Dr. Phillips shares her inspiring journey from growing up in Texas to becoming a doctor and a leader in the health care field, all while balancing family and the challenges of being a woman in medicine. 

Annie discusses how her mother’s path influenced her own career choices and the bond they share working together in healthcare. Together, they reflect on the challenges of motherhood, the importance of resilience, and the power of family support. 

Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube to hear a mother and daughter who are not only committed to improving children’s health but also to growing and supporting each other along the way.

The answer is we simply don’t have the ability to test every patient suspected of having the virus. And that’s OK, because our recommendations for taking care of those patients wouldn’t change based on the test results.

Currently, Cook Children’s will only perform COVID-19 testing on patients who are admitted for inpatient care.

“At this time, there is a shortage of testing supplies in both public health laboratories and clinical laboratories. Labs cannot keep up with the demand of testing every patient who has symptoms of COVID-19,” said Morgan Pence, Ph.D., a microbiologist at Cook Children’s. “At this time, Cook Children’s is unable to test every patient suspected of having the virus.”

The number of tests currently available in the U.S. is not enough to test every patient who is suspected of contracting COVID-19, so the medical field has focused on patients most at-risk who need to be tested immediately. In addition to not enough tests, there is a shortage of components of the test kit and a shortage of the sample tubes used to collect patient specimens. Labs cannot keep up with the testing demand of every patient who has symptoms of COVID-19.

In situations where there’s a known exposure and symptoms are consistent with COVID-19, the patient and family should call their primary care doctor and isolate themselves from others until they are no longer showing symptoms and they are well.

“The good news is that children have been the least affected by this virus,” said Alice Phillips, M.D., a Cook Children’s pediatrician at Cook Children’s Cityview. “If you suspect your child has COVID-19, call your doctor. It’s important to limit exposure to others and prevent the spread of the disease.”

As with everything involving COVID-19, this situation is fluid and changing frequently. Please continue to follow Cook Children’s for the latest information.

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As a pediatrician, I have been lucky to practice medicine in the post-vaccine era. Although I have watched kids struggle with whooping cough, meningitis, mumps and pneumonia, I am happy to say I have never seen many of the vaccine-preventable diseases. I rely upon my education and training to know about the diseases and recognize them should the need arise.

I do frequently wonder, ‘What was life like for families and children before vaccines were introduced?’ How did people manage the illnesses and anxiety that came with the disease?

For a firsthand answer, I only had to talk to the person sitting at my dining room table during a typical weekend family dinner – my mom.

It was the summer of 1949. While other children were skipping rocks and riding their bikes, my mom was lying in a hospital bed as one of many children struck down by polio.

The illness began as a fever with trouble swallowing and weakness in her left leg. The doctors quickly admitted her to the hospital for quarantine and treatment. Her most vivid memory of the time has to be of the spinal tap used to aid in her diagnosis. At the time, there were no child life specialists to comfort her. She was told to hold still and if she moved the test might kill her.

After 3 months in the hospital with only her mother allowed to stay, her symptoms seemed to be worsening. Her kind physician came into the room one day to visit and cheer up the family. His kindness unfortunately, resulted in him contracting the disease and being confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his days. After all, back then doctors did not even realize the value of handwashing.

I asked my mom what people thought about polio in the pre-vaccine era. “Everybody was scared to death of catching it! They did not know how they got it but knew it was prevalent in the summer months. They tried to avoid the sun and swimming holes since those seemed to be related.”

We now understand the transmission of polio much better. Polio comes from a virus that is highly contagious. It is spread person to person through sneezing, coughing or contact with human feces. Before the successful introduction of the polio vaccine in the 1950s, the disease resulted in the paralysis of 15,000 people per year. Since 1979, no cases of polio have originated within the United States but cases can be brought in by travelers with the disease.

My mom was one of the lucky ones. Just as a conversation with her medical team was turning to placing her in an iron lung to support her breathing she began to recover. The impact of the illness, however, continues to this day with residual weakness in her legs that makes walking for her a constant challenge.

I asked her what she thought about vaccines as a mom and a grandmother. She responded, “I experienced polio and its effect on my life. I want all my kids and grandkids protected so they don’t have to go through what I did.”

Vaccine-preventable diseases such as polio and the re-emerging measles and mumps are not historically that far away from us. We cannot forget the tremendous impact these diseases have had on the lives of so many before the introduction of vaccines.

If you want to learn more, you can check out the CDC website on polio. 

Better yet, just look across the table on a sunny Saturday afternoon and if you are fortunate to do so, ask the folks who lived it. Their stories and experiences are powerful.

More Information On This Topic

• 'I'm Worried Too.' Pediatricians Concered As Texas' Nonmedical Vaccine Exemption Rates Hit All Time-High
• 5 Questions We Get Asked About Vaccines Answered
• Vaccines for Your Children: 9 Facts Parents Need To Know
• Vaccines and Immunizations
• Information for Parents