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Posts Tagged ‘vaccination’

First Rabies Case in State in Over 75 Years Raises Questions (Again) About Preventive Strategies

Paul Sax • January 10th, 2012

Categories: Health Care

(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The recent case of bat-related rabies in a Barnstable man has prompted my colleague Larry Madoff, director of the Division of Epidemiology and Immunization at the Mass Department of Public Health, to write this fine commentary in the Atlantic. I particularly like these passages: Rabies is perhaps the archetypal zoonotic disease, one spread between animals [...]

AIDS Vaccine: Maybe not Effective After All

Paul Sax • October 12th, 2009

Categories: HIV, Research

(No Ratings Yet)

Well, that didn’t take long: Researchers from the U.S. Army and Thailand announced last month they had found the first vaccine that provided some protection against HIV. But a second analysis of the $105 million study, not disclosed publicly, suggests the results may have been a fluke, according to AIDS scientists who have seen it. [...]

Human Rabies from Bats: Another Look at the Numbers

Paul Sax • May 7th, 2009

Categories: Infectious Diseases, Misc, Patient Care, Policy

(3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

The gang from Canada is at it again, reviewing human rabies cases from bats and trying to make some sense of the data. (For a summary of their outstanding prior paper in CID, read this.) But before we get to their latest masterwork, here are some questions to ponder.  While doing so, keep in mind [...]

Fear of Vaccines: Not Just Parents

Paul Sax • January 22nd, 2009

Categories: Health Care, Infectious Diseases, Patient Care, Policy

(No Ratings Yet)

Fear of vaccines are legion among many parents, with enormous public health resources devoted to defusing this fear and trying to debunk common myths.  I find this site particularly useful. (Talk about a “hot button” topic.  Read this to get an idea about how passionate views on vaccine safety can be.  Wow.) This fear, however, [...]

Zoster Vaccine Guidelines — Official Answers, but Still Some Questions

Paul Sax • June 2nd, 2008

Categories: Health Care, HIV, Infectious Diseases, Patient Care, Policy

(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has just released the “official” guidelines for use of the zoster vaccine. And none too soon — if I had a dollar (or these days, make that a euro) for every curbside consult I’ve received about the zoster vaccine … The vaccine’s indications are simple — age over [...]