We take a look at the historical impact of vaccinations in the trajectory life-limiting infectious diseases.
We continue our series about deaths you don’t have to die from by talking about immunizations. There are behaviors that we have that can rob us of the chance to live out our full life span; in the United States this is considered 80 years for women and 75 for men.
We now have vaccines to prevent more than 20 life-threatening diseases, helping people of all ages live longer, healthier lives. Immunization currently prevents 3.5 million to 5 million deaths every year from diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, flu, and tuberculosis. Diseases we no longer need to get sick and potentially die from if we receive immunizations against them.
In this Episode:
- 04:41 – Recipe of the Week: Honey & Garlic Chicken
- 06:28 – Supercentenarian of the Week: Hester Ford
- 08:47 – A History of Tuberculosis – a reading from Call the Midwife
- 20:18 – Can Immunizations Save Lives? What History Shows Us
- 24:22 – 2024 Recommended Immunizations for 50 and Older
- 32:48 – “My Mirror” – Reflections on Aging
- 35:32 – Outro
“Call the Midwife” – America’s Painful History With Tuberculosis
Marianne shares a reading from the book and hit series Call the Midwife, which talks about the dreaded path of tuberculosis in America. It took years to make the connection that an airborne, slow-growing bacillus was responsible for the disease, and even longer to develop public health recommendations and treatments for it. It is a good reminder of the difficulties that even only just a generation or two before us endured before immunizations were available.
Can Immunizations Save Lives?
Many lives have been saved, especially since vaccines were made available worldwide. Measles for example was nearly eradicated thanks to global immunization efforts. But even in the United States, cervical cancer deaths are still climbing, even though a vaccine can prevent it if given early enough.
References
- Mortality in the United States, 2022: db492-tables.pdf (cdc.gov)
- Principal Causes of Death in the United States, 1923 Source: Public Health Reports (1896-1970), Vol. 39, No. 51 (Dec. 19, 1924), pp. 3210-3211 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/4577400 Accessed: 21-06-2024 18:15 +00:00 4577400.pdf (jstor.org)
- Hard Work and Fizzy Drinks: What It Takes to Live Past 110: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/21/arts/oldest-people-advice-long-life-supercentenarians.html
- Green, R. A. (1998). My Mirror. Annuals of Internal Medicine,129(2), p 159.
- Sharma, M., Khayyam, K., Kumar, V., Imam, F., Pillai, K., & Behera, D. (2008). Influence of honey on adverse reactions due to anti-tuberculosis drugs in pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Continental J. Pharmacology and Toxicology Research © Wilolud Online Journals, 2, 6-11.
- Viswanathan, V., Phadatare, A. G., & Mukne, A. (2014). Antimycobacterial and Antibacterial Activity of Allium sativum Bulbs. Indian journal of pharmaceutical sciences, 76(3), 256–261.
- Delaha EC, Garagusi VF. 1985. Inhibition of mycobacteria by garlic extract (Allium sativum). Antimicrob Agents Chemother 27. https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.27.4.485
- Zhou F, Jatlaoui TC, Leidner AJ, et al. Health and Economic Benefits of Routine Childhood Immunizations in the Era of the Vaccines for Children Program — United States, 1994–2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2024;73:682–685. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7331a2
- Shattock, A. J., Johnson, H. C., Sim, S. Y., Carter, A., Lambach, P., Hutubessy, R. C. W., Thompson, K. M., Badizadegan, K., Lambert, B., Ferrari, M. J., Jit, M., Fu, H., Silal, S. P., Hounsell, R. A., White, R. G., Mosser, J. F., Gaythorpe, K. A. M., Trotter, C. L., Lindstrand, A., . . . Bar-Zeev, N. (2024). Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization. The Lancet, 403(10441), 2307-2316. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(24)00850-X
- Ending TB Is Within Reach — So Why Are Millions Still Dying? – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
- Why tuberculosis cases rose recently after decades of decline (nbcnews.com)
- FastStats – Life Expectancy (cdc.gov)
- National Vaccination Coverage Among Adolescents Aged 13–17 Years — National Immunization Survey-Teen, United States, 2023 | MMWR (cdc.gov)
- Adult immunization schedule updated with new vaccines for 2024 – Harvard Health
- Amazon.com: Call the Midwife: Farewell to the East End (The Midwife Trilogy Book 3) eBook : Worth, Jennifer: Kindle Store
Resources:
- 11 Effective Home Remedies for Tuberculosis | Organic Facts
- Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule for ages 19 years or older; 2024 U.S. (cdc.gov)
- All About the Recommended Immunization Schedules – HealthyChildren.org
- About Call the Midwife | PBS
- The Complete Call the Midwife Stories: True Stories of the East End in the 1950s Jennifer Worth. Available here: https://a.co/d/d9VfQpT
Supercentenarian of the Week: Hester Ford
We celebrate the life of Hester Ford, believed to have been born on Aug. 15, 1905 or 1904, on a farm in Lancaster County, S.C., where she grew up tilling fields and picking cotton. Theodore Roosevelt was president at the time. She married John Ford at 14 and gave birth to the first of her 12 children at age 15.
The couple moved to Charlotte around 1960, and Mrs. Ford began working as a nanny. Mr. Ford died three years later, at 57. Mrs. Ford continued living in their home independently, until she was 108. You can read more about Mrs. Ford Here.
“My Mirror”
Charlie reads a reflection about aging from the Annuls of Internal Medicine titled “My Mirror” by Robert A. Green, MD.
Recipe of the Week:
We talk about historical tuberculosis. Honey and garlic both can ease the symptoms of active TB, and are just good and healthy any time. If a vampire comes your way, you’re prepared too! Follow this link to Cafe Delights for tasty Easy Honey Garlic Chicken.
https://blog.feedspot.com/palliative_care_podcasts/
Everyone Dies: and yes, it is normal!
Everyone Dies (and yes, it is normal) is a story about a young boy named Jax who finds something special on the beach where he and his grandpa Pops are enjoying a wonderful day. Pops helps Jax understand that death is a normal part of life. This book provides an age appropriate, non-scary, comfortable way to introduce the important topic of mortality to a preschool child. Its simple explanation will last a lifetime. Autographed copies for sale at: www.everyonediesthebook.com. Also available at Amazon
Mourning Jewelry
We offer a way to memorialize your loved one or treasured pet with a piece of handmade jewelry. When people comment on it and the wearer can say for example “I received this when my mother died” which opens the conversation about this loss. All our jewelry is made with semi-precious stones and beads, vintage beads, and pearls. You can choose between earrings or bracelets and the color family. Learn More
