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Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating the body's adaptive immunity, they help prevent sickness from an infectious disease. When a sufficiently large percentage of a population has been vaccinated, herd immunity results. Herd immunity protects those who may be immunocompromised and cannot get a vaccine because even a weakened version would harm them. The effectiveness of vaccination has been widely studied and verified. Vaccination is the most effective method of preventing infectious diseases; widespread immunity due to vaccination is largely responsible for the worldwide eradication of smallpox and the elimination of diseases such as polio and tetanus from much of the world. However, some diseases, such as measles outbreaks in America, have seen rising cases due to relatively low vaccination rates in the 2010s – attributed, in part, to vaccine hesitancy. According to the World Health Organization, vaccination prevents 3.5–5 million deaths per year.
Whooping cough, also known as pertussis or the 100-day cough, is a highly contagious, vaccine-preventable bacterial disease. Initial symptoms are usually similar to those of the common cold with a runny nose, fever, and mild cough, but these are followed by two or three months of severe coughing fits. Following a fit of coughing, a high-pitched whoop sound or gasp may occur as the person breathes in. The violent coughing may last for 10 or more weeks, hence the phrase "100-day cough". The cough may be so hard that it causes vomiting, rib fractures, and fatigue. Children less than one year old may have little or no cough and instead have periods where they cannot breathe. The incubation period is usually seven to ten days. Disease may occur in those who have been vaccinated, but symptoms are typically milder.
In academic publishing, a retraction is a mechanism by which a published paper in an academic journal is flagged for being seriously flawed to the extent that their results and conclusions can no longer be relied upon. Retracted articles are not removed from the published literature but marked as retracted. In some cases it may be necessary to remove an article from publication, such as when the article is clearly defamatory, violates personal privacy, is the subject of a court order, or might pose a serious health risk to the general public.
Vaccine hesitancy is a delay in acceptance, or refusal, of vaccines despite the availability of vaccine services and supporting evidence. The term covers refusals to vaccinate, delaying vaccines, accepting vaccines but remaining uncertain about their use, or using certain vaccines but not others. Although adverse effects associated with vaccines are occasionally observed, the scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and effective is overwhelming. Vaccine hesitancy often results in disease outbreaks and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, the World Health Organization characterizes vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats.
Pox parties, also known as flu parties, are social activities in which children are deliberately exposed to infectious diseases such as chickenpox. Such parties originated to "get it over with" before vaccines were available for a particular illness or because childhood infection might be less severe than infection during adulthood, according to proponents. For example, measles is more dangerous to adults than to children over five years old. Deliberately exposing people to diseases has since been discouraged by public health officials in favor of vaccination, which has caused a decline in the practice of pox parties, although flu parties saw a resurgence in the early 2010s.
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Brian S. Hooker was a biologist and chemist at Simpson University. As of April 29, 2024, he no longer appears in the catalogs or faculty list for Simpson University. He is known for promoting the false claim that vaccines cause autism.
A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or schools. Many policies have been developed and implemented since vaccines were first made widely available.
Number needed to vaccinate (NNV) is a metric used in the evaluation of vaccines, and in the determination of vaccination policy. It is defined as the average number of patients that must be vaccinated to prevent one case of disease. It is a specific application of the number needed to treat metric (NNT).
Judy Anne Mikovits is an American former research scientist who has made discredited medical claims, such as that murine endogenous retroviruses are found in blood samples of most patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). As an outgrowth of these claims, she has engaged in anti-vaccination activism, promoted conspiracy theories, and been accused of scientific misconduct. She has made false claims about vaccines, COVID-19, and ME/CFS, among others.
Virology Journal is an open-access peer-reviewed medical journal published by BioMed Central. It publishes research related to viruses and the prevention of viral infection. The journal was established in 2004 with Robert Garry as founding editor-in-chief and has been edited by Linfa Wang since 2012. It aims to cover rapid communications amongst virologists.
Scientific Reports is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely the scientific validity of a submitted paper, rather than its perceived importance, significance, or impact.
Harald Walach is a German parapsychologist and advocate of alternative medicine.
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Douglas D. Taylor is an entrepreneur and former academic researcher in the field of extracellular vesicles.
Rhoda Wanyenze is a physician, public health consultant, academic and medical administrator, who serves as the Dean of Makerere University School of Public Health, a component school of Makerere University College of Health Sciences, which is part of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest and largest public university.
COVID-19 infection in pregnancy is associated with several pregnancy complications. However, pregnancy does not appear to increase the susceptibility of becoming infected by COVID-19. Recommendations for the prevention of COVID-19 include the same measures as non-pregnant people.
Misinformation related to immunization and the use of vaccines circulates in mass media and social media in spite of the fact that there is no serious hesitancy or debate within mainstream medical and scientific circles about the benefits of vaccination. Unsubstantiated safety concerns related to vaccines are often presented on the internet as being scientific information. A large proportion of internet sources on the topic are mostly inaccurate which can lead people searching for information to form misconceptions relating to vaccines.
Pierre Kory is an American critical care physician who gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic for advocating widespread off-label use of certain drugs as treatments for COVID-19, as president and co-founder of the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC). Kory testified twice to the U.S. Senate regarding COVID-19. During his testimony in December 2020, Kory erroneously claimed that the antiparasitic medication ivermectin was a "wonder drug" with "miraculous effectiveness" against COVID-19.
Noora is a COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences in collaboration with Plasma Darman Sarv Sepid Co. in Iran. Introduced in June 2021, it was announced as having "successfully passed the first phase of its clinical trial" two months later.
References
- 1 2 "Mark Skidmore". Department of Economics. Michigan State University . Retrieved December 8, 2020.
- ↑ MSU scholars find $21 trillion in unauthorized government spending; Defense Department to conduct first-ever audit, December 11, 2017
- ↑ Gorski DH (23 October 2023). "Has MSU economics professor Mark Skidmore been 'exonerated' over his retracted paper claiming that COVID vaccines killed 278,000?". Science-Based Medicine.
- ↑ Skidmore M (January 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 Infect Dis. 23 (1): 51. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-07998-3 . PMC 9872073 . PMID 36694131. (Retracted, see doi:10.1186/s12879-023-08234-8, PMID 37041482, Retraction Watch )
- ↑ Skidmore M (April 2023). "Retraction Note: 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 Infect Dis (Retraction notice). 23 (1): 223. doi: 10.1186/s12879-023-08234-8 . PMC 10088578 . PMID 37041482.