Samoan Government Arrests “Anti-Vaxxer” as Measles Campaign Widens
On Dec. 5, 2019, the Samoan government reportedly arrested a “vocal antivaccination campaigner” and charged him with “incitement” as the government widens a mass measles vaccination campaign in the small South Pacific island nation of about 200,000 people. More than 4,300 measles cases with 63 deaths have been reported since the measles outbreak began in […]
Polio Eradication Stalls with More Wild-Type and Vaccine Strain Polio Outbreaks
After 65 years of global polio mass vaccination campaigns, on Oct. 24, 2019 (“World Polio Day”) the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that, along with wild type 2 poliovirus declared eradicated in 2015, wild type 3 poliovirus has been eradicated from the earth.1 The credit for the achievement was given to the Global Polio Eradication […]
Samoa’s Measles Outbreak and Response
(updated to reflect new outbreak figures released by AFP on Nov. 25, 2019)—A total of 2,194 cases of measles have been reported in Samoa this year. The government has declared a state of emergency and closed all schools, including the nation’s only university. Samoan health authorities are developing plans to implement compulsory MMR (mumps, measles, […]
Medical Errors Kill Five People Per Minute, 2.6 Million People Every Year
A new report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 2.6 million people die annually in low-and middle-income countries from medical errors, and that most of those deaths are related to misdiagnosis and administration of pharmaceutical products. According to the WHO, “Four out of every ten patients are harmed during primary and ambulatory […]
Baby Girl in Cuba Dies Two Days After Getting MMR Vaccine
A one-year-old girl died in Cuba on Oct. 9, 2019 two days after receiving an MMR (mumps, measles, rubella) vaccination. Paloma Domínguez Caballero was administered the vaccine at a clinic near Havana on Oct. 7. Within two hours, the toddler began to have symptoms of severe adverse reactions.1 2 According to Paloma’s mother, “First we […]
Flu Shots May Be Even Less Effective This Year
Just as publicity about the need for everyone to get a flu shot ramps up, there are signs that the influenza vaccine for this “flu season” (2019-2020) may be even less effective this year than last year. The strains of the influenza virus selected by the World Health Organization (WHO) and U.S. health officials for […]