The audacity for someone to believe that Measles is coming from the immigrant population and not from their own unvaccinated neighbors will always be astounding to me. So easy to dehumanize and blame the "other" for something they themselves (or their peers) are responsible for.
Bummer bummer bummer. BUT the mrna vaccines helping to cure cancer is very exciting, and perhaps our current indulgence in stupidity will change for the better. Thanks for this update!
The VRBPAC meeting to discuss the 2025-2026 COVID vaccines on May 22 was finally put on the FDA calendar today.
In addition, the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP, appropriately named for the times) will convene next Wednesday, May 14, with HHS' Kennedy to discuss budget cuts. This will be an opportunity for a public accounting from both Kennedy and the committee chair, Republican Senator and physician Cassidy, to whom he made promises about vaccines to gain support for confirmation to head HHS. As we've seen, these promises turned out to be lies.
I am following a patient with pancreatic cancer who will be enrolled in a vaccine trial--to think that this option and Covid vaccines and all vaccines could be less available due to politics is a dystopian reality under this current administration.
IMO it would be really tragic if they were less available, both for public health and my personal health. Since I have asthma, I don't want to get COVID without the ability to stay vaccinated. Nothing terrifies me more than being unable to breathe.
Is there any noise that all Covid vaccines, for all people, will be made unavailable? I firmly suspect this is the goal.
Do you feel that there will be direct effort to eliminate vaccines or just make them so untenable that nobody will produce them? Could the legal vaccine injury protections loss extend to physicians? Will we be sued for administering a vaccine?? Do you sense this could also the direction?
Yep, there are rumblings that new standards will be applied to the authorization and approval of vaccines. This includes declaring updates of the COVID vaccines as "new" and thus needing additional clinical trials for safety per the new "Gold Standard of Science" and something called "radical transparency."
The additional time and expense could cause manufacturers to step away. Kinda like insurance companies pulling from California due to wildfire costs. For vaccines, the extra clinical trials of tweaked boosters has the added adverse effect of delaying availability when we're already behind in chasing new variants each fall (https://covidandvaccineupdate.substack.com/p/new-vaccine-standards).
So they could just boost with the current one? Which was always debated when discussing them after the original. I have contemplated getting a box in my office- I think they told me the last exp date was in August. Good grief. I envision vaccine tourism to Canada. I hope they prepare for us….
I really hope you are wrong. It's not just COVID, flu and measles. Think about tetanus. Polio is another one I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's sad that so many in government are more concerned with power than with things like public health.
Thank you again for the public health clarity. Some substacks have a "founding" funder's level which is higher than the normal funding level. If you create it, I will support it. One thing I am learning from this mess is we have to fund those sources of information most critical and dedicated to providing accurate and actionable information. YLE is one of those sources!
When public health lied about covid vaccines and tried to push mandates, they damaged vaccine trust for an entire generation. I hope it was worth it. And flu vaccines have very little evidence of efficacy
We so respect your knowledge and appreciate your insights. I hope you are right about the slowing down of the measles. One Note: El Paso has one of - if not THE - highest immunization rates in Texas. In fact, that is generally true of most of the Texas border communities. So, yes, we are alarmed by their outbreak but not as worried as we might be if it were some other parts of the state. Keep telling us what we need to know.
I live in El Paso, and am glad to know that we have about the highest vaccination rate in Texas. I know there are a lot of people here who might have trouble affording vaccinations, but I have also felt that the people here are smarter than average about things like that.
As others have observed, there has never been a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial for parachutes either (or cardiac bypass surgery, removing a hot appendix, cognitive behavioral therapy, or a bunch of other generally recognized therapeutic modalities).
Demands for such trials for any and all new therapies reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the research process in general, and epidemiology in particular.
One of my absolute favorite articles to share with my stats students - a randomized controlled trial on the benefit of using a parachute when jumping out of an airplane. Enjoy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6298200/
So much useful, clearly stated information in this piece, as always. I particularly appreciated the information on placebo tested foundations and advancement. Even for those who are generally on board with vaccines, misunderstandings about how/when RCTs, etc. are needed—and ethical—can trip people up in making the best health care decisions for themselves. For that reason, I’m very glad to have this information at hand for purposes of discussing this with hesitant friends and family members.
Great news about what mRNA vaccines are doing for pancreatic cancer especially, plus kidney cancer. I always heard that pancreatic cancer was essentially a death sentence. it's also a positive that mRNA vaccines can apparently be developed quickly, and that they don't depend on having things like live or dead viruses in them.
First, the article says that it prevents numerous cancers in men. Now I'm thinking that viruses are implicated in cancer to a much greater degree that we previously thought. And I need to check my records to see if I have had that vaccine.
Then I go to the NIH website and see this:
"In fact, a single dose of any of the three vaccines made tumors in the mice go away."
And this:
"Although there are vaccines to prevent HPV infections and the cancers that result, these vaccines do not treat cancers caused by existing HPV infections."
So it made tumors in mice go away but does not treat cancer in humans... It is a bit ambiguous. Maybe they mean to say that if you have one of these cancers, seek other treatment and don't count on the vaccine to treat it. Otherwise you're stuck with the fact that it does treat the cancers in mice, but not in humans.
If you have such a tumor, should you include the vaccine in your treatment plan?
And by the way, what kind of tumors go away? Those implicated in the HPV study, or some other type?
Finally, it looks like mRNA is going to end up being a major weapon against cancer. It is looking promising. I look forward to seeing a future article concentrating on vaccines and cancer.
Mike, I think vaccines are by definition usually about preventing you from getting a disease rather than treating a disease. In my experience the wonderful news about mRNA vaccines and cancers is unexpected. And I think that viruses have long been suspected as the cause of some types of cancer.
Are you familiar with the use of vaccines as treatments? I've been away from learning about stuff like that for quite a few years, so I'm curious what you know.
I was responding to what I read in the article and what I saw on the NIH site when I tried to find out more about it. This is the first I've heard of it.
Thank you for this, as always. Yes that episode of the Pitt was awful but important. Early swimming lessons are critical and can be life saving. Thank you for bringing this up.
Regarding vaccine studies, I believe it is also the case that certain vaccines predate the standardization of the placebo control double blind study - smallpox vaccine, of course, is the obvious example, but the diphtheria antitoxin has been around since the 1890s and the first vaccine was developed in 1913.
Recent reports, including talking points from the FDA commish, Makary, suggest that updating vaccines, such as the COVID shots, makes them "new" and thus subject to additional clinical trials especially for safety. Case in point is the delay in granting Novavax a licence, but this could extend to any updates of the mRNAs for 2025-2026. The FDA VRBPAC advisors might be convening on May 22, so maybe we'll get some answers on the new HHS standards for vaccines (https://covidandvaccineupdate.substack.com/p/new-vaccine-standards).
The audacity for someone to believe that Measles is coming from the immigrant population and not from their own unvaccinated neighbors will always be astounding to me. So easy to dehumanize and blame the "other" for something they themselves (or their peers) are responsible for.
Bummer bummer bummer. BUT the mrna vaccines helping to cure cancer is very exciting, and perhaps our current indulgence in stupidity will change for the better. Thanks for this update!
The VRBPAC meeting to discuss the 2025-2026 COVID vaccines on May 22 was finally put on the FDA calendar today.
In addition, the Senate's Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP, appropriately named for the times) will convene next Wednesday, May 14, with HHS' Kennedy to discuss budget cuts. This will be an opportunity for a public accounting from both Kennedy and the committee chair, Republican Senator and physician Cassidy, to whom he made promises about vaccines to gain support for confirmation to head HHS. As we've seen, these promises turned out to be lies.
I am following a patient with pancreatic cancer who will be enrolled in a vaccine trial--to think that this option and Covid vaccines and all vaccines could be less available due to politics is a dystopian reality under this current administration.
IMO it would be really tragic if they were less available, both for public health and my personal health. Since I have asthma, I don't want to get COVID without the ability to stay vaccinated. Nothing terrifies me more than being unable to breathe.
"State legislation targeting mRNA vaccines"....a deeply concerning development, and undoubtedly a sign of things to come.
Is there any noise that all Covid vaccines, for all people, will be made unavailable? I firmly suspect this is the goal.
Do you feel that there will be direct effort to eliminate vaccines or just make them so untenable that nobody will produce them? Could the legal vaccine injury protections loss extend to physicians? Will we be sued for administering a vaccine?? Do you sense this could also the direction?
Yep, there are rumblings that new standards will be applied to the authorization and approval of vaccines. This includes declaring updates of the COVID vaccines as "new" and thus needing additional clinical trials for safety per the new "Gold Standard of Science" and something called "radical transparency."
The additional time and expense could cause manufacturers to step away. Kinda like insurance companies pulling from California due to wildfire costs. For vaccines, the extra clinical trials of tweaked boosters has the added adverse effect of delaying availability when we're already behind in chasing new variants each fall (https://covidandvaccineupdate.substack.com/p/new-vaccine-standards).
So they could just boost with the current one? Which was always debated when discussing them after the original. I have contemplated getting a box in my office- I think they told me the last exp date was in August. Good grief. I envision vaccine tourism to Canada. I hope they prepare for us….
I really hope you are wrong. It's not just COVID, flu and measles. Think about tetanus. Polio is another one I wouldn't wish on anyone. It's sad that so many in government are more concerned with power than with things like public health.
Thank you again for the public health clarity. Some substacks have a "founding" funder's level which is higher than the normal funding level. If you create it, I will support it. One thing I am learning from this mess is we have to fund those sources of information most critical and dedicated to providing accurate and actionable information. YLE is one of those sources!
Great suggestion—FYI, unless this has changed, YLE does have a founding level subscription (I actually have one).
Thank you. When I initially checked I didn’t find it but I’ve found it and am a Founding Level supporter :)
When public health lied about covid vaccines and tried to push mandates, they damaged vaccine trust for an entire generation. I hope it was worth it. And flu vaccines have very little evidence of efficacy
This is false
We so respect your knowledge and appreciate your insights. I hope you are right about the slowing down of the measles. One Note: El Paso has one of - if not THE - highest immunization rates in Texas. In fact, that is generally true of most of the Texas border communities. So, yes, we are alarmed by their outbreak but not as worried as we might be if it were some other parts of the state. Keep telling us what we need to know.
I live in El Paso, and am glad to know that we have about the highest vaccination rate in Texas. I know there are a lot of people here who might have trouble affording vaccinations, but I have also felt that the people here are smarter than average about things like that.
As others have observed, there has never been a randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind trial for parachutes either (or cardiac bypass surgery, removing a hot appendix, cognitive behavioral therapy, or a bunch of other generally recognized therapeutic modalities).
Demands for such trials for any and all new therapies reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the research process in general, and epidemiology in particular.
One of my absolute favorite articles to share with my stats students - a randomized controlled trial on the benefit of using a parachute when jumping out of an airplane. Enjoy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6298200/
If vaccines kill people the manufacturers should be held accountable. Period!
So much useful, clearly stated information in this piece, as always. I particularly appreciated the information on placebo tested foundations and advancement. Even for those who are generally on board with vaccines, misunderstandings about how/when RCTs, etc. are needed—and ethical—can trip people up in making the best health care decisions for themselves. For that reason, I’m very glad to have this information at hand for purposes of discussing this with hesitant friends and family members.
Great news about what mRNA vaccines are doing for pancreatic cancer especially, plus kidney cancer. I always heard that pancreatic cancer was essentially a death sentence. it's also a positive that mRNA vaccines can apparently be developed quickly, and that they don't depend on having things like live or dead viruses in them.
This HPV vaccine is getting interesting.
First, the article says that it prevents numerous cancers in men. Now I'm thinking that viruses are implicated in cancer to a much greater degree that we previously thought. And I need to check my records to see if I have had that vaccine.
Then I go to the NIH website and see this:
"In fact, a single dose of any of the three vaccines made tumors in the mice go away."
And this:
"Although there are vaccines to prevent HPV infections and the cancers that result, these vaccines do not treat cancers caused by existing HPV infections."
So it made tumors in mice go away but does not treat cancer in humans... It is a bit ambiguous. Maybe they mean to say that if you have one of these cancers, seek other treatment and don't count on the vaccine to treat it. Otherwise you're stuck with the fact that it does treat the cancers in mice, but not in humans.
If you have such a tumor, should you include the vaccine in your treatment plan?
And by the way, what kind of tumors go away? Those implicated in the HPV study, or some other type?
Finally, it looks like mRNA is going to end up being a major weapon against cancer. It is looking promising. I look forward to seeing a future article concentrating on vaccines and cancer.
Mike, I think vaccines are by definition usually about preventing you from getting a disease rather than treating a disease. In my experience the wonderful news about mRNA vaccines and cancers is unexpected. And I think that viruses have long been suspected as the cause of some types of cancer.
That's why the part about it eliminating tumors in mice is intriguing.
While viruses are suspected of causing cancer, maybe now we can vaccinate against them and prevent and possibly mitigate many other cancers.
If the HPV vaccine does prove to be useful as part of a comprehensive cancer treatment, its use will be expanded to include it being a treatment.
Are you familiar with the use of vaccines as treatments? I've been away from learning about stuff like that for quite a few years, so I'm curious what you know.
I was responding to what I read in the article and what I saw on the NIH site when I tried to find out more about it. This is the first I've heard of it.
Thanks, Mike.
Thank you for this, as always. Yes that episode of the Pitt was awful but important. Early swimming lessons are critical and can be life saving. Thank you for bringing this up.
Regarding vaccine studies, I believe it is also the case that certain vaccines predate the standardization of the placebo control double blind study - smallpox vaccine, of course, is the obvious example, but the diphtheria antitoxin has been around since the 1890s and the first vaccine was developed in 1913.
Recent reports, including talking points from the FDA commish, Makary, suggest that updating vaccines, such as the COVID shots, makes them "new" and thus subject to additional clinical trials especially for safety. Case in point is the delay in granting Novavax a licence, but this could extend to any updates of the mRNAs for 2025-2026. The FDA VRBPAC advisors might be convening on May 22, so maybe we'll get some answers on the new HHS standards for vaccines (https://covidandvaccineupdate.substack.com/p/new-vaccine-standards).