Category: Vaccines
Should I Get the New Shingles Vaccine?
There are two vaccines to prevent shingles and post-herpetic neuralgia in patients age 50 and up. If you are wondering whether to get vaccinated and which vaccine to choose, here are the facts to help you make an informed decision.
Autism prevalence increases to 1 in 59, and antivaxers lose it…yet again
Autism Awareness Month isn't as full of news stories about autism with false balance between science and antivaccine pseudoscience advocates as it was in years past. Every few years, though, when new autism prevalence figures are released, we can count on antivaxers losing it. 2018 is just such a year.
Brittany Auerbach aka Montreal Healthy Girl Gives Unhealthy Advice
Montreal Healthy Girl Brittany Auerbach spreads misinformation, pseudoscience, and outright fantasy. She could hurt people who believe her nonsense about cancer, viruses, and vaccines
The Pertussis Resurgence
A new analysis shows that the resurgence of pertussis is largely due historical patterns of vaccination. This and other data show the importance of full vaccine compliance in preventing returning epidemics of this deadly disease.
It doesn’t have to hurt: Strategies to reduce vaccine pain
To address anti-vaccine views, try to understand the underlying motives for these perspectives. Some reject vaccines because of underlying fears of the pain of vaccination. Several strategies can effectively decrease vaccine pain.
Too Many Too Soon? No!
The results of a study looking at, in part, the "too many, too soon" complaints of antivaccination activists were completely negative. There was no difference in vaccine antigen exposure between two groups who differed in the number of infections over a two year period. Therefore there is no correlation between vaccine antigen exposure and susceptibility to other infections.
Texas: Ground zero for the politicization of school vaccine mandates
Vaccine policies and school vaccine mandates have traditionally been as close to a nonpartisan issue as there can be in the US. Unfortunately, in Texas antivaccine activists and conservative activists threaten to change that. The antivaccine group Texans for Vaccine Choice has formed an unholy alliance with antiregulation conservative activists to attack school vaccine mandates. Antivaxers all over the country are doing...
The So-Called Vaccine Debate: False Balance in The San Diego Union-Tribune
A recent article in The San Diego Union-Tribune presents a pair of articles that gives a false balance regarding vaccinations. Those who oppose vaccination do so on the basis of ideology rather than science, thus placing the public's health at risk.
Anti-vaccine sentiment associated with belief in conspiracy theories
A recent survey examined the relationship between opposition to vaccines, belief in conspiracy theories, and other factors. The results suggest that we may need to modify how we address concerns about the safety and effectiveness of vaccines.
Death by Gardasil? Not so fast there…
There is a type of "vaccine injury" story promoted by the antivaccine movement that is particularly pernicious, a narrative I call "death by Gardasil." The stories, which use tenuous connections between vaccination against HPV to prevent cervical cancer and the unexpected death of a teen or young adult, are always tragic, and you can't help but feel incredible empathy for the parents....