Vaccines matter to you, to me and to Alabama
My six-yearold triplets share a room and they just love to pile into the same bed at night. You can imagine that when a stomach bug sneaks in, it levels all three at once — and turns two working parents into round-theclock nurses and laundry staff. Now imagine what something like the flu, RSV or COVID-19 could do to a household with young children.
Yikes! Vaccines spare my family that chaos, giving us the health, time and paychecks we can’t afford to lose.
Vaccines remain our best defense for keeping classrooms open, hospital beds available and Friday-night lights burning. Yet too many Alabamians still skip their shots.
By late April only 38% of residents had rolled up a sleeve for flu — well behind the national 46.7%. Childhood coverage is slipping, too. Medical or religious exemptions now top 2%, and another 4% of students lack an up-to-date certificate of immunization. Those gaps erode the “herd immunity” that protects newborns, cancer patients and others who can’t be vaccinated.
The good news? Science keeps adding tools to the playbook: Updated COVID19 vaccine Reformulated each season to outflank new variants.
Annual flu shot — Still the simplest way to cut hospital stays roughly in half.
RSV protection A first-ever vaccine for adults 60 and older, preventive antibodies for newborns and a maternal vaccine that passes immunity to babies before birth.
All three can be given in one visit, usually at no cost under federal rules and private-insurance coverage. If you’re unsure which shot you need, ask your doctor or county health department.
Manufacturers are already gearing up for the fight, too. They’ve already begin shipping this season’s flu vaccines weeks ahead of schedule after last year’s highseverity outbreak — the deadliest for children since 2004 and the worst for hospitalizations since 2010-11.
New options like needle-free nasal spray and expanded age ranges of highdose formulas make it easier than ever to find the right shot for your needs.
Misinformation remains our toughest rival. Vaccines are the most closely monitored medical products in history; side effects are generally mild and fleeting, while the diseases they prevent can kill. If you have questions, bring them to a live physician, not to a chatbot or some random comment thread.
Public health is a team sport. When you vaccinate, you protect your grandmother with asthma, the coworker in chemotherapy and the preemie next door who is still too small for shots. Alabama physicians are doing our part — counseling patients, hosting clinics and urging insurers and lawmakers to keep distribution simple and affordable. We need you on the field with us.
Check your record, book early and “stack your shots” — get all your recommended shots in one visit. Alabama’s next chapter can be one of resilience and shared progress. Let’s write it together — one safe, simple vaccination at a time.
Dr. Nina Ford-Johnson is a practicing pediatrician in Mobile. She is president-elect, Medical Association of the State of Alabama and serves on the Board of Medical Examiners of Alabama.
