Health and Sanity category archive

Once again, we are reminded that that’s not scripture. That’s a Republican family value. Dr. Leah Luckeroth points out that

By removing both meningitis vaccines, MenACWY and MenB, from the list of those recommended in the childhood immunization schedule and shifting them to “shared clinical decision-making,” the CDC has placed an unbearable burden on health care providers and parents — and put our children at risk.

Follow the link for her reasoning.

Bloomberg’s Lisa Jarvis looks at the potential results of RFK Jr.’s choosing to ignore over almost three centuries of evidence that vaccines work.

And that future is already our present.

Afterthought:

I was a young ‘un before measles vaccines. Measles were considered almost a rite of passage for children back then. I can tell you, measles is not a fun way to get out of going to school.

And now today’s Republican Party wants to bring that past into our present.

David discusses how Donald Trump and RFK Jr. have made measles great again.

Now it appears that the anti-vaxxers are coming for the dogs.

We are a society of stupid.

We have over two centuries of evidence that vaccines work. When, for example, was the last time you’ve heard of someone suffering from small pox?

Yet, a growing percentage of the population, perhaps inspired by a faulty paper that appeared in The Lancet almost three decades ago, deny scientific fact.

At Psychology Today Blogs, JoAnn Stevelos takes a look at why persons are susceptible to falsehoods about vaccines. She makes three main points:

• Public health involves clean water, safe food, air, and vaccines.
• Vaccine risks are rare; disease risks are higher.
• Misinformation spreads fast; trust clinicians and transparent safety systems.

Follow the link for a detailed exploration of each one.

At Psychology Today Blogs, Cynthia Chen-Joea argues that the fear that some have of vaccines may be an ironic result of vaccines’ success in preventing diseases. A snippet (emphasis added):

When something works as well as vaccines have, it becomes invisible. Today, parents rarely see a child on a ventilator from diphtheria. Most physicians have never cared for a patient with polio. Aside from the recent resurgence of measles, most new doctors have never seen a live case of this once-devastating disease. Because these illnesses are no longer part of our daily reality, they feel distant and abstract. Meanwhile, the risks of vaccines, however rare, loom larger in people’s minds.

I think she may be onto something. Go see what you think.