Well, this is a new one — anti-vaxxers are pushing a myth that the COVID-19 vaccine causes AIDS. Of course, those of you with solid science neurons would say to me, “Wait, what? You must have read it wrong.” Unfortunately,… Read More »COVID vaccine does not cause AIDS — debunking another anti-vaxxer myth
Recently, the UK announced that they would begin recruiting young patients for a COVID-19-19 challenge study to observe the course of the disease, assess “rescue treatments” for the disease, and test the effectiveness of vaccines. I remain highly concerned about these challenge studies because I think they test the limits of ethics.
As I have written previously, I think that the data could be valuable, but this UK COVID-19 challenge study could be dangerous. And I am unconvinced that it will actually provide us with any information that could be otherwise determine from scientific research.
Read More »UK COVID-19 challenge study – intentionally infecting people to test vaccines
Many of you have heard about the new mutation seen in the UK to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Of course, once we hear a story about a mutation to the novel coronavirus, our first thought “does that mean the vaccines won’t work?”
It is a legitimate concern for any of us, so I wanted to give you a quick article that should allay our fears, for now. However, as with anything during this pandemic, what we know today may be out-of-date in a week.
So should we worry about the UK COVID-19 mutation? Let’s see.
Read More »UK COVID-19 mutation – what does this mean for the new vaccines
I make it a point to update this blog with the most current CDC analysis of vaccine uptake in the USA for kindergarten children (usually around 5 years old). Generally, the numbers have stayed stable, at around 95% vaccinated, although there is high variance from state to state, and locality to locality. The weakness in the vaccination uptake in the USA is that some areas may approach 100% vaccinated, but then other areas may be 50%, which makes those areas with low vaccine uptake susceptible to a quick spread of diseases that are not endemic to the USA (such as measles, polio, and others) through that unvaccinated population.
Given the 95% vaccine uptake rate, it begs the questions of why I push so hard for vaccination–because I want to protect the lives of children, and those 5% who aren’t vaccinated are at risk of serious disease and even death. And vaccines are the safest way to protect a child–protect them from death.
Nearly 55% of the readers of this blog are not American (a couple of years ago,this blog got a regular reader from Iran, which meant that all countries were represented amongst this blog’s readers). I have been accused of being a bit American-centric, but at the same time, I was also curious about vaccine uptake worldwide. Read More »Worldwide vaccine uptake-2014
If you don’t follow the news out of Wales on a regular basis, then you might not know that that there is an epidemic of measles in that part of the UK. According to Public Health-Wales, there have been 886 cases of measles from 1 November 2012 through 22 April 2013. This compares to around 0-3 cases per year in the late 90’s and early 00’s. The numbers have slowly risen to peak at 159 cases in 2009. The slow increase in number of measles cases correlates with the drop in MMR vaccine uptake to around 89% by age 5, far below the 95% level that Public Health-Wales has established for MMR vaccinations.
Measles (also called rubeola, not to be confused with rubella, or German measles) is a respiratory disease caused by the measles virus. Measles virus normally grows in the cells that line the back of the throat and lungs. Measles is spread through respiration (contact with fluids from an infected person’s nose and mouth, either directly or through aerosol transmission), and is highly contagious—90% of people without immunity sharing living space with an infected person will catch it. There is no specific treatment for the disease.Read More »Consequences of not vaccinating–Report 3
A large outbreak (or epidemic) of measles has hit over 700 people in Wales over the past few weeks according to NHS Wales. And since there are 6000 children who are unvaccinated against measles in this area, the outbreak will continue to increase in size, since measles is a highly contagious disease. This type of epidemic should not be happening in a modern, advanced country like the UK.
Well, who or what is to blame for ? Well, according to a UK newspaper, The Telegraph, “what actually caused the drop in vaccination uptake which led to Swansea was the autism scare, started and repeatedly stoked by Wakefield, abetted (it must be admitted) by the media.” Yes, that Mr. Andy Wakefield whose fraudulent paper alleging a connection between MMR and autism which was retracted by the Lancet, is at fault here.Read More »Andrew Wakefield–you sir are a disgusting, vile excuse for a human being
According to the Guardian, a total of 2,466 cases of whooping cough (Bordetella pertussis) have been confirmed in the United Kingdom between January and June of 2012, causing the deaths of 5 infants. The UK’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that the number of cases is six times larger than the last comparable outbreak in 2008. The government’s vaccination committee is “now considering recommending booster vaccinations for teenagers and pregnant women and has already recommended immunising healthcare workers who treat young children because infants are most at risk.”
Also according to the article, Mary Ramsay, the HPA’s head of immunization, said: “We are working closely with the Department of Health’s Joint Committee of Vaccination and Immunization to consider the most effective ways to tackle the ongoing outbreak. The committee is reviewing a number of options, including the introduction of a booster dose in teenagers and offering whooping cough vaccination to pregnant women. In the meantime we are actively reviewing our cases to see what interventions could have the quickest impact on the spread.”Read More »Whooping cough–UK epidemic leads to 5 infant deaths
According to a Reuters poll, nearly 15 percent of the earth’s population believe that the world will end during their lifetime, while another 10 percent think the Mayan calendar proves that the world will end in 2012. The end of the Mayan calendar, which spans about 5,125 years, on December 21, 2012 prompted a whole field of pseudoscience about the apocalyptic end of the word, sometimes spurred on by some of the junk programs on the History Channel.
What’s worse than all of this is that 22% of Americans believe in an impending Armageddon in their lifetime (the highest rate along with Turkey). This compares to obviously better science educations in France, where only 6% believe in this silliness, in Belgium, only 7% believe, and the United Kingdom, only 8%. The poll also indicated that individuals with lower education or household income levels, as well as those under 35 years old, were more likely to believe in an apocalyptic end of the world. Maybe the History Channel has a broader reach than originally thought.Read More »Americans believe in debunked myths–shocking news
Fabrice Muamba receiving emergency treatment on field.
No, it’s not how the UK is getting our bad reality TV. We actually stole that from the BBC.
No, it’s not getting obese from eating too many fast foot restaurants. To use the old adage, “that ship has sailed.”
No, it’s not religion becoming a part of the political discourse. Oh wait, here we go.
First a little background. During a football match (the British version, what we call soccer, something we haven’t borrowed from them), a player named Fabrice Muamba collapsed on the pitch (field). Only 23 years old, he had a cardiac arrest, and he was defibrillated 12 times over a 78 minute time period before his heart restarted. The newspapers in England (not always known for their ability to control sensationalist headlines) touted that he was dead for 78 minutes, and that it was some sort of miracle that he survived.Read More »The UK is learning bad habits from the United States
The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced that a measles outbreak in the Merseyside area is the largest since the MMR vaccine (vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella) was introduced in 1988. There have been 113 confirmed cases, and another 43 probable cases–28 of these individuals needed hospital treatment.
About one-quarter of the confirmed cases were teenagers (15-18 years old) and young adults who were never vaccinated as children. Another quarter of the cases were in children under the age of 13 months who are too young to be vaccinated. The majority of the remaining confirmed cases were unvaccinated children over 13 months and less than 15 years old. Read More »Measles outbreak in United Kingdom–worst since introduction of MMR vaccine