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Goshen Township WIC clinic off to a good start
AUSTINTOWN
Concerned about outbreaks of measles in Europe and Australia and a slight uptick in cases in the United States, the Mahoning County health department’s medical director recommends that people get the measles vaccine, especially before traveling.
It is during high-travel times such as the upcoming holidays that communicable diseases, such as measles and the flu, are more likely to be spread, said Dr. John Venglarcik at Friday’s meeting of the Mahoning County District Board of Health.
He said certain groups of people, such as pregnant women and those who are very young or have cancer or serious chronic diseases, should consult their physicians before being vaccinated.
But in general, Dr. Venglarcik said, adults and adolescents should get the vaccine.
He said the outbreak in Wales, where 800 cases have been reported, is the consequence of an anti-vaccination movement fueled by a flawed study published in 1998 by a British doctor, Andrew Wakefield, which said that measles, mumps and rubella vaccines caused autism in some children.
The study was widely disseminated, especially among parents with autistic children.
But in March, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study showing that an aggressive vaccination schedule does not contribute to an increase in autism incidence.
Also at the meeting, Fawn Allison, head of the Mahoning County Women, Infants and Children program, said the clinic at the Goshen Township Building, 14003 W. South Range Road, has had a successful start.
Allison said 40 people have signed up for services provided by the food and nutrition program and that the agency is making the site permanent.
The county health department also operates WIC clinics in Boardman at 3910 Hillman Way; at the county health department in Austintown at 50 Westchester Drive; and in the Youngstown City Health Department at 345 Oak Hill Ave., Youngstown.
Patricia Sweeney, county health commissioner, said that during 2013, the department’s WIC clinics served 5,440 individuals; 980 mothers participated in nutrition classes; 389 pregnant women received information on how to provide a safe sleep environment for their baby; and 224 hours of breast-feeding support were provided.