(With a Bow of Debt to Jonathan Swift) It is a melancholy thought to remember a needle piercing the skin of one’s child – a mere babe – causing this precious offspring to howl with anguish. And for what? You brought said infant to the doctor in a state of health, and now a needle has penetrated that pristine skin. You want to howl in anguish yourself. The fluid in the syringe attached to that needle is an inoculation – admittedly a clever stratagem – that utilizes the child’s own immune system to keep various infectious agents from causing disease.  ...

Can you pinpoint the day when your mind became convinced of something? I can think of one. The exact day I became a Vaccine Enthusiast was the morning after a call night during residency. I had stayed at the bedside of a toddler with meningitis due to Hemophilus influenza type B (Hib). I am pretty sure I saved his life multiple times that night. The spinal tap had essentially dripped pus, and it took a lot of effort to keep him from crashing. By the morning I knew he was going to live. This was in 1986, when the vaccine for ...

by Amy Givler, MD; and Martha Grace Courtright, MD This article first appeared in Christian Medical and Dental Associations‘ magazine, CMDA Today, Spring 2025 edition. Amy Dear Martha Grace, You ask how I came to choose medicine. I guess I’d have to say it chose me. That is, I was 12 years old when I first heard and responded to the good news of salvation through Jesus, and simultaneously, in some mysterious way, I knew I was supposed to be a doctor. I had never considered medicine before I became a Christian, and afterward I never considered anything else. Mom ...

Every year the ACIP meets three times a year to discuss vaccines. The ACIP is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. One important task of the ACIP is to help choose the particular components of the flu vaccine that will be given in the fall. This is always a bit of a guess, because the vaccine release date is six months away, and the question is which flu strains will be the biggest threat at that time. The influenza virus is quite sneaky – shifting and changing often. Every year flu experts study which strains are most likely to cause ...

If you are like me, every year January 1st catches me by surprise. That is, Christmas (preparations for which consumed my December) is barely over when I’m asked to make a New Year’s resolution. Could it be that time again? So this year I’m starting to think about it now, mid-December, and hope you do too. If you need ideas, here’s one for you: You could climb all of the “high points” in every state and join a lively community of folks who are doing just that. Did you know that was a thing? Now you know. It is a ...

(If the images do not come through on the newsletter, please go to my website www.amygivler.com to view them.) Stigma, anyone? I remember when I was diagnosed with cancer (Hodgkin’s lymphoma) in 1993 that I felt a tad of reluctance to tell people about it. It’s not that I could have kept it a complete secret, by any means, because I was diagnosed at the hospital where both my husband and I worked – and news travels fast there. Besides, I was eager to tell friends so they could support me and, ideally, pray for healing. But sharing it with ...