Vaccination, Choice, Public Health Options 5
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1margd
Frank Han MD 🇺🇦Pediatric/ACHD/GUCH Cardiologist @han_francis retweeted:
U Illinois Chicago Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiologist.
Benjamin Mazer @BenMazer | 8:16 AM · Jan 25, 2023:
Johns Hopkins U assistant professor of pathology, surgical pathologist, and writer exploring controversies in diagnostics and medical evidence.
Myocarditis is a serious condition that shouldn't be downplayed as benign. Tough to balance policy. But constant critics might also find the time to mention the 7 young boys who died of COVID last month, or the 13 who died the month before, or the 10 before that. All undercounts.
Paul Offit has a thoughtful commentary this week advocating for vaccinating children against COVID. He should know. Rotavirus killed just 20 kids per year in the US before he invented a vaccine against it. Now we rightly universally administer it.
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Paul A. Offit 2023. COVID-19 Vaccines in Young Children—Reassuring Evidence for Parents (Editorial). JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 23, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6251 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2800744
In this issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Watanabe and coauthors1 evaluated the safety and efficacy of 2 doses of Pfizer’s messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 years during both the delta and omicron waves of COVID-19. In a systematic review and meta-analysis that included 17 published studies of 10 935 541 vaccinated and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children, they found that the mRNA vaccine was effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). The vaccine was also safe; myocarditis occurred in only 1.8 per million vaccinees. This analysis offers 2 important advances over previous, smaller studies. First, during both the delta and omicron waves, mRNA vaccines consistently protected against serious illness, including MIS-C. Second, the risk of myocarditis was minuscule.
...Parents should be both compelled and reassured by the following facts:
(1) although the COVID-19 pandemic is ending, SARS-CoV2 virus will be circulating for years, if not decades;
(2) while some SARS-CoV-2 variants might have become less virulent,15 the virus is unlikely to evolve to avirulence;
(3) about 3 to 4 million children will be born every year who will be susceptible to this virus;
(4) the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause severe and occasionally fatal disease in all age groups;
(5) mRNA vaccines, which have now been given to more than 10 million children between 5 and 11 years of age, have been shown to be effective at preventing severe disease; and
(6) myocarditis is an extremely rare consequence of mRNA vaccines in young children. Given the amount of information currently available to parents, the decision to vaccinate their children should be an easy one.
1 MD. Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
References
Watanabe A, Kani R, Iwagami M, Takagi H, Yasuhara J, Kuno T. Assessment of efficacy and safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5 to 11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 23, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6243 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2800743
Key Points
Question Are messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines safe and effective in children aged 5 to 11 years?
Findings In this systematic review and meta-analysis including 17 studies with 10 935 541 vaccinated and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children aged 5 to 11 years, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with lower risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalization, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. While vaccination, compared with placebo, was associated with higher incidences of adverse events, the overall frequency of severe adverse events, including myocarditis, was low.
Meaning These data support the safety and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines among children aged 5 to 11 years and endorse the universal age-based recommendations.
...
U Illinois Chicago Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiologist.
Benjamin Mazer @BenMazer | 8:16 AM · Jan 25, 2023:
Johns Hopkins U assistant professor of pathology, surgical pathologist, and writer exploring controversies in diagnostics and medical evidence.
Myocarditis is a serious condition that shouldn't be downplayed as benign. Tough to balance policy. But constant critics might also find the time to mention the 7 young boys who died of COVID last month, or the 13 who died the month before, or the 10 before that. All undercounts.
Paul Offit has a thoughtful commentary this week advocating for vaccinating children against COVID. He should know. Rotavirus killed just 20 kids per year in the US before he invented a vaccine against it. Now we rightly universally administer it.
-----------------------------------------------------
Paul A. Offit 2023. COVID-19 Vaccines in Young Children—Reassuring Evidence for Parents (Editorial). JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 23, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6251 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/article-abstract/2800744
In this issue of JAMA Pediatrics, Watanabe and coauthors1 evaluated the safety and efficacy of 2 doses of Pfizer’s messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 years during both the delta and omicron waves of COVID-19. In a systematic review and meta-analysis that included 17 published studies of 10 935 541 vaccinated and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children, they found that the mRNA vaccine was effective at preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). The vaccine was also safe; myocarditis occurred in only 1.8 per million vaccinees. This analysis offers 2 important advances over previous, smaller studies. First, during both the delta and omicron waves, mRNA vaccines consistently protected against serious illness, including MIS-C. Second, the risk of myocarditis was minuscule.
...Parents should be both compelled and reassured by the following facts:
(1) although the COVID-19 pandemic is ending, SARS-CoV2 virus will be circulating for years, if not decades;
(2) while some SARS-CoV-2 variants might have become less virulent,15 the virus is unlikely to evolve to avirulence;
(3) about 3 to 4 million children will be born every year who will be susceptible to this virus;
(4) the SARS-CoV-2 virus can cause severe and occasionally fatal disease in all age groups;
(5) mRNA vaccines, which have now been given to more than 10 million children between 5 and 11 years of age, have been shown to be effective at preventing severe disease; and
(6) myocarditis is an extremely rare consequence of mRNA vaccines in young children. Given the amount of information currently available to parents, the decision to vaccinate their children should be an easy one.
1 MD. Vaccine Education Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
References
Watanabe A, Kani R, Iwagami M, Takagi H, Yasuhara J, Kuno T. Assessment of efficacy and safety of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in children aged 5 to 11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. Published online January 23, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.6243 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2800743
Key Points
Question Are messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccines safe and effective in children aged 5 to 11 years?
Findings In this systematic review and meta-analysis including 17 studies with 10 935 541 vaccinated and 2 635 251 unvaccinated children aged 5 to 11 years, COVID-19 vaccination was associated with lower risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, symptomatic COVID-19, hospitalization, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. While vaccination, compared with placebo, was associated with higher incidences of adverse events, the overall frequency of severe adverse events, including myocarditis, was low.
Meaning These data support the safety and efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines among children aged 5 to 11 years and endorse the universal age-based recommendations.
...
2margd
Frank Han MD 🇺🇦Pediatric/ACHD/GUCH Cardiologist Retweeted
Eric Burnett, MD @Doctor_Eric_B | 8:23 AM · Jan 26, 2023:
How on earth was this (BioMed Central) paper published?? Anti-vaxxers surveyed around 2000 people and asked them if they knew people who died from the covid vaccine…from that they concluded the vaccines killed 217k people in the US in the first year…wow
Even if it’s retracted the damage has already been done. This has spread like wildfire in AV circles. Really disappointed in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Alan Plotzker, MD @AlanPlotzker:
Utterly ridiculous. 217k was the LOWER bound on their confidence interval. Their point estimate was 278k, about 8% of ALL deaths, or about as many as die from stroke and Alzheimer’s combined. When you get something so wildly implausible, you need do a sanity check of some kind
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Mark Skidmore* 2023. The role of social circle COVID-19 illness and vaccination experiences in COVID-19 vaccination decisions: an online survey of the United States population. BMC Infectious Diseases volume 23, Article number: 51 (24 Jan 2023) https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-023-07998-3
26 January 2023 Editor's Note: Readers are alerted that the conclusions of this paper are subject to criticisms that are being considered by editors. Specifically, that the claims are unsubstantiated and that there are questions about the quality of the peer review. A further editorial response will follow the resolution of these issues.
* Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Department of Economics, Michigan State University, 91 Morrill Hall of Agriculture, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1039, USA
Eric Burnett, MD @Doctor_Eric_B | 8:23 AM · Jan 26, 2023:
How on earth was this (BioMed Central) paper published?? Anti-vaxxers surveyed around 2000 people and asked them if they knew people who died from the covid vaccine…from that they concluded the vaccines killed 217k people in the US in the first year…wow
Even if it’s retracted the damage has already been done. This has spread like wildfire in AV circles. Really disappointed in BMC Infectious Diseases.
Alan Plotzker, MD @AlanPlotzker:
Utterly ridiculous. 217k was the LOWER bound on their confidence interval. Their point estimate was 278k, about 8% of ALL deaths, or about as many as die from stroke and Alzheimer’s combined. When you get something so wildly implausible, you need do a sanity check of some kind
-----------------------------------------------------------
Mark Skidmore* 2023. The role of social circle COVID-19 illness and vaccination experiences in COVID-19 vaccination decisions: an online survey of the United States population. BMC Infectious Diseases volume 23, Article number: 51 (24 Jan 2023) https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-023-07998-3
26 January 2023 Editor's Note: Readers are alerted that the conclusions of this paper are subject to criticisms that are being considered by editors. Specifically, that the claims are unsubstantiated and that there are questions about the quality of the peer review. A further editorial response will follow the resolution of these issues.
* Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Department of Economics, Michigan State University, 91 Morrill Hall of Agriculture, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1039, USA
3margd
Alastair McAlpine, MD (Paeds infectious diseases MD) @AlastairMcA30 | 12:12 PM · Jan 25, 2023:
https://twitter.com/AlastairMcA30/status/1618295784277159937
We’ve all wondered why scientists or MDs “turn”. How respected folk can find themselves deep in the anti-vax community.
It’s a decidedly simple (but dangerous and malicious) process.
Below is a thread on how people become “red pilled.” 🧵
Imagine you’re a YouTuber and you think you explain science well.
Imagine you’ve built a loyal following on mostly reliable stuff and get 50k-ish views per video.
Now imagine you dip your toe into contrarian waters: there’s this new drug: ivermectin. 🧵 /1
You read a meta-analysis which is favourable and you have on your show an enthusiastic guest with all the right qualifications.
This seems legit! Could this work? Is science missing out on something big? Have you stumbled onto the cure for COVID-19? /2
Suddenly… 700k views! With those extra views comes a SIGNIFICANT bump in revenue. You’re now earning fairly substantial amounts.
You go back to the fuddy, “mainstream” stuff, and interest in your videos tanks. You’re back to 50k again (and minimal cash). /3
So you once again do something controversial. You start “wondering” about the vaccine.
Views skyrocket. People in the comments are telling you what an extraordinary truth-seeker you are. What a great mind. Someone not beholden to “Big Pharma”. /4
Meanwhile, additional evidence has come to light that ivermectin is a bust. That early meta-analysis is flawed and it now seems like your enthusiasm was misplaced.
You can talk about this, but there’s a hitch… /5
Subscribers & views continue to increase rapidly. But it’s clear what they’re there for: C19 contrarianism & skepticism.
You know this from the comments. You know this from the attention you receive from other prominent skeptics & outlets.
Antivax conferences are calling…/5
Suddenly, for the first time, you’re IMPORTANT. Lots of people out there care what you say (in the science world you were small-fry).
You’re on tv. You’re being interviewed. From obscurity, you’re now a *name*.
You’re also making very good money. /6
But you’re not alone. Other folk are also making videos. To stand out, they’re making wilder & wilder claims. So to keep up, you need to escalate.
No more soft-peddling or ambiguity. You go for it. You embrace the antivaccine message. You ignore all those who criticize you. /7
Now it’s too late to turn back.
The science community thinks you’re gone and won’t easily accept you back.
Your viewers expect escalation of your rhetoric. Turning back would bring their scorn and they would leave in droves. /8
I’m addition to YouTube revenues, you are now being contacted by folk in the anti-vaxx community.
You are being offered hefty speaking fees. Additional incentives to host prominent antivaxxers. Advertising and sponsorship.
This could make you rich. /9
You are now trapped. Firmly in the bosom of the antivaxx community, you find yourself standing with conspiracy theorists, germ theory denialists, hardcore right-wingers… and you can’t escape.
There’s nowhere to go. /10
You wonder how you got here. How a combination of YouTube algorithms, a motivated and wealthy anti-vaxx community, the allure of fame and wealth, the blacklisting by mainstream science, all led you to this point.
But here you are… /11
We see the above story play out over & over, with minor variations and changes.
It’s how folk in the science and medical community get “red-pilled” into an antivaxx box that they probably scoffed at a few years ago.
It’s extremely dangerous. And it’s only going to continue./End
https://twitter.com/AlastairMcA30/status/1618295784277159937
We’ve all wondered why scientists or MDs “turn”. How respected folk can find themselves deep in the anti-vax community.
It’s a decidedly simple (but dangerous and malicious) process.
Below is a thread on how people become “red pilled.” 🧵
Imagine you’re a YouTuber and you think you explain science well.
Imagine you’ve built a loyal following on mostly reliable stuff and get 50k-ish views per video.
Now imagine you dip your toe into contrarian waters: there’s this new drug: ivermectin. 🧵 /1
You read a meta-analysis which is favourable and you have on your show an enthusiastic guest with all the right qualifications.
This seems legit! Could this work? Is science missing out on something big? Have you stumbled onto the cure for COVID-19? /2
Suddenly… 700k views! With those extra views comes a SIGNIFICANT bump in revenue. You’re now earning fairly substantial amounts.
You go back to the fuddy, “mainstream” stuff, and interest in your videos tanks. You’re back to 50k again (and minimal cash). /3
So you once again do something controversial. You start “wondering” about the vaccine.
Views skyrocket. People in the comments are telling you what an extraordinary truth-seeker you are. What a great mind. Someone not beholden to “Big Pharma”. /4
Meanwhile, additional evidence has come to light that ivermectin is a bust. That early meta-analysis is flawed and it now seems like your enthusiasm was misplaced.
You can talk about this, but there’s a hitch… /5
Subscribers & views continue to increase rapidly. But it’s clear what they’re there for: C19 contrarianism & skepticism.
You know this from the comments. You know this from the attention you receive from other prominent skeptics & outlets.
Antivax conferences are calling…/5
Suddenly, for the first time, you’re IMPORTANT. Lots of people out there care what you say (in the science world you were small-fry).
You’re on tv. You’re being interviewed. From obscurity, you’re now a *name*.
You’re also making very good money. /6
But you’re not alone. Other folk are also making videos. To stand out, they’re making wilder & wilder claims. So to keep up, you need to escalate.
No more soft-peddling or ambiguity. You go for it. You embrace the antivaccine message. You ignore all those who criticize you. /7
Now it’s too late to turn back.
The science community thinks you’re gone and won’t easily accept you back.
Your viewers expect escalation of your rhetoric. Turning back would bring their scorn and they would leave in droves. /8
I’m addition to YouTube revenues, you are now being contacted by folk in the anti-vaxx community.
You are being offered hefty speaking fees. Additional incentives to host prominent antivaxxers. Advertising and sponsorship.
This could make you rich. /9
You are now trapped. Firmly in the bosom of the antivaxx community, you find yourself standing with conspiracy theorists, germ theory denialists, hardcore right-wingers… and you can’t escape.
There’s nowhere to go. /10
You wonder how you got here. How a combination of YouTube algorithms, a motivated and wealthy anti-vaxx community, the allure of fame and wealth, the blacklisting by mainstream science, all led you to this point.
But here you are… /11
We see the above story play out over & over, with minor variations and changes.
It’s how folk in the science and medical community get “red-pilled” into an antivaxx box that they probably scoffed at a few years ago.
It’s extremely dangerous. And it’s only going to continue./End
4lriley
>3 margd: I imagine there is some of that....but if you have any integrity though you go with what you know is fact.
Kind of funny. I got Lyme in August and it seemed to trigger some other things with my thyroid and my liver numbers were elevating. My oncologist took me off my chemo med for about a month. In the meantime I did a liver ultrasound, an MRI and a liver biopsy. What came back from all that was my liver was fine....no scarring, no real damage and my liver numbers meanwhile had gone back to normal. So I went back on the chemo but the last test those numbers are rising again so suspicion is it might be the chemo drug and possibly they'll switch me to something else.
In the meantime though my anti-vax sister starts going on about 'have you ever thought that it might be all those vaccines and boosters for covid you've taken?' As a matter of fact I never did think that but still the answer is no--they are not the problem.
Kind of funny. I got Lyme in August and it seemed to trigger some other things with my thyroid and my liver numbers were elevating. My oncologist took me off my chemo med for about a month. In the meantime I did a liver ultrasound, an MRI and a liver biopsy. What came back from all that was my liver was fine....no scarring, no real damage and my liver numbers meanwhile had gone back to normal. So I went back on the chemo but the last test those numbers are rising again so suspicion is it might be the chemo drug and possibly they'll switch me to something else.
In the meantime though my anti-vax sister starts going on about 'have you ever thought that it might be all those vaccines and boosters for covid you've taken?' As a matter of fact I never did think that but still the answer is no--they are not the problem.
5margd
>4 lriley: MY dearest anti-vaxxer clings to MMR-vaccine explanation for autism even though Wakefield paper was discredited long ago, and other explanations are being tested. I wonder if one will someday pull her away from MMR-vaxx explanation--and will she survive such a shift in her world view?
6brone
The 1995 encephalitis outbreak has mysterious origens. Most scientists say Sar 2 probably has natural origins-however a leaky lab has not been ruled out" Oh yeah, guess where this natural origen originated, a place called Wuhan hmn. implicit in these "incidents" is that lab accidents happen all the time probably closer to you than you want to think about. Swine flu originated in the Soviet Union, killing 700,000 world wide. The characteristics of this Pandemic was that it killed people who were mostly under the age of 25, How convenient. The American Society of Microbiology said this was "probably not a natural event", incidently Swine Flu is another word for H1N1 the infamous 1918 flu. After the last case of small pox a research facility in Enland accidently leaked out the virus (3 times) blaming poor ventalation. Inadequate Vaccines are blamed for causing more outbreaks of encephalitis than the disease itself. SARS has escaped three different times in china in 2002 killing 8,000. In Virginia in 1989 four lab workers contact the Ebola virus experimenting on monkeys. 1979 the deadliest out break of Anthrax excapes from the infamous research lab in Siberia Vector kiling 65. No Carolina Univ Chapel hill the largest reciever of gov research grants 500million looses infected mice on 8 different occasions infected with yup N1H1. 435,000 cases of Lyme's disease last year in just the US, July 29 a house investigation was launched to investigate tick based bioweapons research. How ridiculous you say tiks attacking a peaceful Conn town. 80 years ago the infamous 731 Unit of Imperial Japan infected insects with the plague killing thousands of Chinese. I for one will not be punctured by some under paid Phlebotomist at Walgreens wearing dirty scrubs and shoes, stocking shelves between Jabs....AMDG...
7prosfilaes
>6 brone: I for one will not be punctured by some under paid Phlebotomist at Walgreens wearing dirty scrubs and shoes, stocking shelves between Jabs.
Only a communist would suggest that free market capitalism wouldn't pay its people enough or insure the absolute safety of anyone using its products. Ahem.
Only a communist would suggest that free market capitalism wouldn't pay its people enough or insure the absolute safety of anyone using its products. Ahem.
8margd
WHO hopes to test an experimental Marburg virus vaccine amid an outbreak in Equatorial Guinea
The World Health Organization convened an urgent meeting to evaluate vaccine candidates after nine deaths and 16 suspected cases were reported.
Aria Bendix | Feb. 14, 2023
...On Tuesday, the WHO convened an urgent meeting to evaluate several possible vaccine candidates that could be administered during the outbreak. The meeting brought together a consortium of vaccine developers, researchers and government officials — a group the WHO created in 2021 to advance a Marburg vaccine...
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/hopes-test-marburg-virus-vaccine-equa...
The World Health Organization convened an urgent meeting to evaluate vaccine candidates after nine deaths and 16 suspected cases were reported.
Aria Bendix | Feb. 14, 2023
...On Tuesday, the WHO convened an urgent meeting to evaluate several possible vaccine candidates that could be administered during the outbreak. The meeting brought together a consortium of vaccine developers, researchers and government officials — a group the WHO created in 2021 to advance a Marburg vaccine...
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/hopes-test-marburg-virus-vaccine-equa...
9kiparsky
>6 brone: I for one will not be punctured by some under paid Phlebotomist at Walgreens wearing dirty scrubs and shoes, stocking shelves between Jabs....AMDG...
This is probably true, anyway. Walgreens is not going to be paying pharmacist wages for shelf stocking.
It's a good line though. You should give credit to whichever blatherer you stole it from.
This is probably true, anyway. Walgreens is not going to be paying pharmacist wages for shelf stocking.
It's a good line though. You should give credit to whichever blatherer you stole it from.
10margd
New Idaho Bill Would Criminalize Anyone Administering Covid-19 mRNA Vaccines
Bruce Y. Lee | Feb 18, 2023
...State Senator Tammy Nichols and State Representative Judy Boyle, both Republicans, have co-sponsored House Bill (HB) 154 for Idaho...“A person may not provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state...A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
...Nichols told the House Health & Welfare Committee, “We have issues (the vaccine) was fast tracked...There are other shots we could utilize that don't have mRNA in it.”
...HB 154 didn’t specifically mention Covid-19 probably because Nichols and Boyle seem to be trying to target future mRNA vaccines as well...flu...cancer...
...Idaho has had the sixth lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates among the U.S. states and territories. Only 56% of the population have been fully vaccinated....meaning the first two doses of Covid-19 vaccine...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/02/18/new-idaho-bill-would-criminaliz...
Bruce Y. Lee | Feb 18, 2023
...State Senator Tammy Nichols and State Representative Judy Boyle, both Republicans, have co-sponsored House Bill (HB) 154 for Idaho...“A person may not provide or administer a vaccine developed using messenger ribonucleic acid technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state...A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.”
...Nichols told the House Health & Welfare Committee, “We have issues (the vaccine) was fast tracked...There are other shots we could utilize that don't have mRNA in it.”
...HB 154 didn’t specifically mention Covid-19 probably because Nichols and Boyle seem to be trying to target future mRNA vaccines as well...flu...cancer...
...Idaho has had the sixth lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates among the U.S. states and territories. Only 56% of the population have been fully vaccinated....meaning the first two doses of Covid-19 vaccine...
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2023/02/18/new-idaho-bill-would-criminaliz...
11John5918
>10 margd:
I find it interesting how US states are so keen to legislate about things. A long state-wide consultation process involving all stakeholders, pro and con? A recommendation that such vaccines should not be used? Stopping them from being used in government funded health facilities? No, straight down to criminalising and fining health providers.
I find it interesting how US states are so keen to legislate about things. A long state-wide consultation process involving all stakeholders, pro and con? A recommendation that such vaccines should not be used? Stopping them from being used in government funded health facilities? No, straight down to criminalising and fining health providers.
12margd
>11 John5918: "conservative", "small government", "Republicans"...
Hopefully, common sense (science?) will prevail.
Hopefully, common sense (science?) will prevail.
13John5918
From Piltdown Man to anti-vaxxers ... What science’s worst hoaxes can teach us (Guardian)
Covid disinformation prompts Royal Society to consider ways of countering forgeries and falsehoods... a special open meeting on “fakes, forgeries and misinformation” at the Royal Society in London on Thursday. Past scientific frauds will be revealed and debates held on the lessons that can be learned from previous hoaxes... “A great deal of disinformation and fraudulent activities went on during the pandemic so this is an appropriate time to think about how science gets at the truth and how it deals with fake news”... previous examples of fake news have taken much longer to be shown to be false. It took decades before the true nature of Britain’s greatest scientific fraud, Piltdown Man, was revealed... “It is also important to understand these issues because we now have new problems relating to the internet, deepfaking and that kind of stuff. People have to be careful about the sources of the information that they are relying on. That has always been a problem”...
14margd
Measles Exposure at a Large Gathering in Kentucky, February 2023 and Global Measles Outbreaks
CDC Health Alert Network | March 3, 2023
Summary
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify clinicians and public health officials about a confirmed measles case at a large gathering. On February 24, 2023, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) identified a confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated individual with a history of recent international travel. While infectious, the individual attended a large religious gathering on February 17–18, 2023, at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. An estimated 20,000 people attended the gathering from Kentucky, other U.S. states, and other countries during February 17–18, and an undetermined number of these people may have been exposed. This Health Advisory also highlights other recent large global measles outbreaks and associated U.S. importations, and the importance of early recognition, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment. CDC recommends that clinicians be on alert for cases of measles that meet the case definition.
https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023.asp
CDC Health Alert Network | March 3, 2023
Summary
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory to notify clinicians and public health officials about a confirmed measles case at a large gathering. On February 24, 2023, the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) identified a confirmed case of measles in an unvaccinated individual with a history of recent international travel. While infectious, the individual attended a large religious gathering on February 17–18, 2023, at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. An estimated 20,000 people attended the gathering from Kentucky, other U.S. states, and other countries during February 17–18, and an undetermined number of these people may have been exposed. This Health Advisory also highlights other recent large global measles outbreaks and associated U.S. importations, and the importance of early recognition, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment. CDC recommends that clinicians be on alert for cases of measles that meet the case definition.
https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023.asp
15margd
Jonathon P. Leider et al. 2023. The Exodus Of State And Local Public Health Employees: Separations Started Before And Continued Throughout COVID-19. Health Affairs Vol. 42, No. 3: Public Health During COVID-19 & More. PUBLISHED:March 2023. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01251 https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2022.01251
Abstract
...In our analytic sample, nearly half of all employees in state and local public health agencies left between 2017 and 2021, a proportion that rose to three-quarters for those ages thirty-five and younger or with shorter tenures. If separation trends continue, by 2025 this would represent more than 100,000 staff leaving their organizations, or as much as half of the governmental public health workforce in total. Given the likelihood of increasing outbreaks and future global pandemics, strategies to improve recruitment and retention must be prioritized.
Abstract
...In our analytic sample, nearly half of all employees in state and local public health agencies left between 2017 and 2021, a proportion that rose to three-quarters for those ages thirty-five and younger or with shorter tenures. If separation trends continue, by 2025 this would represent more than 100,000 staff leaving their organizations, or as much as half of the governmental public health workforce in total. Given the likelihood of increasing outbreaks and future global pandemics, strategies to improve recruitment and retention must be prioritized.
16margd
HPV vaccine adverse events – study of 11 years of use in Australia
Michael Simpson | 2020-09-27
...the researchers found no concerning issues with HPV vaccine adverse events except for syncope {fainting}, a condition that is frequently observed with all vaccines or procedures that use needles such as blood draws...
https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/hpv-vaccine-adverse-even...
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Phillips Aet al. 2020. Adverse events following HPV vaccination: 11 years of surveillance in Australia. Vaccine. 2020 Aug 27;38(38):6038-6046. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.039. Epub 2020 Jul 22. PMID: 32709432. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32709432/
Michael Simpson | 2020-09-27
...the researchers found no concerning issues with HPV vaccine adverse events except for syncope {fainting}, a condition that is frequently observed with all vaccines or procedures that use needles such as blood draws...
https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/hpv-vaccine-adverse-even...
------------------------------------------------------
Phillips Aet al. 2020. Adverse events following HPV vaccination: 11 years of surveillance in Australia. Vaccine. 2020 Aug 27;38(38):6038-6046. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.039. Epub 2020 Jul 22. PMID: 32709432. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32709432/
17margd
Dr David Robert Grimes @drg1985 | 7:32 AM · Mar 21, 2023:
Cancer researcher, physicist, scoundrel. Author (#TheIrrationalApe / #GoodThinking). Science, Medicine...
Anti-vaccine activists like Bridgen & Malhotra again quoting fellow crank McCullough to assert COVID vaccines cause 57x increase in miscarriage rate.
With typical miscarriage rate ~15%, these clowns are effectively claiming there's 8.55x more miscarriages than pregnancies.
Cancer researcher, physicist, scoundrel. Author (#TheIrrationalApe / #GoodThinking). Science, Medicine...
Anti-vaccine activists like Bridgen & Malhotra again quoting fellow crank McCullough to assert COVID vaccines cause 57x increase in miscarriage rate.
With typical miscarriage rate ~15%, these clowns are effectively claiming there's 8.55x more miscarriages than pregnancies.
18margd
‘We Were Helpless’: Despair at the C.D.C. as the Pandemic Erupted
Apoorva Mandavilli | March 21, 2023
...Interviews with 11 current and former agency employees, including trainees at the E.I.S., as well as a review of text messages and other documents obtained by The New York Times, portray an agency under intense pressure from the country’s political leaders. Some younger staff members wrestled with guilt, anger and a rising sense of powerlessness as administration officials meddled with or simply disregarded important scientific research...
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/health/covid-cdc.html?unlocked_article_code=n...
Apoorva Mandavilli | March 21, 2023
...Interviews with 11 current and former agency employees, including trainees at the E.I.S., as well as a review of text messages and other documents obtained by The New York Times, portray an agency under intense pressure from the country’s political leaders. Some younger staff members wrestled with guilt, anger and a rising sense of powerlessness as administration officials meddled with or simply disregarded important scientific research...
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/21/health/covid-cdc.html?unlocked_article_code=n...
19margd
Inside Ron DeSantis’s Plan to Ride Anti-vaxxism to the White House
Katherine Eban | March 21, 2023
He was for the COVID-19 vaccines before he was against them, but now Florida’s governor is all-in on vaccine skepticism—and hoping to use the issue to outflank Trump on the right. With the presidential primaries looming, and MAGA activists angling to turn Trump against the vaccines he helped fast-track, experts fear anti-vaxxism could soon become an official plank of the Republican Party.
...DeSantis has recruited a host of doctors who are helping him disparage federal health agencies and platform concerns about vaccine safety. Leading the pack is his handpicked surgeon general, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who has recommended against the COVID-19 vaccine for children and claimed, in a widely debunked study, that Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines elevate the risk of cardiac-related deaths in young men.
On March 10, the heads of the CDC and FDA rebuked Ladapo for issuing “misinformation.” In a joint four-page public letter,* they wrote, “It is the job of public health officials around the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, particularly the vulnerable. Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort.”...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/desantis-antivax-florida-trump
* 10 March 2023 letter from CDC and FDA to Joseph A. Ladapo, M.D., Ph.D., State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health. https://www.fda.gov/media/166159/download
Katherine Eban | March 21, 2023
He was for the COVID-19 vaccines before he was against them, but now Florida’s governor is all-in on vaccine skepticism—and hoping to use the issue to outflank Trump on the right. With the presidential primaries looming, and MAGA activists angling to turn Trump against the vaccines he helped fast-track, experts fear anti-vaxxism could soon become an official plank of the Republican Party.
...DeSantis has recruited a host of doctors who are helping him disparage federal health agencies and platform concerns about vaccine safety. Leading the pack is his handpicked surgeon general, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, who has recommended against the COVID-19 vaccine for children and claimed, in a widely debunked study, that Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines elevate the risk of cardiac-related deaths in young men.
On March 10, the heads of the CDC and FDA rebuked Ladapo for issuing “misinformation.” In a joint four-page public letter,* they wrote, “It is the job of public health officials around the country to protect the lives of the populations they serve, particularly the vulnerable. Fueling vaccine hesitancy undermines this effort.”...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/03/desantis-antivax-florida-trump
* 10 March 2023 letter from CDC and FDA to Joseph A. Ladapo, M.D., Ph.D., State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health. https://www.fda.gov/media/166159/download
20margd
Eric Feigl-Ding (epidemiologist) @DrEricDing | 8:47 AM · Mar 23, 2023:
Escalating risk—“Risk of international spread has not been ruled out”—The ongoing #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is significantly larger than has previously been acknowledged, according to new information released by WHO, which warned there may be undetected chains of transmission of the deadly virus in the West African country. Confirmed and probable cases has grown from nine to 29, with cases having been reported in three different provinces over a range of about 90 miles. Some have links to known cases, others do not.
Marburg fever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea widens, WHO reports
In nearly a month, the number of confirmed and probable cases has grown from nine to 29, with cases having been reported in three different provinces over a range of about 90 miles.
Helen Branswell | March 22, 2023
https://statnews.com/2023/03/22/marburg-fever-outbreak-equatorial-guinea-widens/
Escalating risk—“Risk of international spread has not been ruled out”—The ongoing #Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea is significantly larger than has previously been acknowledged, according to new information released by WHO, which warned there may be undetected chains of transmission of the deadly virus in the West African country. Confirmed and probable cases has grown from nine to 29, with cases having been reported in three different provinces over a range of about 90 miles. Some have links to known cases, others do not.
Marburg fever outbreak in Equatorial Guinea widens, WHO reports
In nearly a month, the number of confirmed and probable cases has grown from nine to 29, with cases having been reported in three different provinces over a range of about 90 miles.
Helen Branswell | March 22, 2023
https://statnews.com/2023/03/22/marburg-fever-outbreak-equatorial-guinea-widens/
21margd
Covid vaccines and false claims about miscarriage (9:52)
Charlotte McDonald, BBC | 25 Mar 2023
Misinformation around covid-19 and vaccines is rife and as the data available increases, so do often misleading and even wild claims. This week More or Less examines multiple viral claims that the Covid 19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of miscarriage. To explain where these incorrect figures come from and what the science actually tells us, we are joined by Dr Viki Male, senior lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fbsxy2
Charlotte McDonald, BBC | 25 Mar 2023
Misinformation around covid-19 and vaccines is rife and as the data available increases, so do often misleading and even wild claims. This week More or Less examines multiple viral claims that the Covid 19 mRNA vaccines increase the risk of miscarriage. To explain where these incorrect figures come from and what the science actually tells us, we are joined by Dr Viki Male, senior lecturer in reproductive immunology at Imperial College London.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0fbsxy2
22margd
Illinois’ Bold Move: 60,000 HEPA Air Purifiers To Be Distributed In Schools To Battle Respiratory Viruses
Country Herald Staff Report | March 17, 2023
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is launching a program that will distribute over 60,000 HEPA air purifiers to more than 3,000 Illinois schools to help reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. The $29.6 million program is funded by the CDC through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is aimed at school districts serving lower-income communities and counties with elevated air pollution counts.
IDPH estimates that the program will cover 68 percent of school districts in the state, excluding Chicago, which received a separate federal grant. The portable air purifiers will be delivered to school districts in the coming months. Schools will generally be eligible for one small air filter unit for each 20 students in a school, with a limited number of larger units for districts with more than 1,000 students.
The program aims to provide students with a healthy learning environment, regardless of their zip code or income level. IDPH believes that providing schools with air purifiers can significantly reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, the flu, and RSV, and reduce absences related to illness.
Studies have shown that cleaner air can improve students’ abilities to think, learn, read, and solve math problems, as well as reduce absentee rates. IDPH issued ventilation guidance last year to educate the community on the impact of ventilation systems and to provide information about low-cost and DIY interventions for ventilation upgrades...
https://www.countryherald.com/news/local/illinois-bold-move-60000-hepa-air-purif...
Country Herald Staff Report | March 17, 2023
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is launching a program that will distribute over 60,000 HEPA air purifiers to more than 3,000 Illinois schools to help reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19. The $29.6 million program is funded by the CDC through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is aimed at school districts serving lower-income communities and counties with elevated air pollution counts.
IDPH estimates that the program will cover 68 percent of school districts in the state, excluding Chicago, which received a separate federal grant. The portable air purifiers will be delivered to school districts in the coming months. Schools will generally be eligible for one small air filter unit for each 20 students in a school, with a limited number of larger units for districts with more than 1,000 students.
The program aims to provide students with a healthy learning environment, regardless of their zip code or income level. IDPH believes that providing schools with air purifiers can significantly reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, the flu, and RSV, and reduce absences related to illness.
Studies have shown that cleaner air can improve students’ abilities to think, learn, read, and solve math problems, as well as reduce absentee rates. IDPH issued ventilation guidance last year to educate the community on the impact of ventilation systems and to provide information about low-cost and DIY interventions for ventilation upgrades...
https://www.countryherald.com/news/local/illinois-bold-move-60000-hepa-air-purif...
23aspirit
Does anyone here know of US American big chain-store companies that has installed the ventilation systems that reduce the spread of airborne pathogens?
I'm incredulous looking around, because it seems no one has. Not Target, Walmart, booksellers such as B&N or BAM, or anyone else in the USA. Owner and shareholder profits increased while people have likely been infected in their stores. That happened while none implemented the simplest (possibly most effective) preventative method to reduce illness and death (of employees if no one else!)?
I'm incredulous looking around, because it seems no one has. Not Target, Walmart, booksellers such as B&N or BAM, or anyone else in the USA. Owner and shareholder profits increased while people have likely been infected in their stores. That happened while none implemented the simplest (possibly most effective) preventative method to reduce illness and death (of employees if no one else!)?
24margd
I'll take my CO2 monitor next time I'm in a pharmacy. My dentist's office as well as MD exam room, waiting room and even downstairs lab were well bellow 800 ppm. Hospital good except for elevator.. The three big box stores I tested varied, so I always wear mask to shop. A couple of hotel rooms were 1100 when we arrived, so we always open doors and windows upon arrival, and run bathroom exhaust. You're right, though that pharmacies should make extra effort, given their clientele...drive-thru might be worth the effort?
25John5918
In a sceptical era, understand this: vaccines do work - and our children need them (Guardian)
Covid accelerated a decline in vaccinations in England. We have to make a stronger case for them, and ensure everyone can get them...
26margd
Rachel Clarke @doctor_oxford | 4:42 PM · May 14, 2019:
Palliative care doctor 👩🏻⚕️ Writer 📚 NHS
A visual argument for vaccines, in five tweets:
1/ A ward of polio victims, incarcerated inside "iron lungs" in 1950s America. Many are children, their lungs paralysed, unable to breathe unaided. Thanks to vaccination, no-one has caught polio in the UK since the 1980s.
Photo iron lungs polio ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128400180443734016/photo/1 )
2/ Roald Dahl with his beloved daughter, Olivia, who died, aged 7, from measles. He wrote:
“'Are you feeling all right?' I asked her.
'I feel all sleepy,' she said.
In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead."
Family photo ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128400867923771392/photo/1 )
3/ 82,500. The number of measles cases in Europe in 2018. That is 3x as many as in 2017, and an astonishing 15x as many as in 2016.
Last year, measles caused 72 avoidable deaths in Europe. Many victims were children.
4/ Cervical cancer. The latest research shows that in the last decade, the new HPV vaccine has caused an astonishing 90% fall in rates of pre-cancerous cells in vaccinated young women.
Photo cervix w lesions ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128401547950481408/photo/1 )
5/ Smallpox. A horrific disease, now eradicated, thanks to vaccination. Its mortality rate was 30% - and even higher in babies. Survivors had extensive skin scarring. Many were left blind.
Photo smallpox victim ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128401907649863682/photo/1 )
Palliative care doctor 👩🏻⚕️ Writer 📚 NHS
A visual argument for vaccines, in five tweets:
1/ A ward of polio victims, incarcerated inside "iron lungs" in 1950s America. Many are children, their lungs paralysed, unable to breathe unaided. Thanks to vaccination, no-one has caught polio in the UK since the 1980s.
Photo iron lungs polio ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128400180443734016/photo/1 )
2/ Roald Dahl with his beloved daughter, Olivia, who died, aged 7, from measles. He wrote:
“'Are you feeling all right?' I asked her.
'I feel all sleepy,' she said.
In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead."
Family photo ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128400867923771392/photo/1 )
3/ 82,500. The number of measles cases in Europe in 2018. That is 3x as many as in 2017, and an astonishing 15x as many as in 2016.
Last year, measles caused 72 avoidable deaths in Europe. Many victims were children.
4/ Cervical cancer. The latest research shows that in the last decade, the new HPV vaccine has caused an astonishing 90% fall in rates of pre-cancerous cells in vaccinated young women.
Photo cervix w lesions ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128401547950481408/photo/1 )
5/ Smallpox. A horrific disease, now eradicated, thanks to vaccination. Its mortality rate was 30% - and even higher in babies. Survivors had extensive skin scarring. Many were left blind.
Photo smallpox victim ( https://twitter.com/doctor_oxford/status/1128401907649863682/photo/1 )
27John5918
>26 margd: Roald Dahl with his beloved daughter, Olivia, who died, aged 7, from measles.
Reminds me of a friend, an Anglican missionary, who was working in Zimbabwe alongside a Zimbabwean priest. Both of them had young sons about the same age, who played together all the time. There was an outbreak of measles in the region. My friend's son, fully vaccinated in UK, felt under the weather for a couple of days and then was fine. When my friend asked his Zimbabwean colleague, "How's your son getting on?", the simple reply was, "He died". In many countries in the Global South vaccines are not readily available. So children die. Living in Africa, it really is difficult to understand how people who have easy access to these life-saving vaccinations reject them, while people who would love to have vaccinations for their children are often deprived of them.
Reminds me of a friend, an Anglican missionary, who was working in Zimbabwe alongside a Zimbabwean priest. Both of them had young sons about the same age, who played together all the time. There was an outbreak of measles in the region. My friend's son, fully vaccinated in UK, felt under the weather for a couple of days and then was fine. When my friend asked his Zimbabwean colleague, "How's your son getting on?", the simple reply was, "He died". In many countries in the Global South vaccines are not readily available. So children die. Living in Africa, it really is difficult to understand how people who have easy access to these life-saving vaccinations reject them, while people who would love to have vaccinations for their children are often deprived of them.
28margd
>27 John5918: Measles is even more dangerous in areas where other pathogens are in circulation and health care is less available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_rkOpdgZLc (4:36)
29margd
tern @1goodtern | 6:59 AM · Apr 6, 2023:
Guess which age group in the UK is under vaccinated.
The toxic minimisers did this...
Covid deaths as % of total deaths, by age, England and Wales, 2023
( https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1643931359524671489/photo/1 *)
The blame for this should fall precisely at the feet of the jcvi.*
And please please please do not forget that every individual death of a child is only the tip of the iceberg.
For every death there are more kids left disabled.
For every death there are more kids with severe illnesses and kids hospitalised.
* James Neill - 🇺🇦💙 🇪🇺🇮🇪🇬🇧🔶 jneill | 4:54 AM · Apr 6, 2023:
(creator of the graph)
🚨 Children rarely die of anything, thankfully.
But Covid is STILL a significant cause of child deaths.
More so than for many other age groups.
** The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises UK health departments on immunisation.
Guess which age group in the UK is under vaccinated.
The toxic minimisers did this...
Covid deaths as % of total deaths, by age, England and Wales, 2023
( https://twitter.com/1goodtern/status/1643931359524671489/photo/1 *)
The blame for this should fall precisely at the feet of the jcvi.*
And please please please do not forget that every individual death of a child is only the tip of the iceberg.
For every death there are more kids left disabled.
For every death there are more kids with severe illnesses and kids hospitalised.
* James Neill - 🇺🇦💙 🇪🇺🇮🇪🇬🇧🔶 jneill | 4:54 AM · Apr 6, 2023:
(creator of the graph)
🚨 Children rarely die of anything, thankfully.
But Covid is STILL a significant cause of child deaths.
More so than for many other age groups.
** The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises UK health departments on immunisation.
30margd
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): vaccine administered during pregnancy was effective against medically attended severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants, and no safety concerns were identified.
Beate Kampmann @BeateKampmann | 3:47 AM · Apr 6, 2023:
Infectious diseases paediatrician, Director of the Vaccine Centre @LSHTM_Vaccines, leading vaccine research at MRC Unit the Gambia at London School of Trop Med
very happy to see our international study out in @NEJM today showing that #RSV vaccination in pregnancy protects over 80% of infants against severe disease. Multi-country effort and great local team @mrcunitgambia @IMPRINT_network
Beate Kampmann et al. 2023. Bivalent Prefusion F Vaccine in Pregnancy to Prevent RSV Illness in Infants. NEJM April 5, 2023. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2216480 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2216480
Abstract
Background
Whether vaccination during pregnancy could reduce the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)–associated lower respiratory tract illness in newborns and infants is uncertain.
Methods
In this phase 3, double-blind trial conducted in 18 countries, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, pregnant women at 24 through 36 weeks’ gestation to receive a single intramuscular injection of 120 μg of a bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based (RSVpreF) vaccine or placebo. The two primary efficacy end points were medically attended severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness and medically attended RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants within 90, 120, 150, and 180 days after birth. A lower boundary of the confidence interval for vaccine efficacy ... greater than 20% was considered to meet the success criterion for vaccine efficacy with respect to the primary end points.
Results
At this prespecified interim analysis, the success criterion for vaccine efficacy was met with respect to one primary end point. Overall, 3682 maternal participants received vaccine and 3676 received placebo; 3570 and 3558 infants, respectively, were evaluated. Medically attended severe lower respiratory tract illness occurred within 90 days after birth in 6 infants of women in the vaccine group and 33 infants of women in the placebo group (vaccine efficacy, 81.8% ...); 19 cases and 62 cases, respectively, occurred within 180 days after birth (vaccine efficacy, 69.4%...). Medically attended RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness occurred within 90 days after birth in 24 infants of women in the vaccine group and 56 infants of women in the placebo group (vaccine efficacy, 57.1%...); these results did not meet the statistical success criterion. No safety signals were detected in maternal participants or in infants and toddlers up to 24 months of age. The incidences of adverse events reported within 1 month after injection or within 1 month after birth were similar in the vaccine group (13.8% of women and 37.1% of infants) and the placebo group (13.1% and 34.5%, respectively).
Conclusions
RSVpreF vaccine administered during pregnancy was effective against medically attended severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants, and no safety concerns were identified. (Funded by Pfizer; MATISSE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04424316. opens in new tab.)
Beate Kampmann @BeateKampmann | 3:47 AM · Apr 6, 2023:
Infectious diseases paediatrician, Director of the Vaccine Centre @LSHTM_Vaccines, leading vaccine research at MRC Unit the Gambia at London School of Trop Med
very happy to see our international study out in @NEJM today showing that #RSV vaccination in pregnancy protects over 80% of infants against severe disease. Multi-country effort and great local team @mrcunitgambia @IMPRINT_network
Beate Kampmann et al. 2023. Bivalent Prefusion F Vaccine in Pregnancy to Prevent RSV Illness in Infants. NEJM April 5, 2023. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2216480 https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2216480
Abstract
Background
Whether vaccination during pregnancy could reduce the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)–associated lower respiratory tract illness in newborns and infants is uncertain.
Methods
In this phase 3, double-blind trial conducted in 18 countries, we randomly assigned, in a 1:1 ratio, pregnant women at 24 through 36 weeks’ gestation to receive a single intramuscular injection of 120 μg of a bivalent RSV prefusion F protein–based (RSVpreF) vaccine or placebo. The two primary efficacy end points were medically attended severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness and medically attended RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants within 90, 120, 150, and 180 days after birth. A lower boundary of the confidence interval for vaccine efficacy ... greater than 20% was considered to meet the success criterion for vaccine efficacy with respect to the primary end points.
Results
At this prespecified interim analysis, the success criterion for vaccine efficacy was met with respect to one primary end point. Overall, 3682 maternal participants received vaccine and 3676 received placebo; 3570 and 3558 infants, respectively, were evaluated. Medically attended severe lower respiratory tract illness occurred within 90 days after birth in 6 infants of women in the vaccine group and 33 infants of women in the placebo group (vaccine efficacy, 81.8% ...); 19 cases and 62 cases, respectively, occurred within 180 days after birth (vaccine efficacy, 69.4%...). Medically attended RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness occurred within 90 days after birth in 24 infants of women in the vaccine group and 56 infants of women in the placebo group (vaccine efficacy, 57.1%...); these results did not meet the statistical success criterion. No safety signals were detected in maternal participants or in infants and toddlers up to 24 months of age. The incidences of adverse events reported within 1 month after injection or within 1 month after birth were similar in the vaccine group (13.8% of women and 37.1% of infants) and the placebo group (13.1% and 34.5%, respectively).
Conclusions
RSVpreF vaccine administered during pregnancy was effective against medically attended severe RSV-associated lower respiratory tract illness in infants, and no safety concerns were identified. (Funded by Pfizer; MATISSE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04424316. opens in new tab.)
31margd
World Health Organization (WHO) WHO | 5:56 AM · Apr 7, 2023:
Pharaoh Ramses V comes to life. Watch this fascinating story about the eradication of a deadly disease. #SMALLPOX!
Did you know?
Following an ambitious 12-year global vaccination campaign led by WHO, smallpox is finally eradicated in 1980. 🙌
2:50 ( https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1644277941180809219 )
Pharaoh Ramses V comes to life. Watch this fascinating story about the eradication of a deadly disease. #SMALLPOX!
Did you know?
Following an ambitious 12-year global vaccination campaign led by WHO, smallpox is finally eradicated in 1980. 🙌
2:50 ( https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1644277941180809219 )
32margd
Tanja A. Stamm et al. 2023. Determinants of COVID-19 vaccine fatigue. Nature Medicine (27 March 2023) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02282-y
Abstract
There is growing concern that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine fatigue will be a major obstacle in maintaining immunity in the general population. In this study, we assessed vaccine acceptance in future scenarios in two conjoint experiments, investigating determinants such as new vaccines, communication, costs/incentives and legal rules. The experiments were embedded in an online survey (n = 6,357 participants) conducted in two European countries (Austria and Italy). Our results suggest that vaccination campaigns should be tailored to subgroups based on their vaccination status. Among the unvaccinated, campaign messages conveying community spirit had a positive effect (0.343...), whereas offering positive incentives, such as a cash reward (0.722...) or voucher (0.670...), was pivotal to the decision-making of those vaccinated once or twice. Among the triple vaccinated, vaccination readiness increased when adapted vaccines were offered (0.279...), but costs (−0.795...) and medical dissensus (−0.161...) reduced their likelihood to get vaccinated. We conclude that failing to mobilize the triple vaccinated is likely to result in booster vaccination rates falling short of expectations. For long-term success, measures fostering institutional trust should be considered. These results provide guidance to those responsible for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
Abstract
There is growing concern that Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine fatigue will be a major obstacle in maintaining immunity in the general population. In this study, we assessed vaccine acceptance in future scenarios in two conjoint experiments, investigating determinants such as new vaccines, communication, costs/incentives and legal rules. The experiments were embedded in an online survey (n = 6,357 participants) conducted in two European countries (Austria and Italy). Our results suggest that vaccination campaigns should be tailored to subgroups based on their vaccination status. Among the unvaccinated, campaign messages conveying community spirit had a positive effect (0.343...), whereas offering positive incentives, such as a cash reward (0.722...) or voucher (0.670...), was pivotal to the decision-making of those vaccinated once or twice. Among the triple vaccinated, vaccination readiness increased when adapted vaccines were offered (0.279...), but costs (−0.795...) and medical dissensus (−0.161...) reduced their likelihood to get vaccinated. We conclude that failing to mobilize the triple vaccinated is likely to result in booster vaccination rates falling short of expectations. For long-term success, measures fostering institutional trust should be considered. These results provide guidance to those responsible for future COVID-19 vaccination campaigns.
33margd
Likely a cause of MS, looks like a vaccine for Epstein Barr Virus is in the works!
Michael Knigge @kniggem | 9:01 PM · Apr 11, 2023:
Journalist from Germany in America.
EBViously, a spin-off from Helmholtz, Germany’s largest research organization has identified the first vaccine candidate EBV-001 for the Epstein-Barr virus. Clinicial trials to start in 2024.
https://dzif.de/en/dzif-project-derived-start-ebviously-announces-first-details-...
Image
Michael Knigge @kniggem | 9:01 PM · Apr 11, 2023:
Journalist from Germany in America.
EBViously, a spin-off from Helmholtz, Germany’s largest research organization has identified the first vaccine candidate EBV-001 for the Epstein-Barr virus. Clinicial trials to start in 2024.
https://dzif.de/en/dzif-project-derived-start-ebviously-announces-first-details-...
Image
34margd
>2 margd: contd.
Column: Anti-vaxxers loved to cite this study of COVID vaccine deaths. Now it’s been retracted
Michael HiltzikBusiness Columnist
April 11, 2023
...BMC Infectious Diseases retracted the {by economist Mark Skidmore of Michigan State University} study {estimating the number of U.S. deaths from {COVID} vaccines at 278,000} on Tuesday, specifically citing doubts about “the validity of the conclusions” related to death statistics because of flaws in its methodology. Skidmore disagrees with the retraction.
The retraction, which followed months of dickering between Skidmore and the journal’s editor over the nature and text of the retraction notice, points to some important questions about how the spread of misinformation about COVID affects public health.
It also raises questions about how the piece got published in the first place. As Stephanie M. Lee of the Chronicle of Higher Education has pointed out, the flaws in Skidmore’s paper were virtually self-evident from the moment it reached print.
Veteran pseudoscience debunker David Gorski identified them within a day of its official publication, calling the paper “antivax propaganda disguised as a survey,” noting Skidmore’s record of anti-vaccine commentary, and asking: “How on earth did BMC Infectious Diseases publish such dreck?”...
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-04-11/anti-vaxxers-loved-to-cite-thi...
Column: Anti-vaxxers loved to cite this study of COVID vaccine deaths. Now it’s been retracted
Michael HiltzikBusiness Columnist
April 11, 2023
...BMC Infectious Diseases retracted the {by economist Mark Skidmore of Michigan State University} study {estimating the number of U.S. deaths from {COVID} vaccines at 278,000} on Tuesday, specifically citing doubts about “the validity of the conclusions” related to death statistics because of flaws in its methodology. Skidmore disagrees with the retraction.
The retraction, which followed months of dickering between Skidmore and the journal’s editor over the nature and text of the retraction notice, points to some important questions about how the spread of misinformation about COVID affects public health.
It also raises questions about how the piece got published in the first place. As Stephanie M. Lee of the Chronicle of Higher Education has pointed out, the flaws in Skidmore’s paper were virtually self-evident from the moment it reached print.
Veteran pseudoscience debunker David Gorski identified them within a day of its official publication, calling the paper “antivax propaganda disguised as a survey,” noting Skidmore’s record of anti-vaccine commentary, and asking: “How on earth did BMC Infectious Diseases publish such dreck?”...
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-04-11/anti-vaxxers-loved-to-cite-thi...
35margd
Ghana first to approve Oxford's malaria vaccine
Natalie Grover and Jennifer Rigby | 13 April 2023
...The WHO said last month that in the areas where the vaccine has been given, all-cause child mortality has dropped by 10%, a sign of its impact...
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/ghana-first-approve-...
Natalie Grover and Jennifer Rigby | 13 April 2023
...The WHO said last month that in the areas where the vaccine has been given, all-cause child mortality has dropped by 10%, a sign of its impact...
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/ghana-first-approve-...
36margd
Eric Topol (Scripps)@EricTopol | 11:05 AM · Apr 17, 2023:
The mRNA cancer vaccines are starting to click and there's considerable room for improvement (new review article)
Moderna, Merck Show Progress Toward Cancer Vaccines
An mRNA shot helped prevent relapse in high-risk melanoma patients
Brianna Abbott | Updated April 16, 2023
https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-shows-progress-toward-cancer-vaccines-27ff6...
Text excerpt WSJ ( https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1647979575383846912/photo/1 )
-----------------------------------------------------------
Theresa M. Raimondo et al. 2023. Delivering the next generation of cancer immunotherapies with RNA (Commentary). Cell Volume 186, ISSUE 8, P1535-1540, April 13, 2023. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.02.031 https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00209-X
Decades of oncologic clinical use have demonstrated that cancer immunotherapy provides unprecedented therapeutic benefits. Tragically, only a minority of patients respond to existing immunotherapies. RNA lipid nanoparticles have recently emerged as modular tools for immune stimulation. Here, we discuss advancements in RNA-based cancer immunotherapies and opportunities for improvement...
Figure 1RNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are modular tools that can be engineered to precisely tune immune responses
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1647979575383846912/photo/2
The mRNA cancer vaccines are starting to click and there's considerable room for improvement (new review article)
Moderna, Merck Show Progress Toward Cancer Vaccines
An mRNA shot helped prevent relapse in high-risk melanoma patients
Brianna Abbott | Updated April 16, 2023
https://www.wsj.com/articles/moderna-shows-progress-toward-cancer-vaccines-27ff6...
Text excerpt WSJ ( https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1647979575383846912/photo/1 )
-----------------------------------------------------------
Theresa M. Raimondo et al. 2023. Delivering the next generation of cancer immunotherapies with RNA (Commentary). Cell Volume 186, ISSUE 8, P1535-1540, April 13, 2023. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.02.031 https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(23)00209-X
Decades of oncologic clinical use have demonstrated that cancer immunotherapy provides unprecedented therapeutic benefits. Tragically, only a minority of patients respond to existing immunotherapies. RNA lipid nanoparticles have recently emerged as modular tools for immune stimulation. Here, we discuss advancements in RNA-based cancer immunotherapies and opportunities for improvement...
Figure 1RNA lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are modular tools that can be engineered to precisely tune immune responses
https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1647979575383846912/photo/2
37margd
Possible links between Covid shots and tinnitus emerge
People who have developed life-altering ringing in their ears following a Covid vaccine demand deeper investigation into this potential side effect.
Erika Edwards | 23 April 2023
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-vaccine-side-effects-tinnitus-m...
People who have developed life-altering ringing in their ears following a Covid vaccine demand deeper investigation into this potential side effect.
Erika Edwards | 23 April 2023
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-vaccine-side-effects-tinnitus-m...
38margd
WHO Iraq @WHOIraq | 5:01 AM · Apr 24, 2023:
On this day 22 years ago, this devoted vaccinator navigated through marshes in #Iraq to provide life-saving vaccines to children in hard-to-reach areas.
As we mark #WorldImmunizationWeek, let's salute unsung heroes dedicated to achieving #HealthForAll.
Photo ( https://twitter.com/WHOIraq/status/1650424685828423687/photo/1 )
On this day 22 years ago, this devoted vaccinator navigated through marshes in #Iraq to provide life-saving vaccines to children in hard-to-reach areas.
As we mark #WorldImmunizationWeek, let's salute unsung heroes dedicated to achieving #HealthForAll.
Photo ( https://twitter.com/WHOIraq/status/1650424685828423687/photo/1 )
39margd
Canada as well as Europe was short on these kid's meds last fall. US, too, though nor as desperately so(?)
Familes w infants and kids who can't choke down or chew a tablet might want to pick up some liquid ibuprofen and/ or acetaminophen now. (One of my young sons spiked fevers ~105F, so I consider liquid acetaminophen a miracle drug!)
European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage
DW | April 29, 2023
Thomas Fischbach, president of the German federation of doctors for children and adolescents, the BKVJ, is among several European physicians warning of a "considerable shortage" of medicines for children that is liable to get worse later in the year as the colder weather returns.
"Autumn is not far away. We will again face a supply shortage that could be even worse than last time," Fischbach told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ).
Germany and other European countries sufered similar problems last winter.
Fischbach is one of the co-signatories of an open letter of the pediatricians from Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland to the health ministers of these countries, such as Karl Lauterbach in Berlin, urging them to try to avoid a repeat of the phenomenon.
The doctors warn there is a lack of fever and pain medication in child-friendly dosage forms while penicillin is also currently not available...
https://www.dw.com/en/european-pediatricians-warn-of-impending-medication-shorta...
Familes w infants and kids who can't choke down or chew a tablet might want to pick up some liquid ibuprofen and/ or acetaminophen now. (One of my young sons spiked fevers ~105F, so I consider liquid acetaminophen a miracle drug!)
European pediatricians warn of impending medication shortage
DW | April 29, 2023
Thomas Fischbach, president of the German federation of doctors for children and adolescents, the BKVJ, is among several European physicians warning of a "considerable shortage" of medicines for children that is liable to get worse later in the year as the colder weather returns.
"Autumn is not far away. We will again face a supply shortage that could be even worse than last time," Fischbach told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung (NOZ).
Germany and other European countries sufered similar problems last winter.
Fischbach is one of the co-signatories of an open letter of the pediatricians from Germany, France, Austria and Switzerland to the health ministers of these countries, such as Karl Lauterbach in Berlin, urging them to try to avoid a repeat of the phenomenon.
The doctors warn there is a lack of fever and pain medication in child-friendly dosage forms while penicillin is also currently not available...
https://www.dw.com/en/european-pediatricians-warn-of-impending-medication-shorta...
40margd
Oh darn, just had a 4 pm vaxx... Next time: AM!
Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine | 12:30 PM · Apr 29, 2023:
Last year, a @SciImmunology review highlighted the benefits of morning vaccination compared with afternoon/evening vaccination in humans.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/2qh #DayOfImmunology
Infographic BCG (TB), flu, COVID vaxx am and pm
https://twitter.com/ScienceMagazine/status/1652349552463060992/photo/1 )
Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine | 12:30 PM · Apr 29, 2023:
Last year, a @SciImmunology review highlighted the benefits of morning vaccination compared with afternoon/evening vaccination in humans.
Learn more: https://scim.ag/2qh #DayOfImmunology
Infographic BCG (TB), flu, COVID vaxx am and pm
https://twitter.com/ScienceMagazine/status/1652349552463060992/photo/1 )
41lriley
>40 margd: My wife and I had an 11am yesterday. I'm probably in double figures at this point for covid vaccinations. My situation is different though than most people's. That said all the vaccine misinformation coming mostly from the right has been a big issue and I have no doubt that it's cost some people their lives and others their health. Occasionally someone does have a reaction to these vaccines but they're kind of rare.
42margd
Rachel Schraer (BBC News) @rachelschraer | 5:03 AM · May 2, 2023
Made my @BBCNewsnight debut on Friday with report about a conspiracy film which is leading bereaved people to be harassed.
“Died Suddenly” uses fabricated evidence and manipulated data to claim falsely that Covid vaccines are killing millions
https://bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001lf7k {only available in UK}
1:32 excerpt ( https://twitter.com/rachelschraer/status/1653324199405006849 )
Made my @BBCNewsnight debut on Friday with report about a conspiracy film which is leading bereaved people to be harassed.
“Died Suddenly” uses fabricated evidence and manipulated data to claim falsely that Covid vaccines are killing millions
https://bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001lf7k {only available in UK}
1:32 excerpt ( https://twitter.com/rachelschraer/status/1653324199405006849 )
43margd
In a world first, RSV vaccine wins FDA approval for adults 60 and up
Beth Mole - 5/4/2023
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/05/in-a-world-first-rsv-vaccines-wins-fda-a...
---------------------------------------------
ETA:
Alberto Papi et al. 2023. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prefusion F Protein Vaccine in Older Adults. N Engl J Med, February 16, 2023 ; 388:595-608. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2209604. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2209604
Beth Mole - 5/4/2023
https://arstechnica.com/science/2023/05/in-a-world-first-rsv-vaccines-wins-fda-a...
---------------------------------------------
ETA:
Alberto Papi et al. 2023. Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prefusion F Protein Vaccine in Older Adults. N Engl J Med, February 16, 2023 ; 388:595-608. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2209604. https://www.nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa2209604
44John5918
UNICEF: More than 1 million polio vaccines destroyed in Sudan (Reuters)
More than 1 million polio vaccines intended for children have been destroyed as a result of looting in Sudan during the upsurge in violence since April, the U.N. children's agency UNICEF told Reuters on Friday. "A number of cold chain facilities have been looted, damaged and destroyed, including over a million polio vaccines in South Darfur"... The agency was in the middle of a series of polio vaccination campaigns in Sudan following an outbreak at the end of 2022. Polio, a disease which mainly affects children under 5, can lead to paralysis and death. Africa was declared free of wild polio in 2020 but Malawi, Mozambique and Sudan have reported imported cases since last year...
45margd
Prof Gavin Yamey MD MPH (Duke U) @GYamey | 1:39 PM · May 8, 2023
What an extraordinary public health achievement
In this Swedish study, the risk of invasive cervical cancer among those who received the HPV vaccine before the age of 17 was almost 90% lower than among those who had never been vaccinated
Graph ( https://twitter.com/GYamey/status/1655628416622768128 )
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jiayao Lei et al. 2023. HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer. N Engl J Med 1 Oct 2020; 83:1340-1348
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1917338 https://nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1917338
What an extraordinary public health achievement
In this Swedish study, the risk of invasive cervical cancer among those who received the HPV vaccine before the age of 17 was almost 90% lower than among those who had never been vaccinated
Graph ( https://twitter.com/GYamey/status/1655628416622768128 )
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jiayao Lei et al. 2023. HPV Vaccination and the Risk of Invasive Cervical Cancer. N Engl J Med 1 Oct 2020; 83:1340-1348
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1917338 https://nejm.org/doi/10.1056/NEJMoa1917338
46margd
British Society for Immunology @britsocimm | 3:58 AM · May 17, 2023
Today is the birthday of #EdwardJenner, the British scientist who pioneered #vaccination 🥳
Let’s #CelebrateVaccines to help strengthen public understanding so everyone can make informed decisions ℹ️
Our resources are free to use & share 👉https://bit.ly/3Hzricy 1/4
How do vaccines work? ( https://twitter.com/britsocimm/status/1658743887266029574/photo/1 )
Routine #vaccinations are important to protect our families against serious diseases 🛡️
Discover our educational games, animations & infographics around how #VaccinesWork 👉https://bit.ly/3WD7bi4 2/4
What is herd immunity? ( https://twitter.com/britsocimm/status/1658744355329302529/photo/1 )
We want to address #vaccine concerns that parents & carers may have 💭❓
Our guide to childhood #vaccinations contains lots of reliable information 👉 https://bit.ly/455bTui 3/4
Are you over 65 & been offered the pneumococcal & #shingles vaccines?
Check out our guide to #vaccinations for older adults for answers to common questions on routine #vaccines available in the UK 👉https://bit.ly/3nsrH96 4/4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"we have translated some of our educational resources on immunity, COVID-19 and vaccines into different languages, including Arabic, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Welsh and Yiddish."
https://www.immunology.org/public-information/vaccine-resources/vaccine-resource...
Today is the birthday of #EdwardJenner, the British scientist who pioneered #vaccination 🥳
Let’s #CelebrateVaccines to help strengthen public understanding so everyone can make informed decisions ℹ️
Our resources are free to use & share 👉https://bit.ly/3Hzricy 1/4
How do vaccines work? ( https://twitter.com/britsocimm/status/1658743887266029574/photo/1 )
Routine #vaccinations are important to protect our families against serious diseases 🛡️
Discover our educational games, animations & infographics around how #VaccinesWork 👉https://bit.ly/3WD7bi4 2/4
What is herd immunity? ( https://twitter.com/britsocimm/status/1658744355329302529/photo/1 )
We want to address #vaccine concerns that parents & carers may have 💭❓
Our guide to childhood #vaccinations contains lots of reliable information 👉 https://bit.ly/455bTui 3/4
Are you over 65 & been offered the pneumococcal & #shingles vaccines?
Check out our guide to #vaccinations for older adults for answers to common questions on routine #vaccines available in the UK 👉https://bit.ly/3nsrH96 4/4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"we have translated some of our educational resources on immunity, COVID-19 and vaccines into different languages, including Arabic, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Welsh and Yiddish."
https://www.immunology.org/public-information/vaccine-resources/vaccine-resource...
47margd
Viki Male @VikiLovesFACS | 2:28 AM · May 17, 2023:
Immunologist working on pregnancy at @ImperialCollege
Morning Craig. The claims made in that video* aren’t true. In fact, COVID vaccination in pregnancy protects against severe disease and stillbirth, which is why obstetricians and midwives recommend it.
Quote Tweet
Viki Male @VikiLovesFACS · 4h
...Studies that have looked to see if active vaccine crosses the placenta find no evidence it does, and…
https://nature.com/articles/s41577-022-00703-6
Studies of more than 360,000 people vaccinated in pregnancy find it doesn’t increase the risk of any pregnancy problem.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19FNXcmdI0MU6RPmvKYo_g9zEWPKl2-l760OX_8zww3E/...
Safety COVID & vaxx in pregnancy ( https://twitter.com/VikiLovesFACS/status/1658720389332180992/photo/1 )
--------------------------------------------------------
* Vaccine Mandates Took a Toll on Pregnant Women and Their Babies: Here’s What Happened
Children’s Health Defense @ChildrensHD
1:14 ( https://twitter.com/ChildrensHD/status/1658585254725140482 )
Immunologist working on pregnancy at @ImperialCollege
Morning Craig. The claims made in that video* aren’t true. In fact, COVID vaccination in pregnancy protects against severe disease and stillbirth, which is why obstetricians and midwives recommend it.
Quote Tweet
Viki Male @VikiLovesFACS · 4h
...Studies that have looked to see if active vaccine crosses the placenta find no evidence it does, and…
https://nature.com/articles/s41577-022-00703-6
Studies of more than 360,000 people vaccinated in pregnancy find it doesn’t increase the risk of any pregnancy problem.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/19FNXcmdI0MU6RPmvKYo_g9zEWPKl2-l760OX_8zww3E/...
Safety COVID & vaxx in pregnancy ( https://twitter.com/VikiLovesFACS/status/1658720389332180992/photo/1 )
--------------------------------------------------------
* Vaccine Mandates Took a Toll on Pregnant Women and Their Babies: Here’s What Happened
Children’s Health Defense @ChildrensHD
1:14 ( https://twitter.com/ChildrensHD/status/1658585254725140482 )
48margd
Americans’ Largely Positive Views of Childhood Vaccines Hold Steady
Fewer than half in U.S. rate COVID-19 vaccines as having high health benefits, low risk of side effects
Cary Funk, Alec Tyson, Brian Kennedy and Giancarlo Pasquini | May 16, 2023
...The {PEW Research} Center survey finds 88% of Americans say the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) outweigh the risks, compared with just 10% who say the risks outweigh the benefits. The share expressing confidence in the value of MMR vaccines is identical to the share who said this in 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak.
...There are signs that the coronavirus outbreak has influenced the public’s thinking on one important aspect of childhood vaccines: requirements for children to attend public schools.
Seven-in-ten Americans now say healthy children should be required to be vaccinated in order to attend public schools. This is a smaller majority than the 82% who supported vaccine requirements for children in 2019 and 2016. The share who say parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children now stands at 28%, up 12 points from four years ago. This data mirrors a December 2022 KFF update of these Pew Research Center trends.
The decline in support for vaccine requirements for children has been driven by changing views among Republicans
...White evangelical Protestants – a largely Republican group — have also become much less supportive of vaccine requirements in public schools.
...Fewer than half of U.S. adults believe the preventative health benefits of COVID-19 vaccines are high (45%).
...Americans also see a greater risk of side effects attached to COVID-19 vaccines...
https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/05/16/americans-largely-positive-views-...
Fewer than half in U.S. rate COVID-19 vaccines as having high health benefits, low risk of side effects
Cary Funk, Alec Tyson, Brian Kennedy and Giancarlo Pasquini | May 16, 2023
...The {PEW Research} Center survey finds 88% of Americans say the benefits of childhood vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) outweigh the risks, compared with just 10% who say the risks outweigh the benefits. The share expressing confidence in the value of MMR vaccines is identical to the share who said this in 2019, before the coronavirus outbreak.
...There are signs that the coronavirus outbreak has influenced the public’s thinking on one important aspect of childhood vaccines: requirements for children to attend public schools.
Seven-in-ten Americans now say healthy children should be required to be vaccinated in order to attend public schools. This is a smaller majority than the 82% who supported vaccine requirements for children in 2019 and 2016. The share who say parents should be able to decide not to vaccinate their children now stands at 28%, up 12 points from four years ago. This data mirrors a December 2022 KFF update of these Pew Research Center trends.
The decline in support for vaccine requirements for children has been driven by changing views among Republicans
...White evangelical Protestants – a largely Republican group — have also become much less supportive of vaccine requirements in public schools.
...Fewer than half of U.S. adults believe the preventative health benefits of COVID-19 vaccines are high (45%).
...Americans also see a greater risk of side effects attached to COVID-19 vaccines...
https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/05/16/americans-largely-positive-views-...
49margd
Tyler P. Moore et al. 2023. State Policy Removing the Personal Belief Exemption for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) School Immunization Requirement, Washington State, 2014–2022. American Journal of Public Health (ajph) Published online ahead of print May 18, 2023:e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307285 https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2023.307285
Objectives. To assess the impact of Washington State’s 2019 Engrossed House Bill (EHB) 1638—which removed measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) personal belief exemptions—on MMR vaccine series completion and exemption rates in K–12 students.
Methods. We used interrupted time-series analyses to examine changes in MMR vaccine series completion rates before and after EHB 1638 was passed and the χ2 test for differences in exemption rates.
Results. EHB 1638 implementation was associated with a 5.4% relative increase in kindergarten MMR vaccine series completion rates ..., and results were similar with Oregon as a control state (no change observed in Oregon; P = .68). MMR exemptions overall decreased 41% (from 3.1% in 2018–2019 to 1.8% in 2019–2020...), and religious exemptions increased 367% (from 0.3% to 1.4%...).
Conclusions. EHB 1638 was associated with an increase in MMR vaccine series completion rates and a decrease in any MMR exemption. However, effects were partially offset by an increase in religious exemption rates.
Public Health Implications. Removal of personal belief exemptions for the MMR immunization requirement only may be an effective approach to increase MMR vaccine coverage rates statewide and among underimmunized communities.
Objectives. To assess the impact of Washington State’s 2019 Engrossed House Bill (EHB) 1638—which removed measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) personal belief exemptions—on MMR vaccine series completion and exemption rates in K–12 students.
Methods. We used interrupted time-series analyses to examine changes in MMR vaccine series completion rates before and after EHB 1638 was passed and the χ2 test for differences in exemption rates.
Results. EHB 1638 implementation was associated with a 5.4% relative increase in kindergarten MMR vaccine series completion rates ..., and results were similar with Oregon as a control state (no change observed in Oregon; P = .68). MMR exemptions overall decreased 41% (from 3.1% in 2018–2019 to 1.8% in 2019–2020...), and religious exemptions increased 367% (from 0.3% to 1.4%...).
Conclusions. EHB 1638 was associated with an increase in MMR vaccine series completion rates and a decrease in any MMR exemption. However, effects were partially offset by an increase in religious exemption rates.
Public Health Implications. Removal of personal belief exemptions for the MMR immunization requirement only may be an effective approach to increase MMR vaccine coverage rates statewide and among underimmunized communities.
50margd
Shingles vaxx Zostavax reduces risk Alzheimer's (women esp) ~20% over 7 yrs. Shingrix, now covered under US Medicare, is even more effective in suppressing shingles?
Pascal Geldsetzer @PGeldsetzer1 | 12:50 PM · May 25, 2023:
Assistant Professor of Medicine and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University; CZ Biohub – San Francisco investigator
https://twitter.com/PGeldsetzer1/status/1661776663074738176
------------------------------------------------------------------
Markus Eyting et al. 2023. Causal evidence that herpes zoster vaccination prevents a proportion of dementia cases. medRxiv 25 May 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.23.23290253 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.23.23290253v1
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review
Abstract
The root causes of dementia are still largely unclear, and the medical community lacks highly effective preventive and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for dementia despite large investments into their development. There is growing interest in the question if infectious agents play a role in the development of dementia, with herpesviruses attracting particular attention. To provide causal as opposed to merely correlational evidence on this question, we take advantage of the fact that in Wales eligibility for the herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax) for shingles prevention was determined based on an individual's exact date of birth. Those born before September 2 1933 were ineligible and remained ineligible for life, while those born on or after September 2 1933 were eligible to receive the vaccine. By using country-wide data on all vaccinations received, primary and secondary care encounters, death certificates, and patients' date of birth in weeks, we first show that the percentage of adults who received the vaccine increased from 0.01% among patients who were merely one week too old to be eligible, to 47.2% among those who were just one week younger. Apart from this large difference in the probability of ever receiving the herpes zoster vaccine, there is no plausible reason why those born just one week prior to September 2 1933 should differ systematically from those born one week later. We demonstrate this empirically by showing that there were no systematic differences (e.g., in pre-existing conditions or uptake of other preventive interventions) between adults across the date-of-birth eligibility cutoff, and that there were no other interventions that used the exact same date-of-birth eligibility cutoff as was used for the herpes zoster vaccine program. This unique natural randomization, thus, allows for robust causal, rather than correlational, effect estimation. We first replicate the vaccine's known effect from clinical trials of reducing the occurrence of shingles. We then show that receiving the herpes zoster vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis over a follow-up period of seven years by 3.5 percentage points (95% CI: 0.6 - 7.1, p=0.019), corresponding to a 19.9% relative reduction in the occurrence of dementia. Besides preventing shingles and dementia, the herpes zoster vaccine had no effects on any other common causes of morbidity and mortality. In exploratory analyses, we find that the protective effects from the vaccine for dementia are far stronger among women than men. Randomized trials are needed to determine the optimal population groups and time interval for administration of the herpes zoster vaccine to prevent or delay dementia, as well as to quantify the magnitude of the causal effect when more precise measures of cognition are used. Our findings strongly suggest an important role of the varicella zoster virus in the etiology of dementia.
Pascal Geldsetzer @PGeldsetzer1 | 12:50 PM · May 25, 2023:
Assistant Professor of Medicine and, by courtesy, of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford University; CZ Biohub – San Francisco investigator
https://twitter.com/PGeldsetzer1/status/1661776663074738176
------------------------------------------------------------------
Markus Eyting et al. 2023. Causal evidence that herpes zoster vaccination prevents a proportion of dementia cases. medRxiv 25 May 2023. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.05.23.23290253 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.05.23.23290253v1
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review
Abstract
The root causes of dementia are still largely unclear, and the medical community lacks highly effective preventive and therapeutic pharmaceutical agents for dementia despite large investments into their development. There is growing interest in the question if infectious agents play a role in the development of dementia, with herpesviruses attracting particular attention. To provide causal as opposed to merely correlational evidence on this question, we take advantage of the fact that in Wales eligibility for the herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax) for shingles prevention was determined based on an individual's exact date of birth. Those born before September 2 1933 were ineligible and remained ineligible for life, while those born on or after September 2 1933 were eligible to receive the vaccine. By using country-wide data on all vaccinations received, primary and secondary care encounters, death certificates, and patients' date of birth in weeks, we first show that the percentage of adults who received the vaccine increased from 0.01% among patients who were merely one week too old to be eligible, to 47.2% among those who were just one week younger. Apart from this large difference in the probability of ever receiving the herpes zoster vaccine, there is no plausible reason why those born just one week prior to September 2 1933 should differ systematically from those born one week later. We demonstrate this empirically by showing that there were no systematic differences (e.g., in pre-existing conditions or uptake of other preventive interventions) between adults across the date-of-birth eligibility cutoff, and that there were no other interventions that used the exact same date-of-birth eligibility cutoff as was used for the herpes zoster vaccine program. This unique natural randomization, thus, allows for robust causal, rather than correlational, effect estimation. We first replicate the vaccine's known effect from clinical trials of reducing the occurrence of shingles. We then show that receiving the herpes zoster vaccine reduced the probability of a new dementia diagnosis over a follow-up period of seven years by 3.5 percentage points (95% CI: 0.6 - 7.1, p=0.019), corresponding to a 19.9% relative reduction in the occurrence of dementia. Besides preventing shingles and dementia, the herpes zoster vaccine had no effects on any other common causes of morbidity and mortality. In exploratory analyses, we find that the protective effects from the vaccine for dementia are far stronger among women than men. Randomized trials are needed to determine the optimal population groups and time interval for administration of the herpes zoster vaccine to prevent or delay dementia, as well as to quantify the magnitude of the causal effect when more precise measures of cognition are used. Our findings strongly suggest an important role of the varicella zoster virus in the etiology of dementia.
51margd
A vaccine for pancreatic cancer?
Anna Carthaus | 05/24/2023
Nine out of ten people do not survive pancreatic cancer, and the survival rate has not improved for almost 60 years. There are hardly any effective treatment options. That's why every advance in therapy is a revolution. And that is exactly what is happening now.
Researchers in the US treated 16 pancreatic cancer patients with a personalized mRNA vaccine after they had their tumors surgically removed. By the end of the 18-month trial period, half of the patients had not relapsed. For a cancer that usually returns within a few months of surgery, that's a huge success...
https://www.dw.com/en/a-vaccine-for-pancreatic-cancer/a-65705453
--------------------------------------------------
Luis A. Rojas et al. 2023. Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer. Nature 10 May 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06063-y#Sec7
Anna Carthaus | 05/24/2023
Nine out of ten people do not survive pancreatic cancer, and the survival rate has not improved for almost 60 years. There are hardly any effective treatment options. That's why every advance in therapy is a revolution. And that is exactly what is happening now.
Researchers in the US treated 16 pancreatic cancer patients with a personalized mRNA vaccine after they had their tumors surgically removed. By the end of the 18-month trial period, half of the patients had not relapsed. For a cancer that usually returns within a few months of surgery, that's a huge success...
https://www.dw.com/en/a-vaccine-for-pancreatic-cancer/a-65705453
--------------------------------------------------
Luis A. Rojas et al. 2023. Personalized RNA neoantigen vaccines stimulate T cells in pancreatic cancer. Nature 10 May 2023. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06063-y#Sec7
52lriley
>50 margd: I've been on valcyclovir an anti-shingles medication ever since my cancer treatment started. I've also had shingrix shots. My wife has had those shots too. For her they smarted for a couple/three days. I didn't have that issue. That said I've been a bit of a pincushion for a while. I don't seem to get these reactions from shots.
53margd
>52 lriley: Valcyclovir might protect you from other Herpes viruses as well. (I have Rx for rare outbreaks of cold sores--works great!) I read years ago that the two Herpes simplex (cold sores and genital Herpes), and CMV (cytomegalovirus, which almost all adults have had) were associated w later dementia. Old study, but apparently risk was increased by 5% if one has had one of those viruses, 25% if two, and 40% if all four.
Epstein Barr Virus is associated w later increase in risk for multiple sclerosis.
Measles erases immune memory, which takes several years to recover.
COVID results in astonishing amount of Long Covid, with longterm consequences for some ...
Any small risk from vaccines needs to be balanced against preventing later outcomes from viruses, as well as immediate disease!
Epstein Barr Virus is associated w later increase in risk for multiple sclerosis.
Measles erases immune memory, which takes several years to recover.
COVID results in astonishing amount of Long Covid, with longterm consequences for some ...
Any small risk from vaccines needs to be balanced against preventing later outcomes from viruses, as well as immediate disease!
54lriley
>53 margd: all that is good to know. They’ve put off the MMR shot until after the clinical trial I’m in which could end in August. Sometimes participants are asked to go further than the two years. My guess is it will end but…..we’ll see. Generally I think I’ve handled it well but I do have some neuropathy in my feet which could be because of the chemo or could be because of the two fractured vertebra from a couple years back. I’ve been to a podiatrist who set up an EMG test the results of which were inconclusive……the next step would be to see a neurologist. If it’s the chemo the oncologists think it would be the valtrex/valcade I had prior to the transplant and less likely the revlimid/lenalidomide I’m taking currently. If I come off the trial there’s some chance I will come off the chemo too. That will depend on what they see from the bone marrow biopsy that happens also in August.
55margd
>54 lriley: Feet can be a misery! What a journey you've been on--not for the faint of heart. Hope normalcy returns soon.
How the Stigma of Herpes Harms Patients and Stymies Research for a Cure
Isabella Backman | May 25, 2023
...Lack of Funding Hinders Herpes Vaccine Research
For decades, scientists have tried and failed to develop vaccines for herpes. The evasive nature of the virus makes it notoriously difficult to treat. But in her lab at Yale, {Akiko} Iwasaki has discovered promising clues for an effective vaccination.
Conventional vaccines boost immunity by triggering antibody development. But after vaccinating mice for HSV-2 {genital Herpes} with conventional vaccines, Iwasaki’s team learned that the animals failed to develop T cells or antibodies in the genital tract. In addition, the virus displays molecules that inactivate antibodies from attacking the virus. The limited access of T cells and antibodies to the viral entry site, and the antibody evasion strategies, likely explain why previous herpes vaccines have failed.
Based on that insight, roughly a decade ago the team developed a vaccine strategy called “prime-and-pull.” Through this mechanism, the researchers used a vaccine to generate T cell immunity in guinea pigs (prime). Then, they used a cream that can induce chemokines—signaling molecules that can direct immune cells toward an infected site—to attract the T cells into the vaginal tissue (pull).
The strategy was a success—the team found that their vaccine could shut down the reactivation of herpes in infected guinea pigs. But the lack of funding has brought their work to a halt. “We’re looking for partners to be able to take this to humans, and that’s been the bottleneck ever since,” Iwasaki says.
She believes the stigma around sexually transmitted diseases is likely one of the obstacles to getting her vaccine funded. Research shows that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil, for example, is dramatically effective in preventing cervical cancer—reducing rates in women by nearly 90 percent. But despite its benefits, convincing parents to vaccinate their children is challenging, experts say.
“We have this fabulous anti-cancer vaccine designed to wipe out cervical cancer. But parents will see that it is ‘an STD vaccine’ and think we’re accusing their son or daughter of being high-risk sexually,” says Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health. “I tell them that HPV is so ubiquitous and easy to contract that most women will acquire it at some point in their life. It’s not a marker of unsafe sex, but many parents still refuse.”
A herpes vaccine may face similar resistance, making it economically unattractive for the drug industry. “When pharmaceutical companies need to pour millions of dollars into developing a vaccine, if the uptake is going to be low, the profit doesn’t justify the effort,” says Iwasaki. “This makes STD vaccines difficult, even for something so obviously beneficial, safe, and effective as Gardasil.”
As interest in mRNA vaccines grows post-COVID, Moderna and Pfizer have begun working on such a vaccine for herpes. But in a recent talk to the World Health Organization (WHO), Iwasaki warned of the limitations of mRNA vaccines in treating herpes. “If you just make a vaccine without thinking about the mucosal tissue, it’s not going to work,” she said. “Just making an intra-muscular vaccine alone—I think it will be very difficult for such a vaccine to be effective.”...
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/how-the-stigma-of-herpes-harms-patients-a...
How the Stigma of Herpes Harms Patients and Stymies Research for a Cure
Isabella Backman | May 25, 2023
...Lack of Funding Hinders Herpes Vaccine Research
For decades, scientists have tried and failed to develop vaccines for herpes. The evasive nature of the virus makes it notoriously difficult to treat. But in her lab at Yale, {Akiko} Iwasaki has discovered promising clues for an effective vaccination.
Conventional vaccines boost immunity by triggering antibody development. But after vaccinating mice for HSV-2 {genital Herpes} with conventional vaccines, Iwasaki’s team learned that the animals failed to develop T cells or antibodies in the genital tract. In addition, the virus displays molecules that inactivate antibodies from attacking the virus. The limited access of T cells and antibodies to the viral entry site, and the antibody evasion strategies, likely explain why previous herpes vaccines have failed.
Based on that insight, roughly a decade ago the team developed a vaccine strategy called “prime-and-pull.” Through this mechanism, the researchers used a vaccine to generate T cell immunity in guinea pigs (prime). Then, they used a cream that can induce chemokines—signaling molecules that can direct immune cells toward an infected site—to attract the T cells into the vaginal tissue (pull).
The strategy was a success—the team found that their vaccine could shut down the reactivation of herpes in infected guinea pigs. But the lack of funding has brought their work to a halt. “We’re looking for partners to be able to take this to humans, and that’s been the bottleneck ever since,” Iwasaki says.
She believes the stigma around sexually transmitted diseases is likely one of the obstacles to getting her vaccine funded. Research shows that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil, for example, is dramatically effective in preventing cervical cancer—reducing rates in women by nearly 90 percent. But despite its benefits, convincing parents to vaccinate their children is challenging, experts say.
“We have this fabulous anti-cancer vaccine designed to wipe out cervical cancer. But parents will see that it is ‘an STD vaccine’ and think we’re accusing their son or daughter of being high-risk sexually,” says Sten Vermund, MD, PhD, Anna M.R. Lauder Professor of Public Health. “I tell them that HPV is so ubiquitous and easy to contract that most women will acquire it at some point in their life. It’s not a marker of unsafe sex, but many parents still refuse.”
A herpes vaccine may face similar resistance, making it economically unattractive for the drug industry. “When pharmaceutical companies need to pour millions of dollars into developing a vaccine, if the uptake is going to be low, the profit doesn’t justify the effort,” says Iwasaki. “This makes STD vaccines difficult, even for something so obviously beneficial, safe, and effective as Gardasil.”
As interest in mRNA vaccines grows post-COVID, Moderna and Pfizer have begun working on such a vaccine for herpes. But in a recent talk to the World Health Organization (WHO), Iwasaki warned of the limitations of mRNA vaccines in treating herpes. “If you just make a vaccine without thinking about the mucosal tissue, it’s not going to work,” she said. “Just making an intra-muscular vaccine alone—I think it will be very difficult for such a vaccine to be effective.”...
https://medicine.yale.edu/news-article/how-the-stigma-of-herpes-harms-patients-a...
56margd
World Health Organization (WHO) WHO | 9:24 AM · May 27, 2023:
📌 The mRNA hub in South Africa was established to build vaccine production capacity and enhance outbreak response in low- or middle-income countries. In 2022, the hub’s manufacturing process was developed, and mRNA technology started to be transferred from the hub to 15 spokes across all WHO regions
Announced on 21 June 2021, the objective of the technology transfer hub is to build capacity in low- and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines through a centre of excellence and training (the mRNA vaccine technology hub). The hub is located at Afrigen, Cape Town, South Africa, and will work with a network of technology recipients (spokes) in low- and middle-income countries.
📌 The mRNA hub in South Africa was established to build vaccine production capacity and enhance outbreak response in low- or middle-income countries. In 2022, the hub’s manufacturing process was developed, and mRNA technology started to be transferred from the hub to 15 spokes across all WHO regions
Announced on 21 June 2021, the objective of the technology transfer hub is to build capacity in low- and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines through a centre of excellence and training (the mRNA vaccine technology hub). The hub is located at Afrigen, Cape Town, South Africa, and will work with a network of technology recipients (spokes) in low- and middle-income countries.
58margd
West Nile virus may be deadlier than thought
Infected people may die years after they seem to have recovered
Kai Kupferschmidt | 14 Nov 2016
...West Nile fever was long thought to be a manageable public health problem. The mosquito-borne virus—a relative of the Zika and yellow fever viruses—causes symptoms in just one out of every five infected people. Most of those experience fever and a flulike illness. But in some patients, the virus also infects the central nervous system, which can be fatal. Patients who survive tend to do worse later in life...
...Kristy Murray, a researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and her colleagues went through all 4162 cases of West Nile virus reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services for the more than 10 years between July 2002 and December 2012. They found that 557 patients had died: 289 of them in the first 90 days after infection, and 268 people after. Not all the later deaths resulted from West Nile. But patients who had neurological infections had a higher risk of dying of some other diseases than the general population. For instance, they were almost five times as likely to die of kidney problems and more than twice as likely to die from an infectious disease, Murray found. The effect was particularly pronounced in patients younger than 60. "This shows in a large population size that mortality does increase greatly in the first 6 years after infection", Murray says...
...Murray says her finding also underscores the need to fight the virus, which continues to infect thousands of people in the United States annually. "We really need to push for a vaccine."
https://www.science.org/content/article/west-nile-virus-may-be-deadlier-thought
Infected people may die years after they seem to have recovered
Kai Kupferschmidt | 14 Nov 2016
...West Nile fever was long thought to be a manageable public health problem. The mosquito-borne virus—a relative of the Zika and yellow fever viruses—causes symptoms in just one out of every five infected people. Most of those experience fever and a flulike illness. But in some patients, the virus also infects the central nervous system, which can be fatal. Patients who survive tend to do worse later in life...
...Kristy Murray, a researcher at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and her colleagues went through all 4162 cases of West Nile virus reported to the Texas Department of State Health Services for the more than 10 years between July 2002 and December 2012. They found that 557 patients had died: 289 of them in the first 90 days after infection, and 268 people after. Not all the later deaths resulted from West Nile. But patients who had neurological infections had a higher risk of dying of some other diseases than the general population. For instance, they were almost five times as likely to die of kidney problems and more than twice as likely to die from an infectious disease, Murray found. The effect was particularly pronounced in patients younger than 60. "This shows in a large population size that mortality does increase greatly in the first 6 years after infection", Murray says...
...Murray says her finding also underscores the need to fight the virus, which continues to infect thousands of people in the United States annually. "We really need to push for a vaccine."
https://www.science.org/content/article/west-nile-virus-may-be-deadlier-thought
59margd
Three New Studies Show the COVID Vaccines Are Very Safe for Children
Jonathan Howard | June 11, 2023
Three new studies tell us what we already knew- vaccine isn’t perfect, but it’s far safer than the virus for children...
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/3newstudies/
Jonathan Howard | June 11, 2023
Three new studies tell us what we already knew- vaccine isn’t perfect, but it’s far safer than the virus for children...
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/3newstudies/
60margd
🆕 @PNASNews
The future of vaccines is "tolerogenic" —towards preventing or treating autoimmune diseases. A new report of preventing autoimmune (rheumatoid-like) arthritis in the experimental model via targeting auto- reactive T cells
Text highlighted 1st page ( https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1668345244902113285/photo/1 )
-- Eric Topol (Scripps) @EricTopol | 3:51 PM · Jun 12, 2023
Vilma Urbonaviciute et al. 2023. Therapy targeting antigen-specific T cells by a peptide-based tolerizing vaccine against autoimmune arthritis. PNAS June 12, 2023. 120 (25) e2218668120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2218668120 https://pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2218668120
Significance
Current treatments of autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, is directed to inflammatory consequences of the disease process, with limitations regarding effectiveness and side effects. We have shown in vivo {mouse model} a highly effective tolerogenic vaccine, which consists of a complex between an antigenic glycopeptide from COL2 and a relevant MHCII molecule. The vaccine operates through binding directly to the T cell receptor on the T cell surface, leading to differentiation of the T cell into a distinct regulatory phenotype mediating a dominant tissue-specific tolerance.
...the tolerogenic approach described here may be a promising dominant antigen-specific therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, and in principle, for autoimmune diseases in general.
The future of vaccines is "tolerogenic" —towards preventing or treating autoimmune diseases. A new report of preventing autoimmune (rheumatoid-like) arthritis in the experimental model via targeting auto- reactive T cells
Text highlighted 1st page ( https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1668345244902113285/photo/1 )
-- Eric Topol (Scripps) @EricTopol | 3:51 PM · Jun 12, 2023
Vilma Urbonaviciute et al. 2023. Therapy targeting antigen-specific T cells by a peptide-based tolerizing vaccine against autoimmune arthritis. PNAS June 12, 2023. 120 (25) e2218668120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2218668120 https://pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2218668120
Significance
Current treatments of autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, is directed to inflammatory consequences of the disease process, with limitations regarding effectiveness and side effects. We have shown in vivo {mouse model} a highly effective tolerogenic vaccine, which consists of a complex between an antigenic glycopeptide from COL2 and a relevant MHCII molecule. The vaccine operates through binding directly to the T cell receptor on the T cell surface, leading to differentiation of the T cell into a distinct regulatory phenotype mediating a dominant tissue-specific tolerance.
...the tolerogenic approach described here may be a promising dominant antigen-specific therapy for rheumatoid arthritis, and in principle, for autoimmune diseases in general.
61margd
What Wildfire Smoke, Gas Stoves and Covid Tell Us About Our Air
Linsey Marr | June 7, 2023
Dr. Marr is an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, where she studies the airborne transmission of viruses.
...As we emerge from a pandemic caused by an airborne virus to skies darkened by wildfires, we cannot return to ignorance and complacency about our air. Through a combination of greater public awareness, more widespread implementation of filtration and other air-cleaning technologies and government guidance, we can move into a new era of cleaner air.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took a first step when it released a new recommendation for buildings to aim for at least five air changes per hour to reduce the risk of virus transmission. We need to expand recommendations such as these to address human health more broadly, not just for respiratory infections. This is especially important in schools, where children spend long hours in classrooms that often have insufficient ventilation.
Improved indoor air quality will not only reduce disease but also improve other aspects of our lives, allowing us to be our best selves. If air pollution isn’t detracting from our health, we can run our fastest race, perform our best on an exam or be well enough to enjoy a few extra days with our loved ones. As the saying goes, we wouldn’t accept a glass full of dirty water, and we should no longer accept a lungful of dirty air.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/opinion/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-viruses.ht...
Linsey Marr | June 7, 2023
Dr. Marr is an engineering professor at Virginia Tech, where she studies the airborne transmission of viruses.
...As we emerge from a pandemic caused by an airborne virus to skies darkened by wildfires, we cannot return to ignorance and complacency about our air. Through a combination of greater public awareness, more widespread implementation of filtration and other air-cleaning technologies and government guidance, we can move into a new era of cleaner air.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took a first step when it released a new recommendation for buildings to aim for at least five air changes per hour to reduce the risk of virus transmission. We need to expand recommendations such as these to address human health more broadly, not just for respiratory infections. This is especially important in schools, where children spend long hours in classrooms that often have insufficient ventilation.
Improved indoor air quality will not only reduce disease but also improve other aspects of our lives, allowing us to be our best selves. If air pollution isn’t detracting from our health, we can run our fastest race, perform our best on an exam or be well enough to enjoy a few extra days with our loved ones. As the saying goes, we wouldn’t accept a glass full of dirty water, and we should no longer accept a lungful of dirty air.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/07/opinion/wildfire-smoke-air-quality-viruses.ht...
63margd
Cat🗿🐞🦴🕷️🐈🐘 @MsAmitripped | 8:17 AM · Jun 25, 2023:
Anatomist~Forensic Anthropology🏴
https://twitter.com/MsAmitripped/status/1672941964017139712
Well, looks like it's time for me to do a big 🧵on why autism isn't brain damage, and why vaccines don't cause autism.
...
(2) So what is autism? It's a neurological disorder/difference, which presents itself with a myriad of varied symptoms, behavioural changes, social difficulties, intellectual differences, and sensory issues, which show in differing ways. Autistic people come in every demographic
(3) The leading theory on autism involves synaptic dysregulation, where the synapses that are usually pruned in a young toddler, are not pruned in the autistic child. Synaptic formation and regulation is complex, with multiple genes and enzymes involved.
Thomas C. Südhof 2021. The cell biology of synapse formation. J Cell Biol. 2021 Jul 5; 220(7): e202103052.
Published online 2021 Jun 4. doi: 10.1083/jcb.202103052 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8186004/#:~:text=After%20neurons%20...
(4) Synapse dysregulation has been found in ASD, as can be seen from some of the studies -
1-https://cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(14)00651-5
2-https://nature.com/articles/nrn3992
3-https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030439401830079X?casa_token=3huTL007arAAAAAA:Czn6pSPIoOsd3_KKmCq0XYFJYyeQbgr11axhClGzLehuLUKzeboX6MlY8imwVtiPhurPqigEwA
And linked to the same genes that lead to fragile X syndrome - https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627319302065
Bagni and Zukin 2019> A Synaptic Perspective of Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neuron
Volume 101, Issue 6, 20 March 2019, Pages 1070-1088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.041 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627319302065
Guomei Tang et al. 2014. Loss of mTOR-Dependent Macroautophagy Causes Autistic-like Synaptic Pruning Deficits. Neuron: August 21, 2014. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.040 https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(14)00651-5
(5) So how are synapses formed and regulated in the first place? When do neurons 'know' which synapses to prune and which synapses to keep? Back on tweet 3, I provided one article.
Another excellent resource is this neurodevelopmental anatomy textbook.
Building brains - An introduction to neural development
by David J. Price, Andrew P. Jarman, John O. Mason, Peter C. Kind
https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/building-brains-an-introduction-to...
(6) But the answer is clear. Genes determine this. Genes direct the production of specific enzymes, proteins, receptors and transcription factors, which then influence how synapses form, where they travel to, and whether they will be pruned later or not.
(7) Synapses are present across the entire central nervous system.
ASD isn't just one part of the CNS operating differently - it's ALL of it.
Synapses are the 'roads' that messages take to reach specific areas of the brain. They carry a message that, eg, your pizza tastes of ham,
(8) or that your hand is on top of a hot stove, or that you're unbalanced on your right side.
ASD affects how we process information, how signals arrive at our brain and are interpreted, and synapses also explain the multitude of sensory issues commonly found in ASD.
(9) For example, I have issues with labels in clothes. Most people will forget about that label that's in their top, touching their skin, because they have an ordinary number of synapses. But when you have additional synapses, that message is 'fired' over and over again. Eek!
(10) The same applies to noise, light, visual disturbances, touch, taste, and smell. ASD isn't a part of us. It's HOW we ourselves interact with the world. It's our whole existance, because your CNS and brain defines your existance.
Now that we've covered the basics...
vaccines, aluminium...
Anatomist~Forensic Anthropology🏴
https://twitter.com/MsAmitripped/status/1672941964017139712
Well, looks like it's time for me to do a big 🧵on why autism isn't brain damage, and why vaccines don't cause autism.
...
(2) So what is autism? It's a neurological disorder/difference, which presents itself with a myriad of varied symptoms, behavioural changes, social difficulties, intellectual differences, and sensory issues, which show in differing ways. Autistic people come in every demographic
(3) The leading theory on autism involves synaptic dysregulation, where the synapses that are usually pruned in a young toddler, are not pruned in the autistic child. Synaptic formation and regulation is complex, with multiple genes and enzymes involved.
Thomas C. Südhof 2021. The cell biology of synapse formation. J Cell Biol. 2021 Jul 5; 220(7): e202103052.
Published online 2021 Jun 4. doi: 10.1083/jcb.202103052 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8186004/#:~:text=After%20neurons%20...
(4) Synapse dysregulation has been found in ASD, as can be seen from some of the studies -
1-https://cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(14)00651-5
2-https://nature.com/articles/nrn3992
3-https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030439401830079X?casa_token=3huTL007arAAAAAA:Czn6pSPIoOsd3_KKmCq0XYFJYyeQbgr11axhClGzLehuLUKzeboX6MlY8imwVtiPhurPqigEwA
And linked to the same genes that lead to fragile X syndrome - https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627319302065
Bagni and Zukin 2019> A Synaptic Perspective of Fragile X Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Neuron
Volume 101, Issue 6, 20 March 2019, Pages 1070-1088. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.02.041 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627319302065
Guomei Tang et al. 2014. Loss of mTOR-Dependent Macroautophagy Causes Autistic-like Synaptic Pruning Deficits. Neuron: August 21, 2014. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2014.07.040 https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(14)00651-5
(5) So how are synapses formed and regulated in the first place? When do neurons 'know' which synapses to prune and which synapses to keep? Back on tweet 3, I provided one article.
Another excellent resource is this neurodevelopmental anatomy textbook.
Building brains - An introduction to neural development
by David J. Price, Andrew P. Jarman, John O. Mason, Peter C. Kind
https://www.research.ed.ac.uk/en/publications/building-brains-an-introduction-to...
(6) But the answer is clear. Genes determine this. Genes direct the production of specific enzymes, proteins, receptors and transcription factors, which then influence how synapses form, where they travel to, and whether they will be pruned later or not.
(7) Synapses are present across the entire central nervous system.
ASD isn't just one part of the CNS operating differently - it's ALL of it.
Synapses are the 'roads' that messages take to reach specific areas of the brain. They carry a message that, eg, your pizza tastes of ham,
(8) or that your hand is on top of a hot stove, or that you're unbalanced on your right side.
ASD affects how we process information, how signals arrive at our brain and are interpreted, and synapses also explain the multitude of sensory issues commonly found in ASD.
(9) For example, I have issues with labels in clothes. Most people will forget about that label that's in their top, touching their skin, because they have an ordinary number of synapses. But when you have additional synapses, that message is 'fired' over and over again. Eek!
(10) The same applies to noise, light, visual disturbances, touch, taste, and smell. ASD isn't a part of us. It's HOW we ourselves interact with the world. It's our whole existance, because your CNS and brain defines your existance.
Now that we've covered the basics...
vaccines, aluminium...
64margd
Trisha Cis Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh | 2:56 PM · Jul 9, 2023:
Professor of Primary Health Care, Oxford.
https://twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1678115991283269635
Anti-vax movements cause a lot of harm. By ‘anti-vax’ I don’t mean anyone who raises concerns about harms or possible harms from vaccines. I mean people who *ignore scientific evidence* and perpetuate a distorted and entirely negative message about the benefit-harm balance. 🧵 1/
Vaccines against covid-19 greatly improve survival and reduce (though they do not eliminate) the risk of long-term complications like long covid and the risk of transmitting the disease to others. {there is much evidence here – example paper linked}
https://nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02321-z 2/
All vaccines occasionally cause harm. But the harms are a) rare, b) usually mild, and c) less bad (in terms of prevalence and severity) than untreated covid-19. There’s a debate to be had about the nuances but OVERALL being vaccinated is far safer than staying unvaccinated. 3/
Vaccine hesitancy is common. In one study, 28% of people were either strongly opposed to, or very unsure about, covid vaccination. A major determinant of hesitancy was “excessive mistrust”, including “conspiracy beliefs” and “negative views of doctors”.
https://cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/covid19-vacci...
4/
A 2022 systematic review of the underlying causes of vaccine hesitancy around the world identified inter-related influences including “safety {concerns}”, “conspiracy beliefs”, “trust”, “fear and anxiety” and “social influence”.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265496
5/
Another systematic review showed that while most people’s vaccine decisions aren't influenced by conspiracy theories, those theories have a significant influence at population level, lowering the overall vaccination rate and jeopardising public health.
https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X22000653
6/
Social media has a huge effect on vaccine hesitancy. Here’s one of many studies which have shown that the development of vaccine hesitancy was linked to “following, sharing, and interacting with low-quality information online”.
https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/4/pgac207/6726650?login=false
7/
Another wide-ranging review found that vaccine hesitancy was associated with negative risk perceptions, low trust in health care systems, solidarity with others sharing the same views, misinformation, concerns about side effects and political ideology.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9278223/
8/
Anti-vax conspiracy theories in USA are strongly linked to the anti-intellectualist, anti-authoritarian far-right, and aligned with right-wing news channels and organised political protest (including the January 6th insurrection).
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837802/pdf
9/
People who join anti-vax movements are less educated, more likely to mistrust authority and less likely to believe in scientific facts or value scientific institutions, and more likely to hold libertarian views than those who don’t.
https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621002628
10/
Overall, doctors and other health professionals view covid-19 vaccines as highly beneficial, even taking into account rare harms, though they vary on how strongly and in what circumstances they’d recommend vaccination.
https://mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/6/948
11/
Some health professionals believe vaccines are overall harmful, and a tiny fraction have openly espoused conspiracy theories—e.g. that vaccine manufacturers wish people to be harmed.
https://mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/12/1428
12/
Many factors influence the spread of vaccine misinformation on social media. One is its source. Whilst few studies have looked explicitly at this question, there is some evidence that *information from a health professional spreads faster and farther*.
https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e40201#ref79
13/
It is troubling, then, that the emergence of anti-vax conspiracy movements has been associated with “the rise and economic success of alternative medical celebrities as conspiracy entrepreneurs”.
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/61142/9781000846294.pdf?...
14/
“MEDICAL CELEBRITIES AS CONSPIRACY ENTREPRENEURS” means doctors who use their medical qualification to bolster anti-vax narratives among people who are already vaccine-hesitant. This whips up mistrust (of vaccines and of medical science generally).
15/
Medical CONSPIRACY ENTREPRENEURS, says this paper, “tap into deep-seated fears, concerns, anxieties, and perceived injustices that preoccupy people especially in times of a global crisis”.
16/
In pre-Internet days, the worst a doctor could do was harm their own patients one at a time. But if a doctor achieves a prominent position on social media and puts out anti-vax messages to *hundreds of thousands of followers* who forward them on, *far more harm* could result.
17/
Some doctors have complained to the General Medical Council about their colleagues' anti-vax behaviour on social media. But GMC isn’t interested. It doesn’t like doctors mis-advising individual patients, but it doesn’t mind them telling the whole world not to get vaccinated!
18/
In refusing to open investigations into doctors who are credibly accused of widespread dissemination of false and misleading information about vaccines on social media, the GMC has positioned itself as an ANALOG REGULATOR IN A DIGITAL WORLD.
19/
I have argued in this thread about the difference between genuine scientific debate about the pros and cons of vaccines and the kind of ‘conspiracy entrepreneur’ behaviour described above.
https://twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1676929580290981888?s=20
20/
Professor of Primary Health Care, Oxford.
https://twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1678115991283269635
Anti-vax movements cause a lot of harm. By ‘anti-vax’ I don’t mean anyone who raises concerns about harms or possible harms from vaccines. I mean people who *ignore scientific evidence* and perpetuate a distorted and entirely negative message about the benefit-harm balance. 🧵 1/
Vaccines against covid-19 greatly improve survival and reduce (though they do not eliminate) the risk of long-term complications like long covid and the risk of transmitting the disease to others. {there is much evidence here – example paper linked}
https://nature.com/articles/s41598-021-02321-z 2/
All vaccines occasionally cause harm. But the harms are a) rare, b) usually mild, and c) less bad (in terms of prevalence and severity) than untreated covid-19. There’s a debate to be had about the nuances but OVERALL being vaccinated is far safer than staying unvaccinated. 3/
Vaccine hesitancy is common. In one study, 28% of people were either strongly opposed to, or very unsure about, covid vaccination. A major determinant of hesitancy was “excessive mistrust”, including “conspiracy beliefs” and “negative views of doctors”.
https://cambridge.org/core/journals/psychological-medicine/article/covid19-vacci...
4/
A 2022 systematic review of the underlying causes of vaccine hesitancy around the world identified inter-related influences including “safety {concerns}”, “conspiracy beliefs”, “trust”, “fear and anxiety” and “social influence”.
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0265496
5/
Another systematic review showed that while most people’s vaccine decisions aren't influenced by conspiracy theories, those theories have a significant influence at population level, lowering the overall vaccination rate and jeopardising public health.
https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X22000653
6/
Social media has a huge effect on vaccine hesitancy. Here’s one of many studies which have shown that the development of vaccine hesitancy was linked to “following, sharing, and interacting with low-quality information online”.
https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/1/4/pgac207/6726650?login=false
7/
Another wide-ranging review found that vaccine hesitancy was associated with negative risk perceptions, low trust in health care systems, solidarity with others sharing the same views, misinformation, concerns about side effects and political ideology.
https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9278223/
8/
Anti-vax conspiracy theories in USA are strongly linked to the anti-intellectualist, anti-authoritarian far-right, and aligned with right-wing news channels and organised political protest (including the January 6th insurrection).
https://muse.jhu.edu/article/837802/pdf
9/
People who join anti-vax movements are less educated, more likely to mistrust authority and less likely to believe in scientific facts or value scientific institutions, and more likely to hold libertarian views than those who don’t.
https://sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953621002628
10/
Overall, doctors and other health professionals view covid-19 vaccines as highly beneficial, even taking into account rare harms, though they vary on how strongly and in what circumstances they’d recommend vaccination.
https://mdpi.com/2076-393X/10/6/948
11/
Some health professionals believe vaccines are overall harmful, and a tiny fraction have openly espoused conspiracy theories—e.g. that vaccine manufacturers wish people to be harmed.
https://mdpi.com/2076-393X/9/12/1428
12/
Many factors influence the spread of vaccine misinformation on social media. One is its source. Whilst few studies have looked explicitly at this question, there is some evidence that *information from a health professional spreads faster and farther*.
https://publichealth.jmir.org/2023/1/e40201#ref79
13/
It is troubling, then, that the emergence of anti-vax conspiracy movements has been associated with “the rise and economic success of alternative medical celebrities as conspiracy entrepreneurs”.
https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.12657/61142/9781000846294.pdf?...
14/
“MEDICAL CELEBRITIES AS CONSPIRACY ENTREPRENEURS” means doctors who use their medical qualification to bolster anti-vax narratives among people who are already vaccine-hesitant. This whips up mistrust (of vaccines and of medical science generally).
15/
Medical CONSPIRACY ENTREPRENEURS, says this paper, “tap into deep-seated fears, concerns, anxieties, and perceived injustices that preoccupy people especially in times of a global crisis”.
16/
In pre-Internet days, the worst a doctor could do was harm their own patients one at a time. But if a doctor achieves a prominent position on social media and puts out anti-vax messages to *hundreds of thousands of followers* who forward them on, *far more harm* could result.
17/
Some doctors have complained to the General Medical Council about their colleagues' anti-vax behaviour on social media. But GMC isn’t interested. It doesn’t like doctors mis-advising individual patients, but it doesn’t mind them telling the whole world not to get vaccinated!
18/
In refusing to open investigations into doctors who are credibly accused of widespread dissemination of false and misleading information about vaccines on social media, the GMC has positioned itself as an ANALOG REGULATOR IN A DIGITAL WORLD.
19/
I have argued in this thread about the difference between genuine scientific debate about the pros and cons of vaccines and the kind of ‘conspiracy entrepreneur’ behaviour described above.
https://twitter.com/trishgreenhalgh/status/1676929580290981888?s=20
20/
65margd
TRG has left the building @TRyanGregory | 10:22 PM · Jul 10, 2023:
...Exposure to *commensal microbes* is important for early immune system development in young children. Infection with *pathogenic viruses* in infancy can disrupt that and lead to long-term morbidity.
Text
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/1
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/2
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/3
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clare M. Lloyd & Sejal Saglani 2023. Early-life respiratory infections and developmental immunity determine lifelong lung health (Review). Nature Immunology (6 July 2023) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01550-w
Abstract
Respiratory infections are common in infants and young children. However, the immune system develops and matures as the child grows, thus the effects of infection during this time of dynamic change may have long-term consequences. The infant immune system develops in conjunction with the seeding of the microbiome at the respiratory mucosal surface, at a time that the lungs themselves are maturing. We are now recognizing that any disturbance of this developmental trajectory can have implications for lifelong lung health. Here, we outline our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying relationships between immune and structural cells in the lung with the local microorganisms. We highlight the importance of gaining greater clarity as to what constitutes a healthy respiratory ecosystem and how environmental exposures influencing this network will aid efforts to mitigate harmful effects and restore lung immune health.
...Exposure to *commensal microbes* is important for early immune system development in young children. Infection with *pathogenic viruses* in infancy can disrupt that and lead to long-term morbidity.
Text
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/1
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/2
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/3
https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1678590652693577728/photo/4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Clare M. Lloyd & Sejal Saglani 2023. Early-life respiratory infections and developmental immunity determine lifelong lung health (Review). Nature Immunology (6 July 2023) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01550-w
Abstract
Respiratory infections are common in infants and young children. However, the immune system develops and matures as the child grows, thus the effects of infection during this time of dynamic change may have long-term consequences. The infant immune system develops in conjunction with the seeding of the microbiome at the respiratory mucosal surface, at a time that the lungs themselves are maturing. We are now recognizing that any disturbance of this developmental trajectory can have implications for lifelong lung health. Here, we outline our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying relationships between immune and structural cells in the lung with the local microorganisms. We highlight the importance of gaining greater clarity as to what constitutes a healthy respiratory ecosystem and how environmental exposures influencing this network will aid efforts to mitigate harmful effects and restore lung immune health.
66margd
Distracting an infant vaxxee: :)
0:32 ( https://twitter.com/Figensport/status/1679174327374168080 )
0:32 ( https://twitter.com/Figensport/status/1679174327374168080 )
67margd
Florian Krammer 2023. The role of vaccines in the COVID-19 pandemic: what have we learned? (Review) Seminars in Immunopathology (12 July 2023). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00281-023-00996-2
...Summary and outlook
We have learned a lot during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Countermeasures were developed in record time, vaccine technologies were tested side-by-side, and novel technologies were rolled out at large scale for the first time. From a technology point of view, we responded quickly—even though a quicker response is, and would have been possible... Looking forward into the future, we could be well prepared for new pandemics. Sequencing technologies and high-throughout serology allow for effective surveillance in animal and human populations. Virology laboratories are set up well to connect genotypes with concerning pathogen phenotypes to allow for establishment of early warning systems. We have all the tools necessary to understand correlates of protection if needed and vaccine technologies for quick employment in the case of a new pandemic have been developed and are available. In summary, we understand the key issues that need to be addressed for pandemic preparedness from a scientific and technological point of view. Nevertheless, the outlook into the future is a negative one. Just about 3 years after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, it seems politicians and governments have forgotten that the pandemic existed and very little is spent—e.g., in comparison to defense—on pandemic preparedness. This is despite the fact that enormous amounts of money were lost during the pandemic... and despite the fact that spending on pandemic preparedness could certainly be seen as defense spending. In addition, beliefs in conspiracy theories, denial, and anti-vax sentiments have spread far and wide, and may make it difficult to get “buy in” from the population once the next pandemic occurs. Unfortunately, this will likely be sooner than later. Several factors including a larger human animal interface (due to a growing population and therefore a growing number of domestic animals), ecosystem destruction, climate change, and others will likely lead to a higher frequency of outbreaks compared to the past. We have learned a lot from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As a society, we now need to start to take viruses seriously and implement what we learned.
...Summary and outlook
We have learned a lot during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Countermeasures were developed in record time, vaccine technologies were tested side-by-side, and novel technologies were rolled out at large scale for the first time. From a technology point of view, we responded quickly—even though a quicker response is, and would have been possible... Looking forward into the future, we could be well prepared for new pandemics. Sequencing technologies and high-throughout serology allow for effective surveillance in animal and human populations. Virology laboratories are set up well to connect genotypes with concerning pathogen phenotypes to allow for establishment of early warning systems. We have all the tools necessary to understand correlates of protection if needed and vaccine technologies for quick employment in the case of a new pandemic have been developed and are available. In summary, we understand the key issues that need to be addressed for pandemic preparedness from a scientific and technological point of view. Nevertheless, the outlook into the future is a negative one. Just about 3 years after the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, it seems politicians and governments have forgotten that the pandemic existed and very little is spent—e.g., in comparison to defense—on pandemic preparedness. This is despite the fact that enormous amounts of money were lost during the pandemic... and despite the fact that spending on pandemic preparedness could certainly be seen as defense spending. In addition, beliefs in conspiracy theories, denial, and anti-vax sentiments have spread far and wide, and may make it difficult to get “buy in” from the population once the next pandemic occurs. Unfortunately, this will likely be sooner than later. Several factors including a larger human animal interface (due to a growing population and therefore a growing number of domestic animals), ecosystem destruction, climate change, and others will likely lead to a higher frequency of outbreaks compared to the past. We have learned a lot from the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As a society, we now need to start to take viruses seriously and implement what we learned.
68margd
Clare M. Lloyd & Sejal Saglani 2023. Early-life respiratory infections and developmental immunity determine lifelong lung health (Review). Nature Immunology (6 July 2023) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-023-01550-w
Abstract
Respiratory infections are common in infants and young children. However, the immune system develops and matures as the child grows, thus the effects of infection during this time of dynamic change may have long-term consequences. The infant immune system develops in conjunction with the seeding of the microbiome at the respiratory mucosal surface, at a time that the lungs themselves are maturing. We are now recognizing that any disturbance of this developmental trajectory can have implications for lifelong lung health. Here, we outline our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying relationships between immune and structural cells in the lung with the local microorganisms. We highlight the importance of gaining greater clarity as to what constitutes a healthy respiratory ecosystem and how environmental exposures influencing this network will aid efforts to mitigate harmful effects and restore lung immune health.
----------------------------------------------------------------
T. Ryan Gregory @TRyanGregory | 10:22 AM · Jul 23, 2023:
{evolutionary biologist, U Guelph}
Exposure to *commensal microbes* is important for early immune system development in young children.
Infection with *pathogenic viruses* in infancy can disrupt that and lead to long-term morbidity.
{graph lung function https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1683120422450069507 }
Abstract
Respiratory infections are common in infants and young children. However, the immune system develops and matures as the child grows, thus the effects of infection during this time of dynamic change may have long-term consequences. The infant immune system develops in conjunction with the seeding of the microbiome at the respiratory mucosal surface, at a time that the lungs themselves are maturing. We are now recognizing that any disturbance of this developmental trajectory can have implications for lifelong lung health. Here, we outline our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying relationships between immune and structural cells in the lung with the local microorganisms. We highlight the importance of gaining greater clarity as to what constitutes a healthy respiratory ecosystem and how environmental exposures influencing this network will aid efforts to mitigate harmful effects and restore lung immune health.
----------------------------------------------------------------
T. Ryan Gregory @TRyanGregory | 10:22 AM · Jul 23, 2023:
{evolutionary biologist, U Guelph}
Exposure to *commensal microbes* is important for early immune system development in young children.
Infection with *pathogenic viruses* in infancy can disrupt that and lead to long-term morbidity.
{graph lung function https://twitter.com/TRyanGregory/status/1683120422450069507 }
69margd
Yes, there are cases of Amish children with autism, cancer and diabetes | Fact check
BrieAnna J Frank | 24 July 2023
The claim: A new study found zero cases of autism, cancer or diabetes in Amish children...
Our rating: False
The Amish Heritage Foundation told USA TODAY there are cases of Amish children with each of the listed conditions. A researcher who focuses on the Amish community highlighted news articles and studies showing Amish children are not exempt from cancer, autism or diabetes....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/07/24/false-claim-no-amish-ki...
BrieAnna J Frank | 24 July 2023
The claim: A new study found zero cases of autism, cancer or diabetes in Amish children...
Our rating: False
The Amish Heritage Foundation told USA TODAY there are cases of Amish children with each of the listed conditions. A researcher who focuses on the Amish community highlighted news articles and studies showing Amish children are not exempt from cancer, autism or diabetes....
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/07/24/false-claim-no-amish-ki...
70margd
Measles was once seen as a childhood disease. Increasingly, adults are susceptible, too
Helen Branswell | Aug. 2, 2023
...The infection was once a rarity in adults. But the reality of measles as a disease that strikes almost uniquely in childhood is changing. The shift is driven in part by the fact that the first wave of children whose parents shunned vaccination in the late 1990s and early 2000s — in response to a fallacious, since-retracted study in the Lancet that linked measles vaccine to autism — are now in young adulthood...iology — could fuel future measles outbreaks.
https://www.statnews.com/2023/08/02/adult-measles-infection/
-------------------------------------------
UK Health Security Agency 2023. Risk assessment for measles resurgence in the UK. 17 p. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attac...
Helen Branswell | Aug. 2, 2023
...The infection was once a rarity in adults. But the reality of measles as a disease that strikes almost uniquely in childhood is changing. The shift is driven in part by the fact that the first wave of children whose parents shunned vaccination in the late 1990s and early 2000s — in response to a fallacious, since-retracted study in the Lancet that linked measles vaccine to autism — are now in young adulthood...iology — could fuel future measles outbreaks.
https://www.statnews.com/2023/08/02/adult-measles-infection/
-------------------------------------------
UK Health Security Agency 2023. Risk assessment for measles resurgence in the UK. 17 p. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attac...
71John5918
The Irish Light: Woman abused by paper which falsely said vaccine killed her son (BBC)
A grieving mother and her lawyer have been targeted by an extreme campaign of abuse after suing a conspiracy theory newspaper which falsely claimed her son died from a Covid vaccine. The Irish Light repeatedly abused Edel Campbell online and its supporters have threatened her lawyer with "execution". Conspiracy theorists worldwide have used dozens of tragic deaths to spread vaccine misinformation. This case is thought to be the first where a relative has sued. The Irish Light included Ms Campbell's son, Diego Gilsenan, and 41 others in an article last year which suggested the "untested and dangerous" Covid vaccine was to blame for the deaths. In fact, the BBC has been told Diego had taken his own life in August 2021, aged 18, and had not been vaccinated...
72margd
>61 margd:
How States Can Better Regulate Indoor Air Quality
Aleyna Rentz, Aliza Rosen | August 18, 2023
We spend most of our lives indoors, so how can we ensure the air we breathe there is as safe as possible? A new model law* could help.
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/regulating-indoor-air-quality
----------------------------------------------------
* Model State Indoor Air Quality Act
https://centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/research-projects/indoor-air-qualit...
How States Can Better Regulate Indoor Air Quality
Aleyna Rentz, Aliza Rosen | August 18, 2023
We spend most of our lives indoors, so how can we ensure the air we breathe there is as safe as possible? A new model law* could help.
https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2023/regulating-indoor-air-quality
----------------------------------------------------
* Model State Indoor Air Quality Act
https://centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/research-projects/indoor-air-qualit...
73margd
Smart people first in line for COVID-19 vaccines, study suggests
Mary Van Beusekom | September 8, 2023
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/smart-people-first-line-covid-19-vaccines-st...
------------------------------------------
Mikael Elinder et al 2023. Cognitive ability, health policy, and the dynamics of COVID-19 vaccination. Journal of Health Economics Volume 91, September 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102802 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629623000796
Abstract
We examine the relationship between cognitive ability and prompt COVID-19 vaccination using individual-level data on more than 700,000 individuals in Sweden. We find a strong positive association between cognitive ability and swift vaccination, which remains even after controlling for confounding variables with a twin-design. The results suggest that the complexity of the vaccination decision may make it difficult for individuals with lower cognitive abilities to understand the benefits of vaccination. Consistent with this, we show that simplifying the vaccination decision through pre-booked vaccination appointments alleviates almost all of the inequality in vaccination behavior.
Mary Van Beusekom | September 8, 2023
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/smart-people-first-line-covid-19-vaccines-st...
------------------------------------------
Mikael Elinder et al 2023. Cognitive ability, health policy, and the dynamics of COVID-19 vaccination. Journal of Health Economics Volume 91, September 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2023.102802 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167629623000796
Abstract
We examine the relationship between cognitive ability and prompt COVID-19 vaccination using individual-level data on more than 700,000 individuals in Sweden. We find a strong positive association between cognitive ability and swift vaccination, which remains even after controlling for confounding variables with a twin-design. The results suggest that the complexity of the vaccination decision may make it difficult for individuals with lower cognitive abilities to understand the benefits of vaccination. Consistent with this, we show that simplifying the vaccination decision through pre-booked vaccination appointments alleviates almost all of the inequality in vaccination behavior.
74margd
Removing vaccine misinformation from Facebook during the #COVID19 pandemic did not decrease overall engagement with anti-vaccine content on the platform
Motivated users may still seek out misinformation
Facebook’s architecture allows them to find it
David A. Broniatowski et al. 2023. The efficacy of Facebook’s vaccine misinformation policies and architecture during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science Advances 15 Sep 2023 Vol 9, Issue 37 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2132 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2132
Abstract
Online misinformation promotes distrust in science, undermines public health, and may drive civil unrest. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Facebook—the world’s largest social media company—began to remove vaccine misinformation as a matter of policy. We evaluated the efficacy of these policies using a comparative interrupted time-series design. We found that Facebook removed some antivaccine content, but we did not observe decreases in overall engagement with antivaccine content. Provaccine content was also removed, and antivaccine content became more misinformative, more politically polarized, and more likely to be seen in users’ newsfeeds. We explain these findings as a consequence of Facebook’s system architecture, which provides substantial flexibility to motivated users who wish to disseminate misinformation through multiple channels. Facebook’s architecture may therefore afford antivaccine content producers several means to circumvent the intent of misinformation removal policies.
Fig. 2. Changes in antivaccine topic proportions relative to prepolicy and provaccine trends.
Motivated users may still seek out misinformation
Facebook’s architecture allows them to find it
David A. Broniatowski et al. 2023. The efficacy of Facebook’s vaccine misinformation policies and architecture during the COVID-19 pandemic. Science Advances 15 Sep 2023 Vol 9, Issue 37 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2132 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adh2132
Abstract
Online misinformation promotes distrust in science, undermines public health, and may drive civil unrest. During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, Facebook—the world’s largest social media company—began to remove vaccine misinformation as a matter of policy. We evaluated the efficacy of these policies using a comparative interrupted time-series design. We found that Facebook removed some antivaccine content, but we did not observe decreases in overall engagement with antivaccine content. Provaccine content was also removed, and antivaccine content became more misinformative, more politically polarized, and more likely to be seen in users’ newsfeeds. We explain these findings as a consequence of Facebook’s system architecture, which provides substantial flexibility to motivated users who wish to disseminate misinformation through multiple channels. Facebook’s architecture may therefore afford antivaccine content producers several means to circumvent the intent of misinformation removal policies.
Fig. 2. Changes in antivaccine topic proportions relative to prepolicy and provaccine trends.
75margd
World Health Organization (WHO) WHO | 1:18 PM · Sep 22, 2023:
WHO has officially launched the Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council.
The Council aims to identify 👇
🔵 innovative sustainable financing,
🔵market solutions &
🔵partnerships across public, private, & philanthropic sectors to facilitate the development, licensing & use of new TB vaccines.
Did you know?
Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is currently the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis. { more than a hundred years old }
bit.ly/EndTBCommitments
0:54 ( https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1705270403453595991 )
WHO has officially launched the Tuberculosis Vaccine Accelerator Council.
The Council aims to identify 👇
🔵 innovative sustainable financing,
🔵market solutions &
🔵partnerships across public, private, & philanthropic sectors to facilitate the development, licensing & use of new TB vaccines.
Did you know?
Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) is currently the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis. { more than a hundred years old }
bit.ly/EndTBCommitments
0:54 ( https://twitter.com/WHO/status/1705270403453595991 )
