Red Clover Pediatrics

02/21/2026

Definitely seeing lots of flu B!!

From our State Epidemiologist Dr. Emily Mosites:

It’s not fair, but yes, you CAN get influenza A and then influenza B in the same season. Over the past two weeks, our team has tracked a shift from mostly influenza A to mostly influenza B circulating in the state. So, even if you already got the flu, it may be possible to get it again.

And this week, our influenza-like illness activity increased to high. Have you noticed more coughs/fevers/sore throats?

Don’t despair! The flu vaccine protects against both influenza A and B. And it’s not too late to get it.

You can see our weekly respiratory illness data updates (and check out the various sources of data we use) here:https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/document/lsid-id-flu-report-week-06-2025-2026.pdf

02/17/2026

A series.

Antivaxxer: “It is the vaccinated shedding their live virus from the vaccine for a month after injection. They are causing outbreaks.”

Facts:

This claim is incorrect. Measles outbreaks are not caused by vaccinated individuals shedding vaccine virus. A systematic review of 773 articles found no evidence of human-to-human transmission of measles vaccine virus among thousands of genotyped clinical samples worldwide.[1] Measles outbreaks are driven by unvaccinated individuals, not vaccine recipients.[2][3][4]

While vaccine virus RNA can be detected in the respiratory tract of recently vaccinated individuals (typically 7-21 days post-vaccination), there is no evidence this leads to transmission. Studies in both children and macaques detected vaccine virus RNA but found no transmission to unvaccinated contacts.[5] When PCR testing detects measles in recently vaccinated individuals, it represents vaccine virus detection, not wild-type measles that can spread.[6][7]

The epidemiologic evidence clearly demonstrates that unvaccinated individuals drive measles transmission. Analysis of U.S. measles cases from 2001-2016 showed that among imported cases, 87% were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.[2] During the 2019 U.S. outbreaks, an important contributing factor was misinformation about vaccine safety in underimmunized communities.[2] More recently, 96% of measles cases in the U.S. through May 2025 involved persons who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.[3]

Vaccinated individuals who develop breakthrough measles infections are 3-4 times less infectious than unvaccinated cases. The reproduction number (R) for vaccinated cases is approximately 0.10 compared to higher values for unvaccinated individuals.[8] Studies from outbreak settings confirm that vaccinated cases have significantly lower odds of onward transmission (OR 0.41-0.44) compared to unvaccinated cases.[9] In a Japanese workplace outbreak, no onward transmission from vaccinated cases was documented.[10]

The evidence is unambiguous: vaccine refusal, not vaccination, is associated with measles outbreaks. Unvaccinated children with exemptions are 22-35 times more likely to contract measles than vaccinated children, and among recent U.S. measles cases with known reasons for non-vaccination, 70.6% had nonmedical exemptions.[4]

References

1. A Systematic Review of Human-to-Human Transmission of Measles Vaccine Virus. Greenwood KP, Hafiz R, Ware RS, Lambert SB. Vaccine. 2016;34(23):2531-6. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.092.

2. Measles. Strebel PM, Orenstein WA. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2019;381(4):349-357. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1905181.

3. Measles 2025. Do LAH, Mulholland K. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2025;393(24):2447-2458. doi:10.1056/NEJMra2504516.

4. Association Between Vaccine Refusal and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States: A Review of Measles and Pertussis. Phadke VK, Bednarczyk RA, Salmon DA, Omer SB. JAMA. 2016;315(11):1149-58. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.1353.

5. Detection of Live Attenuated Measles Virus in the Respiratory Tract Following Subcutaneous Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination. Watkins TA, Brockhurst JK, Germain G, Griffin DE, Foxman EF. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2025;231(4):1089-1093. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiae537.

6. Implications of Measles Inclusion by Commercial Syndromic Polymerase Chain Reaction Panels - United States, May 2022-April 2023. Thomas CM, Hartley A, Schmitz A, et al. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2024;73(12):260-264. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7312a3.

7. Shedding of Measles Vaccine RNA in Children After Receiving Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccination. Washam MC, Leber AL, Oyeniran SJ, Everhart K, Wang H. Journal of Clinical Virology : The Official Publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. 2024;173:105696. doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2024.105696.

8. Factors Associated With Measles Transmission in the United States During the Postelimination Era. Gastañaduy PA, Funk S, Lopman BA, et al. JAMA Pediatrics. 2020;174(1):56-62. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.4357.

9. Onward Transmission of Measles Virus Among Vaccinated Cases in a Large Community Outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand, 2019. Evans I, Jury S, Morrison A, et al. Vaccine. 2024;42(23):126257. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126257.

10. Epidemiology of a Workplace Measles Outbreak Dominated by Modified Measles Cases at Kansai International Airport, Japan, During August-September 2016. Kobayashi A, Shimada T, Tanaka-Taya K, et al. Vaccine. 2020;38(32):4996-5001. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.05.067.

👉

02/12/2026

Looks like a great offering!

New Mental Health First Aid training date! Join us on Wednesday, February 25 at 9AM at the Head Start Spring Center to learn how to support your community.

This training is open to the public and is currently offered at no cost, however, space is limited.

For more information or to register, contact Amie Niles at ANiles@ucsvt.org, call (802) 442-5491.

02/10/2026

02/10/2026

Pasteurization is one of science and medicine’s MAJOR advancements. Let’s use it.

While health influencers increasingly promote raw milk for potential gut health benefits, the data tell an entirely different story. 🥛

Unpasteurized milk was linked to 22 times more outbreaks than pasteurized milk (202 vs. 9) during the same period, despite being consumed by only 2% of the population compared to around 70% who drink pasteurized milk.

This is not a coincidence. It's a public health problem.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/epidemiology-and-infection/article/foodborne-illness-outbreaks-linked-to-unpasteurised-milk-and-relationship-to-changes-in-state-laws-united-states-19982018/4822109E69DDAB37E92CAAB41AB1CC0F

02/10/2026

Good reminder! You should start with the grain of rice amount at first tooth! 🦷

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month! Good oral health starts at a young age, and you should start cleaning your kid’s teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste as soon as the first tooth appears to help prevent the formation of cavities. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2z13wC4

02/10/2026

“Bjg Wellness” not only steals your money but gives you false hope and can actually be dangerous!

02/06/2026

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized. Raw milk can contain harmful bacteria, such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria, that can make people, especially young children and pregnant people, very sick. Raw milk is not safe to drink. Pasteurization is a process that heats milk to a specific temperature to kill harmful bacteria and does not affect the nutritional content of the milk. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3HLESwf

02/05/2026

These car ponchos are so cool! Adorable AND safe! Check ‘em out!

❄️🚗 Winter Car Seat Safety — Let’s Talk About It!

Did you know bulky winter coats and snowsuits can actually make car seats LESS safe? 😬

When thick layers are worn under harness straps, they compress during a crash — which can leave dangerous slack in the straps. That’s a big no from us, friends.

✨ Enter: Car Seat Ponchos! ✨

These cozy little lifesavers keep kiddos warm WITHOUT interfering with proper car seat safety.

Here’s why we love them:
✔️ Worn OVER the harness — not under
✔️ Keeps kids warm without bulky coats
✔️ Easy on/off for quick errands
✔️ Safe + cozy = parent win

We currently have car seat ponchos available at Little Sprouts — perfect for winter adventures while keeping safety first.

👉 Stop in and check them out while they last!

📍 35 Church St
Hoosick Falls, NY 12090

🛍️ Open:
Wednesday-Friday 10am-5pm
Saturday 10am-4pm
Sunday 10am-2pm

Because warm kiddos are great… but SAFE kiddos are everything 🤍

02/05/2026

Next Monday! Online option as well!

Parenting a trans or gender-creative young person in 2026 means navigating real questions, shifting policies, and a lot of information coming from all directions.

Parenting Trans Youth in 2026 is a panel for parents and caregivers who want to learn from one another and hear directly from families with lived experience. Panelists from Outright Vermont’s Trans Parent group and the UVM Medical Center’s Transgender Youth Program will share what has been helpful, what they’ve learned, and how support can look different at different ages.

Join us online or at an in-person watch party to listen, ask questions, and be in conversation with other parents and caregivers.

🗓 Monday, February 9 | 6:00-7:30pm
📍 Online and in person
🎟 Free with pre-registration: outright.socialsolutionsportal.com/apricot-intake/c2d59377-b96a-4263-8364-d668f8a5a14e

This panel is just for parents and caregivers of LGBTQ+ youth.
Register by Friday, February 6

02/05/2026

Some facts for the pro-raw milk crowd that are up in arms in the comment section of my last post (although most have been deleted because misinformation doesn’t stand on this page)

📣👂🦠

Listeria infection during pregnancy can cause serious harm to the baby, including miscarriage, stillbirth, premature birth, and severe newborn infections. Raw (unpasteurized) milk is one of the highest-risk foods for Listeria contamination and should be completely avoided during pregnancy.[1]

Pregnant women are about 13 times more likely than other people to get Listeria infection from contaminated food.[1][2] When a pregnant woman gets infected, the bacteria can spread to the baby, causing devastating consequences that are far more severe than what the mother experiences. Approximately one in five pregnancies with Listeria infection result in miscarriage or stillbirth, and about two-thirds of babies who survive develop serious infections after birth.[1] The overall death rate for babies (either before or after birth) is 29% when the mother has Listeria infection.[1]

Raw milk poses a particularly high risk for Listeria contamination. Studies show that about 3-4% of raw milk samples in the United States contain Listeria bacteria.[3][4] Pasteurization—the process of heating milk to kill harmful bacteria—is highly effective at eliminating Listeria, achieving at least an 11-log reduction (meaning it kills 99.999999999% of the bacteria).[5][6] In contrast, raw milk consumed by only 3.2% of the population causes 96% of all dairy-related outbreak illnesses.[7]

The mother's symptoms are often mild—fever, muscle aches, back pain, and headache, sometimes with diarrhea or stomach upset beforehand.[1] Some infected pregnant women have no symptoms at all.[1] However, the baby can develop severe complications including blood infections (sepsis), brain infections (meningitis), and death.[1]

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists specifically lists raw (unpasteurized) milk as a food pregnant women must avoid.[1] Other high-risk foods include unpasteurized soft cheeses (such as feta, queso blanco, queso fresco, Brie, and blue-veined cheeses), deli meats and hot dogs (unless heated until steaming hot), refrigerated smoked seafood, and unwashed raw produce.[1]

When babies are infected, they can develop two different patterns of illness. Early-onset disease, which occurs in about 70% of infected newborns, typically appears as a blood infection with breathing problems shortly after birth. Late-onset disease, seen in about 6% of cases, presents as a brain infection (meningitis) that develops later.[8] Among infected newborns studied, 70% had abnormal health status at birth, with more than half experiencing acute breathing difficulties.[8]

The timing of treatment makes a critical difference in outcomes. When mothers receive antibiotics at least one day before delivery, their babies have significantly less severe disease.[8] This finding supports starting antibiotic treatment promptly when Listeria infection is suspected during pregnancy, even before test results confirm the diagnosis.

References

1. Management of Pregnant Women With Presumptive Exposure to Listeria monocytogenes. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2014).

2. Pregnancy Myths and Practical Tips. Caro R, Fast J. American Family Physician. 2020;102(7):420-426.

3. Prevalence of Listeria Monocytogenes, Salmonella Spp., Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia Coli, and Campylobacter Spp. In Raw Milk in the United States Between 2000 and 2019: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Williams EN, Van Doren JM, Leonard CL, Datta AR. Journal of Food Protection. 2023;86(2):100014. doi:10.1016/j.jfp.2022.11.006.

4. Prevalence of Listeria Monocytogenes in Milk and Dairy Product Supply Chains: A Global Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Li X, Zheng J, Zhao W, Wu Y. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease. 2024;21(9):526-535. doi:10.1089/fpd.2024.0029.

5. Predictive Modelling of Inactivation of Listeria Spp. In Bovine Milk During High-Temperature Short-Time Pasteurization. Piyasena P, Liou S, McKellar RC. International Journal of Food Microbiology. 1998;39(3):167-73. doi:10.1016/s0168-1605(97)00131-1.

6. Pasteurization of Milk: The Heat Inactivation Kinetics of Milk-Borne Dairy Pathogens Under Commercial-Type Conditions of Turbulent Flow. Pearce LE, Smythe BW, Crawford RA, et al. Journal of Dairy Science. 2012;95(1):20-35. doi:10.3168/jds.2011-4556.

7. Outbreak-Related Disease Burden Associated With Consumption of Unpasteurized Cow's Milk and Cheese, United States, 2009-2014. Costard S, Espejo L, Groenendaal H, Zagmutt FJ. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2017;23(6):957-964. doi:10.3201/eid2306.151603.

8. Neonatal Listeriosis Presentation and Outcome: A Prospective Study of 189 Cases. Charlier C, Kermorvant-Duchemin E, Perrodeau E, et al. Clinical Infectious Diseases : An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. 2022;74(1):8-16. doi:10.1093/cid/ciab337.

🤰 🥗 🦠 🥛 📚 🤍 👶 🌍 🚫 ✅