The Salk Polio Vaccine “Tragedy”
History is a powerful thing. If you accurately tell the story of an event that occurred, you get one picture, one understanding of it. Leave one tiny little detail out, however, and the whole picture changes. You can get thousands of details right, but get one wrong, or simply omit telling…
Doctors Just Not Pushy Enough On HPV Vaccine
I was driving to work the other day listening to the radio. I happened to tune into the program Here & Now on National Public Radio (NPR). The host, Robin Young, was interviewing Allison Kempe, MD of the University of Colorado about a recent study led by Dr. Kempe regarding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. As part of the study, Dr. Kempe and her team surveyed 582 pediatricians and family physicians in the United States on their views about the vaccine. The survey found that more than a third of the doctors did not strongly…
A Wider Angle on Vaccines and Immunity
My husband and I indulged in a little prenatal uber-parenting when I was pregnant with our first child, and we interviewed several pediatricians known for being more sensible or holistic to see if we could find a good fit. One of the many questions we asked each doctor was about how they approached vaccination. The last physician responded by saying, “Well, there are…
The Toxic Logic of Water and Applesauce
Helmut R. R. Wakeham, PhD (chemistry) was chief scientist and director of research and development at Philip Morris tobacco company in the 1970s. In 1976, he was interviewed on television by British journalist Peter Taylor of the BBC and asked about the dangers of cigarette smoking, specifically about the harmfulness of the ingredients in cigarettes. In that particular exchange, Dr. Wakeham stated, “None of the things that have been found in tobacco smoke are in concentrations which can be considered harmful.”
NYC Public Schools’ Brewing Fight on Vaccines: My Kid, My Choice
The flu shot might be the one to drive home the fallacy of trying to force thinking parents to take part in something that goes against their common sense. “Don’t tell us how to raise our children,” is what more parents are saying to doctors and public health officials trying to take their parental rights away when it comes to making health care choices for their children. From a report in the New York Post it appears that a sneaky new flu shot mandate in New York City’s public school system is shedding a bright light on that issue. Scheduled to be enforced beginning in January of 2016, the New York City Health Department will require that every child under age five who attends a city school or daycare center must receive either an…
NIH Research: Flu Shots Not Effective in Elderly
An important and definitive “mainstream” government study done nearly a decade ago got little attention because the science came down on the wrong side. It found that, after decades and billions of dollars spent promoting flu shots for the elderly, the mass vaccination program did not result in saving lives. In fact, the death rate among the elderly increased substantially. The authors of the study admitted a bias going into the study. Here was the history as described to me: Public health experts long assumed flu shots were effective in the elderly. But, paradoxically, all the studies done failed to demonstrate a benefit. Instead of considering that they, the experts, could be wrong—instead of believing the scientific data—the public health experts…