The CDC reports over 8,400 whooping cough cases in the U.S. for 2025, nearly doubling from 2024 and significantly exceeding pre-pandemic figures. Vaccine refusal contributes to this surge, raising concerns about increased outbreaks. The disease poses severe risks, particularly for… Read More »Another outbreak – over 8400 US whooping cough cases in 2025
A new recombinant pertussis vaccine booster shows promising long-term immunity in a phase 2/3 clinical trial in Thailand. Amid rising vaccine hesitancy in the U.S., this novel vaccine may enhance protection against whooping cough. Key findings indicate significantly better antibody… Read More »New pertussis vaccine booster shows excellent results
The Wall Street Journal highlights the significant role vaccines have played in drastically reducing diseases over the decades. However, with the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, concerns arise over potential setbacks in… Read More »Vaccines prevent diseases — we have clear data that proves it
In 2024, Texas reported a significant rise in pertussis cases, with 772 infections compared to 264 in 2023. This resurgence is linked to dropping vaccination rates and waning immunity. The DTaP vaccine, essential for prevention, is losing ground, emphasizing the… Read More »Texas reports 772 pertussis (whooping cough) cases in 2024
Vaccine uptake has declined since the pandemic, leading to increased cases of diseases like pertussis. Pertussis is a highly contagious disease causing severe coughing, particularly in infants. Vaccine hesitancy, driven by confusion over misinformation, contributes to lower vaccination rates. Effective… Read More »Increased pertussis cases because of higher vaccine hesitancy
The article stresses the importance of keeping up-to-date with adult vaccines beyond just flu and COVID-19 shots. It details CDC recommendations for vaccines against RSV, shingles, pneumococcal disease, MMR, and Tdap. Ignoring these can leave adults vulnerable to serious diseases.… Read More »Adult vaccine recommendations beyond flu, COVID — catch up
The CDC now recommends the Tdap, RSV, COVID-19, and flu vaccines for pregnant women. These vaccines protect the mother and child.
A long time ago, Australian evolution denier Ken Ham attacked me for an article about a growing whooping cough epidemic in Australia. The epidemic brought out one of the worst anti-vaccine activists in the form of Meryl Dorey, who is the leading mouthpiece for the anti-vaccination lunacy in Australia.
Dorey is no different than any other pseudoscience propagandist, such as the ones found in the anti-evolution crowd (Ken Ham again), climate change denialists, and sasquatch/alien abduction/Loch Ness Monster/crop circle conspiracists. That’s right, there is no difference between creationism, sasquatch, and homeopathy — no science, and many beliefs based on…nothing.
I guess Ken Ham decided that he had to support Meryl Dorey by attacking me. So, let’s take a look at creationism, anti-vaxxers, Australia, and everything else that brought this story together. It’s fun
Read More »I once got into a public row with Australian creationist Ken Ham
I don’t usually do this, but I wanted to post the transcript from the outstanding Brandy Zadrozny podcast about how the anti-vaccine movement treated Tiffany Dover who fainted after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine 18 months ago. Dorit Rubinstein Reiss wrote an in-depth article about Dover soon after it happened, and we have updated it as we have gotten more information. Not to give away a spoiler, but she’s still alive.
I have posted the full transcript of episode 4 because it gives you a history of the anti-vaccine movement and the various “truthers” who pass fall information about it. I’m not going to edit the transcript, but I will add in my commentary here and there (it’ll be in bold type) and links for more information, something you can’t get from a podcast. This is very long, but it’s filled with great information. I have made minor edits to spelling and punctuation to make it more readable.
I’m someone who prefers reading content to listening to podcasts or watching YouTube because I like clicking on links or researching more. If you’re like me, then you’ll love this.
Read More »Examining the anti-vaccine movement — a podcast from Brandy Zadrozny
This article about the Andrew Wakefield movie, 1986: The Act, was written by Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Professor of Law at the University of California Hastings College of the Law (San Francisco, CA), who is a frequent contributor to this and many other blogs, providing in-depth, and intellectually stimulating, articles about vaccines, medical issues, social policy, and the law.
Professor Reiss writes extensively in law journals about the social and legal policies of vaccination. Additionally, Reiss is also a member of the Parent Advisory Board of Voices for Vaccines, a parent-led organization that supports and advocates for on-time vaccination and the reduction of vaccine-preventable disease.
In 1986: The Act, Andrew Wakefield has created a very long parade of anti-vaccine claims from the past forty years or longer. The movie combines half-truths, facts taken out of context, and blatant misrepresentations to try and mislead people into refusing to vaccinate and protect their children.
In his post on the topic, my friend and colleague Dr. Vince Ilannelli addressed the potential motivations behind 1986: The Act from Andrew Wakefield, the problems with the credibility of the director and many of the main actors, the problematic nature of the sources in the movie, and some of the inaccuracies surrounding DTP.
In this post, I will cover some of the same ground, but my main focus will be to show why the film is unreliable. Obviously, I cannot cover every detail of the long film and keep this manageable, but I can cover many of the highlights, and I hope to make it clear why I think it’s unreliable.
Before starting on those, however, readers deserve a reminder that Andrew Wakefield, the creator of the film, has a well-earned reputation as a dishonest scientist. Wakefield misrepresented information about MMR and hid conflicts of interests, and as a result, outbreaks of measles in Europe and the United States harmed and killed children.
And Andrew Wakefield has continued to misrepresent information in ways that harm children.
Andrew Wakefield is not a reliable source, and his previous movies show this, too.
1986: The Act is no different.
The movie is framed as a discovery journey of a couple from the point where the woman discovers she’s pregnant to the point where she gives birth, during which they go through a lot of anti-vaccine sources and become thoroughly and extremely anti-vaccine, ending the movie as participants in an anti-vaccine event. It is, as I mentioned, a parade of greatest hits of the anti-vaccine movement – mostly claims that have been addressed again and again over the years, some twenty years old, some almost forty years old, some older still. There is little new in 1986: The Act.Read More »Latest “act” from Andrew Wakefield – recycling 1986 anti-vaccine tropes