Fauci Says Zika Vaccine Coming by 2018
Director of the National Institutes for Health Anthony Fauci, MD announced this week that a Zika vaccine could be rushed to market as early as 2018. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has already launched two phase 1 Zika vaccine trials this year, including a genetically engineered vaccine. “I’m confident we’ll get a Zika vaccine, but it’s not going to be before 2018,” said Dr. Fauci…
C-Section Births Rising in the U.S.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cesarean section (C-section) births are on the rise in wealthy nations. In 1965, the U.S cesarean birth rate was 4.5 percent.2 Since then, the national cesarean birth rate has increased seven-fold. In 2009, the rate peaked to 32.9 percent and dropped slightly to 32.2 percent in 2014.2 Currently, one in three women give birth via C-section…
The Cost of Avoiding Vaccines: The Flawed UNC Study
A new study published in the journal Health Affairs pegged the cost to the U.S. economy of people opting not to vaccinate against vaccine-preventable diseases at $7.1 billion in 2015. The study, performed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and funded by Merck & Co., based the figure on estimates of medical and lost productivity costs related to being sick.
Barbara Loe Fisher on the Importance of Balanced Cellular and Humoral Immune System Responses
Humans and infectious microbes have coexisted for as long as humans have walked the earth, and the human immune system has developed an efficient way of dealing with viral and bacterial infections. When infected with a microorganism, the body’s first line of defense is for the cellular or ‘innate’ part of the immune system to mount an inflammatory response. This response then signals the humoral or ‘learned’ part of the immune system to produce anti-inflammatory chemicals and…
Sugar Linked to Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
It is hard to comprehend the degree of damage perpetrated by sugar, one of the most wildly popular and ubiquitous ingredients in the typical Western diet. Consumption of sugar has already been identified as a leading risk factor in obesity, tooth decay, fatty liver disease, insulin resistance leading to diabetes and the metabolic syndrome, cancer, and heart disease. It has been likened to any other…
Piper Lowery Died From the Flu?
Tragically, sixth grader Piper Lowery from Port Orchard, Washington died on Sat. Jan. 1, 2016 after a week of illness. Reportedly, she died from H1N1 influenza. She had not gotten a seasonal flu shot. A week earlier, Piper began feeling sick with a high fever and a sore throat. Her mother, Peggy Lowery, also had symptoms of influenza during that time. It was not reported whether Mrs. Lowery had…