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NEWS RELEASES
Houston, TX (Jan. 24, 2008)
– Texas Children’s Hospital today announced the creation of the
Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research, a new program dedicated
to providing parents and the medical community with up-to-date
information about vaccines and conducting research that will
contribute to the health of the nation’s children and families.
The center is the collaboration of four Texas Children’s Hospital
physicians who are experts in the fields of vaccine education and
research, pediatrics, infectious diseases, and adolescent medicine.
The center’s executive director is
Carol J. Baker, M.D. and
Julie A.
Boom, M.D.;
C. Mary Healy, M.D.; and
Amy B. Middleman, M.D. serve as
directors of their expert fields.
This innovative center drew praise from Dr. Richard Carmona, 17th
Surgeon General of the United States (2002-2006), vice chairman of
Canyon Ranch and president of the non-profit Canyon Ranch Institute,
who said, "The center's education and research initiatives will have
a significant impact on disease prevention and help protect and
improve the health and well-being of children and families in the
community and across the nation."
The Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research provides its Web site,
www.vaccine.texaschildrens.org, as a central resource where parents
and health care professionals can find accurate information. The
site outlines the vaccines recommended at each stage of a child’s
development, from infancy through adolescence, and provides a
convenient link to a vaccine scheduler. Popular myths surrounding
vaccines are addressed and dispelled with the latest medical
findings. To help keep families healthy throughout their lifetime,
information on vaccines for pregnant women and adults are included.
Site visitors will also find information on vaccine safety,
descriptions of the diseases prevented by each vaccine, research
findings, news and links to other vaccine resources.
“Parents today are exposed to a lot of conflicting and sometimes
inaccurate information that can lead them to delay or refuse
vaccines for their children or themselves,” said Dr. Baker.
“Vaccines have greatly reduced the frequency of many serious and
often deadly childhood diseases over the past 60 years, making
parents unaware of the consequences from exposing their
non-vaccinated children to these infections and their potentially
devastating outcomes.”
The mission of the Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research is well
underway. Dr. Healy announced the center’s first project,
implementing a novel vaccine delivery model called the “cocoon
strategy” to safeguard newborn babies from whooping cough, a
life-threatening illness that has been on the rise in recent years.
This model has been recommended by the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) since 2006 and the Center for Vaccine Awareness
and Research will be the first to implement it.
Currently, one-third of all infants who contract whooping cough get
the disease from their mothers. The majority of the others contract
the infection from other household contacts. Babies under six months
of age are not yet protected from whooping cough because protection
requires three doses of vaccine at two, four and six months of age.
The cocoon strategy protects young infants by vaccinating the mother
and other adolescent and adult family members who will be in close
contact with the infant to prevent the transmission of the disease.
According to Dr. Healy, the cocoon strategy model will be first
implemented at Houston’s Ben Taub General Hospital (BTGH), through
the support of a Baylor Methodist Community Health Fund grant. The
Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research’s project team, working in
collaboration with BTGH staff, will administer the whooping cough
booster vaccine to approximately 5,800 families of newborns in its
first year.
“This project enables us to provide whooping cough education and
booster vaccines to families that need it,” said Dr. Healy. “At the
same time, we will explore efficient processes to optimize this
intervention and potentially reduce serious pertussis disease in our
community.”
According to Dr. Baker, the center is also working on two vaccine
research projects that will be announced in coming months. In
addition, Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Awareness and Research
is the first program in the United States to conduct research funded
by the National Institutes of Health studying vaccines for use in
pregnant women.
“As a national and international center for pediatric care, Texas
Children’s Hospital recognizes the leadership our doctors can
provide in protecting children and families from preventable
infectious diseases,” said Ralph D. Feigin, M.D., physician-in-chief
at Texas Children’s Hospital. “Through the Center for Vaccine
Awareness and Research, we are providing a reliable source for
up-to-date vaccine information from leading experts and contributing
to research that can improve the ways we safeguard our children’s
health.”
About Texas
Children’s Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is committed to a community of healthy
children by providing the finest pediatric patient care, education
and research. Renowned worldwide for its expertise and breakthrough
developments in clinical care and research, Texas Children’s is
ranked in the top ten best children’s hospitals by U.S. News and
World Report. Texas Children’s also operates the nation’s largest
primary pediatric care network, with over 40 offices throughout the
greater Houston community. Texas Children’s has embarked on a $1.5
Billion expansion,
Vision 2010, which includes a Neurological
Research Institute, a comprehensive obstetrics facility focusing on
high risk births, and a community hospital in suburban West Houston.
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