The limitations of the pertussis, flu, and measles vaccines in particular assures that “outbreaks” will remain part of the public health landscape, the challenge for the media and the public will be not over-reacting to these events. These stories are used by certain legislators to justify the removal of medical freedoms.
From the Associated Press:
A government study offers a new theory on why the whooping cough vaccine doesn’t seem to be working as well as expected.
The research suggests that while the vaccine may keep people from getting sick, it doesn’t prevent them from spreading whooping cough — also known as pertussis — to others.
“It could explain the increase in pertussis that we’re seeing in the U.S.,” said one of the researchers, Tod Merkel of the Food and Drug Administration.
During this flu season, the CDC already came out and said this year’s flu vaccine is not every effective. From CNN:
Scientists are concerned about what they’re seeing so far this flu season, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, a day after the agency advised doctors this year’s flu vaccine is not as effective because the current strain of the virus has mutated.
From Los Angeles:
Of the pertussis cases in Los Angeles County, 8 percent were individuals who had never been vaccinated. Experts say the number is not a significant factor in the spread of pertussis.
From New York City:
Get the measles vaccine, and you won’t get the measles — or give it to anyone else. Right? Well, not always. A person fully vaccinated against measles has contracted the disease and passed it on to others. The startling case study contradicts received wisdom about the vaccine and suggests that a recent swell of measles outbreaks in developed nations could mean more illnesses even among the vaccinated.
From Baltimore:
Baltimore, Maryland, is still officially free of the wild-type measles after the genotype testing from the measles virus revealed that the 12-month-old baby who ended up in the ER on January 21 with measles-like symptoms was simply experiencing a reaction to her MMR vaccine.