Is Merck’s Measles Vaccine Monopoly a Cause for Concern?
First, how did Merck become the country’s sole supplier of these measles vaccines, and is that a problem? Well, is it a problem depends on who you talk to. But Merck became the sole supplier because the vaccine market is highly concentrated. It’s incredibly expensive to make vaccines. It takes a lot of time to […]
Here’s How We Should Talk About Vaccines. Hint: No Name-Calling.
The more we force people to take sides, the harder it is to discuss vaccination, let alone build common cause and work together for the public good. I’m a medical anthropologist, and I have studied1 vaccine selectivity—that is, when parents choose to give their children only a select subset of required vaccinations, most often skipping chicken […]
Skin Inflammation in Elderly Obstructs Vaccine Efficacy
Story Highlights It is known that people over 65 do not respond well to vaccination because aging immune systems do not mount a robust immune response to pathogens. A 2018 study showed that that an excessive inflammatory response at the skin level in elderly patients obstructs immune system function and diminishes a vaccine’s efficacy. The […]
Johnson & Johnson Fined $572 Million for “Greed” in Fueling the Opioid Crisis
In a lawsuit filed by the state of Oklahoma against Johnson & Johnson, Inc., Purdue Pharma LP and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries were ordered on Aug. 26, 2019 to pay $572 million in penalties for helping to fuel the opioid crisis in Oklahoma.1 Before the trial […]
Judge Denies Injunction of NY Law Repealing Religious Vaccine Exemption
On Aug. 23, 2019, New York State Supreme Court Judge Denise Hartman issued an Opinion upholding a law passed by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on June 13, 2019 repealing the legal right of parents to obtain a religious exemption vaccination for their children to attend school and daycare […]
Google Joins the Pharmaceutical Industry
Story Highlights Google, the world’s most widely used internet search engine, restructured itself to give semi-independence to its many subsidiary organizations under a new umbrella entity called Alphabet. Two of the divisions are focused on the business of medicine and operate in partnership with some of the world’s most powerful pharmaceutical companies that develop and […]
