The Cutter Incident

The Cutter Incident PDF Author: Paul A. Offit
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300126051
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Get Book Here

Book Description
Vaccines have saved more lives than any other single medical advance. Yet today only four companies make vaccines, and there is a growing crisis in vaccine availability. Why has this happened? This remarkable book recounts for the first time a devastating episode in 1955 at Cutter Laboratories in Berkeley, California, thathas led many pharmaceutical companies to abandon vaccine manufacture. Drawing on interviews with public health officials, pharmaceutical company executives, attorneys, Cutter employees, and victims of the vaccine, as well as on previously unavailable archives, Dr. Paul Offit offers a full account of the Cutter disaster. He describes the nation's relief when the polio vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk in 1955, the production of the vaccine at industrial facilities such as the one operated by Cutter, and the tragedy that occurred when 200,000 people were inadvertently injected with live virulent polio virus: 70,000 became ill, 200 were permanently paralyzed, and 10 died. Dr. Offit also explores how, as a consequence of the tragedy, one jury's verdict set in motion events that eventually suppressed the production of vaccines already licensed and deterred the development of new vaccines that hold the promise of preventing other fatal diseases.

The Cutter Incident

The Cutter Incident PDF Author: Paul A. Offit
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300126051
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 262

Get Book Here

Book Description
Vaccines have saved more lives than any other single medical advance. Yet today only four companies make vaccines, and there is a growing crisis in vaccine availability. Why has this happened? This remarkable book recounts for the first time a devastating episode in 1955 at Cutter Laboratories in Berkeley, California, thathas led many pharmaceutical companies to abandon vaccine manufacture. Drawing on interviews with public health officials, pharmaceutical company executives, attorneys, Cutter employees, and victims of the vaccine, as well as on previously unavailable archives, Dr. Paul Offit offers a full account of the Cutter disaster. He describes the nation's relief when the polio vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk in 1955, the production of the vaccine at industrial facilities such as the one operated by Cutter, and the tragedy that occurred when 200,000 people were inadvertently injected with live virulent polio virus: 70,000 became ill, 200 were permanently paralyzed, and 10 died. Dr. Offit also explores how, as a consequence of the tragedy, one jury's verdict set in motion events that eventually suppressed the production of vaccines already licensed and deterred the development of new vaccines that hold the promise of preventing other fatal diseases.

Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver

Vaccine: The Controversial Story of Medicine's Greatest Lifesaver PDF Author: Arthur Allen
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324036354
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 542

Get Book Here

Book Description
"A timely, fair-minded and crisply written account."—New York Times Book Review Vaccine juxtaposes the stories of brilliant scientists with the industry's struggle to produce safe, effective, and profitable vaccines. It focuses on the role of military and medical authority in the introduction of vaccines and looks at why some parents have resisted this authority. Political and social intrigue have often accompanied vaccination—from the divisive introduction of smallpox inoculation in colonial Boston to the 9,000 lawsuits recently filed by parents convinced that vaccines caused their children's autism. With narrative grace and investigative journalism, Arthur Allen reveals a history illuminated by hope and shrouded by controversy, and he sheds new light on changing notions of health, risk, and the common good.

Immunization Safety Review

Immunization Safety Review PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309086108
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 118

Get Book Here

Book Description
The Immunization Safety Review Committee was established by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to evaluate the evidence on possible causal associations between immunizations and certain adverse outcomes, and to then present conclusions and recommendations. The committee's mandate also includes assessing the broader societal significance of these immunization safety issues. While all the committee members share the view that immunization is generally beneficial, none of them has a vested interest in the specific immunization safety issues that come before the group. The committee reviews three immunization safety review topics each year, addressing each one at a time. In this fifth report in a series, the committee examines the hypothesis that exposure to polio vaccine contaminated with simian virus 40 (SV40), a virus that causes inapparent infection in some monkeys, can cause certain types of cancer.

How to Make a Vaccine

How to Make a Vaccine PDF Author: John Rhodes
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022679251X
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 185

Get Book Here

Book Description
Understand the Virus -- Explore the Immune System -- Discover a Vaccine -- Develop Vaccines -- Evaluate the Contenders -- Don't Count on the Magic Bullet -- Overcome the Hurdles -- Embrace Many Solutions.

Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines

Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309048958
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 481

Get Book Here

Book Description
Childhood immunization is one of the major public health measures of the 20th century and is now receiving special attention from the Clinton administration. At the same time, some parents and health professionals are questioning the safety of vaccines because of the occurrence of rare adverse events after immunization. This volume provides the most thorough literature review available about links between common childhood vaccinesâ€"tetanus, diphtheria, measles, mumps, polio, Haemophilus influenzae b, and hepatitis Bâ€"and specific types of disorders or death. The authors discuss approaches to evidence and causality and examine the consequencesâ€"neurologic and immunologic disorders and deathâ€"linked with immunization. Discussion also includes background information on the development of the vaccines and details about the case reports, clinical trials, and other evidence associating each vaccine with specific disorders. This comprehensive volume will be an important resource to anyone concerned about the immunization controversy: public health officials, pediatricians, attorneys, researchers, and parents.

Anti-vaxxers

Anti-vaxxers PDF Author: Jonathan M. Berman
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262539322
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Get Book Here

Book Description
A “clear and insightful” takedown of the anti-vaccination movement, from its 19th-century antecedents to modern-day Facebook activists—with strategies for refuting false claims of friends and family (Financial Times) Vaccines are a documented success story, one of the most successful public health interventions in history. Yet there is a vocal anti-vaccination movement, featuring celebrity activists (including Kennedy scion Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and actress Jenny McCarthy) and the propagation of anti-vax claims through books, documentaries, and social media. In Anti-Vaxxers, Jonathan Berman explores the phenomenon of the anti-vaccination movement, recounting its history from its nineteenth-century antecedents to today’s activism, examining its claims, and suggesting a strategy for countering them. After providing background information on vaccines and how they work, Berman describes resistance to Britain’s Vaccination Act of 1853, showing that the arguments anticipate those made by today’s anti-vaxxers. He discusses the development of new vaccines in the twentieth century, including those protecting against polio and MMR (measles, mumps, rubella), and the debunked paper that linked the MMR vaccine to autism; the CDC conspiracy theory promoted in the documentary Vaxxed; recommendations for an alternative vaccination schedule; Kennedy’s misinformed campaign against thimerosal; and the much-abused religious exemption to vaccination. Anti-vaxxers have changed their minds, but rarely because someone has given them a list of facts. Berman argues that anti-vaccination activism is tied closely to how people see themselves as parents and community members. Effective pro-vaccination efforts should emphasize these cultural aspects rather than battling social media posts.

Between Hope and Fear

Between Hope and Fear PDF Author: Michael Kinch
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1681778203
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 486

Get Book Here

Book Description
If you have a child in school, you may have heard stories of long-dormant diseases suddenly reappearing—cases of measles, mumps, rubella, and whooping cough cropping up everywhere from elementary schools to Ivy League universities because a select group of parents refuse to vaccinate their children. Between Hope and Fear tells the remarkable story of vaccine-preventable infectious diseases and their social and political implications. While detailing the history of vaccine invention, Kinch reveals the ominous reality that our victories against vaccine-preventable diseases are not permanent—and could easily be undone. In the tradition of John Barry’s The Great Influenza and Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Emperor of All Maladies, Between Hope and Fear relates the remarkable intersection of science, technology, and disease that has helped eradicate many of the deadliest plagues known to man.

Vaccines & Your Child

Vaccines & Your Child PDF Author: Paul A. Offit
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231153074
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 259

Get Book Here

Book Description
Two leading advocates for modern vaccines answer parents' numerous questions about the underlying science of modern vaccines and the value of childhood immunization, while addressing parents' concerns about vaccine safety.

State of Immunity

State of Immunity PDF Author: James Colgrove
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520932784
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Get Book Here

Book Description
This first comprehensive history of the social and political aspects of vaccination in the United States tells the story of how vaccination became a widely accepted public health measure over the course of the twentieth century. One hundred years ago, just a handful of vaccines existed, and only one, for smallpox, was widely used. Today more than two dozen vaccines are in use, fourteen of which are universally recommended for children. State of Immunity examines the strategies that health officials have used—ranging from advertising and public relations campaigns to laws requiring children to be immunized before they can attend school—to gain public acceptance of vaccines. Like any medical intervention, vaccination carries a small risk of adverse reactions. But unlike other procedures, it is performed on healthy people, most commonly children, and has been mandated by law. Vaccination thus poses unique ethical, political, and legal questions. James Colgrove considers how individual liberty should be balanced against the need to protect the common welfare, how experts should act in the face of incomplete or inconsistent scientific information, and how the public should be involved in these decisions. A well-researched, intelligent, and balanced look at a timely topic, this book explores these issues through a vivid historical narrative that offers new insights into the past, present, and future of vaccination.

Polio

Polio PDF Author: Thomas Abraham
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 1787380874
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 350

Get Book Here

Book Description
In 1988, the World Health Organization launched a twelve-year campaign to wipe out polio. Thirty years and several billion dollars over budget later, the campaign grinds on, vaccinating millions of children and hoping that each new year might see an end to the disease. But success remains elusive, against a surprisingly resilient virus, an unexpectedly weak vaccine and the vagaries of global politics, meeting with indifference from governments and populations alike. How did an innocuous campaign to rid the world of a crippling disease become a hostage of geopolitics? Why do parents refuse to vaccinate their children against polio? And why have poorly paid door-to-door healthworkers been assassinated? Thomas Abraham reports on the ground in search of answers.