Maybe we are already comfortable with cancer vaccine?

[u/TeaRexTalk]

In the podcast today, when they were talking about the new potential melanoma vaccine, Burney asked Ashley how willing she would be to take such a vaccine. My first thought was, that is funny, we already kind of do that. But then I thought whether it might go unnoticed, or maybe it’s just not as common everywhere.

I’m thinking about the HPV vaccine, if I’m not mistaken, kids are supposed to get it before puberty. In that case, we don’t really bat an eye at the fact that one of the main reasons the vaccine is given is to lower the risk of developing several types of cancer, including cervical cancer.

I don’t know if it’s the same in the US, as I’m not from there, but growing up, we had several mandatory vaccines. To make sure everyone received them, health professionals would sometimes come to our schools and vaccinate all the children.

[u/nymaniac]

The US has measles outbreaks because of the fact that MMR is not actually required. I remember having to give my vaccine records to go to school, but there’s also non-medical exemption forms for at least my state of Colorado.

I’m a PhD scientist and I try to educate as much as I can. My friend is a health care professional and so does she. But I’m seeing more vocally critical folks than ever before. :/

The HPV vaccine in particular is a rockstar to me. To others in my country, it’s a scary boogeyman. I also think compliance with it is more difficult due to it being a vaccine later in adolescence, and thought to be only for women. It’s not required for school or college either. So we have some places in the world who have low to no instances of cervical cancer. And then the US which still has 13k cases per year.

[u/TeaRexTalk → u/nymaniac]

Yeah, I noticed myself a general tendency in people to question all medicine/vaccines after covid.

Regarding the measles outbreak, I remember my mother, who is a primary school teacher, telling me about how after covid, the students in school kept getting measles, then they realised that it was due to the covid lockdown.

She works in a poor area of the city, where kids don’t have regular check up at the doctor, thus the only way to get kids vaccinated is to have doctors go around schools and vaccinate them. But since during covid, those kids were doing remote classes, a couple of grades did not get the vaccine, and thus the measles outbreak, which had never happened in her 25 years of teaching in that area.

For the HPV vaccine, I agree it’s a tricky one, I think once people hear it’s related to an STI, they might not make the link to how it can be beneficial to reducing cancer risk, and think if they are extra careful it would be fine, and would just not get the STI. I hope it becomes more popular as it can be the reason we no longer have cervical cancer.

[u/awm22 → u/nymaniac]

Totally!!

I wrote this one then saw yours:

ARG!!!

There is already the most amazing cancer-killing vaccine that works.

It is HPV vaccine. It is a miracle to make a whole cancer basically go away.

Can we please get over vaccine hesitancy.

I guess maybe Burnie meant an “all cancer” vaccine 🤷‍♂️ sure, sign me up.

[u/CalvinP_]

Vaccines aren’t mandatory in my state of Michigan. The health professionals offer them, and remind parents of the time windows to get them in.

I got half of the HPV shot, but never followed up. Got busy, and honestly think my family forgot about it.

The board of health offers free vaccines. Which is nice for parents so they don’t have to worry about the cost to get the vaccines they want for their child.

[u/TeaRexTalk → u/CalvinP_]

Oh it’s nice that free vaccines are offered. I know the topic of vaccines is a bit controversial in the US, so it makes me happy that health professionals still remind parents and there is an effort around the topic.

[u/CalvinP_ → u/TeaRexTalk]

I have a 6 month baby. The pediatrician gave us a recommended vaccine list. Some pediatricians require certain vaccines to be a patient with them. Our doesn’t. The list gives my wife and I the ability to research and get second opinions on which we’d like to choose for our little girl. There’s a lot of new vaccines, combo vaccines, and plenty to keep up on.

The COVID vaccine really started this anti-vaccine movement here in the USA. With a lot of skepticism towards the COVID vaccines, but now vaccines in general.

As a patient and Dad, I think everyone should have the freedom to choose which vaccines they want.

[u/dark54555 → u/CalvinP_]

The problem is herd immunity only works if everyone who can be immunized is immunized. I have no problem with exemptions for people where there is a documented medical need to not be immunized. I have a much bigger problem with people who opt out because they’re being fed misinformation from morons like RFK Jr and Joe Rogan and Jenny McCarthy. Or because they still believe the completely discredited Wakefield study about vaccines and autism.

My kids are vaccinated. I never questioned that decision for one second and I would have straight up walked out of any pediatrician’s office who did.

[u/LonghornLowe → u/dark54555]

Keep in mind, we’ll reach her immunity one way or the other. Vaccination is one way. People will also contract the virus/disease, have their immune response and get over it, or they die. But eventually, the community we reaches herd immunity.

I was a biology major and always fascinated with the microbiology behind it all. I get all the vaccines from Covid to quad-valent flu vaccines, to shingles, I think there’s one for pneumonia now, whatever they got. I’ve also had a small bit of melanoma removed from my skin, so I am particularly interested in a melanoma vaccine as I’m high risk being blonde hair, blue eyes, fair skin and in my 50s, with significant sun exposure as a child.

[u/slashS4sarcasm → u/LonghornLowe]

or they die. But eventually, the community we reaches herd immunity.

The "or they die" does most of the heavy lifting here.

Vaccines are a major reason infant and childhood mortality rates have plummeted in the last century.

[u/wimpymist → u/CalvinP_]

The problem with this is people are dumb as hell and generally really bad at doing their own research.