Relentless coughing after a viral infection can be frustrating and worrisome, but in most cases, coughs resolve over time.
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Some coughs can last for weeks or even months following an upper respiratory infection. The good news – albeit not very satisfying – is that most eventually go away on their own.
You no longer have to go to your GP to get your flu shot or catch up on vaccinations you missed earlier in life or have waning immunity to. But they’re unlikely to be free.
The kinds of vaccines adults need depend on several factors, including whether you were born here, how old you are and whether you intend to travel overseas.
Two-thirds of children have already received antibiotics by the time they are one year old.
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Prospective parents, aware of how devastating whooping cough can be, want to leave no stone unturned to protect their baby. But is No Vax, No Visit supported by the best evidence?
Given the increasing number of vaccines recommended for adolescents and adults in Australia, the newly announced initiatives are a very good idea.
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Tucked away in the budget papers is an intitiative worthy of applause – the establishment of an adult immunisation register and the expansion of the childhood register to include adolescents.
From January, conscientious objectors to vaccine will lose up to $15,000 of childcare and family tax rebates.
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Australia is unique in using parental financial incentives for immunisation.
Removing the childcare rebate for parents who do not fully immunise their children is unnecessarily punitive and could have repercussions.
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Immunisation in Australia isn’t compulsory – and doesn’t need to be controversial. Most Australians recognise the incredible benefits that vaccination provides to prevent serious disease.
Do more non-medical vaccine exemptions mean a higher incidence of disease?
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As of January 30, 102 people in 14 states were reported to have measles, and most of these cases are tied to the outbreak that began at Disneyland in December. Public health officials are citing an increase…
In the US the risk of getting measles or dying from influenza is greater than the risk of getting Ebola.
Jaime R Carrero/Reuters
News that a doctor in New York City tested positive for Ebola sparked mandatory quarantine orders for heath workers returning from West Africa in New York and New Jersey last week. The outbreak has killed…
Most of us will receive the majority of our vaccinations in childhood. But Australian adults still die and become disabled from vaccine-preventable diseases. Immunisations are therefore an important preventive…
The ACCC is taking legal action over claims homeopathic remedies are a safe and effective alternative for the prevention and treatment of whooping cough.
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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted Federal Court proceedings against a repeat offender over allegedly misleading claims on a homeopathy website. The regulator is targeting…
Parents need the facts about childhood vaccination.
Nonanet.
The heated battle between Australia’s anti-vaccine lobby, the Australian Vaccination Network (AVN), and those fighting against its misinformation took a positive turn late last week, with the New South…
Too much urging can backfire and entrench some parents’ opposition to vaccination.
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Dr Seuss’ book Green Eggs and Ham is built around the urgings of a weird creature, Sam I Am, who insists the narrator eat the food of its title. When the narrator refuses, Sam issues an ever-widening range…
Professor, Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Head of Epidemiology, International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins University