speech so that way,

488
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:42,600
Speaker 1: like during the summer, we can send him the speech

489
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,000
Speaker 1: therapy or occupational therapy or even behavioral therapy, so we

490
00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,440
Speaker 1: can work on some of those attention and focusing things,

491
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:51,719
Speaker 1: so we can get the ball roling during the summer

492
00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 1: so they can make progress so by the time school

493
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:57,960
Speaker 1: years starts still be ready or on a better foot

494
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:01,840
Speaker 1: than they were before they ended the school year. Thank you, so,

495
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:03,760
Speaker 1: Dr Johnson, Can you tell us a little bit about

496
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,439
Speaker 1: your educational background and your path lead to you the

497
00:28:06,480 --> 00:28:10,000
Speaker 1: work that you do now? Yeah, thank you. My family's

498
00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 1: in Atlanta. I'm a graduate of Stone Mountain High School

499
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:16,480
Speaker 1: and then I went to Tennessee State in Nashville, where

500
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:20,880
Speaker 1: I did my bachelor's degree in biological sciences. And then

501
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:23,960
Speaker 1: I graduated from Harry Medical College, which is right down

502
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,080
Speaker 1: the street in Nashville, where I got my medical doctorate,

503
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,479
Speaker 1: so to outstanding historically black college and universities that I

504
00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,960
Speaker 1: really hold dear to my heart. And then I did

505
00:28:34,000 --> 00:28:37,760
Speaker 1: my pediatric training at Baylor College in Medicine in Houston, Texas.

506
00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:42,160
Speaker 1: And now I've been practicing in Mobile, Alabama. They also

507
00:28:42,240 --> 00:28:46,400
Speaker 1: call it l a Lower Alabama, and I'm glad to

508
00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:50,480
Speaker 1: be here. So I'm curious to just here how being

509
00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:54,520
Speaker 1: a pediatrician has changed for you five years ago versus

510
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:57,040
Speaker 1: what your practice looks like now, Like, what has that

511
00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,880
Speaker 1: changed look like. I'm definitely more busy, but I'm grateful

512
00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,000
Speaker 1: for it. I've got more gray, so I have more wisdom.

513
00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,720
Speaker 1: My patients and my parents take me a little bit

514
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:11,040
Speaker 1: more serious. And then it also helps that over the

515
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,840
Speaker 1: past what three years now going on for I became

516
00:29:13,880 --> 00:29:17,840
Speaker 1: a mom, and so I think parents appreciate that perspective

517
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:20,280
Speaker 1: because now I can give them some tips on what

518
00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:23,320
Speaker 1: I've done and some things that I was dead set on,

519
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 1: you know, stop the bottle at one year of age

520
00:29:25,880 --> 00:29:28,520
Speaker 1: and stop that pacifier at one year of age. Now

521
00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,560
Speaker 1: I can tell them what happened for for me and

522
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,600
Speaker 1: my kids and how it was a little bit different

523
00:29:33,240 --> 00:29:36,960
Speaker 1: and so definitely more understanding to the plight of parents.

524
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:38,720
Speaker 1: And what is it that you do. Do you have

525
00:29:38,800 --> 00:29:42,320
Speaker 1: a private practice in Mobile or are you doing something else? Yeah?

526
00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:45,640
Speaker 1: I had worked with three other great pediatricians and a

527
00:29:45,680 --> 00:29:49,480
Speaker 1: group practice in Mobile, Alabama. We don't see any hospitalized kids.

528
00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:53,000
Speaker 1: We used to before a certain period of time about

529
00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 1: four or five years ago, we did, but we cut

530
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,720
Speaker 1: that out of our practice, so now we just see

531
00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,400
Speaker 1: our patients totally in the office. Thank you, Dr Johnson.

532
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,120
Speaker 1: And where can people find you? Do you have a

533
00:30:03,160 --> 00:30:05,080
Speaker 1: website you'd like to share? And are you on any

534
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:09,520
Speaker 1: social media? Yeah? I am not really on Instagram. I

535
00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:14,320
Speaker 1: am somewhat on Twitter, definitely more on Facebook, but slacked

536
00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,520
Speaker 1: off in the past couple of months just because kids

537
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:20,880
Speaker 1: in life has just gotten so busy. But Dr Nina

538
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,760
Speaker 1: f j on Twitter and Nina for Johnson on Facebook

539
00:30:24,920 --> 00:30:27,920
Speaker 1: and your practice website, Oh yes, yes, yes, so actually

540
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:32,240
Speaker 1: we're just on Facebook or Infirmary Pediatrics and that's where

541
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 1: our practices. Yeah, well, thank you so much. Dr Johnson

542
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,040
Speaker 1: has been such a pleasure to chat with you. Yes,

543
00:30:38,080 --> 00:30:40,040
Speaker 1: and thank you for dealing with me and my voice.

544
00:30:40,040 --> 00:30:43,120
Speaker 1: My kids gave me something called rs V which causes

545
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,520
Speaker 1: a lot of coffin and wheezing, and so thank you

546
00:30:45,560 --> 00:30:51,000
Speaker 1: for the good work that you do. Thank you. I'm

547
00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:53,400
Speaker 1: so glad Dr Johnson was able to share her expertise

548
00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 1: with us today. To learn more about her and her work,

549
00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:58,680
Speaker 1: be sure to visit the show notes at Therapy from

550
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,120
Speaker 1: Black Girls dot com side session to sixty three, and

551
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,000
Speaker 1: be sure to text two of your girls and tell

552
00:31:04,080 --> 00:31:07,440
Speaker 1: them to check out this episode right now. If you're

553
00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:09,800
Speaker 1: looking for a therapist in your area, be sure to

554
00:31:09,880 --> 00:31:12,680
Speaker 1: check out our therapist directory at Therapy for Black Girls

555
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 1: dot com slash directory. And if you want to continue

556
00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:18,440
Speaker 1: digging into this topic or just be in community with

557
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:20,720
Speaker 1: other sisters, come on over and join us in the

558
00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,920
Speaker 1: Sister Circle. It's our cozy corner of the Internet design

559
00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:26,880
Speaker 1: just for black women. You can join us at community

560
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,640
Speaker 1: dot Therapy for Black Girls dot com. This episode was

561
00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:34,000
Speaker 1: produced by Freda Lucas and Elise Ellis and editing was

562
00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:37,200
Speaker 1: done by Dennison Bradford. Thank you all so much for

563
00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,080
Speaker 1: joining me again this week. I look forward to continuing

564
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,600
Speaker 1: this conversation with you all real soon. Take it care,