Houston Pediatric Society

12/17/2025

We sincerely thank Dr. Gaba, Program Director at Memorial Family Medicine, and Dr. Ahuja, Pediatric Anesthesiologist at Baylor, for their unwavering support of the Houston Pediatric Society. Your encouragement for your residents to engage with our society not only strengthens our pediatric community but also inspires the next generation of pediatric advocates and leaders. We are truly grateful for your mentorship and commitment to fostering growth and collaboration in pediatric medicine.

12/16/2025

Nothing like a little humor from two of our beloved past presidents to remind us that leadership can be brilliant and fun! Their light hearted spontaneous video bytes brought smiles, laughter, and proof that the Houston Pediatric Society is led not just by great minds, but wonderful personalities too. Thank you for keeping the joy alive and the spirit of our community shining ✨😊

12/16/2025

12/16/2025

Grateful to our gracious Past President, Dr Elizabeth DeStephen!!!Thank you for your leadership, constant encouragement, and continued guidance and unwavering commitment .

12/15/2025

Thank you to Dr. Geeta Patel, dermatologist, for a clear, engaging, and insightful talk on atopic dermatitis.It was a pleasure learning from her expertise—truly a nice and impactful talk that our audience appreciated.

12/15/2025

Thank you to our sponsor Organon for supporting children and families living with atopic dermatitis. Organon’s commitment to advancing treatments for kids 2 years and older helps bring meaningful relief from chronic itch and inflammation—allowing children to sleep better, play freely, and simply be kids again. We’re grateful for partners who focus on improving quality of life through science, care, and compassion.

12/14/2025

While recent surges are occurring in countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, those infected remain at risk of serious, lifelong complications such as:
👁️ blindness
🫁 pneumonia
🧠 encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage)

Fact sheet on measles: bit.ly/4iq4nkD

12/14/2025

ACIP has recommended vaccinating during pregnancy with inactivated influenza vaccine since 1997. Studies have shown that pregnant people are at increased risk for complications, hospitalization, and even death from influenza because of the increased physiologic strain of pregnancy on their heart, lungs, and immune system. Vaccination can occur in any trimester, including the first.

Infants younger than 6 months old are at high risk of influenza-related complications, but influenza vaccine is not recommended for them because the immune response to influenza vaccination is limited before 6 months of age. Vaccinating during pregnancy provides maternal antibodies to the fetus which helps protect infants against influenza during the first 6 months of life until they can get vaccinated at age 6 months. Vaccinating pregnant people protects them, their unborn babies, and their babies after birth.

You’ll find this answer, as well as other influenza vaccine Q&As, here: www.immunize.org/ask-experts/topic/influenza.

12/14/2025

I’m deeply concerned by the recent measles outbreak in South Carolina — especially in light of what it means for public health, families, and communities. According to recent reports, the outbreak has already forced unvaccinated close contacts into quarantine, disrupted daily life, and raised real risk for serious health consequences.

Here’s why this matters — and why vaccination is so important 🛡️

🔎 What is measles — and how serious can it be:

- Measles (Rubeola) is one of the most contagious diseases we know. If someone around you isn’t protected, up to 9 out of 10 susceptible people nearby can catch it. 
- Symptoms typically appear 7 to 14 days after exposure, and include high fever (sometimes over 104 °F), cough, runny nose, red/watery eyes, and the tell-tale rash. 
- Many people think it’s “just a rash and fever,” but measles can be much more dangerous. Complications include pneumonia, ear infections, diarrhea, brain inflammation (encephalitis), and even long-term brain damage. 

⚠️ The real — and scary — risks:

- About 1 in 5 unvaccinated people who get measles in the U.S. end up hospitalized.
- Up to 1 in 20 children will get pneumonia — the most common cause of death from measles in young kids. 
- About 1 in 1,000 cases develop encephalitis (brain swelling), which can result in permanent neurologic damage, deafness, seizures, or death. 
- Even years after recovery, a rare complication known as Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) can emerge — a fatal neurological disease linked to having had measles as a child. 

🏠 What quarantine and exposure means for families:

Local health authorities (in SC) have been identifying close-contacts and telling people who are not immune to stay home and away from others for 21 days — even if they don’t yet feel sick. That’s because people with measles can spread the virus before symptoms or rash appear. 

That kind of quarantine can disrupt work, school, social life — and it’s a serious burden on families and communities.

💉 Why vaccination remains our strongest defense:

- The recommended vaccine (MMR vaccine) gives long-lasting protection against measles, mumps and rubella. 
- After two doses, protection against measles is ~97%. - In communities with high vaccination rates, outbreaks get stopped before they can spread widely — protecting babies too young to be vaccinated, immunocompromised people, and others at high risk.

🙏 A call to action:

If you, your children, or people you know haven’t had the full MMR vaccination, now is the time to talk to a trusted healthcare provider. Not just for your own sake — but to protect vulnerable people, prevent quarantine disruption, and help stop this outbreak from growing.

Because measles isn’t just “a rash.” It’s a serious illness that can have life-long (or even fatal) consequences.

Vaccination works.

12/12/2025