As a biologist who teaches immunology and authored a BSCS high school textbook chapter on immunology, I am beyond appalled by the incoming administrations' plans for directing the FDA to rescind the approval of the polio vaccine as well as several other important vaccines. The claim is that their safety and efficacy has not been shown in a double-blind clinical trial of vaccine versus placebo. Anyone who knows anything about clinical trials understands that such a study for polio and other childhood diseases would be unethical, immoral, and a health-care disaster.
The incoming Trump cult had claimed that they would not attack the well-established benefits of vaccines, but of course they lied. Not surprising given their troves of previous lies, from Supreme Court nominees to disclaiming Project 2025 to assuring the gullible that grocery prices would immediately drop to the thousands of verifiable untruths spewed during the last eight years.
RFK Jr. and his rabid anti-vaccine minions are more interested in self-promotion than in public welfare. The polio vaccine has proven to be safe and effective since the 1950's. In the late 1700's, Edward Jenner established the scientific basis for vaccines. And over 2000 years ago, Chinese folk medicine practiced variolation to greatly lessen the illness caused by smallpox. The anti-science ignorance of the Trump cult is astonishing, but more importantly, it poses a danger to millions of Americans. What will they attack next? Antibiotics? Appendectomies? Chemotherapy? ???
I have a simple proposal for the Trump anti-vaxxer crowd - there is no need for their proposed double-blind clinical trial - just let parents choose for their children whether or not to be vaccinated for polio, and then expose the two groups to the polio virus. Perhaps the debilitation, paralysis, and deaths in the unvaccinated group and their absence in the vaccinated group will change some minds in the no-vaccine crowd. PLEASE NOTE - this paragraph is written with extreme sarcasm. As a scientist and a grandfather, I would never condone a study that would surely cause great harm to the unvaccinated. Similarly, I do not support any parent who chooses not to have their child immunized against deadly diseases. These people are benefiting from the herd immunity provided by those who are vaccinated, and this will disappear if the Trump cult has its way.
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16 comments:
Well stated, Doug. This is what happens when you elect a truly stupid man to the presidency. If RFK Jr. and his attorney want to conduct double-blind studies with placebos, they should agree to pay the lifetime costs for those who receive placebos and contract polio. This crowd are classic examples of what Inglefinger dubbed the arrogance of ignorance.
A colleague pointed out that even the claim that there had not been any double-blind clinical trials of the polio vaccine is a lie. Lying by the Trump cult is not second nature, it is primary! https://www.biostat.wisc.edu/~chappell/641/papers/paper2.htm
Anyone who truly believes the big load of bullshit that Trump is going to make an effort to rescind the approval of the polio vaccine needs to see an exorcist.
I hope that you are right. That's what he says but he lies about most things. Thanks for being so gracious 😅
There are just too many diseases that are making a comeback for no other reason than society's own stupidity in thinking/being told that vaccines are ineffective, dangerous, or cause other diseases. Polio is a disease that has no place in making a comeback, whooping cough is already on the rise, as is tuberculosis, and measles and the only reason is that parents are being told (and they're believing it) that the vaccines are ineffective, haven't been proven, and generally are dangerous. I truly am fearful for the day that the department of education overhauls its requirements for students to show proof of vaccination as a requirement for admission.
Danielle, spot on. I am hopeful that there will be strong opposition to the anti vaxxer agenda. As you know, education is key, and obviously we are failing a significant portion of the population.
Gee, Danielle, I wonder if the flood of unvaccinated illegal aliens pouring into this country from third world shitholes has anything to do with the increase in those diseases Americans are vaccinated against. You are right, it is society's "own stupidity" - for voting for the hate American Democrats who make all this happen.
Hey Steve, if you want to be a jerk, use your real name. You might have some valid points, but reasonable people usually ignore assholes.
Because my IQ is over 70, I realize the increae in diseases is not due to stupidity, but the vast increase in the number of unvaccinated illegals.
Do you have proof of your IQ? Just kidding, I know that to be true. However do you have data to substantiate your claims? It's certain that we do not know the immunization status of any immigrant, legal or not, and it's likely that many do not have what we would consider standard immunization. It's also true that the unimmunized will have a higher rate of disease, and again that applies to all folks, not just immigrants. Generally immigrants don't willfully chose to be unvaccinated whereas the anti-vaxxers chose not to become immune, and many die.
I was so worried about the coming calamities that Trump will bring until I happened to listen to the Glenn Beck program. He presents a laundry list of the horrible things that are about to happen, then assures his listeners they need not worry about any of it. How? All they gotta do is buy gold. Gold will provide all the safety and security and protection they need no matter what happens. And what makes it all the more convenient is that one of his sponsors sells gold investments. I can sleep in peace now.
Real Steve - yes we can sleep tight! I believe that Beck has been hawking gold for quite a while now, and it seems clear to me that gold is not an investment but rather a hedge against the collapse of the world!!
Actually, DES is wrong in his assumption, but hate blinds one to the truth. He talks about THE polio vaccine when actually there are SIX currently licensed by the FDA. An attorney friend, NOT MINION, of RFK filed a petition against ONE of the vaccines on behalf of a client who WAS NOT RFK. There have been serious problems with various polio vaccines in the past, which is why the petition was filed.
It;s not hate Steve, it's science. I have no problem with proper studies to show the efficacy and safety of vaccines. The lawyer in question is a slavering Trump loyalist who is a tad brighter that RFK Jr. "IPOL is the only polio vaccine currently used in the United States and is part of the routine childhood immunization schedule. It protects against all three types of poliovirus and is considered safe and effective for preventing polio, which can cause paralysis or death." And RFK and his flunky have called for the certification to be withdrawn. RFK is backpedaling like a defender against the fast break And it ain't just polio - "Aaron Siri, a partner at the law firm Siri & Glimstad, has long fought against the prevalence of vaccines. He has also filed petitions seeking to pause the distribution of other vaccines, including Hepatitis B, and to revoke the emergency-use authorization of COVID-19 vaccines." The arrogance of ignorance :-)
Aaron Siri has a client named Informed Consent Action Network, founded by Boulder, Colorado’s own Del Bigtree, an anti-vaccination activist. He’s a television and film producer, which may explain why RFK chose him as his campaign communications director when he was running for President. The ICAN is a nonprofit organization that collects donations and pays Mr. Bigtree and his cronies very well. Why is Mr. Bigtree an anti-vaccination activist? Because he’s making a decent living at it. It could be any cause and any NGO. In other words, I kinda sorta think Mr. Bigtree might be a fraudster. His father is Jack Groverland, minister of the Unity of Boulder Church, which would be right up your alley.
Scams to the left of me, scams to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you 😄
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