I've been thinking about herd immunity in the last few weeks and took a moment to look at the concept's historical roots. As is more often the case than I would like, my understanding needed refreshing and refashioning.
measles outbreak
ACSH trustee Dr. Paul Offit takes on a very sensitive topic in his op-ed in today s New York Times: How is it possible to reconcile the clash of mandatory immunization and religion an impossible task if ever there was one.
The latest in health news: anti-vaxxers stand by their beliefs while measles breaks in Disney and a new study confirms their safety, antiviral drugs may be the alternative to the failed flu shots but not all experts agree, and in the court of public opinion, fear-mongers win the debate over gmo and pesticide safety.
The Amish typically have very low vaccination rates for three reasons: First, in their culture, they have not been exposed to the overall benefits of children s vaccinations; second, they believe that vaccines may put their
As, the dark cloud that hovered over vaccines mostly from damage done by fraudster Andrew Wakefield slowly lifts, the last thing we need is to have actual doctors jumping back on the anti-vaccine bandwagon.
Yet, the always (oops, make that never) reliable Mother Jones (March 30th) somehow managed to dig up a group of pediatricians from California (big surprise) who are not quite following the recommended CDC vaccination schedules.
Last week, the New York City Department of Health announced that it is investigating an outbreak of measles in northern Manhattan and the Bronx. By March 7, the NYC DOH had identified 16 cases seven adults and nine pediatric cases.
More than 90 percent of the United States population has received the measles vaccination. Because of our effective vaccination programs, measles is no longer endemic in the US and has not been for over a decade.