Azalea Women's Center

Due to the upcoming weather from hurricane Debby, our office will be closed Monday, August 5th. We plan to reopen Tuesday morning weather permitting.

We appreciate Dr. Sharon helping with the 2nd annual City Renewal Project partnering with First Methodist Church of Valdosta! Although he is on call, he took the time to come by and help. Thankful for the city for initiating this project to help those who sometimes are unable to help themselves!

🚗✅ We are hosting a FREE Car Seat Safety Check! 🚒

Join us on Wednesday, March 27th at the old Valdosta High School from 9 am to 11 am for a thorough inspection of your car seat.

Certified technicians will ensure your car seat is properly installed and up to date with the latest safety standards. Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent, so don't miss out on this vital opportunity.

Book your appointment with Sherina Ferrell at [email protected] today!

Valdosta Police Department
SGMC Health
Georgia Department of Public Health
Safe Kids Lowndes

Dr. Sharon, The next Tiger Woods

We have items in our lost and found box. If you are missing a bracelet, ring, toy car, baby shoe or debit card, please contact us.

We appreciate Dr. Sharon volunteering his Saturday to help with Valdosta's City Renewal Project, however, we had TWO babies who decided they needed his time more! Dr. Sharon popped back by the worksite between deliveries to bring needed supplies and bumped into Mayor Matheson who was checking on the progress. We love our community and appreciate our city taking positive action to help improve the lives of our residents!

Today, CDC issued an urgent health advisory to increase COVID-19 vaccination among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant, who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future to prevent serious illness, deaths, and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Today's health advisory strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy because the benefits of vaccination for both pregnant persons and their fetus or infant outweigh known or potential risks.

Additionally, the advisory calls on health departments and clinicians to educate pregnant people on the benefits of vaccination and the safety of recommended vaccines.

https://bit.ly/2WmAjAU

Did you know? CDC encourages all pregnant people, people thinking about becoming pregnant, and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their babies from COVID-19. However, vaccination rates among pregnant people in the United States remain low. CDC’s COVID Data Tracker has new data showing the percent of people who are fully vaccinated before and during pregnancy. View data about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, over time and by race/ethnicity: https://bit.ly/CDTvaxpregnant.

Azalea Women's Center updated their information in their About section.

Reasons why the vaccine could be developed in less than a year:

1. Funding: public and private monies poured into the race for a vaccine, pushing aside the usual financial concerns facing pharmaceutical companies
2. Demand and urgency were high (since all countries were affected)
3. Governments pre-purchased the vaccine, meaning that research companies like Moderna, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca could take greater risks as they weren’t bankrolling it themselves.
4. These vaccines use new science rather than the traditional method of weakening or killing a virus (a process which takes a long time)
5. From the viral sequence that Dr. Zhang produced, Pfizer/BioNTech, Oxford/ AstraZeneca, and Moderna were able to design a vaccine in 48 hours.
6. They used a non-traditional platform technology, which involves slotting genetic material from the virus into a tried-and-tested delivery package. Once introduced into the human body, this genetic material is used by the protein-making machinery in our cells to churn out the coronavirus “spike protein”, triggering an immune response. Basically, the mechanism is like a security access code; like with an office building, once your key fob is disabled, the door won’t let you in. What these vaccines do is shut off the virus’ “authorization” and lock the door.

Early January 2020, Prof. Zhang Yongzhen (a virologist) was sent a sample from a patient deathly ill from a new and rapidly spreading illness. His lab worked through night and day and sequenced the viral genome in an unprecedented 40 hours. Since the genetic sequence of a virus provides the blueprint for how the virus is made, Prof. Yongzhen and his team’s heroic effort provided the world with the first key to developing a vaccine. He raised the alarm and noted that what he had sequenced was a coronavirus similar to the deadly SARS and MERS, which kills 1 in 3 people. But this was a little different: whereas SARS and MERS made people deathly ill before they became infectious, COVID-19 is infectious even before it causes symptoms. It turns out that this class of Coronavirus (COVID-19) is different: although it’s not as deadly as the virus that causes SARS or MERS, it is 5x more infectious and 12x more deadly than the flu virus. And people who have no symptoms and don’t even know they’re sick can spread it.

Dr. Zhang released the genetic sequence through an Australian colleague to an online forum, even though his government saw that as a crime. Scientists from around world picked it up and began working on a vaccine.In an unprecedented scientific effort around the globe, we now have a half-dozen highly effective vaccines in less than a year, three of which are currently approved for use in the United States.

The COVID-19 vaccines do not contain live COVID-19 virus, so they cannot cause COVID-19. Rather, getting vaccinated will help protect both you and your children from COVID-19. Studies have shown that vaccinated pregnant and lactating mothers can pass protective immunity on to their young infants across the placenta and in breast milk – one more benefit of vaccination.

Though researchers are still learning how well the vaccine can help prevent spread, vaccination is still an important way to limit infecting people who are not yet eligible for the vaccine, like younger children.

Vaccinated people need to mask up again, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On July 27, 2021, the CDC recommended that everyone in areas with high COVID-19 infection rates wear masks in public indoor spaces, regardless of vaccination status.

It’s a reversal from the CDC’s May 2021 advice that the fully vaccinated could leave their masks at home and brought U.S. guidelines more in line with World Health Organization recommendations.

The Conversation asked Peter Chin-Hong, a physician who specializes in infectious diseases at the University of California, San Francisco, to help put into context the science behind the changing messages.

What science supports masking after vaccination?
Masks help stop the spread of the coronavirus. They’re a literal layer between you and any virus in the air and can help prevent infection.

Unbiased. Nonpartisan. Factual.

CDC recommends pregnant women be vaccinated against coronavirus
The Washington Post (8/11, Bernstein , Shammas ) reports that on Wednesday, the CDC recommended “that pregnant women be vaccinated against the coronavirus, updating its advice after it found no increased risk of miscarriage among those who have been immunized.” Vaccination rates have been low among pregnant women, and this “new guidance officially moves the CDC off its previous neutral stance on whether immunization is safe for them.”

The New York Times (8/11, Rabin ) reports, “The new guidance brings the CDC in line with recommendations made by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other medical specialty groups, which strongly recommend vaccination.”

USA Today (8/11, Rodriguez ) reports, “A CDC analysis of safety data on 2,500 women showed no increased risks of miscarriage for those who received at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy.” As “miscarriages typically occur in 11%-16% of pregnancies,” this “study found miscarriage rates after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine were about 13%, which is within normal range.”

CDC study finds benefits of COVID-19 vaccines outweigh risks
Bloomberg (8/10, Rutherford ) reports a study issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the “benefits of COVID-19 vaccines used in the U.S. outweigh the risk of serious adverse events seen in a relatively small number of Americans.” The CDC found that “the impact of a few cases of a rare nerve disorder, blood vessel clots and heart infections following the shots was surpassed by thousands of COVID-19 cases prevented, many that would have had consequences.” The findings were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The New York Times (8/10, Anthes ) reports, “For adults, the benefits of the three coronavirus vaccines authorized in the United States outweigh the risks of serious side effects, which remain rare,” according to the CDC. The risks of myocarditis, and Guillain-Barré syndrome, remain “small” and “are exceeded by the benefits of the vaccines, which provide powerful protection against disease and death, experts concluded.”

A lot of our patients are asking about COVID vaccines. There is a lot of information out there and it is hard to keep up with everything. Below is an article regarding breakthrough cases.

The COVID vaccines have been astonishingly effective, but like every other vaccine, they're not perfect. Breakthrough infections are inevitable, and they will rise as infections rise.

“If we see the kind of big wave that I'm afraid we may see in the coming month or so, we will see lots of breakthrough infections. The vast majority will be mild, some will be severe, and tragically, some will result in death but that risk of death is something like 100 times less than if those people hadn't been vaccinated,” he said.

The AMA recognizes the critical importance of scientific integrity, transparency and public trust in the fight to contain the global spread of COVID-19 and plan for the authorization, distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. Stay updated with the AMA on COVID-19 and vaccine development.

Due to the current rise in COVID cases, MASK'S ARE MANDATORY TO ENTER THE OFFICE. We ask if you suspect, have symptoms of COVID, or have been exposed, please call the office for evaluation. Please do not come to the office. If you have an upcoming appointment and you have symptoms of COVID, fever, cough, cold, difficulty breathing, wheezing and/or flu like symptoms please call the office prior to your appointment.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN EXPOSED OR TESTED POSITIVE PLEASE CONTACT OUR OFFICE.

For more information regarding COVID, you may call the Georgia Department of Public Health at 866-460-1119. Additional information is also available on the CDC website.

WITH THE RISE OF POSITIVE CASES IN ADOLESCENTS, AT THIS TIME AND UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY FAMILY MEMBERS OR CHILDREN INTO THE OFFICE.

Thank You

Thank you Melanie Wade for our sweet Monday treats!!!

If you have an appointment with us and have been diagnosed with the flu or have flu like symptoms, please call the office prior to your visit. This is precautionary measure to reduce unnecessary exposure to our pregnant patients.

We have once again been nominated for Best of South Georgia.
Please vote for us.
The Best Of South Georgia 2020!
Welcome to the The Valdosta Daily Times 2020 "Best of South Georgia" contest!

It's time to celebrate the top businesses, organizations & people in our area who are the best in town at what they do!

To place your votes, simply select your favorites in each field below.

Votes will be accepted from January 26, 2020 thru 11:59 p.m. on February 3, 2020.

How to get started.

Step 1 - Getting an account

You'll need to set yourself up with a FREE account. Fill out and submit the registration form.

You'll be sent an email to authenticate your account.

After you have authenticated your account you can log in and start voting.

To submit your ballots, CLICK HERE to login or register.

For those who suffer from abnormal uterine bleeding we offer an in office procedure covered by most commercial insurances often with just your office visit copay.

Endometrial ablation refers to minimally invasive surgical procedures designed to treat abnormal uterine bleeding in women who have completed childbearing. There are different ways physicians perform endometrial ablation. After the ablation, the residual endometrium is beneath the scar, and this prevents further bleeding. In the past, a hysterectomy was frequently done for menorrhagia, but this procedure can be done quickly, in an office, is relatively painless, and has minimal downtime. It may be an option for women who do not want a hysterectomy.

Endometrial ablation is indicated for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding or perceived menorrhagia in premenopausal women who no longer desire future fertility. For additional information please call the office at 229-242-8888.