Vaccines and Conspiracies

Pained ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 65-66
Author(s):  
Michael D. Stein ◽  
Sandro Galea
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Conspiracy Theories ◽  
Number Of Children ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Standards Of Evidence

This chapter looks at the effect of conspiracy theories on vaccines. Near the end of 2018, data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed that a small, but growing, number of children in the United States were not getting recommended vaccinations. Some of this may be due to lack of access to vaccines; populations without insurance and those living in rural areas have greater rates of nonvaccination. However, part of it is also likely due to the rise of conspiracy theories and the willful dismissal of scientific evidence when it comes to vaccines. Vaccinations have always provoked anxiety; but the data on vaccines that are in widespread use are now clear: vaccines are safe and save lives. Nevertheless, conspiracism fuels the anti-vaccine movement, urging people to accept anecdotes over statistics. Unlike conspiracists, public health advocates adhere to standards of evidence and falsifiability; when conspiracists disregard explanation and refuse any form of correction, they place health at risk.

PUBLIC HEALTH

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1960 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-347
Author(s):  
George M. Wheatley ◽  
Stephen A. Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vital Statistics ◽  
West Germany ◽  
Medical Attention ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Number Of Children

IN ALL COUNTRIES for which there are vital statistics, accidents are a major cause of death and disability among children. In countries where the food supply is adequate and infectious diseases have been brought under control, accidents have become the leading cause of death in the age group 1 to 19 years. For example, in such countries as Australia, Canada, Sweden, West Germany, and the United States, more than one-third of all deaths in this age group are caused by accidents. The number of children who are injured by accidents fan exceeds the number who are killed. Although no accurate international figures are available, the Morbidity Survey conducted by the United States Public Health Service indicates that in the United States, for every child under 15 killed by accident, 1,100 children are injured severely enough to require medical attention or to be restricted in their activity for at least a day.

scholarly journals Age-Standardized Mortality of Persons on Probation, in Jail, or in State Prison and the General Population, 2001-2012

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
pp. 660-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Wildeman ◽  
Alyssa W. Goldman ◽  
Emily A. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Age Distribution ◽  
Correctional Facility ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mortality Rates ◽  
State Prison ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Standardized Mortality Ratios

Objectives: The number of adults in the United States being held on probation—persons convicted of crimes and serving their sentence in the community rather than in a correctional facility—approached 4 million at the end of 2016 and continues to grow, yet little is known about the health and well-being of this population. We compared the standardized mortality ratios of persons on probation in the United States with persons in jail, persons in state prison, and the general US population. Methods: We used administrative data from 2001-2012 from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database and indirect standardization techniques to compare the mortality rates of persons on probation in 15 states with the mortality rates of persons in jail, persons in state prison, and the general US population. We applied the age-specific mortality rates of 3 populations (general US population, persons in jail, and persons in state prison) to the age distribution of persons on probation to estimate standardized mortality ratios. Results: Persons on probation died at a rate 3.42 times higher than persons in jail, 2.81 times higher than persons in state prison, and 2.10 times higher than the general US population, after standardizing the age distribution of persons on probation relative to the other 3 groups. Conclusions: Public health interventions should target persons on probation, who have received less attention from the public health community than persons serving sentences in jails and prisons.

scholarly journals Plague and Pregnancy: Why Special Considerations Are Needed

2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S27-S29
Author(s):  
Dana Meaney-Delman ◽  
Nadia L Oussayef ◽  
Margaret A Honein ◽  
Christina A Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Yersinia Pestis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Highly Pathogenic ◽  
Pathogenic Organism ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Life Threatening

Abstract Pregnant women are an important at-risk population to consider during public health emergencies. These women, like nonpregnant adults, may be faced with the risk of acquiring life-threatening infections during outbreaks or bioterrorism (BT) events and, in some cases, can experience increased severity of infection and higher morbidity compared with nonpregnant adults. Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, is a highly pathogenic organism. There are 4 million births annually in the United States, and thus the unique needs of pregnant women and their infants should be considered in pre-event planning for a plague outbreak or BT event.

scholarly journals The Check and Report Ebola (CARE+) Program to Monitor Travelers for Ebola After Arrival to the United States, 2014-2016

2019 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
pp. 592-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather A. Joseph ◽  
Abbey E. Wojno ◽  
Kelly Winter ◽  
Onalee Grady-Erickson ◽  
Erin Hawes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
West Africa ◽  
Emerging Infectious Diseases ◽  
Care Program ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Public Health Authorities ◽  
Control And Prevention

The 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in West Africa influenced how public health officials considered migration and emerging infectious diseases. Responding to the public’s concerns, the US government introduced enhanced entry screening and post-arrival monitoring by public health authorities to reduce the risk of importation and domestic transmission of Ebola while continuing to allow travel from West Africa. This case study describes a new initiative, the Check and Report Ebola (CARE+) program that engaged travelers arriving to the United States from countries with Ebola outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention employed CARE ambassadors, who quickly communicated with incoming travelers and gave them practical resources to boost their participation in monitoring for Ebola. The program aimed to increase travelers’ knowledge of Ebola symptoms and how to seek medical care safely, increase travelers’ awareness of monitoring requirements, reduce barriers to monitoring, and increase trust in the US public health system. This program could be adapted for use in future outbreaks that involve the potential importation of disease and require the education and active engagement of travelers to participate in post-arrival monitoring.

scholarly journals Vaping Restrictions: Is Priority to the Young Justified?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Magalhaes
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Young People ◽  
Harm Reduction ◽  
Ethical Dilemma ◽  
The United States ◽  
Youth Smoking ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Public Health Authorities

Abstract The vast majority of smokers become dependent on nicotine in youth. Preventing dependence has therefore been crucial to the recent decline in youth smoking. The advent of vaping creates an opportunity for harm reduction to existing smokers (mostly adults) but simultaneously also undermines prevention efforts by becoming a new vehicle for young people to become dependent on nicotine, creating an ethical dilemma. Restrictions to access to some vaping products enacted in response to the increase in vaping among youth observed in the United States since 2018 have arguably prioritized prevention of new cases of dependence—protecting the young—over harm reduction to already dependent adults. Can this prioritization of the young be justified? This article surveys the main bioethical arguments for prioritizing giving health benefits to the young and finds that none can justify prioritizing dependence prevention over harm reduction: any reasons for prioritizing the current cohort of young people at risk from vaping will equally apply to current adult smokers, who are overwhelmingly likely to have become nicotine-dependent in their own youth. Public health authorities’ current tendency to prioritize the young, therefore, does not seem to be ethically justified. Implications This article argues that commonsense reasons for prioritizing the young do not apply to the ethical dilemma surrounding restricting access to vaping products.

scholarly journals Mass Casualty Triage: An Evaluation of the Data and Development of a Proposed National Guideline

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (S1) ◽  
pp. S25-S34 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Brooke Lerner ◽  
Richard B. Schwartz ◽  
Phillip L. Coule ◽  
Eric S. Weinstein ◽  
David C. Cone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
National Guideline ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
Life Saving ◽  
Review Reports ◽  
Triage Decisions

ABSTRACTMass casualty triage is a critical skill. Although many systems exist to guide providers in making triage decisions, there is little scientific evidence available to demonstrate that any of the available systems have been validated. Furthermore, in the United States there is little consistency from one jurisdiction to the next in the application of mass casualty triage methodology. There are no nationally agreed upon categories or color designations. This review reports on a consensus committee process used to evaluate and compare commonly used triage systems, and to develop a proposed national mass casualty triage guideline. The proposed guideline, entitled SALT (sort, assess, life-saving interventions, treatment and/or transport) triage, was developed based on the best available science and consensus opinion. It incorporates aspects from all of the existing triage systems to create a single overarching guide for unifying the mass casualty triage process across the United States. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2008;2(Suppl 1):S25–S34)

scholarly journals Defending Density

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Samuelian
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Environmentally Sustainable ◽  
Direct Pathway

We have an aversion to density in America. Density is a continual trope in this country, blamed for all of the ills of urban life, from crime and racial unrest in the middle of the 20th century to public health concerns today. In the early stages of the COVID pandemic density was the culprit, even though we’ve subsequently seen outbreaks in rural areas and sprawling cities across the United States. This paper will look into the root of America’s problems with density and argue that density is not the problem but the solution to the challenges of today’s and tomorrow’s cities. As we deplete the resources of the planet, density is our most direct pathway to recover some balance with nature. Dense living is more efficient, less carbon intensive and more environmentally sustainable. As geospatial differentiations matter less due to advances in communication technology, it's the density of people and ideas that will continue to fuel innovation. Finally, in a world that is increasingly dominated by pluralism, denser living promotes openness, tolerance and diversity.

Epilogue

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guenter B. Risse
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
At Risk ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
National Security ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Unrest

This concluding chapter turns to more recent threats to public health—new epidemics such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), as well as a contemporary resurgence of bioterror. With national security at risk, governments like the United States had begun to consider measures to counter such potential dangers in an era of rapid globalization and political unrest. Prominent among them were medical and public health provisions designed to counter the spread of lethal microorganisms. Under such circumstances, the traditional subject of quarantine and isolation acquired new importance. Given the near impossibility of initially distinguishing persons at risk from those already exposed, balancing the rights of the uninfected with the rights of the infected reemerged as a critical issue.

Preparing for SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in US Immigrant Communities: Strategies for Allocation, Distribution, and Communication

2020 ◽  
pp. e1-e5
Author(s):  
Eva H. Clark ◽  
Karla Fredricks ◽  
Laila Woc-Colburn ◽  
Maria Elena Bottazzi ◽  
Jill Weatherhead
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Department Of Defense ◽  
Population Level ◽  
The United States ◽  
Immigrant Communities ◽  
Private Partnership ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Government ◽  
Control And Prevention

Widely administered efficacious severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines are the safest and most efficient way to achieve individual- and population-level immunity, making SARS-CoV-2 vaccination the most viable strategy for controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. To this end, the US government has invested more than $10 billion in “Operation Warp Speed,” a public-private partnership including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US Department of Defense. Operation Warp Speed funded the development of several SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and aimed to deliver 300 million doses of a vaccine by the ambitious date of January 2021. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print December 22, 2020: e1–e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306047 )

Use of World Health Organization and CDC Growth Charts for Children Aged 0–59 Months in the United States (Excerpt)

2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-13 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Expert Panel ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
Growth Charts ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
International Growth ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Health Organization

In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health, and the American Academy of Pediatrics convened an expert panel to review scientific evidence and discuss the potential use of the new WHO growth charts in clinical settings in the United States. On the basis of input from this expert panel, CDC recommends that clinicians in the United States use the 2006 WHO international growth charts, rather than the CDC growth charts, for children aged <24 months (available at https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts). The CDC growth charts should continue to be used for the assessment of growth in persons aged 2–19 years.

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