Nicholas Bakar of the New York Times examines the benefits of getting young children routinely vaccinated with the Haemophilus influenzae Type B (HiB) vaccine in his latest article. This particular vaccine reduces the risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by 20% for infants exposed to HiB early in life. Dr. Markus Müschen, the senior author of a new study published in Nature Immunology, argues that infants’ immune response is well controlled, fighting the bacterium without causing serious illness. He says though the 20% risk reduction rate for leukemia seems small, “it’s highly significant in large populations. Whatever activates the immune system early in life reduces the risk for ALL.” New York Times’s Well Blog has the full story.
Last Updated on May 7, 2020 by Aimed Alliance
