A Shot At Better Health

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), measles was considered to have been eradicated in the United States in 2000. But in 2014, the disease made a comeback: The CDC tracked 644 cases. More recently, there was a large outbreak of 380 cases in a religious community in Ohio, where vaccination was opposed. While some parents still question the benefits of vaccinating their children, research has shown that illnesses such as measles, whooping cough, and meningitis are preventable by vaccination.


One such proponent for vaccinations is Nelson Branco, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician at MarinHealth Medical Center. In this podcast, Dr. Branco discusses the benefits of vaccines and when to have them over the course of a lifetime. He also comments on the much-publicized Disneyland measles outbreak as a lesson of what can happen when children and the community at large are not adequately protected from highly contagious diseases.