It’s the year 2015: Why are we still debating vaccines?
Recently, as I juggled work, family and shoveling, I prepared a lecture on promoting equity in health delivery. My first slide is a picture of the Ebola virus, and as of this morning, my last slide is a map of the ongoing measles outbreak. That’s because this week, we’ve heard a clear public health message from both President Obama and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy: Vaccines are safe and effective.
Why is this message being repeated in 2015?
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Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how. (Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog)
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 1, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Rebecca Weintraub, MD Tags: Meds Infectious disease Pediatrics Source Type: blogs
What Ebola Teaches Us About Public Health In America
Editor’s note: This post is part of a series stemming from the Third Annual Health Law Year in P/Review event held at Harvard Law School on Friday, January 30, 2015. The conference brought together leading experts to review major developments in health law over the previous year, and preview what is to come. A full agenda and links to video recordings of the panels are here.
2014 saw an epidemic of Ebola in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia, and an epidemic of fear in the US. Neither epidemic covered public health in glory. For Science, Ebola was the “breakdown of the year;” the American Association of Schools ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - February 9, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: George Annas Tags: Access All Categories Global Health Health Care Delivery Policy Public Health Workforce Source Type: blogs
After The Worst In Liberia And Sierra Leone
From January 19-27, we traveled to Liberia and Sierra Leone to engage with national leaders, health workers, citizens, non-governmental organization (NGO) implementers, international organizations, and United States, United Kingdom (UK), and other officials, including the African Union (AU), Chinese, and Cuban medical delegations. It was a moment of hope and nervous adjustment, as Ebola cases dropped suddenly and unexpectedly in Liberia, followed by reductions in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
We listened to the reflections of those who lived through and led the mobilization to roll back the unprecedented Ebola emergency, as it ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - February 9, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: J. Stephen Morrison and Cathryn Streifel Tags: All Categories Global Health Health Care Delivery Policy Prevention Public Health Workforce Source Type: blogs
FDA seeks $4.9 billion for FY 2016; Commissioner Hamburg Reflects on FDA's Accomplishments Over the Past Year
Dr. Margaret Hamburg will step down from her post as Commissioner of the FDA next month. Hamburg and the FDA were busy in the few days before the announcement of her resignation, however. The Agency released a budget request for FY 2016, and Hamburg wrote a recap of the FDA's past year. Below is a summary of both.
FDA's Budget for FY 2016
In FDA's budget request, Hamburg stated that the agency is requesting a total of $4.9 billion, including a $148 million budget authority to: increase focus on improved oversight of imported foods, combat the growing threat of antibiotic resistance, promote the dev...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 6, 2015 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan Source Type: blogs
In Rush to Develop Ebola Therapies, a Debate Over Placebo Control
This morning the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) resumed consideration of U.S. engagement in the global response to the current Ebola epidemic by examining ethical issues that arise when conducting research during a public health emergency. As experts move to accelerate development of drugs and vaccines against Ebola, a debate […] (Source: blog.bioethics.net)
Source: blog.bioethics.net - February 5, 2015 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Matthew Davis Tags: Health Care bioethics ebola liveblog Liveblog Coverage placebo Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues syndicated Source Type: blogs
Forget the ivory tower: We need more Disney in medicine
This isn’t a debate about vaccines.
The fight here has nothing to do with that. For the record, I strongly support the concept of vaccination. Public health is better in the 21st century because of it. Measles? Mumps? Oh, I can find you in the United States, but we aren’t living our lives every day petrified of an outbreak. Smallpox? Polio? Where did you go? Not here, that’s for sure. And, what if you had lived in West Africa in mid-2014? A proven vaccine for Ebola would have been a godsend.
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Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide....
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - January 28, 2015 Category: Journals (General) Authors: Rocky Bilhartz, MD Tags: Physician Primary care Source Type: blogs
Last Year Was A Wild One For Health Law — What’s On The Docket For 2015?
Everywhere we look, we see the tremendous impact of new legal developments—whether regulatory or statutory, federal or state—on health and health care. These topics range from insurance to intellectual property to religion to professionalism to civil rights. They remain among the most important questions facing Americans today.
This post is the first in a series that will stem from the Third Annual Health Law Year in P/Review event to be held at Harvard Law School on Friday, January 30, 2015. The conference, which is free and open to the public, brings together leading experts to review major developments in he...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - January 22, 2015 Category: Health Management Authors: Gregory Curfman, Holly Fernandez Lynch, and I. Glenn Cohen Tags: Access All Categories Business of Health Care Coverage End-of-Life Care Health Care Costs Health Care Delivery Health Law Health Reform Physicians Policy Politics Public Health Veterans Source Type: blogs
TWiV 318: Last year in virology
On episode #318 of the science show This Week in Virology, the TWiV gang reviews ten fascinating, compelling, and riveting virology stories from 2014.
You can find TWiV #318 at www.twiv.tv. (Source: virology blog)
Source: virology blog - January 4, 2015 Category: Virology Authors: Vincent Racaniello Tags: This Week in Virology aphid Borna virus coronavirus dromedary camel ebola virus endogenous viral DNA jonas salk MERS-CoV norovirus oncolytic measles virus rhinovirus toxin uncoating vaccine viral evolution Source Type: blogs
Illuminating Biology
This time of year, lights brighten our homes and add sparkle to our holidays. Year-round, scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health use light to illuminate important biological processes, from the inner workings of cells to the complex activity of the brain. Here’s a look at just a few of the ways new light-based tools have deepened our understanding of living systems and set the stage for future medical advances.
A new fluorescent probe shows viral RNA (red) in an RSV-infected cell. Credit: Eric Alonas and Philip Santangelo, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University.
Visualizing Viral Activity...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - December 29, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Srivalli Subbaramaiah Tags: Cell Biology Cool Images Source Type: blogs
Health Law Events at January 2015 AALS Annual Meeting
Health Law Events at
the January 2015 AALS Annual Meeting
Friday, JAN. 2
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Lebanese Taverna
2641 Connecticut NW
Health Law
Professors Reception
Drinks & heavy
hors d'oeuvres
Hosted by Hamline
University Health Law Institute
Saturday, JAN. 3
10:30 am - 12:15 pm
Marriott Park
Wardman
Maryland Suite A
Lobby Level
Competition Policy
in Health Care
Section on Antitrust
& Economic Regulation
Co-sponsored by
Section on Law, Medicine & Health Care
Competition in
health care is a fundamental issue to a better functioning he...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - December 20, 2014 Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope Tags: Health Care medical futility blog syndicated Source Type: blogs
Top stories in health and medicine, December 19, 2014
From MedPage Today:
High-Dose Flu Vaccine Better for Frail Elderly. For frail older people living in long-term care, a high-dose inactivated influenza vaccine is a better option than the standard drug.
Look into SGLT2 Fracture Risk, Researchers Urge. Look deeper into the potential relationship between SGLT2 inhibitors and bone fractures.
JIA Parents Lose Significant Work Time. Parents of a child with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JIA) missed nearly triple the work hours as parents whose child did not have the disease.
Ebola Response on Track: WHO. The response to the Ebola epidemic is on track to meet U.N. targets.
You...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - December 19, 2014 Category: Journals (General) Authors: MedPage Today Tags: News Diabetes Endocrinology Infectious disease Rheumatology Source Type: blogs
Does Public Health Have A Future?
Ebola’s arrival in the U.S. hit Americans with a jolt. Regardless of how you feel about the response to date, it should remind everyone of the importance of public health.
Fortunately, public health in the U.S. has built an extraordinary track record of success. Smallpox, one of the most dreaded diseases in history, was eradicated worldwide. New vaccines have sharply cut the toll of deaths and disabilities from H flu meningitis, tetanus, pneumococcal sepsis and other deadly diseases.
Adding folate to foods dramatically reduced neural tube defects in newborns. Safer cars and better roadway designs cut fatal crashes per m...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - December 10, 2014 Category: Health Management Authors: Arthur Kellermann and Mark Kortepeter Tags: All Categories Environmental Health Prevention Public Health Source Type: blogs
Ebola update - two being tested in the UK
The Guardian is reporting in not a lot of detail that two children are being tested in Newcastle upon Tyne for Ebola and malaria, as a precautionary measure. They have arrived from Africa but it is not clear where, and Public Health England are of the opinion that Ebola is very unlikely.The Guardian is also reporting that trials of a vaccine look promising, according to the manufacturer.Here might be a good time and place to mention the BMJ's news piece from a few weeks ago reminding NHS staff to be on the lookout for Ebola. The news item refers to a BMJ letter from Bruce Keogh. Access to the BMJ's c...
Source: Browsing - November 28, 2014 Category: Databases & Libraries Tags: Ebola Source Type: blogs
Vaccine-Injured Child Stolen by the State and Her Caring Mother Accused of Child Abuse
Conclusion
For many years, I have been writing about such cases. There are now a growing number of parents who have been falsely accused of harming their vaccine-damaged children. Sadly, this case is yet another example.
Loving, caring parents are having their children taken away from them because the majority of health care professionals and social workers are burying their heads in the sand and choosing to ignore the fact that no vaccine or medication is one hundred percent safe. All vaccines have the potential to cause adverse reactions.
When you have such groups as the AAPS stating, “And yet, children under the age o...
Source: vactruth.com - November 22, 2014 Category: Allergy & Immunology Authors: Christina England Tags: Christina England Top Stories Child Protective Services (CPS) Hepatitis B vaccine Kathryn Hughes medical kidnapping Michael Belkin seizure Source Type: blogs
Asking Our Expert About Modeling Ebola
NIGMS’ Irene Eckstrand answers questions about modeling Ebola. Credit: National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Ebola is the focus of many NIH-supported research efforts, from analyzing the genetics of virus samples to evaluating the safety and effectiveness of treatments and vaccines. Researchers involved in our Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study, or MIDAS, have been using computational methods to forecast the potential course of the outbreak and the impact of various intervention strategies.
Wondering how their work is going, I recently asked our modeling expert Irene Eckstrand a few questions.
How useful...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - November 21, 2014 Category: Research Authors: Emily Carlson Tags: Computers in Biology Source Type: blogs
