All it takes is a vaccine
Children's lyrical picture book
All it Takes is a Vaccine is a book for toddlers and young kids to learn about viruses in a not scary way. The book is written as a lyrical adventure book, where Raven meets different viruses and learns that vaccines can protect her and the world against these viruses.
Kickstarter coming soon!
The book has been written.
And edited. And reviewed. And rewritten.
Extensive review process.
It has been reviewed by healthcare professionals, scientists, parents, editors, authors, and artists to ensure that we provide an excellent book.
Illustrations.
We will use kickstarter funding to finish illustrating the picture book. Along with styling and layout.
Printing and shipping.
We will use kickstarter funding to print, ship, and distribute the book.
Stretch goals!
If we reach stretch goals, we will donate books to child education and care centers, pediatric offices, and other organizations that promote the education and health of children. We will also offset the environmental cost of printing and shipping by planting trees to achieve negative carbon emission.
#teachthemyoung
#vaccinessavelives
Smallpox virus - big block virus
It makes our mouth and body sore.
It gives a rash we can’t ignore.
But all it took was a vaccine,
to one and all as a routine.
And then the virus, bad and mean
went POOF - forevermore unseen!
Vaccines are are important to protect us against current viral strains. But they are also important to reduce the number of hosts in which viruses can mutate into new strains.
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One of the most historically important vaccines was the smallpox vaccine. Not only that it was the first vaccine produced, but that it was the only vaccine spread around the world to eradicate the virus from the entire human population. Before the vaccine, 30% of people who contracted the smallpox virus would die. In the last 100 years before its eradication, it killed about 500 million people. That is about the number of people in all of North and Central America. But because of the vaccine, we do not need or receive the smallpox vaccine anymore because smallpox has been eradicated.
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We need to educate kids about the benefits of vaccination from a very early age. And not just to protect us from getting sick. But to completely eradicate some viruses from this world!
Hep B virus - li’l wee virus
No cake because our tummy aches.
For goodness sake, fever please break!
But all it takes is a vaccine.
to one and all as a routine,
and then the virus, bad and mean
would disappear - ZAP, POOF - unseen!
The virus and the importance of the vaccine against it:
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Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver and causes liver disease, often liver cancer or cirrhosis. Many people with chronic hepatitis B feel no obvious symptoms until their liver disease becomes significantly advanced.
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One of the most common ways to contract hepatitis B is from the mother to the baby during birth. And if a baby gets hepatitis B in this way, there is a 90% likelihood of them contracting the chronic disease for life. About a quarter of these babies will eventually die from this liver disease.
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But if the vaccine is given immediately after birth, the likelihood of the baby getting hepatitis B from the birth is significantly reduced! This is why babies are given the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
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And it works! A vaccine use case in Taiwan showed that with the introduction of a hepatitis B vaccination program, there is a drastic reduction of chronic hepatitis B infection from 10-17% to 0.7-1.7% in under 20 year olds after 20 years.
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Unfortunately, not all populations are lucky enough to have such systematic vaccination programs. About 1 in 20 people worldwide still have chronic hepatitis B. And about 900,000 of them die yearly from this liver disease. Vaccines are a privilege and they keep you and those around you safe!
Measles virus - sneazles virus
Immune cells hit before we blink.
It gives us bumps so sore and pink.
But all it takes is a vaccine.
to one and all as a routine,
and then the virus, bad and mean
would disappear - ZAP, POOF - unseen!
The virus and the importance of the vaccine against it:
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Measles is the most contagious virus. Nearly all kids got sick with measles before there was a vaccine. Anyone who is unvaccinated and comes into contact with the virus for the first time will almost certainly contract the disease.
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Thankfully, because of a vaccine, it is extremely rare nowadays in the US. But the US is privileged.
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Worldwide, many people do not have access to vaccines and tens to hundreds of thousands still die from the measles virus. We need vaccines for one and all, all over the world.
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And for those tens of millions who get measles and do not die, the virus causes "immune amnesia." Because the virus targets our immune cells, it causes them to "forget" how to fight other, unrelated pathogens. Children infected by the measles virus can lose between 20%-70% of antibodies that protect them from other diseases. This puts kids that recover from measles at a heightened risk of other diseases.
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Further information: