School Notes: School of Public Health
November/December 2016

Red state/blue state patterns found in immunization rates

Parents in “blue states” are more likely to vaccinate their teens against the sexually transmitted Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, and other diseases than “red state” denizens, according to YSPH researchers. In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers found that states that are more conservative tend to avoid vaccines for teens, including the HPV vaccine, while blue states tend to be more receptive. The study found that blue states had a 10 percent higher HPV vaccination rate for girls and a nearly 25 percent higher rate for boys. “The decision to immunize a child does not occur in a vacuum and is not as straightforward as simply accepting a preventive medical intervention or not,” said Associate Professor Linda Niccolai, the study’s lead author. 

YSPH helps with shoreline cleanup

The Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Sustainability Committee at YSPH teamed up with the East Shore Health District and other community groups on two Saturdays in September to pick up trash at the East Haven and Branford town beaches. More than 100 local volunteers participated in the annual cleanup. “Ocean trash is a serious problem,” said Professor Vasilis Vasiliou, chair of the department. Plastic trash is especially detrimental to seabirds and turtles, seals, and other animals, he said. Volunteers collected more than 18 million pounds of trash worldwide in 2015, including cigarette butts, food wrappers, and plastic bottles, caps, and straws. 

Protecting children from e-cigarettes

US Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) visited the School of Public Health in August to push for a federal ban on flavored cigarettes, after a recent Yale study found that 41.8 percent of youth users were attracted to e-cigarettes because of the “good flavor.” Esty noted that e-cigarette manufacturers have adopted marketing practices used by the tobacco industry, including targeting youth with cartoon packaging and appealing flavors like cotton candy and blueberry pie. Esty and Blumenthal are working on a bill that would protect children from e-cigarette advertising.