Category Archives: Vaccination

A Cool Vaccination-Related Game

Posted on February 4, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

I can’t remember where exactly, but the Twitterz pointed me towards this very addictive game that also gives a nice, hands-on demonstration of how herd immunity works. You will spend more time than you should playing this….

Posted in Vaccination | 3 Comments

The Horrifying Irony of Anti-Abortionists Who Oppose the MMR Vaccine

Posted on February 3, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

While I’ve discussed this before, the opposition of anti-abortionists to the MMR vaccine–specifically the “R” component that protects against rubella–seems topical, especially since some prominent Republican politicians, to their everlasting shame, are playing footsie with anti-vaccinationism (boldface mine): As the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blastocyst Liberation, Conservatives, Fucking Morons, Vaccination | 2 Comments

When It Comes to Vaccination, The Kids Are Not Alright

Posted on February 2, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Too often, younger adults are incorrectly faulted for doing things wrong (e.g., they’re actually doing better than their parents did academically). But, as a recent YouGov poll shows, when it comes to vaccination, younger adults really need to pull their … Continue reading →

Posted in Polling, Public Health, Vaccination | 3 Comments

Efficacy and Measles

Posted on February 1, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

In the wake of the New York Times article about vaccination and the ongoing measles outbreak, no one seems to be discussing the efficacy problem. I’m not referring to the herd immunity issue–which is a serious problem (boldface mine): You … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Health, Vaccination | 5 Comments

Does Kumbaya As Public Health Policy Work?

Posted on January 30, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A couple of days ago, I wound up in a Twitter discussion (or whatever it should be called) about an article suggesting people who refuse to vaccinate should be sued. There was some back and forth, but ultimately I’m convinced–and … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaccination | 3 Comments

Yes, Measles Is Still Deadly

Posted on January 24, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

A problem public health officials face is that many communicable diseases aren’t lethal or even dangerous to most people (Ebola and HIV are the obvious exceptions). As a result, we tend to underestimate how dangerous many infectious diseases are. Tara … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaccination | 1 Comment

Murphy’s Law of Vaccines

Posted on October 25, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

This, from a family physician, about the ‘law of vaccine supply and demand‘: Remember the H1N1 epidemic from 2009? The country was obsessed with the bird flu, like they are now with Ebola. My patients were scared to get the … Continue reading →

Posted in Fucking Morons, Public Health, Vaccination | 2 Comments

No, Anti-Vaccinationism Is Still Not a Left-Wing Cause

Posted on September 12, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

I’m glad to see Chris Mooney is mending his ways, as shown by this recent post (boldface mine): Here, the undeniable reality is that childhood vaccines are safe and do not cause autism. So do liberals deny this fact more … Continue reading →

Posted in Vaccination | Comments Off on No, Anti-Vaccinationism Is Still Not a Left-Wing Cause

NIH and Ebola

Posted on August 9, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

No, the bear didn’t have Ebola. But this came across the transom from NIH this week: The NIH is playing several important roles in dealing with this very serious situation. For decades, intramural and extramural researchers supported by NIH’s National … Continue reading →

Posted in NIH, Vaccination, Viruses | Comments Off on NIH and Ebola

Yes, Vaccine Denialism Has a Slight Rightwing Bias–And Now It’s GOP Approved

Posted on June 8, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

By way of PZ Myers, we read that the Texas Republican Party Platform contains the following: All adult citizens should have the legal right to conscientiously choose which vaccines are administered to themselves, or their minor children, without penalty for … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatives, Fucking Morons, Vaccination | 5 Comments