Could Vaccines Be Responsible for a New Epidemic?
About a month ago, a team of Australian scientists released a study of Australia’s recent whooping cough epidemic. Their results were disturbing, revealing the existence of a strain or genotype of the disease that can evade the vaccine. The scientists believe this strain may be responsible for the sharp increase in the number of whooping … Read more
Government and Pharma: A Case in Point
Earlier this month, the University of Pittsburgh held “A Scientific Symposium Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Development of the Polio Vaccine.” One of the speakers at this conference was Dr. Gary Nabel, director of the Vaccine Research Center at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Dr. Nabel has a pretty nice gig. … Read more
What is Behind the Jump in Life-Threatening Allergies?
An article in the Wall Street Journal last week focused attention on the rising numbers of children with life-threatening allergies. The article cites alarming statistics: according to research published in the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, one in every 13 children in America has serious food allergies, with the number of children with … Read more
The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Controversy
Last week’s news about the harassment of FDA scientists and doctors who informed Congress that the FDA was approving risky medical devices showed the lengths to which pharmaceutical industries are willing to go to protect their interests. Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – an organization tasked with the protection of American consumers – … Read more
New Report Finds 1 in 5 U.S. Adults Struggle With Mental Illness
A recent article at The Huffington Post had a startling headline: 1 in 5 U.S. Adults Had Mental Illness Last Year. A new report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) showed the following: 20% (1 in 5) of adults 18 or older in the United States experienced mental illness over … Read more
New Clinical Trial Tests Unsafe Anthrax Vaccine For Post-Exposure Use
We have been writing about the anthrax vaccine here at Vaccine Xchange for some time. It seems clear that Emergent BioSolutions, the maker of the only human anthrax vaccine (BioThrax) currently available in the US, is working to aggressively market the vaccine, including ensuring that its vaccine is authorized for use for use after inhaling … Read more
Gates Foundation Invests in Pharma: Conflict of Interest?
In March of this year, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation invested $10 million in Liquidia Technologies, a biotechnology company focused on vaccine development. According to Jeff Raikes, the CEO of the Gates Foundation, this is a way to “tap into the private sector … [to] add to the work we are doing and leverage … Read more
CDC Admits CA Pertussis Epidemic Caused By Waning Vaccine Immunity
During the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, CDC researchers presented results from two separate independent studies that both showed that children faced a significantly higher rate of pertussis (whooping cough) infection four or more years after their fifth and final vaccination (which these days usually occurs when the children are about … Read more
New York Times Reviews Greater Good Documentary, But Did They See It?
This week, The Greater Good – a documentary about vaccine safety issues that we have blogged about here – is playing in New York City. (If you are in the area, we highly recommend you go see it – it does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the issue!) The New York Times … Read more
