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Greater incidence of neurological issues from COVID-19 than vaccines

A new study published in a peer-reviewed journal shows that there is a greater risk of neurological complications from COVID-19 compared to vaccines. Once again, we have actual medical science data showing that the COVID-19 vaccines are much safer than the disease.

The overall safety of the COVID-19 vaccines has been established in numerous articles. After several billion doses given, there are so few safety signals, and those are generally minor and extremely rare.

This newly published article examines the risk of neurological issues between vaccinated individuals and those who contract COVID-19. And once again, we see that the COVID-19 vaccine is demonstrably safer than getting the disease.

Read More »Greater incidence of neurological issues from COVID-19 than vaccines
meningococcal vaccine

Meningococcal vaccine to prevent meningitis approved for 1-9 year olds

A new powerful meningococcal vaccine that trains the immune system to attack the bacteria that can lead to deadly meningitis has now been approved by the FDA for 1-9-year-old children. This is not going to warm the hearts of the anti-vaxxers who think that there are too many vaccines.

Let’s take a look at this vaccine and the disease it prevents, just so parents know that they can protect their children.

Read More »Meningococcal vaccine to prevent meningitis approved for 1-9 year olds
Harvard mumps outbreak is attracting the anti-vaccine activists.

Harvard mumps outbreak – not an indictment of vaccines

And here we go again. An outbreak of a vaccine preventable disease is used by the anti-vaccine crowd to indict all vaccines. Recently, the Harvard mumps outbreak has made the news after about 41 students contracted the disease. And myths arise.

Since most of those who caught the disease were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, and rubella, the anti-vaccine interwebs are jumping up and down pointing at the pro-science people and saying, “neener neener, vaccines don’t work.” Yeah, they’re that immature. And they are absolutely wrong.

Let’s take a look at the whole story, including some very simple math, which even science deniers should understand. Then we can thoroughly debunk the tropes pushed by the vaccine deniers. This should be fun.

Read More »Harvard mumps outbreak – not an indictment of vaccines

Why we vaccinate–saving children’s lives from meningitis

Autopsy specimen of brain infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.

Autopsy specimen of brain infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis.

One of the enduring zombie tropes of the antivaccination cult is that pathogens aren’t dangerous because the disease is not dangerous. Through a complicated, and thoroughly unsupported by evidence, revision of immunology to fit their needs, they think that kids with healthy immune systems don’t require vaccines, because their super immune systems, strengthened with homeopathic water and a handful of vitamins, will never succumb to diseases. In their arrogance, and pseudoscience beliefs, they think their kids have superior immune systems that can only be harmed by vaccines.

Of course, their beliefs are unsupported by anything in science, just putting children at harm. Plus we have evidence of how avoiding key vaccinations do put children at danger.

For a little background, meningitis is a disease caused by the inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord known as the meninges. The inflammation is usually caused by an infection of the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. The disease may develop in response to a number of causes, usually bacteria or viruses, but it can also be caused by physical injury, cancer or certain drugs. While most people with meningitis recover, it can cause serious complications, such as brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disabilities.Read More »Why we vaccinate–saving children’s lives from meningitis

Why we vaccinate: to prevent meningococcal disease

Meningitis-baby-watch

Update of 24 September 2013 article to address outbreak at Princeton University.

Meningococcal disease usually refers to a group of diseases caused by the bacteria, Neisseria meningitidis, typically known as meningococcus. The most common illness arising from the bacterial infection is meningococcal meningitis (or just meningitis, even though there are non-bacterial forms meningitis, unrelated to this form). In meningococcal meningitis, the lining of the brain and spinal cord have become infected with these bacteria. These bacteria also have a causative role in other serious infections, such as bacteremia or septicemia, which are blood-borne infections.

Meningococcus bacteria are easily spread through the exchange of respiratory and throat secretions. The bacteria can pass quickly from one individual to another in close quarters, for example, schools and dormitories. Although the disease can be very serious, it can be treated with antibiotics that prevent the more severe forms of the illness and can reduce the spread of infection from person to person. 

If meningococcus isn’t treated quickly (or prevented by vaccines), the disease can be disabling or even fatal. And if the infection spreads to the blood, the consequences can be quite severe, requiring hospitalization. Meningococcal disease cannot be treated at home with over the counter or woo-based remedies. In fact, the symptoms of the early stages of the infection can mimic less dangerous infections, and require a physician’s diagnostic tools to rule out other less-serious infections.Read More »Why we vaccinate: to prevent meningococcal disease

Save children from risks–vaccinate and keep them away from guns

Vaccine deniers are basically clueless about science. They invent stuff about the immune system, while missing how a vaccine induces a long-lasting immune response. They conflate correlation with causality, an important distinction if you’re going to understand epidemiology. They deny… Read More »Save children from risks–vaccinate and keep them away from guns

Vaccines save lives–even more evidence

Vaccines-save-lives;-fear-endangers-them.-It's-a-simple-message-parents-need-to-keep-hearing.One of my favorite tropes (of so many) of the vaccine denier gang is that vaccines are not effective, thereby implying that the limited usefulness is not worth the risks of vaccines, real or imagined. But the fact is vaccines do save lives in measurable and sometimes fascinating ways. Two peer reviewed papers, recently published, provided clear evidence of some of the ways vaccines directly save lives.

The first article analyzed the relationship between flu vaccines and reduction of cardiovascular events; while the second one examined how vaccines might reduce morbidity and mortality from pneumococcal meningitis.

Let’s start with the flu vaccine, which has a high safety profile and most people receive for the obvious reasons–flu prevention. However, we are aware of other benefits of the flu shot, including providing somewhat better outcomes during pregnancy. In an article published on 21 August 2013 examined a previously suspected, but not firmly established, benefit of the flu vaccine was examined. This study found that the risk of getting a heart attack was about 50% less amongst patients who were vaccinated against the flu compared to a group that was not.

Now, the study does not show that the flu vaccine has some miraculous anti-heart attack component, it might reduce the risk of catching the flu, or possibly reducing the severity of the infection, which reduces the risk of having a heart attack. In fact, the study’s original hypothesis was that catching the flu might actually increase the risk of a cardiovascular event, specifically a heart attack.

Furthermore, the researchers observed that the flu vaccine reduced heart attack risk even when the vaccine’s effectiveness was shown to be not very high. This conclusion itself debunks one of the huge myths of the antivaccination crowd (which is essentially that if it’s not 100% effective then we must conclude that it’s 0% effective, an application of the Nirvana logical fallacy); sometimes even when a vaccine isn’t completely effective, it still has some net positive effects.Read More »Vaccines save lives–even more evidence

West Virginia occasionally gets it right

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West Virginia isn’t frequently lumped together with the more progressive states in the country. But sometimes, there are surprises.

I admit that I keep up with all kinds of news articles dealing with vaccines and vaccinations; especially since the new health care reform tax credit was enacted. I read about new vaccines in development. I read about new vaccine technologies that might prevent autoimmune diseases, like Type 1 diabetes. And I read articles about vaccinations from community newspapers, like this story in a local West Virginia newspaper, where I’m reminded of how advanced West Virginia is, at least with respect to vaccines:

Beginning last year, and continuing every year after, older students entering the seventh and twelfth grade will have shot requirements that must be met before the start of the school year.

Seventh and twelfth grade students will not be allowed to attend school this fall without proof of these immunizations. It is important that once you receive the vaccines and the providers update your immunization record, that the school nurse is sent a copy of the vaccines for their records.

The Mason County Health Department recently sent out a reminder that seventh grade students must show proof of a booster dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine and one dose of meningococcal/meningitis vaccine. Twelfth grade students also must show proof of a dose of Tdap (ususally obtained at age 11-12 years) plus at least one dose of meningococcal/meningitis vaccine after the age of 16 years. If the student received a meningococcal vaccine prior to the age of 16, a second meningococcal vaccine will be required for the twelfth grade.Read More »West Virginia occasionally gets it right

Consequences of not vaccinating–Report 4, meningitis and education

college_meningitisThis is the fourth in a series of reports about actual consequences from not vaccinating against infectious diseases. The reports are all based on verifiable reports from health agencies and/or articles published in high impact peer-reviewed journals. 

Bacterial meningitis is a usually severe inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. While most people with meningitis recover, it can cause serious complications, such as brain damage, hearing loss, or learning disabilities. For example, in the United States, about 4,100 cases of bacterial meningitis, including 500 deaths, occurred each year between 2003–2007.

There are several pathogens that can cause bacterial meningitis including Haemophilus influenzae (most often caused by type b, often called Hib), Streptococcus pneumoniae, group B Streptococcus, Listeria monocytogenes, and Neisseria meningitides. Depending on the pathogen, bacterial meningitis is highly contagious, especially among groups that are in enclosed areas such as schools, college dormitories and other such situations. There are other types of meningitis, viral, fungal, parasitic and non-infectious, but they are significantly different than bacterial meningitis, about which is the focus of this article.Read More »Consequences of not vaccinating–Report 4, meningitis and education