Faculty Bibliography

This isn't to say that mandatory vaccines don't have their place, just that mandates should be reserved for situations where a vaccine can play a major role in fighting back a clear public health risk. In the case of seasonal flu, neither the risk of the disease nor the benefit of the vaccine is big enough to warrant forcing health care workers to receive it. Measles, another highly contagious and deadly virus, is another p[oint of reference: Vaccination of health care workers is recommended by the CDC but not mandatory. The chances of a health care worker carrying measles isn't high enough to warrant mandatory vaccine. Instead, mandates are targeted on the most vulnerable population: children. According to the World Health Organization, increased measles vaccination resulted in a three-fourths drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2010, when 85(PERCENT) of the world's children received one dose of the vaccine by age 1, up from 72(PERCENT) in 2000

According to the National Center for PTSD, 77 percent of children who witness a school shooting and 35 percent of the kids who see violence in the area they live are affected

According to the National Center for PTSD, 77% of children who witness a school shooting and 35% of the kids who see violence in the area they live are affected

Public shootings release powerful emotions, both for survivors and for the families of the victims. The same deep center of the brain that processes fear also handles courage and caring. We need to fill our brains with positive emotions for the sake of our health. The survivors have also been wounded. The initial lifesaving response, fight or flight, which involves an outpouring of stress hormones triggered by the brain's fear center, gives way over the succeeding weeks to post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the National Center for PTSD, 77(PERCENT) of children who witness a school shooting and 35(PERCENT) of the kids who see violence in the area they live are affected. The same long-term impact related to proximity to the shooting was found in a study of the 1998 Thurston High School shooting in Oregon. Retrospective studies on the infamous Columbine High School shooting in 1999 found that because of the intensive involvement of the news media, the impact went well beyond the town of Littleton, Colo., where the shootings occurred and impacted attitudes across the nation. Survivors of Columbine continue to experience flashbacks, though no formal study has been conducted

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has significant jurisdiction over prescription drugs, but little over beverages, unless the potential for harm has been demonstrated. In the news are popular energy drinks 5-Hour Energy, Monster Energy, and Rockstar Energy, which are listed as dietary supplements. The author is concerned about people who may have underlying undiagnosed heart disease or other conditions that could be provoked by these drinks. In most cases they are safe, but not all. Caffeine is an active chemical that can cause a rise in heart rate, blood pressure, dizziness, and is not always well tolerated

Fungi are everywhere, but one place they are not supposed to be is inside your medications. So it is very concerning that people are in the midst of a fungal meningitis outbreak emanating from the New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Massachusetts. There are over 7,500 compounding pharmacies in the US, and most do good work, taking medicines produced by a manufacturer and packaging it for public consumption, often at a reduced cost. In this case, NECC contaminated a steroid injection with two fungi, and over 14,000 patients who got back injections are at risk of infection

Even as facts such as the reported symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, stiff neck, confusion, nausea and vomiting are being broadcast on every TV and radio station, listeners naturally react emotionally rather than after careful consideration. [...]we need to shine a spotlight on the fact that not all the compounding pharmacies are doing their work safely

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta is on the front lines, meeting daily to review new developments and working with state and local health departments to track potential cases. [...]we need to shine a spotlight on the fact that not all the compounding pharmacies are doing their work safely

Even as facts such as the reported symptoms of fever, headache, malaise, stiff neck, confusion, nausea and vomiting are being broadcast on every TV and radio station, listeners naturally react emotionally rather than after careful consideration. [...]we need to shine a spotlight on the fact that not all the compounding pharmacies are doing their work safely

With 15 people dead and more than 200 sickened after taking seemingly routine injections for back pain, it's no wonder that the headlines have people worried. About 14,000 additional patients in 14 states received similar injections, which contain potentially fungus-contaminated steroids. If there ever was a time to be afraid, this sure sounds like it, but should we be? We fear the unknown, we fear being struck down with no warning by a tiny microbe. We have the feeling that it can attack anyone, even though it can't. Previous health scares from anthrax to West Nile virus to SARS and bird flu have created far more worry than actual risk. People watching the frightening news about meningitis on TV need to understand that though it can take weeks to develop symptoms, they can not get sick unless they have received an injection of methylprednisolone (a steroid) or another medication (two heart patients have now gotten sick) that was compounded by the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts. They need to know that the fungi causing meningitis are not contagious. You cannot get it by touching someone who has it or breathing the same air