Vax Talk

In this episode, we break down vaccine communication, from the days of "Let the Science Speak for Itself" to the political partisanship of the pandemic. To assist us, we invited Glen Nowack, former CDC comms chief and Mass Communication Expert!

Get your updated COVID vaccine! https://www.vaccines.gov/

Download and share the latest VFV video! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MQMmlLrg5lhEpNwc1KeOSWhyIpfyCGOL/view?usp=drive_link

Lately, Twitter has become a cesspool of the worst humans spreading the worst misinformation. Except for one bright spot: The Real Truther. We invited The Real Truther to our podcast to discuss his noble pursuit of The Real Truth and to talk with RFK Jr. (or a proxy for RFK Jr.)

Links from the episode:

Dr. Alfredo Victoria: https://www.elimparcial.com/mexico/Muere-el-Dr.-Alfredo-Victoria-reconocido-epidemiologo-y-excandidato-a-la-alcaldia-de-Puebla-a-sus-42-anos-de-edad-20230626-0050.html

RFK's Conspiracy Panel: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/rfk-kennedy-anti-vaccine-panel-conspiracies-hiv-spanish-flu-1234779689/

Dr. Hotez stands up to RFK Jr. and Joe Rogan: https://twitter.com/PeterHotez/status/1671839286348378113?lang=ar

At the pandemic's beginning, small bands of scientists and doctors devised a plan: what if we got young people sick on purpose? What could possibly go wrong?

Dr. Jonathan Howard's new book, _We Want Them Infected_, traces this ill-begotten quest and the inevitable pseudoscience that followed. Listen in to our conversation with him!

Links from the pod--

We Want Them Infected: https://redhawkpublications.com/We-Want-Them-Infected-p547021769

Lancet HPV study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02178-4/fulltext

Steve Kirsch wants to give you $5M: https://twitter.com/stkirsch/status/1663293283211317248

This June, Voices for Vaccines wants to raise $10,000 so we can bring you our extra programming, such as this podcast! Donate now! https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/donate/

It feels like anti-vaxxers are bringing public health to court in droves. Does this spell the doom of people who don't like getting measles and polio?

To explain why we shouldn't panic and how this litigiousness works, we invite our friend Dorit Reiss, legal scholar and all-around good person.

Please note: this episode was recorded before the Missouri religious exemption decision was handed down. Read about that here: https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/author/dorit-rubinstein-reiss/

Other links from this episode:

Tiffany Dover -- https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/tiffany-dover-conspiracy-theorists-silence-rcna69401

Elon Musk-- https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-65249139

Politico-- https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/04/09/anti-vax-covid-litigation-00090939

If you thought 2021 was the Year of the Vaccine, 2022 may have taken you by surprise. In this episode, we review the news stories that show the prominence vaccines still play in our everyday lives.

For a list of links to the news stories we cover, visit our website: https://www.voicesforvaccines.org/ep-68-vaccines-year-in-review/

Because vaccines work better when we are all vaccinated, vaccine equity isn't about justice alone. It is also crucial to public health.

Enter Julissa Soto, MPH. Fresh off her work with other forms of health equity, she has come onto the scene in Colorado to make sure Latino communities can get vaccinated and feel confident doing so through her Vaccine Sundays program.

This episode is about so much more than that, though. Julissa is an inspiring woman whose life has been an amazing journey. You do not want to miss this episode!

Links from the episode:

The Real Truther--https://twitter.com/thereal_truther

Vaccine Sundays article--https://publichealthrs.org/a038/

How to host a vaccine clinic---https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xYolt5mR-zuOFGXBnBuLKZ9AcN5TeYCw/view

In many ways, mRNA vaccines are a gamechanger, but not an unexpected one. For this episode, we talked to one of the scientists who has been pursuing mRNA vaccines for years: Melissa Moore, PhD. We discuss how mRNA vaccines have changed so much for us and what the future might hold.

Find Dr. Moore's TED talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/melissa_j_moore_how_mrna_medicine_will_change_the_world?language=en

What vaccines are required for school entry in your state, and how it isn't influenza or probably HPV: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/imz-managers/coverage/schoolvaxview/requirements/index.html

Download the Voices for Vaccines app on your phone today! And go get a flu shot. And if she's still around, call your mom.

A new study seems to connect childhood vaccines to asthma. Or does it?

We invited our friend and hero, Dr. Paul Offit, to the show to discuss this study and the other studies from the past investigating vaccines and aluminum adjuvants. Don't miss his take!

Link to the study: https://www.statnews.com/2022/09/27/possible-link-aluminum-childhood-vaccines-asthma-risk-caveats/

Remember the old refrain: polio is only a plane ride away? Well, it's hit New York, in the same community that saw a massive measles outbreak in 2019.

We invited the excellent Blima Marcus, a nurse practitioner who worked on building vaccine confidence in this community in 2019, to talk to us about this polio outbreak.

Providers working in clinics and hospitals have noticed something: non-COVID respiratory viruses are acting differently. Flu is lingering into June, RSV is messing with kids off-season, and summer is no barrier between us and a cold.

To find out what is happening (and okay, it might have to do with COVID) and how vaccines can help, we talked to Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Dr. Bill Schaffner (one of Karen's favorite docs).

Link from the episode: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/06/13/covid-flu-rsv-viruses/