Polio Wasn’t Vanquished, It Was Redefined
Perhaps the most egregious example of clever sleight of hand (and outright rewriting of history) on the part of public health officials in the United States occurred in 1954 when the U.S. government changed the diagnostic criteria for polio. It was the year that medical researcher and virologist Jonas Salk produced his inactivated injectable polio vaccine ((IPV). The vaccine was licensed in 1955 and began to be used…
How a Press Release Became a Media Measles Sensation
On July 2, 2015, the Washington State Department of Health issues a press release titled, “Measles led to death of Clallam Co. woman; first in US in a dozen years.” Within hours, the release began to be picked up by numerous media sources, including ABC News, BuzzFeed News, CBS News, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, NBC News, Reuters, Slate, the Detroit Free Press, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, the Puget Sound…
Doctors Give Flu Shots to Pregnant Women Despite Evidence of Harm to Fetus
Every year, during flu season, pregnant women in the United States are encouraged to get a flu shot. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Flu shots are a safe way to protect the mother and her unborn child from serious illness and complications of flu.” The CDC reassures that the flu vaccine is safe. It says…
The Nascent Conversation on Vaccines
The most common refrain you hear from many members of the government, medical profession, media and pharmaceutical industry who believe vaccines are either entirely or largely safe and efficacious is that those who don’t simply do not believe in science. It is a clever debate tactic which seeks to diminish the credibility of the other side so that those who do not agree with your…
The Misunderstood Theory of Herd Immunity
Because of the recent outbreaks of measles in the United States and the re-energized public debate about vaccines and vaccination policy, we’re again starting to hear references to the theory of “herd immunity.” The theory is the foundation for the mass vaccination campaigns around the world. It currently stipulates that in order to provide immunity to a population against contagious…
Green Light for a ‘Little Pink Pill’
There may be a new drug on the market later this year called Flibanserin. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s being billed as the “female Viagra.” You’ve heard of the innocuously named “little purple pill” for acid reflux, Nexium? Well, Flibanserin will be the “little pink pill” for sexual indifference. The US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Drug Safety Oversight Board recently voted 18-6…