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Show: February 12, 2012:
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- Common Chemicals May Weaken Vaccine Efficacy
- Doc Chat: Daily Aspirin Not for Everyone
- Aspirin Endangers Elderly Patients
- Nanotechnology Targets Tumors
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- Inspiration for Middle-Aged Minds
- View all topics for the week
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Did You Know?: Common Chemicals May Weaken Vaccine Efficacy
Host: Jeremy Shere, PhD
Did you Know? is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.
I’m Jeremy Shere.
The kinds of common household chemicals found in things like non-stick cookware, food packaging, and fabrics make our lives easier. But did you know that these same chemicals may also make vaccines less effective?
According to a recent study, the more children are exposed to perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, the lower their chances of having a good immune response to vaccines.
The bad news is that PFCs are everywhere, and they’re hard to get rid of. They tend to hang around in the environment for years and easily find their way into people and animals.
The good news is that the Environmental Protection Agency has begun phasing out the use of some PFCs. In the United States, at least, PFC levels are falling. But elsewhere around the world, PFCs show no signs of declining. Which could spell trouble for kids’ health.
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Did you Know is presented by Wishard Health Services, becoming Eskenazi Health in 2014.
Additional Resources:
- Read more about the link between PFCs and weakened immune systems at the Modern Medicine website.
