A brief history of vaccine screw-ups: Vaccines have a more spotty history than many believe

I’ve made a minor hobby of looking skeptically at immunizations since my case report on atypical measles was published as the centerpiece article in JAMA 45 years ago. That case illustrated at least one unpublicized problem from immunizations.

It seems that the original measles vaccine, “a killed measles vaccine” was given to preschool kids beginning in 1962-63 and available until 1968. It did prevent measles for about six years. Thereafter, when these kids were exposed to measles they sometimes developed an inverted and much more serious illness. My case was the first that occurred in a young adult 14 years after immunization. The current live virus vaccine is somewhat less likely to lead to atypical measles.

Among other immunization screwups I include Robert Koch’s attempts to immunize for tuberculosis which apparently caused a few deaths as reported in older literature. Before him, there was variolation, the inoculation of children with smallpox, which greatly diminished the number of serious cases but also led to about 1% developing smallpox and dying. Jenner used vaccinia, the cowpox virus which was safer but would occasionally cause progressive vaccinia and generalized disease in individuals with certain skin conditions.

The biggest problem occurred during WW II. All U.S. soldiers destined for the South Pacific got a yellow fever vaccine that was prepared and administered using pooled plasma harvested around NYC. Seven million doses were made. Lots were contaminated with Hep B and C and huge numbers of these soldiers were sickened. It may well explain how serum hepatitis was disseminated widely in America. These soldiers eventually became veterans who died thirty years later of cirrhosis that was falsely ascribed to their alcoholism. (We didn’t know about hepatitis B and C until later.)

TB and Ebola both have vaccines, though the latter isn’t the most effective thing ever. Ebola also doesn’t spread particularly well. Bubonic plague is fixed with antibiotics. I’d be much more concerned with them flooding in with measles, weird flu strains, and other things that are highly contagious and where we have gaps in coverage.

Some people can’t get vaccines because of medical conditions. A small number choose not to (and then get more vocal about that choice than vegans or people who do CrossFit). Some have been vaccinated, but have virtually no immune system due to HIV/AIDS, automimmune disorder treatments, or cancer treatments. The last thing any of those people need are some infected persons sneaking into the country spreading stuff around.

"(Which they have NOT accomplished with COVID)"

This myth really needs to die. Of course the virus has been isolated. It was isolated back in December 2019. It's been imaged directly. It's had its entire genome mapped out. We know every piece of SARS-CoV-2, enough to know when any single amino acid changes (i.e. the variants of concern). Several vaccine candidates have been developed using inactivated versions of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"They have only "sequenced" the virus, which is NOT sufficient to produce a true vaccine."

Sequencing the virus means you have all its proteins. You can then produce those proteins and see which ones trigger immune response. Once you know that, you can produce gen 2 (recombinant) or gen 3 (mRNA) vaccines.

Repeating demonstrably false information doesn't make it true, but it does make it a sin once you're aware it's false.

Polio: gone

Actually as an exception, polio is not gone, much due to a mistake in Africa

2018: Every year, hundreds of people across Africa are still being infected with circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, which can infect people in areas where there is only partial vaccination. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/07/polio-outbreaks-congo-threaten-global-eradication

2020. Every year, hundreds of people across Africa are still being infected with circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus, which can infect people in areas where there is only partial vaccination.- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/24/world/africa/polio-africa-eradicated.html

Smallpox: gone. Polio: gone. Measles: gone. Pertussis (Whooping Cough): gone. Mumps: gone. Rubella: gone. Diphtheria: gone. Tetanus: gone. Varicella (chickenpox): gone. Millions of lives saved. Millions saved from lifelong disability and/or disfigurement. About 1 in a million have a noteworthy reaction to a vaccine and most of those self-resolve in days or weeks. Sadly, some do suffer ill effects. But do you take a 0.00001% chance of a bad outcome to avoid a .5% chance of a bad outcome? Nearly everyone will gladly take those odds. And even now, we continue to improve vaccine safety. Just in the past couple years, flu shots that no longer carry a risk of chicken egg allergies became available.

Thank God, yet antivaccers I have heard lump all vaccines together as evil.

Certainly!

The above images are all from the United States National Institutes of Health Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Each of them is a transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility (IRF) in Fort Detrick, Maryland. More info about them available at this NIH site

A scanning electron microscope produced the following images (source):

Plenty of other images from many independent sources also exist that show the SARS-CoV-2 virions directly. Further, we have the complete genetic sequences for SARS-CoV-2, so we can tell right down to the protein structure and amino acid composition how and where this virus differs from other similar viruses. This has been very well documented throughout the scientific literature for a year now.

The virus has long since been isolated, studied, and sequenced. We know pretty much everything there is to know about it. It's real. It exists. It's nothing like the flu. It's very similar to SARS-CoV-1 (SARS 2003) and MERS-CoV (MERS 2012), but it spreads more effectively and kills far less often and less quickly. Both traits combine to enable it to be successful on a global scale in a way that SARS 2003 and MERS 2012 never were.

"Actually as an exception, polio is not gone, much due to a mistake in Africa"

I was referring specifically to the United States as I honestly don't worry so much what happens in other countries. However, you're right that unfortunately money-saving decisions (e.g. cheaping out on the vaccine for Africans) resulted in a small number (a few hundred) impacted by vaccine-derived outbreaks. However, it's important to note two things:

As of 2016, Africa is finally free of wild polio virus. Within the next few years, it's likely polio will join smallpox as having been completely eradicated from the face of the Earth.
Vaccine-derived polio outbreaks in Africa have amounted to about 130-180 cases per year. When the vaccination campaign began, wild polio not only infected millions, but paralyzed 75,000 children each year.

So from 75,000 paralyzed children each year down to ~150 total cases? Even with the cheap vaccine that doesn't do as well, that's a stunning turn-around in just 10 years.

And I still don't know any moms in the US who are worried about polio.

So from 75,000 paralyzed children each year down to ~150 total cases? Even with the cheap vaccine that doesn't do as well, that's a stunning turn-around in just 10 years.

Yes, but a few hundred from by vaccine-derived outbreaks is tragic and provides fodder for anti-vaccers.

And I still don't know any moms in the US who are worried about polio.

Nor overall the other diseases you list, while the most virulent "diseases" is that of liberalism and which is of the heart, and with the evangelical gospel being the effective prophylactic, thank God.

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