Vaccine Facts and Fictions
The Checkup from Slate and WBUR with an update on when to get the flu and HPV vaccinations.
Listen to Episode No. 5 of The Checkup: Shots – Vaccination Facts and Fictions
The Checkup is a new health podcast, a collaboration between Slate and WBUR, Boston’s NPR News Station. New episodes will appear on Mondays in the Slate Daily Podcast and The Checkup’s individual feed.
Welcome to The Checkup. Our fifth episode, "Shots: Vaccine Facts and Fictions," begins with a look at new flu vaccines and the myriad choices consumers have this year (egg-free or short-needle anyone?) We also discuss the HPV vaccine with a pediatrician who shares her thoughts on why so many adolescents are not taking advantage of this anti-cancer vaccine. And we take a look at the growing trend of men who suffer from HPV-related cancers, like actor Michael Douglas, who says he got throat cancer from HPV he acquired through cunnilingus. Finally, we talk herd immunity and run through some of the preventable diseases, including whooping cough and measles, that are on the rise.
Your hosts are Carey Goldberg and Rachel Zimmerman, former newspaper reporters and co-producers of WBUR's CommonHealth blog. Each episode of the Checkup will feature a different topic—previous episodes have discussed college mental health, sex problems, and a reality check on the Insanity workout. Future episodes will look at how to talk back to your doctor and more. Tune in next Monday for Episode 6.
You’ll find a posts on new flu vaccine options and obstacles surrounding the HPV vaccine on the CommonHealth blog.
The Checkup Podcast is produced at WBUR by George Hicks.
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