RSV Vaccine

August 28, 2024 / Charles W. Lapp, MD / News

Patients have been asking about the RSV vaccine. Respiratory Syncytial Virus can cause severe respiratory disease in adults and has been becoming more prevalent recently. An increase in cases is expected this Fall, so the CDC recommends immunization for high risk individuals over age 60, every adult over 75 years, and all immunocompromised individuals. The […]

RSV, Vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccines

December 15, 2020 / Charles W. Lapp, MD / Ask The Doctor

Q: Should I take the COVID-19 vaccine when it becomes available? A: Many PWCs (Persons with CFS or FM) have developed a flare or relapse after vaccination with live viruses, so we have always recommended avoiding immunization with influenza vaccine, the MMR, and Hepatitis B, if feasible. The question is: how safe are the COVID-19 […]

COVID-19, Immunization, Vaccine

The Hunter-Hopkins name derives from two individuals who were memorialized because of the invaluable lessons they taught to Dr. Lapp.

Linda Hopkins presented to the emergency room complaining that she could not breath when she nodded off to sleep. As a result she had not slept in weeks. Other physicians had discounted her story as impossible, but Linda and her mother convinced Dr. Lapp to look into it further. Linda was hospitalized and monitored overnight. Sure enough, as soon as she nodded off, Linda went into respiratory arrest – a very severe form of sleep apnea now known as “Ondine’s Curse.” Once the problem was identified, Linda was fitted with a respirator to be used while sleeping. Lesson learned: listen to the patient.

Allison Hunter was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but lived in Australia, where the providers of socialized medicine ‘did not believe’ in the diagnosis. As a result she was misnamed a malingerer, hysterical, or Munchhausen – a term reserved for individuals who purposely pretend to be sick. When Alli developed convulsions they were attributed to this ‘phantom illness’ and went untreated. As a result, she died during a grand mal seizure. Lessons learned: (1) diligently look into all complaints and don’t discount them, and (2) don’t trust socialized medicine.

Allison’s parents went on to found the Allison Hunter Memorial Foundation, which has promoted CFS throughout the Pacific Basin and provides superb seminars for practitioners to learn more about CFS and FM.

So we have admired and memorialized these two young women who taught us much about the importance of diligence and listening to the patient.

Hunter-Hopkins Center, PLLC

RSV Vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccines

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