Personal Stories

Once a Childhood Rite of Passage, Chickenpox is Vaccine Preventable

Most adults recall their experiences with chickenpox with great detail.  I remember that I was visiting my grandparents in Florida and they had planned...


The Nurse’s Role in Immunization Services

To begin our introductions of the Every Child By Two Scientific Advisory Board, I had the pleasure of interviewing one of our distinguished members...


Callie Cares Means We Will Never Forget

Callie was considered a miracle baby. It took Katie and Craig Van Tornhout five years and four miscarriages before they finally welcomed their precious daughter Callie into their lives. However,...


Our Life Without Emily: Flu, Fear, Guilt and Regret

Our daughter Emily died suddenly and tragically from influenza when she was only 3½-years-old. She died in our bed, in her pajamas, watching cartoons...


I’m a Pediatrician and I Gave My Daughter Pertussis

While I was pregnant, I spent a whole lot of time researching strollers, but failed to take any time to get a vaccine...


Questioning Whether To Get Your Child the HPV Vaccine? Read This

In June 2006, the first human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was licensed for use in the U.S.  Rather than celebrate the development of a vaccine...


My Polio Story is an Inconvenient Truth to Those Who Refuse Vaccines

by Judith Shaw Beatty In 1949, the year I was hit by the poliovirus, 42,000 cases of polio were reported in the United States...


What Parents of Every Teen Should Know About Meningitis

While anyone can contract meningococcal disease, adolescents and young adults are among the population who have a higher risk for the disease due to...


Celebrating the Life of ECBT Cofounder Betty Bumpers 1925 – 2018

As 2018 comes to a close, Vaccinate Your Family’s Shot of Prevention blog offers a tribute to Betty Flanagan Bumpers, Cofounder of Every Child...


Ethan Lindenberger Wants to Help Stop the Lies About Vaccines

You may be familiar with Ethan Lindenberger, the eighteen-year-old who got himself vaccinated despite his parents’ anti-vaccine beliefs, and who most recently appeared before...