Opinion
A sample of phytomenadione (vitamin K1) for injection, also called phylloquinone. Photo courtesy LHcheM via Wikimedia Commons.

Will the next ‘religious’ battle be fought over Vitamin K?

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Yet another reason to push back — hard — against anti-vaccine scaremongering: at least seven babies have been admitted to Vanderbilt University’s Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital with cases of VKDB — Vitamin K Deficiency bleeding, which can cause brain damage, intestinal hemorrhaging, and death. It’s a relatively rare disorder. It’s also 100% preventable when injections of Vitamin K are administered routinely at birth, as they have been in this country since 1961. But, in a trend that seems to be closely aligned with the anti-vaccine movement, more parents fear the Vitamin K vaccine and have refused it on behalf of their newborns. Babies don’t have enough Vitamin K in their systems: not enough of it crosses the placenta or via breastmilk (though infant formula does contain the blood-coagulating vitamin) so an injection is given at birth to eliminate the risk of potentially fatal bleeds.

Beliefs
RNS photo courtesy Geltfiend (www.geltfiend.com)

Some Jews can’t get jazzed over Hanukkah

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(RNS) Ayelet Waldman isn't shy about sharing her true feelings about the upcoming Jewish festival of lights. “I loathe Hanukkah,'' she says. She's not alone: Some Jews, tired of the “December Dilemma'' and competing with Christmas, would prefer to avoid all the fuss. By Beth Kissileff.