Flu Immunizations at Advanced Pediatrics 2013-2014

Flu Immunizations 2013-2014

Advanced Pediatrics is pleased to announce that this year’s influenza immunizations are now available in our office.

Call now for your appointment on September 21, October 12, or November 9  for our Flu Vaccine 
Days (appointments are 8AM-Noon each of the three days).

Influenza is a virus that sweeps across our region every winter, typically appearing in December and leaving our community around April.

This virus is responsible for a rather astounding amount of winter illness, causing fully 1/3 of all colds, flus, and ear infections.

Influenza immunization is now recommended for everyone, except for those less than 6 months old.

Influenza immunization comes in two formats:  a shot and a nasal spray.  The shot contains dead virus and is fine for anyone over 6 months of age to use.  The nasal spray contains live virus and should not be used by anyone less than 2 years old, older than 50 years old, or anyone with a chronic illness, including asthma.

With regard to how many influenza vaccines is a complete series, the answer is very simple.  Anyone under age 9 who has never had an influenza vaccine, needs two influenza vaccines at least one month apart to be fully protected.

That also means anyone who has had an influenza vaccine in the past only needs one this year.

Overall, the data show that the nasal spray tends to work better- the immunity covers more strains than are in the vaccine and lasts longer.  But, at the same time, the shot works quite well, too.

Getting Your Influenza Vaccine at Advanced Pediatrics

In order to make sure the entire practice gets the chance to be protected from influenza infection in a timely and easy manner, we are going to offer influenza vaccinations in two ways:

1. Any child in the practice 6 months of age or older can get their influenza vaccine at any visit to office, whether it be for a health supervision visit (check-up), sick visit, or conference.
2. We will once again offer special Flu Vaccine Clinic days to allow a large number of people the chance to simply come in and get their flu vaccine in a few minutes time.

The Flu Vaccine Clinic days will be held on three Saturdays:

September 21
October 12 and
November 9,
Each starting at 8AM.  You can call now to set up your time for these days.

The outlook for our supply looks good, no shortages are expected.  

Even so, due to regulations we have to limit our flu vaccine offerings to children in families, we are not able to offer influenza vaccinations to parents anymore.

We at Advanced Pediatrics are very pleased to be able to help make sure this winter is as healthy as possible.

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*Disclaimer* The comments contained in this electronic source of information do not constitute and are not designed to imply that they constitute any form of individual medical advice. The information provided is purely for informational purposes only and not relevant to any person's particular medical condition or situation. If you have any medical concerns about yourself or your family please contact your physician immediately. In order to provide our patients the best uninfluenced information that science has to offer,we do not accept samples of drugs, advertising tchotchkes, money, food, or any item from outside vendors.

Dr. Lavin Publishes a Letter in The New York Times

English: Book 1, page 1, of De Rerum Natura by Titus Lucretius Carus, from the 1675 edition by Tanaquil Faber (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Dr. Lavin Publishes a Letter in 

The New York Times

On August 13, 2013, The New York Times published a letter to the Editor by Dr. Arthur Lavin on a topic of science.

Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/13/science/space/atoms-everywhere.html?ref=science&_r=0

The letter was in response to an article in the Science Times about the notion that everything in the universe is made out of the same stuff- atoms.  That is, the atoms in stars, in trees, in rivers, in Saturn's rings, in birds, and in us, are exactly the same material.

The Times article noted that the first person to make such a claim made it in 1929.

My letter noted that this notion, that we are all made of the same stuff, actually goes back over 2,400 years to the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who developed the original notion of atoms made by Democritus over 2,500 years ago.   The notion that stars, tables, and humans are all made of exactly the same material was deeply offensive to many religions early in their history, leading to a vilification of Epicurus.

That is why we tend to think of his thinking as simply promoting a life of pleasure, hence the phrase Epicurean.   But Epicurus was not a hedonist, he was a very thoughtful philosopher whose core thought was indeed that we are all made out of atoms, that the atoms themselves are forever.  But they tend to aggregate into various forms that are temporary.  Some of these forms work well, some do not.  Those that work well continue, and so he was the first person to write about natural selection and evolution.   He did speak about pleasure, but his thought was that it is so extraordinary that of all ways atoms could combine, some form living beings, and against all odds, some form each of us.  The moral of his view of things was that to be alive is so extraordinary, that each of us should be profoundly grateful to be alive and take pleasure in this tremendous gift.  This was the pleasure he promoted, not hedonism.

Epicurus' philosophy was expressed in a magnificent poem by the Roman Lucretius about 2100 years ago, in a piece called De Rerum Natura.   The reaction to Epicurus philosophy was so extreme that nearly every copy of this masterpiece was destroyed.   For over a thousand years it was forgotten, until its rediscovery in a remote German monastery by a great Italian bibliophile in the 1400's.   The rediscovery of this poem inspired thinkers across Europe, and revived the notion that we are of the same stuff as all else.  Many credit the power of this idea coming back into European minds as a great source of the power of the Renaissance.  We know, for example the poem had a great impact on Galileo and helped propel him towards his discoveries, which in turn created the foundation for modern science.

Lately science has gotten a bad rap.  Certain products of science pose great risks to us, including military technology, nuclear reactors.  Others cause great worry such as genetically altered foods.  And science seems behind the relentless creation of products that continue to be hawked such as prescription drugs.

But science is also the entire basis of all the extraordinary benefits of modern life.  We now live over twice as long as people did, as recently as 1900.   Our children now live to adulthood nearly free of the once nearly universal threat of disease.   Food is more abundant than ever in history.  We live in clean homes that are adjusted to stay at a comfortable temperature the year round.  And the explosion of information and innovation allows me to write this essay and have it available to everyone in the world with the stroke of one button.

So, enjoy the brief letter.  It is a reminder that science was not always allowed to flourish in human societies.  I do think we live in an era where science is vulnerable.  Let the story of Epicurus and Lucretius remind us that we can only count on science continuing to help us live well if we defend the very idea of science.

My best,

Dr. Arthur Lavin

Reference

All the information regarding Epicurus and Lucretius in this essay is credited to Stephen Greenblatt and his book The Swerve.  This is perhaps one of the most interesting and powerful books about science and humanity I have read.

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*Disclaimer* The comments contained in this electronic source of information do not constitute and are not designed to imply that they constitute any form of individual medical advice. The information provided is purely for informational purposes only and not relevant to any person's particular medical condition or situation. If you have any medical concerns about yourself or your family please contact your physician immediately. In order to provide our patients the best uninfluenced information that science has to offer,we do not accept samples of drugs, advertising tchotchkes, money, food, or any item from outside vendors.