There is a lot of misinformation about vaccines, so each month Texas Medicine magazine highlights a disease that childhood and adult immunizations can prevent. The material is designed to help you talk to your patients about the severity of these diseases and help them understand the benefits of vaccines.
Texas Medicine recently highlighted Meningococcal B, a bacterial infection that can affect the blood, brain, and spinal cord with lasting effects like learning difficulties, hearing loss, or limb amputation.
The Meningococcal B vaccine is relatively new, having won Food and Drug Administration approval in 2014. This presents a problem for physicians: Because there is an older vaccine for the other types of meningococcal bacteria, many patients who’ve had that vaccine wrongly believe they’re also protected against MenB.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends it for kids 10 and older only if they have certain health problems or are exposed to a disease outbreak. The preferred target age range is 16-18 years.
For more information about talking to your patients about Hepatitis B, including a printable copy of the infographic below and a simple educational video, see the Texas Medical Association’s website.
TMA designed the “Talk to Patients About” series to inform patients of the facts about these diseases and to help them understand the benefits of vaccinations to prevent illness. Diseases covered so far include:
- Flu,
- Measles,
- Mumps,
- Polio,
- Tetanus,
- Pneumococcal disease,
- Human papillomavirus (HPV),
- Chickenpox and shingles,
- Hepatitis A,
- Pertussis (whooping cough),
- Rubella (also known as German measles), and
- Rotavirus.
Visit the TMA website to see efforts to raise immunization awareness and how funding is used to increase vaccination rates.
TMA actively works to improve vaccination rates in Texas through its Be Wise – ImmunizeSM program. More than 340,000 shots have been given to Texas children, adolescents, and adults since the program began in 2004. It is funded in 2019 by the TMA Foundation thanks to H-E-B, TMF Health Quality Institute, Pfizer Inc., and gifts from physicians and their families.
Last Updated On
September 11, 2023
Originally Published On
June 17, 2019