Investigation Questions Gardasil Clinical Trial Safety Data
While Merck & Co. and many health authorities share the view that the benefits of the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV), Gardasil, outweigh the risks, an eight-month investigation by medical journalist Frederick Joelving, which was published by the online magazine Slate, confirms…
Tobacco Tactics Used to Market Vaccines
From the 1930s to 1950s, smoking cigarettes was the norm and the epitome of “cool,” and the habit was fashionable for both men and women. Hollywood movies depicted smoking as intelligent, sophisticated and healthy. The medical community was not immune from the trend: in the…
Why are Healthcare Costs So High in the U.S.A. versus Other Countries? (Part II)
In Part II of this series about the high costs of U.S. healthcare, I’ll talk about how politicians collude with pharma to ensure their mutual interests. Bet you already know that common ground is greed and power. For anyone who reads my column, you know that I worked in pharmaceutical…
DPT Vaccines Recalled in China
The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) announced on November 6, 2017 that batches of the Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine from two companies, Changchun Changsheng BioTech and Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, did not meet national standards
Therapeutic Vaccine Market is Big Business
When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first “therapeutic vaccine,” which is defined as a therapy that manipulates the immune system, a whole new market opened up for the vaccine industry. Driven as it is by an increasing worldwide incidence of…
Why are Healthcare Costs So High in the U.S.A. versus Other Countries? (Part I)
A recent phenomena in the healthcare industry is the rise of medical tourism. You’ve probably read an article or two that describes how someone can get surgery in Spain and enjoy a two week vacation while there—and the whole trip, including airfare, surgery and the hospital stay…