I hope this finds your new year off to a good and healthy start. With 2025 well underway, VAX 2 STOP CANCER is not skipping a beat in terms of ongoing programming, new project development, resource expansion and partnership cultivation.
Last week, when I was perusing the website of our long-time supporter, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, I was thrilled to see the article, 8 Important Facts to Know about Vaccines, in their Health News section. Of the eight reasons, #6 is the one I desperately want to put on billboards all over the state of Alabama:
"Vaccination is important for your overall health and is an act of self-care. Vaccines are as important as diet and exercise when it comes to your health. When you get immunized, you’re making the active choice to take care of yourself and your community."*
Last week also, I read with disbelief and a heavy heart, the news about the unvaccinated child in Texas who died from measles. I want to scream - this was a completely unnecessary, preventable loss of life! Just like deaths from HPV cancers! At the end of the newsletter, we share an editorial piece about pediatric vaccinations, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association; I hope you find time to look at it.
Unfortunately, the vaccine climate is as tenuous as ever. This gives us all the more reason to do what we do, and then some. This year, we plan to train more Pediatric and Family Medical practices around the state with our HPV Vaccine Provider Education Program; in our pilot OB/GYN program, we will implement an HPV Vaccine education module that's tailored to the type of patients seen by these specialists, as well to the structure of the office visit; and we will continue to find ways to raise HPV vaccination awareness among dental professionals (including of course encouraging dentists and hygienists to complete our online Dental Provider Education Program).
To end on a positive note, I want to reassure you (and myself!), that as we work to achieve our goal of an HPV Free Alabama, we are surrounded and supported by a multitude of organizations, public health departments, and medical professionals who also work tirelessly for HPV cancer prevention. My program manager and I will have a chance to network with all of these like-minded people, this April, at the inaugural National HPV Conference (more info below). Can you imagine the positive results that are sure to come out of a meeting of so many HPV champions from so many health sectors?? I can't wait!
the VAX 2 STOP CANCER 2024 IMPACT REPORT came out last month.
Check your email in box (2/5/25) or view it on our website.
Our 4th annual fundraising luncheon is fast approaching...
A SHOT AT PREVENTION
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Tuesday, April 29th
11:30 am
The Club, Birmingham, AL
It promises to be a special event, featuring:
SWAG BAGS
DELICIOUS FOOD
INSPIRING TALKS BY HPV VACCINE CHAMPIONS
Please join VAX 2 STOP CANCER and fellow HPV vaccine advocates and supporters as we come together to raise money and awareness for HPV cancer prevention!
Individual Tickets $50 Tables $500 Sponsorships available
a critical strategy for increasing HPV vaccination rates
Our tools for raising public awareness take many forms. Targeted health awareness days and months give us wonderful marketing opportunities and plenty of resources for spreading the word about our work.
January is Cervical Cancer Awareness and Cervical Health Month
In 2009, January was established by the U.S. Congress as Cervical Cancer Awareness Month: it is a concerted public health campaign to provide education and urge women to take their gynecological health seriously.
February 4th is World Cancer Day
Designed to raise awareness about cancer, encourage prevention methods and mobilize action to address the global cancer problem, this year's day marked twenty-five years of signing the Charter of Paris Against Cancer at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millenium.
And the one that we are particularly excited about...
March 4th is International HPV Awareness Day
this day is part of the International Papillomavirus Society's HPV Awareness Campaign to address the dire need to raise awareness of this common virus and the harm it causes.
There is fantastic programming planned around this day. The V2SC staff will be tuning in for much of it. We invite any of our supporters to join the conversations and learn about how you can help increase HPV vaccination rates in Alabama.
Exciting Networking Opportunities
V2SC was well-represented at the Operation Wipe Out Summit in Birmingham on January 31, 2025. In attendance were Barbara (CEO), Anne Lynn (Program Manager), V2SC Board Members Jennifer Young Pierce, Casey Daniel, and Bill Johnston, and Scientific Advisors Dr. Warner Huh (guest speaker) and Dr. Michael Saag.
OPERATION WIPE OUT is a partnership bringing together champions from across Alabama’s public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors to save women’s lives. The goal is to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem in the state of Alabama by 2033. The strategic plan includes increasing HPV vaccination initiation and completion rates among Alabama children between the ages of 9 and 17.
For 3 days in April, VAX 2 STOP CANCER will travel to Indianapolis to attend the inaugural National HPV Conference. Hosted by the Indiana Immunization Coalition, the goal of this meeting is to invite all U.S. professionals working in the HPV space to come together in an effort to learn and share. At the conference, we will present data and results from our 2024 HPV Provider Education QI projects.
Vaccine Misinformation
In V2SC's line of work, vaccine misinformation is one of our greatest obstacles. The spread of misinformation on social media has been identified as a major threat to public health (particularly in the uptake of COVID-19 vaccines) and one of the “most concerning” challenges of our time. Social media’s network features can easily amplify the voice of conspiracy theorists and give credence to fringe beliefs that would otherwise remain obscure. These platforms can also function as an incubator for anti-vaxxers to circulate ideas and coordinate their offline activities. Researchers have found that there is a significant relationship between organization on social media and public doubts of vaccine safety, and that there is a substantial relationship between foreign disinformation campaigns and declining vaccination coverage (Wilson, SL, Wiysonge, C. "Social Media and Vaccine Hesitancy." BMJ Global Health, 2020).
A February 19th Facebook post about the measles outbreak in Texas:
a perfect example of the danger of misinformation!
The fact-checking website, Politifact, consulted with professionals, scientists, and public health authorities to collect actual facts about the outbreak and the measles vaccine. Here are some of the highlights from their research-based report on the fallacy of the post:
*The FB post’s claim originated in a Feb. 17 article from The People’s Voice, a website known for spreading misinformation.
*Gaines County’s case numbers led all the other counties with 98 - not "200 or 300" as the Facebook post said. On Feb. 14, NBC News said health officials estimated that another 200 to 300 people were infected across West Texas - not Gaines County alone - but haven’t been tested.
*The FB post says that the measles vaccine itself caused the outbreak, and the People's Voice article, states that there are multiple studies which confirm that vaccinated individuals can shed the virus, leading to infections among those around them. Politifact consulted with Dr. Matthew Washam, assistant professor at Ohio State University College of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics, who said, "[virus] shedding is not contagious to others and does not lead to measles outbreaks." Also Dr. Paul Offit, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Vaccine Education Center director said the measles vaccine virus is "too attenuated to be passed from one person to the next."
*Of note: The Facebook post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed (Meta owns Face Book and Instagram).
A parting thought:
"Misinformation is trumping reason. Trust the science. Trust the scientists and physicians who have nothing to gain but peace of mind that they are doing what they aspired to do: Protect others from horrible, preventable diseases. Please do not trust a man who has no appreciable, formal biological science or epidemiological training, claims a worm ate part of his brain, and is actively making money from anti-vaccine lawsuits. There is so much at stake these next four years, but let’s fight to ensure our children’s and our own health and wellness are protected."
Bridget O’Brien, M.D., is a Milwaukee pediatrician and firm believer in science and evidence-based medicine.
Have you seen a Survivor Story lately?
VAX 2 STOP CANCER lifts up HPV Cancer Survivors
Survivors are powerful tools for helping us help YOU understand the devastating effects of HPV cancers. They are the most influential advocates that we have. And they are our HEROES!
Watch Kelly’s powerful testimony on overcoming anal cancer and the role early detection and HPV vaccination play. Her journey is a reminder of the power of awareness and prevention. Watch now to learn more!
In the News
From JAMA,
Published online February 6, 2025
Viewpoint:
Reflections on the Successes of Pediatric Vaccines
"Concerns about vaccine safety and mandates must be balanced with an appreciation of the enormous benefits of vaccines. A recent report from the CDC projected that among US children born during 1994 to 2023, routine childhood vaccinations prevented approximately 508 million illnesses, 32 million hospitalizations, and more than 1 million deaths."
-- Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, and former principal investigator for a Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)
