blog@richardcall.net

Bill Maher and Bill Frist on vaccines

// October 21st, 2009 // Sceince, opinion, politics

From Real Time with Bill Maher 9 October:

Maher, a normally Pro Science guy and recipient of the Richard Dawkins Award asks Senator Frist this:

“Conservatives always say about health care, especially, you know, are you going to let the government run health care? They screw everything up. So why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm?”

I have never been a big fan of kitten killer, Vanderbilt Heart Surgeon and former Tennessee Senator Bill Frist, especially after his video diagnosis of Terry Shivo, but I have to agree with his stance on vaccines. I am actually kind of surprised at Bill Maher stance. His distrust for the government makes sense for a Libertarian point of view, he has in the past been Pro- Science. How in his right mind can he even tell pregnant women, who’s immune systems are naturally suppressed, not to get the vaccine? Evan Lerner at Seed said:

When you make a doctor who is famous for diagnosing a woman’s brain activity via teleconference look like a paragon of evidence-based medicine, we have a problem.

I agree with Frist on this one. Vaccines are extremely important, effective and necessary for public health. I’ll let the medical and scientific experts at the CDC explain (emphasis mine):

The effectiveness of the vaccine depends in part on the match between the viruses in the vaccine and influenza viruses that are circulating in the community. If these are closely matched, vaccine effectiveness (VE) is higher. If they are not closely matched, vaccine effectiveness can be reduced. During well-matched years, clinical trials have shown VE between 70% and 90% for inactivated influenza vaccines in the prevention of serologically confirmed influenza infection among healthy adults.

Interim results from a study carried out this season with the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin found overall vaccine effectiveness (VE) of 44% for the 2007-08 flu shot. This included VE of 58% effectiveness against the predominant influenza A (H3N2) viruses, but no effectiveness against influenza B viruses. No influenza A (H1N1) viruses were seen in the study population, so VE against these viruses could not be assessed. A higher VE against H3N2 viruses than against influenza B viruses was likely because the circulating H3N2 strains and H3N2 strain in the vaccine were closely related while the circulating B viruses were antigenically and genetically much different from the influenza B virus in the vaccine and there was little to no cross-reactivity.

CDC has other systems for estimating vaccine effectiveness. These systems cover multiple sites across the country, which provides vaccine effectiveness data on different populations in areas where different influenza strains may predominate. However, vaccine effectiveness estimates using these systems are not yet available.

If you decide to not get the seasonal or H1N1 flu vaccine, do so only after discussing it with your doctor. He or she knows your health better than anyone. and can advise you based on peer reviewed, published evidence.  Anyone else telling you other wise is acting irresponsibly and putting you and you family in a dangerous place.

I have and always will trust science I have gotten my seasonal flu vaccine and will get the H1N1 once it is available as a shot. What are you going to do?