Introduction
By Jon Abramson, M.D. and Rebecca Abramson
Ever since Dr. Abramson began working in the area of influenza in 1981, he has been particularly concerned about the mis-information that parents receive about the flu. That’s why he decided to write a book aimed at educating parents about this very serious virus. As Dr. Abramson got to know FFF, he saw a great opportunity to begin each chapter with a story about an FFF family who was personally affected by the flu.
His daughter, Rebecca, a sophomore at Wake Forest University, got involved in this project to make sure the book was written so that parents could really understand the information. After all, she has heard her dad talking about the flu her whole life, but knew that if she didn’t get involved, the book would be way too technical! So, they have worked together right from the beginning to make sure that each chapter is filled with useful information and written in a way that parents could easily understand.
Dr. Jon S. Abramson received his undergraduate training at Boston University and his medical degree from Wake Forest University School of Medicine (WFUSM), where he also completed a residency in pediatrics. He completed his fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota. In 1981, Dr Abramson joined the faculty at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and then in 1996 became the Weston M. Kelsey Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at WFUSM as well as the Physician-in-chief of Brenner Children’s Hospital in 1996. Dr. Abramson is the former chair of both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Committee on Infectious Diseases (Red Book committee) and the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and currently serves as member of the American Academy of Pediatricians Task Force on Immunizations. He has also been a medical advisor for Families Fighting Flu since October 2007.
Read the book by going to our Table of Contents menu that lists the individual chapters or click next page for Chapter 1.
