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Recent happenings in vaccinations

10.15.2012

Vaccinations, sometimes offered at immediate care facilities and urgent medical services, help protect against a litany of diseases. Especially during cold and flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that individuals older than 6 months undergo a vaccination to prevent the flu. These preventive treatments can also be used against contagious diseases like whooping cough, as well as the human papillomavirus.

Recently, an article appeared in the Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, in which Dutch researchers from the University of Groningen and the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment make a case for use of vaccinations delivered through the lungs. Should it ever become better-tested and widespread, this method, called pulmonary vaccination, may be more appealing to patients who are averse to needles. In addition, the scientists say it could more effectively combat respiratory infections, such as whooping cough.

"The lung is an immunologic powerhouse that remains largely unexplored. Theoretically, we should be able to avoid needles and simply inhale our vaccines," said editor-in-chief of the journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Gerald C. Smaldone. 

HPV vaccination shown to protect against cancer, not shown to spur promiscuity
Alongside the propagation of this new theory about potential innovations for vaccinations, fears surrounding a specific type of vaccination may have been debunked. On the heels of a British study that came to similar conclusions through direct-reporting from more than 1,000 teenage girls, newer research from the Kaiser Permanente Center indicates that vaccinations for the human papillomavirus (HPV) do not have a noteworthy impact, one way or another, on how much unprotected sex teenage girls have.

The Los Angeles Times says that upon learning of the HPV vaccination - which may ensure that people who contract the infection don't develop genital warts or rare cancers - some parents were concerned that their daughters would confuse immunity for HPV for immunity from all STDs. Therefore, it was thought that the preventive measure would lead teenage girls to engage in more sexually risky behavior.

However, according to Kaiser's three-year survey of almost 1,4000 girls who had received the HPV vaccination at the ages of 11 or 12, their subjects did not take pregnancy tests, become diagnosed with an STD, or seek contraceptives at a higher rate than young women of the same age who had not received the vaccination.

Categories: Health and Wellness 

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