anti-vaccination
sa smith | April 23, 2014Spoiler to apologize for click-bait title:
Yes, the MMR vaccine works just fine.
But there is a difference between 'just fine' and 'perfectly'.
A few things I would want in a 'perfect' vaccine-- Only one dose is needed, zero side-effects, 100% protective antibody or CTL mediated immunity for life, inability of the target pathogen to evolve resistance to the vaccine, dirt cheap, can be stored at room temperature (but stable at high/low ambient temperatures), doesnt need to be administered with a needle-- Im sure you and I can think of a lot more.
But we dont live in a world where 'perfect'…
sa smith | November 5, 2012Let me break down the overall scheme of vaccination, real quick.
You get exposed to a dead/weakened/chunks of a pathogen (virus, bacterial toxin like tetanus, etc).
Your body reacts to the vaccine 'invader' and triggers an adaptive immune response.
Your adaptive immune system 'remembers' what it has seen, so when you are exposed to the real virus/bacteria/etc, it is already ready, and kills the pathogen before it can make you sick.
That is the ideal situation.
Sometimes your body just ignores the vaccine. The vaccine is dead, so it degrades before your body even sees it, much less develops…
sa smith | March 7, 2012One month after some grossly irresponsible parents let their measles-infested offspring roam about the Super Bowl festivities, here is the end result:16 cases of measles
I dont know about the last three, but the first 13 were unvaccinated:According to Larkin, the first 13 individuals infected had all chosen not to be vaccinated.
Im sorry, but that statement doesnt jive with this one:State health officials have reported a total of 13 confirmed cases of measles in Central Indiana, involving children and adults.
Children cannot 'choose' not to be vaccinated. If they could, the vaccine rate…
sa smith | February 8, 2012Are you freaking kidding me???Super Bowl Village visitors on Friday may have been exposed to measles
Tuesday night, the state Department of Health confirmed they have requested information from county health departments as part of an investigation into a report that a person who has been diagnosed with measles attended the festivities Friday.
According to the Super Bowl Host Committee, 200,000 people were at Super Bowl Village on Friday. At the free concerts late Friday night, 35,000 people were gathered to see LMFAO's performance. It is still unclear what time the ill person visited downtown…
sa smith | April 7, 2011A couple of days ago, Orac directed us towards an article that is one of the funniest pieces of 'Science Journalism' I have ever seen, anywhere. See, those of us on the 'non-kook' side of things have marvelously eloquent writers like Carl and Ed, and inquisitive investigatory journalists like Trine. Sure theyre 'educational', but their work is depressingly devoid of 'WTF LOL!!' moments like this piece by an apparent anti-vax 'science' journalist, Sharyl Attkisson:The author is Helen Ratajczak, surprisingly herself a former senior scientist at a pharmaceutical firm. Ratajczak did what nobody…
terrasig | May 5, 2009I wanted to contribute to today's discussion of anti-vaccinationist, pseudoscience-pawning Jenny McCarthy being given not only an appearance on Oprah but, as reported by Orac, a deal with Oprah's production company for her own show.
The public attention that Jenny McCarthy's rants have gotten were bad enough. But, now, to have the soapbox of one of the most influential names in society?
I had to go outside the science blogging community with this. So, I wrote to the Philadelphia attorney who writes the award-winning blog, Field Negro.
Good evening, Counselor,
I know that your view of Oprah…