Over the next few days, as the Skepchicks and the Women Thinking Free Foundation prepare to launch the Hug Me! I’m Vaccinated campaign, I will be posting videos. These will be stories, examples, and maybe even an educational video or two, to emphasize the importance of getting your Tdap booster.
If you will be at Dragon Con, you have no excuse. We organized a vaccine clinic to be held in the Mall at Peachtree Center, adjacent to the D*C hotels, where we are providing free Tdap vaccines to any adults who need one.
We are in the middle of a pertussis epidemic, and an epic one at that. And the people who are most risk of serious complications, including death, from this disease are not able to be vaccinated against it. The herd needs to rise to the occasion. Your vaccine could save someone else’s life. And if we all get vaccinated, we will save lives. That’s how it works.
It’s a shot. It takes less than a single second to administer. Get it. Because no parent should have to tell this story:
Great work Elyse, WTF and Skepchicks! I think it’s fantastic that you’ve put together this clinic for D*C.
I got my Hep A and TDaP boosters last week because of you all.
Please keep up the great work.
This is the second article today that has mislabeled the DTaP vaccine as “TDaP”. That’s going to mess with people.
@autotroph:
Huh. So, which is it? MMWR refers to it as Tdap (http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/wk/mm5901-Immunization.pdf). That’s what I checked this morning to look at the suggested adult immunization schedule.
I just got off the phone with my doctor’s office. The tetanus shot I got in ’06 was the Tdap/DTap. Hug me, dammit!
Thanks for all you’re doing, Elyse.
@CatFurniture:
Thanks – you prompted me to do some more research, and it seems that DTaP and Tdap are different vaccines (note the case differences).
Tdap is the booster given to older children and adults, while DTaP is the childhood vaccine. There is no TDaP, it seems. (Case differences jump out at me: I’m a programmer.)
I just confirmed with my doctor’s office that shot I was given a couple of weeks ago that they had only referred to as a tetanus booster was actually Tdap. So I’m not only immunized; my body has responded with all of its immunological goodness :)
@autotroph: According to your link and the TDap link on that page (this is my summary, I could be confused about details), DTaP is the children’s vaccine, given in several doses up to the age of 5. TDaP is the adult vaccine, given to teenagers and adults. Adults should get a booster every 10 years. If they have never received TDaP, they should get it. Otherwise they should get td (Tetanus and Diphtheria.)
I’m not sure why adults should only get one TDaP. I thought the pertussis part wore off after about 10 years, just like the T & D parts.
But in any case, I’m sure the D*C vaccine clinic is
TDaP, not DTaP, since it is targeted at adults.
Edit: Just saw your followup… Damn this fact based stuff is hard to get right. Just give me that glass of water and let me sleep with a crystal under my pillow instead!
@autotroph: Exactly. I automatically typed TDaP as an acronym, hence the unnecessary capitalization. I then checked it against what Elyse had written.
On a side note, I still have the handouts that the doctors office gave me last week. Very nice info sheets from the CDC. Risks and benefits. The first section is called ‘Why Get Vaccinated?’
@autotroph:
We are giving away free Tdap. The adult vaccine. The article is correct.
I corrected the case :)