neglect
- pain,
- anxiety,
- fatigue,
- feelings (eg, happy, calm)
on 0- to 10-point numeric rating scales. Data were analyzed with Wilcoxon signed rank tests.
- What on earth is a ‘mixed-method, feasibility, pilot study’? A hallmark of pseudo-researchers seems to be that they think they can invent their own terminology.
- There is no objective, validated outcome measure.
- The conclusion that ‘Reiki is feasible‘ has been known and does not need to be tested any longer.
- The conclusion that ‘Reiki improved positive emotions and feelings and decreased negative measures’ is false. As there was no control group, these improvements might have been caused by a whole lot of other things than Reiki – for instance, the extra attention, placebo effects, regression towards the mean or social desirability.
- The conclusion that ‘implementing Reiki in clinical practice should be further explored to improve mental health and well-being’ is therefore not based on the data provided. In fact, as Reiki is an implausible esoteric nonsense, it is a promotion of wasting resources on utter BS.
Does it matter?
Why not let pseudo-scientists do what they do best: PSEUDO-SCIENCE?
I think it matters because:
- Respectable institutions like the Mayo Clinic should not allow its reputation being destroyed by quackery.
- The public should not be misled by charlatans.
- Patients suffering from mental health problems deserve better.
- Resources should not be wasted on pseudo-research.
- ‘Academic journals like ‘Glob Adv Integr Med Health’ have a responsibility for what they publish.
- ‘The ‘Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine & Health‘ that seems to be behind this particular journal claim to be “the world’s most comprehensive community for advancing the practice of whole health, with leading expertise in research, clinical care, and education. By consolidating the top institutions in the integrative medicine space, all working in unison with a common goal, the Academic Consortium is the premier organizational home for champions of whole health. Together with over 86 highly esteemed member institutions from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico, our collective vision is to transform the healthcare system by promoting integrative medicine and health for all.” In view of the above, such statements are a mockery of the truth.
This study investigated the impact of spirituality and SCAM (so-called alternative medicine) use on perceptions of vaccine harmfulness, with a focus on COVID-19 and mandatory childhood vaccinations. Additionally, it examined whether spirituality indirectly influences vaccine hesitancy through SCAM use and beliefs in conspiracies.
A cross-sectional probability-based survey was conducted with over 1300 participants from South Tyrol, Italy, in 2023, using the GrAw-7 (Gratitude/Awe) scale as a measure of the experiential aspect of non-religious spirituality. Statistical analysis encompassed Spearman’s correlation and linear regression to assess the associations between spirituality and vaccine perceptions. A mediation model was applied to evaluate the role of spirituality in shaping attitudes towards vaccination.
The results show that higher experiential spirituality was associated with increased perceived harmfulness of COVID-19 and mandatory childhood vaccinations. Spirituality as well as perceived harmfulness of COVID-19 vaccination and mandatory childhood vaccination were correlated with age, increased SCAM utilisation and conspiracy ideation, while institutional distrust was solely associated with vaccine scepticism but not with spirituality; well-being and altruism were only associated with spirituality. Mediation analysis revealed that experiential spirituality accounted for a modest but significant portion of the influence of SCAM use and conspiracy thinking on vaccine perceptions.
The authors concluded that their study underscores the association between experiential spirituality and vaccine perceptions, particularly among individuals with a predisposition towards SCAM and those who exhibit conspiracy-related beliefs, highlighting the intricate relationships without implying causation. While spirituality does not appear to directly hinder vaccine uptake, it correlates with heightened perceptions of vaccine risks, particularly within contexts where alternative health practices and distrust in mainstream medical authorities are prevalent. This relationship emphasises that people who score high on spiritual awareness may be indirectly influenced to differ from others with respect to vaccination attitudes by promoting scepticism towards vaccine safety and efficacy. Even if we cannot change the spirituality of people, we know now that we can address information campaigns not only by attempting to build trust but also by addressing information to people preferring SCAM use and being spiritual at once. We think that this result is an important insight when focusing vaccine campaigns on vaccine-hesitant persons. These findings emphasise the importance of incorporating spiritual awareness, convictions, and beliefs into public health communication strategies. To address vaccine hesitancy within spiritually inclined populations, public health campaigns could explore framing vaccination in ways that resonate with values such as community care, personal responsibility, or altruism while ensuring that these messages are tailored to the diverse beliefs and perspectives of these groups. Moreover, collaboration with spiritual and community leaders could serve as a strategy to strengthen vaccine acceptance in populations that perceive health through a spiritual perspective. Future research should further explore the interactions between spirituality, SCAM use, and beliefs in conspiracies, with an emphasis on understanding how spirituality mediates health behaviours in culturally and religiously diverse contexts. Longitudinal studies and analyses across broader demographic groups are necessary to generalise these findings and refine public health interventions aimed at addressing spirituality-linked vaccine hesitancy.
My interpretation of these findings is that they confirm what we have repeatedly discussed here: There is a link between SCAM use and vaccination hesitance. It most likely is due to a cross-correlation: a certain mindset (that includes spirituality and several other phenomena) influences the distrust in vaccinations as well as the use of SCAM (and other things like, for instance, the belief in conspiracy theories).
Measles had been declared eliminated from the US in 2000. Now the disease is back with a vengeance. In February, an unvaccinated Texan child became the first person in a decade to die from measles in the US. Another death occurred in New Mexico.
The reason for the outbreak is simple: the uptake of the measles vaccine dropped below the 95% rate that is necessary for herd immunity. In the region where the current outbreak began, only 82% of the kids were vaccinated. This triggered the outbreak and, in turn, might mean that the US will lose its ‘measles elimination status’.
Only days after his appointment, Trump pledged to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization and to drastically cut the US Agency for International Development. Both moves are likely to cause more cases of measles and similarly vaccine-preventable diseases in the US and around the world. To make matters worse, Trump administration has fired hundreds of workers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
And to make matters even worse, Trump appointed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the US most deluded antivaxer. Since being appointed, Kennedy has downplayed the importance of the current measles outbreak, postponed a meeting of the CDC vaccine advisers, made statements like “vaccinations are over-rated” and claimed that good nutrition and treatment with vitamin A as ways to reduce measles severity. He even praised the benefits of cod liver oil as a measure against measles. “There are adverse events from the vaccine,” Kennedy said in a March 11 interview. “It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera. And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves.” Further confirming his cluelessness Kennedy also stated: “When you and I were kids, everybody got measles, and measles gave you … lifetime protection against measles infection. The vaccine doesn’t do that… The vaccine wanes 4.5% per year.”
But Kennedy does not just propagate BS in interviews, he also plans to investigate whether vaccines cause autism — an assumption that has been discredited ad nauseam. A spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said: “The rate of autism in American children has skyrocketed. CDC will leave no stone unturned in its mission to figure out what exactly is happening.”
Meanwhile in Texas, some parents, who evidently believe Kennedy’s deluded nonsense, are giving unvaccinated children vitamin A, which, of course, is toxic at high doses.
This review is entitled “A narrative review of the impact of reiki and therapeutic touch on sleep quality and health in women” and aimed to evaluate the application methods of energy therapies, specifically Reiki and Therapeutic Touch, their health effects, and their positive impact on sleep quality, particularly in women.
The author who is from the Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Midwifery Department, Osmaniye, Turkey, states in her abstract that:
“energy therapies are holistic approaches designed to restore energy balance and enhance overall health. Reiki utilizes universal energy flow to promote physical, mental, and spiritual harmony. By balancing energy centers, Reiki helps alleviate stress, anxiety, and depression while being a generally safe practice with no reported side effects.”
The author continues by claiming that studies involving menopausal women suggest that Reiki improves sleep quality, reduces the time to fall asleep, and stabilizes sleep patterns.
Therapeutic Touch, the author explains:
“focuses on sensing and balancing the body’s energy fields, operating on the principle that energy imbalances contribute to illness. Research indicates that Therapeutic Touch alleviates stress, fatigue, anxiety, and pain, while enhancing sleep quality, relaxation, and overall quality of life. Studies in menopausal women confirm its effectiveness in addressing sleep disturbances and promoting well-being.”
The author concludes that energy therapies, particularly methods like Reiki and Therapeutic Touch, have garnered attention for their positive impact on women’s health and overall well being. These noninvasive, safe, and low-cost practices have shown promise, especially in areas such as sleep quality, stress management, and the alleviation of menopausal symptoms. However, the limited scientific literature in this field necessitates further research to solidify their efficacy.
The author also issues the following ecommendations:
• Theoretical and practical training on energy therapies should be integrated into nursing education
programs to enhance awareness and application.
• Randomized controlled trials should be conducted to investigate the effectiveness of energy
therapies across different age groups and health conditions.
• Research on women’s health should focus specifically on the effects of energy therapies on sleep
quality and menopausal symptoms.
• Public awareness of energy therapies should be increased, and their integration into healthcare systems
should be facilitated.
• Energy therapies should be recognized as complementary treatment options in health institutions,
contributing to patient satisfaction and stress management.
This paper is a good example to show why I have often warned that research of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is in serious danger to be no longer taken seriously. Scientists and rational healthcare professionals will simply dismiss it outright because it simply is pseudo-research masquarading as the real thing.
The review fails to contain a methods section which means we do not know on what evidence the conclusions are based. Once we have a closer look, we realize that the paper:
- relies on highly selected studies;
- does not even consider the implausibility of energy healing;
- fails to assess the methodological quality of the primaary studies.
All this is done so that the author – presumably a nurse who practices energy healing – can arrive at the conclusion she set out to draw.
Such papers are deeply disturbing because they mislead the reader and undermine trust in science.
PS
In case you are interested in a reasonable and evidence-based conclusion about energy healing, here is one I suggest:
A review of the evidence shows that energy healing flies in the face of science and is not supported by sound clinical evidence. Energy healing has therefore no place in rational healthcare.
I have to admit I don’t normally read the DALLAS MORNING NEWS -but perhaps I should! Here are a few excerpts from an article they just published:
Texas health experts are warning that vitamin A — found in food and in supplements such as cod liver oil — is not an alternative to measles vaccination. They’re urging Texans to vaccinate themselves and their children, as the West Texas measles outbreak continues to grow and after an unvaccinated child died from the illness.
Kennedy’s comments in the column — that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vitamin A for people hospitalized with measles, and that studies have found vitamin A can help prevent measles deaths — are not inaccurate.
But they lack important context, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine. Hotez worries the missing context might mean people put their faith in vitamin A over vaccination — a decision that could cost lives. “The thing that I worry about is by [Kennedy] playing this up and others playing this up, it sends a false equivalency message, that somehow treating with vitamin A is equivalent to getting vaccinated, which is clearly not the case,” Hotez said…
“There’s zero evidence that it’s preventative,” said Dr. Christopher Dreiling, a pediatrician at Pediatric Associates of Dallas. Dreiling said he hasn’t had parents ask him about vitamin A for measles, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it started popping up after Kennedy’s comments. Dreiling’s main concern, he said, is that parents have correct information to make informed decisions…
____________________
Kennedy is, of course, not alone in pushing Vitamin A for measles. On this blog, we recently saw Dana Ullman (MPH, CCH) doing the same. On Feb 28, he wrote the following comment:
Thank YOU for verifying that the Texas hospital here seems to have killed these children. According to your article above, the head of this Texas hospital asserted, “Unfortunately, like so many viruses, there aren’t any specific treatments for measles.”
And yet, according to the New England Journal of Medicine, Vitamin A has clearly been shown: “Treatment with vitamin A reduces morbidity and mortality in measles, and all children with severe measles should be given vitamin A supplements, whether or not they are thought to have a nutritional deficiency.”
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199007193230304
And what might Kennedy and Ullman have in common (apart from being dangerous nut-cases and quackery-promoters)?
Simple: they both don’t understand science!
This fascinating article [ full title: THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF QUACK MEDICINE AND QUACK PHARMACY (ART. 254 OF THE CRIMINAL CODE)] was written by Igor Vuković, PhD, Professor at the University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law. Here is its English language abstract:
The development of conventional medicine throughout history was accompanied by the appearance of quackery. On the one hand, in the absence of trained doctors, people all the same needed treatment, which was generally available only from unqualified persons. On the other hand, this need has generated greed and often deception regarding the expected success in treatment. This caused this phenomenon to be considered a criminal offense in most legislations. However, with the increasing legalization of the so-called complementary (alternative) medicine, whose methods are less scientifically proven, the attitude towards quackery is somewhat changing. The author notes that the scope of the act of „providing other medical services“ is particularly debated, since in that way acts of not only treatment but also medical assistance and care are brought under the framework of incrimination. Serbian law also considers as punishable acts of quack pharmacy, which is defined as preparing or issuing of medicaments without the appropriate professional qualification. This incrimination also raises important questions, which the author tries to answer. In the conclusion, it is stated that, according to the factual situation, situations of quackery can
often be brought under the criminal offense of fraud.
Even though it is not always clear to me what the authors meant to express, I feel that surely he is right in raising some of the issues related to so-called alternative medicine (SCAM). On this blog, I have repeatedly highlighted legal aspects of SCAM as they arose, e.g.:
- The ‘Healing Power of God’: a religious group was found guilty of manslaughter of a diabetic girl
- Prison sentence for a German HEILPRAKTIKER who issued false vaccination certificates
- Arrests in Germany of healthcare professionals who issued fake COVID certificates
- Boots the Chemist, legal complaints, and alternative medicines
- Homeopathy on the NHS: the first legal challenge
- Time for the legal profession to have a serious look at homeopathy?
- A scale of misdemeanors by SCAM practitioners towards patients and the public
- A warning for consumers and healthcare professionals: DO NOT USE THIS HOMEOPATHIC PRODUCT!
- Chiropractors charged with sexual assault
- Yoga guru arrested for rape and human trafficking
- Medicare fraud by chiropractors costs taxpayers millions
- A $2.6M Insurance Fraud by Chiropractors and Doctors?
- Center for Inquiry files a lawsuit against Boiron
- A naturopath responsible for the death of two cancer patients was sentenced to two years
- MMS-salesman Andreas Kalcker has been arrested in Argentina
- US Chiropractor in court for making false claims related to COVID-19
- Alleged sexual misconduct serves a blow to osteopathy in France
- The lack of chiropractic ethics: “valid consent was not obtained in a single case”
- “We hope that the publicity surrounding this event will highlight the dangers of chiropractic”… A statement of the family of the man who died after treatment of a ‘vertebral subluxation complex’
- Walmart is being sued for selling homeopathic products
Even a short glance at this list makes it obvious, I think, that there are plenty of legal issues in and around SCAM. I feel it would be important that we all – consumers, clinicians, researchers, lawyers and politicians – become aware of them and, when necessary, act accordingly.
As we have discussed previously, there is an outbreak of measles affecting unvaccinated children in the US. In an attempt to reassure the US public, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that the U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services is watching the Texas measles outbreak. “It’s not unusual,” he claimed when pressed by reporters. “We have measles outbreaks every year.” This, of course, is quite misleading.
Yes, there are regular outbreaks, but they are hardly comparable to the current one. The last person to succumb to measles in the US died in 2015 during an outbreak in Clallam County, Washington state, in which only a couple dozen people were infected. Measles was then identified as the cause of death of a woman. The autopsy found that she had “several other health conditions and was on medications that contributed to a suppressed immune system,” the US Health Department said at the time.
Kennedy misstated a number of further facts:
- Kennedy claimed that most of the patients who had been hospitalized were there only for “quarantine.” Dr. Lara Johnson at Covenant, the hospital in question, contested that characterization. “We don’t hospitalize patients for quarantine purposes,” said Johnson, the chief medical officer.
- Kennedy claimed that two people had died of measles. Yet Andrew Nixon, the spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services clarified that, at the time, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified only one death.
Gaines County has reported 80 measles cases so far. It has one of the highest rates of school-aged children in Texas who have opted out of at least one required vaccine, with nearly 14% skipping a required dose last school year.
Some of the hospitalised patients’ respiratory issues progressed to pneumonia, and they needed an oxygen tube to breathe, Johnson explained. Others had to be intubated, though Johnson declined to say how many. “Unfortunately, like so many viruses, there aren’t any specific treatments for measles,” she said. “What we’re doing is providing supportive care, helping support the patients as they hopefully recover.”
Last week, Trump seemed to buy into the already thoroughly debunked vaccines-cause-autism conspiracy that Kennedy famously has been promoting for years. Trump claimed that the Pennsylvania Dutch’s simplistic and unvaccinated lifestyle could be used as a potential model to avoid the disorder.
Meanwhile, multiple vaccine projects have been stopped by Kennedy. He paused a multimillion-dollar project to create a new Covid-19 vaccine in pill form on Tuesday. This project was a $460 million contract with Vaxart to develop a new Covid vaccine in pill form, with 10,000 people scheduled to begin clinical trials on Monday. Of that, $240 million was reportedly already authorized for preliminary research.
Furthermore, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee, or VRBPAC, was scheduled to meet in March to discuss the strains that would be included in next season’s flu shot, but federal officials told the committee that the meeting was canceled, said committee member Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Offit told NBC News that no explanation was given for the cancellation of the yearly spring meeting, which comes in the middle of a flu season in which 86 children and 19,000 adults have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In an email to NBC, Norman Baylor, a former director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccine Research and Review, said, “I’m quite shocked. As you know, the VRBPAC is critical for making the decision on strain selection for the next influenza vaccine season.”
Finally, an upcoming CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting was also postponed last week. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, was scheduled to meet Feb. 26 through Feb. 28. The group of independent experts convenes three times a year on behalf of the CDC to weigh the pros and cons of newly approved or updated vaccines. The postponement will put Kennedy at odds with Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who is a doctor and the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which oversees HHS. Kennedy had promised Cassidy to give the Senate prior notice before making changes to certain vaccine programs. “If confirmed, he [Kennedy] will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without change,” Cassidy said in a speech on the Senate floor supporting Kennedy’s HHS nomination earlier this month.
The dangerous mess the new US governement got itself into within days of alledgedly governing seems monsterous. It is hard to conclude that Kennedy is competent or has abandonned his longstanding anti-vax stance. He clearly does not persue a reasonable strategy to protect the US from outbreaks of infections, endemics or pandemics. On the contrary, he is playing fast and loose with the health of US citizens and. as a consequence, with the health of all of us.
This story of a woman suffering from early-stage breast cancer is in many ways remarkable. After being diagnosed, she scheduled consultations with surgeons but, because it was the holiday season, appointments were delayed. She therefore decided to use the time proactively and arranged a consultation with ‘Dr. T,’ an integrative medical doctor. She wanted to explore if supplements could support her health while I waited for treatment.
Dr. T mentioned another holistic practitioner, ‘Dr. D’, who specialized in thermography, a thermal imaging technique that maps blood flow on the breast’s surface. Dr. D had allegedly “healed” a breast cancer patient without surgery, radiation or chemotherapy. The patient was intrigued and made an appointment with Dr. D. and had a thermogram.
This involved nine thermal images taken with a special camera, followed by a “cold challenge” where the patient submerged her hands in icy water. She was told that healthy tissue cools in sync with the brain’s signals, while cancerous tumors show up as hot spots.
Discussing the findings with the patient, Dr, D. explained that the thermography had not detected a breast cancer; it it had only revealed “extra heat” in the area. This, the doctor explained, would put her in the “high-risk” category. He explained further that cancer was caused by “too many COVID vaccines,” and therefore the patient shouldn’t get another. “What about the fact that my mom had the same type of cancer, in the same breast, at the same age?” She asked in disbelief. “No, it’s definitely the vaccines,” the doctor insisted, before pivoting to his next pitch: Super Mineral Water, a product he sold in his clinic, which he claimed could “detox” the patient’s body and possibly help cure her.
At this point, the patient, who happened to be a science writer by profession, was horrified and embarrassed — not just by the quackery, but also by her own naiveté for walking into this mess. She took the only sensible action possible: she grabbed her things and left as quickly as she could.
____________________
When we discuss so-called alternative medicine (SCAM), we regularly forget alternative diagnostic methods. Thermography might be counted as one of them, particularly when it is used for diagnosing cancer. A systematic review of the evidence concluded that currently there is not sufficient evidence to support the use of thermography in breast cancer screening, nor is there sufficient evidence to show that thermography provides benefit to patients as an adjunctive tool to mammography or to suspicious clinical findings in diagnosing breast cancer.
The danger with alternative diagnostic methods are mainly twofold.
- False positive diagnoses (FPD): this means a clinician uses an alternative diagnostic technique and concludes that the patient is suffering from disease xy, while she is, in fact, healthy. FPDs usually prompt lengthy treatments. They thus cause harm by firstly prompting worries and secondly expence.
- False negative diagnoses (FND): this means a clinician uses an alternative diagnostic technique and concludes that the patient is healthy, while she is, in fact, ill. FNDs prompt the patient to no treat her condition in a timely fashion. This can cause untold harm, in extreme cases even death.
In the case above, Dr, D. tried to combine the two options. He issued a FND that could have cost the patient’s life. Simultaneously, he made a FPD that was aimed at filling his pocket.
The story has fortunately a happy ending. After escaping the quack doctor, the patient received proper treatment and made a full recovery.
The use of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) has been widely recognized as a potential contributor to the emergence of vaccine scepticism and refusal. However, a direct correlation between trust in SCAM and vaccine scepticism is still a matter of discussion.
The objective of this study is to explore the multidimensional factors that explain the association between SCAM usage and vaccine scepticism. Qualitative and quantitative research designs were adopted to examine whether visiting SCAM practitioners directly contributes to vaccine scepticism and to identify whether anti-vaccination attitudes are caused by other social, and cultural factors.
The results support the idea that SCAM users tend to exhibit more vaccine scepticism compared to non-users. However, preferring a holistic health model, individual autonomy, and a negative perception of biomedicine representatives emerged as more influential factors in understanding the connection between the prevalence of SCAM utilization and vaccine scepticism.
The authors concluded that the results of this study indicate that people who regularly visit SCAM practitioners are more likely to be vaccine sceptics and have a higher tendency to vaccine scepticism. This is in line with other findings, suggesting that trust in SCAM is one of the factors affecting vaccine scepticism. This research conducted among people visiting healthcare professionals specializing in SCAM extends our knowledge for a deeper understanding of the other aspects behind this relationship. This implies that SCAM itself is not the direct predictor of vaccine scepticism; rather, an individualized holistic worldview and a lack of trust in medical professionals play a much more significant role in antivaccine attitudes. In addition, this investigation has shown that instead of expressing general dissatisfaction with biomedicine, the respondents displayed frustration with the individuals representing conventional medicine and the quality of the healthcare services provided. Notably, in the interviews, the participants indicated that their use of SCAM did not cause their vaccine scepticism, although they considered alternative healthcare options to be more valuable in dealing with several health issues. Instead of critiquing SCAM and vaccine scepticism, which contribute to the further polarization of society, a key policy priority regarding building trust in vaccines should therefore focus on strategies to improve healthcare services and develop medical doctors’ soft skills. A future follow-up evaluation investigating vaccine scepticism among complementary and alternative medicine users would be very useful to address vaccine scepticism more deeply.
So, individualized ‘holistic’ worldview and a lack of trust in medical professionals seem to have two simultaneous effects: they tend to make people turn towards SCAM and they render them skeptical about vaccinations. This makes sense – I never assumed anything else. I never thought that a SCAM in itself might, by some undefined magic, turn people into antivaxers. It always had to be a common denominator, like a general outlook or attitude that would prompt both the SCAM-use and the dislike of vaccines.
As the authors imply, this might be good news and point to one solution for two different problems: improve conventional healthcare and, as a result, both SCAM-use will diminish and vaccine acceprance will increase. The trouble is that this is easier said than done!
CNN reported that a measles outbreak is growing in a rural area of West Texas where vaccination rates are well below the recommended level. In late January, two children in Gaines County were hospitalized for measles. On Wednesday, the state health department issued a health alert:
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is reporting an outbreak of measles in Gaines County. At this time, six cases have been identified with symptom onset within the last two weeks, all among unvaccinated school-aged children who are residents of Gaines County.
Due to the highly contagious nature of this disease, additional cases are likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities. DSHS advises clinicians to follow the below measles immunization recommendations for the communities affected by the outbreak and immediately report any suspected cases to your local health department, preferably while the patient is in your presence.
To immediately increase the measles immunity and prevent disease occurrence in the affected communities, DSHS advises the following immunization recommendations for residents of Gaines County:
- Infants ages 6 to 11 months:
- Administer an early dose of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine.
- Follow the CDC’s recommended schedule and get:
- Another dose at 12 through 15 months.
- A final dose at 4 through 6 years.
- Children over 12 months old:
- If the child has not been vaccinated, administer one dose immediately and follow with a second dose at least 28 days after the first.
- If the child has received one dose, administer the second dose as soon as possible, at least 28 days after the first.
- Teen and adults with no evidence of immunity:
Administer one dose immediately and follow with a second dose at least 28 days after the first.
As of last Friday afternoon, the outbreak has jumped to 14 confirmed cases and six probable cases among people who are symptomatic and had close contact with infected individuals.
Investigations are ongoing, as cases have been identified also in parts of the region that are outside the Gaines County lines where the first cases were reported.
All the cases are believed to be among people who are not vaccinated against measles, and most of them are children.
A record share of US kindergartners had an exemption for required vaccinations last school year, leaving more than 125,000 new schoolchildren without coverage for at least one state-mandated vaccine, according to data published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in October.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal that at least 95% of children in kindergarten will have gotten two doses of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine, a threshold necessary to help prevent outbreaks of the highly contagious disease. The US has now fallen short of that threshold for four years in a row. MMR coverage is particularly low in Gaines County, where nearly 1 in 5 incoming kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year did not get the vaccine.
In the health alert Wednesday, the Texas health department warned that additional cases are “likely to occur in Gaines County and the surrounding communities” due to the highly contagious nature of the disease.
Officials recommend that residents of Gaines County immediately improve their immunity and help prevent disease spread by ensuring that they are up to date on vaccinations. Children and adults who have not been vaccinated should get one dose immediately, followed by a second dose after 28 days. Infants between 6 and 11 months should get an early dose of the vaccine, and children who have had their first shot should get their second as soon as possible.
‘US News’ adds the following: As Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the most influential purveyors of dangerous vaccine misinformation, prepares to take the helm of the Department of Health and Human Services, researchers say such bills have a higher chance of passing and that more parents will refuse vaccines because of false information spread at the highest levels of government.
“Mr. Kennedy has been an opponent of many health-protecting and life-saving vaccines, such as those that prevent measles and polio,” scores of Nobel Prize laureates wrote in a letter to the Senate. Having him head HHS, they wrote, “would put the public’s health in jeopardy.”…
On this blog, we have discussed Kennedy’s imbecilic attitudes to measles and other health issues several times, e.g.:
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Here is what you can do to prevent his appointment
- The ‘International Chiropractors Association’ Congratulated Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on His Selection as ‘Secretary of Health and Human Services’
- Donald Trump might try to “outlaw” some vaccinations in the US
- The ‘moral and intellectual decay’ of COVID disinformants
In the forseeable future, we will most certainly encounter endemics and epidemics. I fear that, with Kennedy in charge of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the danger for them to grow into pandemics is hugely increased.
