0:00

A calamity of the most serious

0:02

kind has swept down upon this beautiful

0:04

group of islands, and its ravages

0:07

will have to be computed not by the hundred,

0:09

but by thousands. A most extraordinary

0:12

scene was presented of whole towns,

0:14

with the houses closed, the lanes

0:17

and squares silent as death, and

0:19

the inhabitants all down, old

0:21

men and infants, young men

0:23

and mothers of families, one heap

0:26

of illness. The destroying angel

0:28

had silenced every dwelling, and

0:30

there was a weird quiet about the place that

0:32

struck very peculiarly upon

0:35

one's feelings. Daily

0:37

the canoes were to be seen carrying

0:39

the dead to their breezy resting places

0:41

on the opposite shore, and day

0:44

and night was the death drum beating,

0:46

and the wails of the mourners rose on

0:48

the air. Strong winds and

0:50

heavy rains added to the horrors of

0:52

the situation, and the bowens almost

0:55

starved for food, the people being

0:57

unable to get to the mainland, where their gardens

1:00

were hard worked in the day

1:02

and with broken rest at night. I passed

1:04

through some weeks the like of which

1:06

I hope never to see again at

1:10

home in our own land. There is always

1:12

a large proportion of healthy persons

1:14

who act as a relief to the many stricken

1:16

by prevailing disease. But here

1:19

you have a whole country down, all

1:21

sick men, women

1:23

and children dying all around

1:26

you every day, your best

1:28

friends among the people dying.

2:16

It's so horrific erin, it's

2:19

awful.

2:20

It is.

2:22

Almost unfathomable. And yet that

2:25

is a first hand account.

2:27

That is what really happened. That is a diary entry

2:30

from the Reverend AJ Webb,

2:32

who was a missionary in Fiji at

2:34

the time of the eighteen seventy five outbreak

2:37

that killed a quarter of

2:39

the population of measles from

2:42

sorry, yes, of measles, measles,

2:45

measles, measles.

2:49

Yeah, it is really terrifying.

2:51

And yeah, so it

2:53

makes me so thankful that we have a vaccine, Like I

2:56

truly cannot imagine living in a

2:58

time when this was reality.

3:00

Should not be forgotten, like it can't

3:02

be. Hi,

3:04

I'm Aaron.

3:05

Welsh, and I'm Aaron Allman.

3:06

Updike, and this is this podcast

3:09

will kill you.

3:09

And we're coming at you with season

3:12

eight. Season eight.

3:14

Yeah, Season seven

3:17

was like literally yesterday,

3:21

And so if you did notice a long break between

3:23

seasons that is by design, that is intentional.

3:26

There wasn't a break. There wasn't you

3:28

know.

3:28

Given all of the disturbing

3:30

and widespread changes that are happening to

3:33

public health and the sciences here

3:35

in the US, we decided, you know, maybe

3:37

we should just like keep things rolling, trying

3:39

to stay on top of some of these horrific

3:42

changes and provide you all

3:44

with clear info and reliable

3:46

sources for some of the things that you're seeing

3:48

splashed across headlines, things

3:51

like devastating funding cuts to scientific

3:53

research, outbreaks of vaccine

3:56

preventable illnesses, including

3:59

measles, the intentional concealment

4:01

of vital public health information, massive

4:04

cuts to healthcare access, a profiteer

4:06

of vaccine disinformation at the helm

4:09

of the most significant public

4:11

health institution in the US.

4:14

The list goes on. Yeah, yep,

4:16

misinformation is everywhere,

4:19

and it's growing by the second.

4:20

It really is.

4:21

And the truth is, we

4:23

are all all of us

4:26

susceptible to it, every one

4:28

of us, even me and you, even

4:31

if we think we aren't or we like to think we aren't. So

4:34

what do we do about it?

4:37

What do we do about it? Well, we'll tell you what we're

4:39

going to do about it.

4:42

What we are going to do is, through

4:44

this podcast throughout the season, continue

4:47

to be sources of reliable information

4:49

about issues in health and medicine, to

4:52

continue to provide historical context

4:54

about scientific developments, and to

4:56

explore the current research shaping the future

4:59

of health on planet. That is what we have

5:01

done, that is what we will continue to do. Our

5:04

list for this season is long and

5:06

so far includes fun things

5:09

like raw milk, SSRIs

5:12

avian influenza, we hear you, We're

5:14

doing it, and fluoride

5:17

and literally so many more.

5:18

It's a long list.

5:19

Do you notice a trend? Yeah.

5:22

So, to help us fill out the schedule for this

5:24

season and prioritize our focus,

5:26

we wanted to ask you, guys all for your help. What

5:29

do you want to learn about? What topics

5:31

are you seeing misinformation about? Which

5:34

episodes that we've done in the past. Would

5:36

you like an update on? Yes, let

5:38

us know reach out. The best way to

5:40

do that is through the contact us form on our website

5:42

this podcast will kill You dot com, or you can send us

5:44

an email to this podcast will Kill

5:47

You at gmail dot com.

5:48

Yep, Yes, we can't wait

5:51

to hear from you. Yeah, it's

5:53

going to be a it's going to be a season full

5:55

of info.

5:57

It's going to be a season period moving

5:59

on on. What are we doing

6:01

now? What are we doing now?

6:03

Yes, this week and next

6:05

week we are going to be talking about the

6:07

childhood vaccine schedule, especially

6:09

the one that we have here in the US. And

6:12

this actually it's funny because like we ended the

6:14

pregnancy series and we were like, oh,

6:16

well, and we'll talk about childhood

6:19

stuff some other times. We'll talk about infancy

6:21

some other time, and actually this is like kind of

6:23

a follow up.

6:24

It's a nice it's almost

6:26

like we planned it. It is.

6:28

And part of the reason that we decided to

6:30

do this is because, you know, you may have come

6:32

across the news that RFK

6:34

Junior, who is longtime anti

6:37

vaccine activist and now the Secretary of

6:39

the US Department of Health

6:41

and Human Services, has indicated

6:43

that he intends to investigate

6:45

the childhood vaccine schedule, after

6:47

saying previously that he would

6:50

not. What are the possible

6:52

consequences of this investigation.

6:54

That's what we're going to explore.

6:56

That's what we want to know.

6:57

Yes, And so to do this, we're splitting

6:59

this topic into two episodes

7:02

because we want to first just do a general

7:04

review of how vaccines work,

7:07

what these childhood vaccines protect

7:09

us against, and what these vaccinations

7:12

do for us as individuals and

7:14

as members of a community. And

7:16

then in our second episode, we're going to go

7:19

deeper into.

7:19

The schedule itself.

7:20

You know, what vaccines do kids get

7:22

and when, how we decided upon this vaccination

7:25

schedule, how and why it differs from schedules

7:28

and other parts of the world. Some of the latest trends

7:30

and outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases.

7:32

And finally, just some strategies

7:35

on how to talk with people who might be

7:37

on the fence about vaccines.

7:39

Just a few small topics for us to cover in

7:41

two episodes. We no problem fast.

7:45

Before we get into all of that, it

7:47

is quarantine any time is

7:50

aaron.

7:51

This week we're drinking Boosted

7:54

Boosted. What's in boosted

7:58

because I have already forgotten?

8:00

So it's a delicious little bev gin

8:04

lemonade and raspberries

8:06

raspberry.

8:07

Lemonade at gin.

8:08

If you prefer easypasy,

8:10

delicious, crazy squeezy.

8:15

We'll post the full recipes on our website

8:17

This podcast will Kill You dot com, as well

8:19

as our social media channels.

8:21

If you're not following us, you should be.

8:23

There, should be, you should be. On our

8:25

website. You can find all kinds of things. You can

8:27

find a first hand account form. You can find

8:29

a contact us form. You can find links

8:31

to music by Blowdemobile, links to

8:33

our bookshop, dot org affiliate account, our Goodreads

8:36

list, links to merch sources

8:38

for all of our episodes, transcripts, Patreon's

8:42

There's so much there.

8:43

Wealth of information, goodness, say

8:48

business, welcome

8:50

back, good to see.

8:51

You, welcome back.

8:52

It's been so long, All

8:55

right, let's start

8:58

right after a short break.

9:13

Childhood vaccine schedules have been,

9:15

for quite some time a major

9:18

target of anti vaccine propaganda.

9:21

Vaccine disinformation spreaders want

9:23

people to question, why do

9:25

we need so many? Don't these vaccines

9:28

overwhelm our immune systems?

9:29

Do they aerin? No?

9:34

Long story short, you're

9:37

right. Rather than declaring vaccines

9:40

unsafe just across the board, these

9:42

anti vaccine activists seek to reach

9:44

a broader audience by normalizing vaccine

9:46

hesitancy and making it more palatable.

9:50

You know. They reframe their position from

9:52

anti vax, which is more alienating

9:55

it's extreme, to pro safe

9:57

vaccination, because who doesn't want

9:59

safe vaccines, right, we all want safe vaccines.

10:02

We have vaccines. Safe vaccines

10:04

is the thing. I want that, and we

10:06

have that, and we have them.

10:08

And the truth is that the vaccines

10:10

we have, the schedule we use, these

10:13

things are safe and they have been proven

10:15

to be so over the decades,

10:17

with so much data

10:20

to back this up. And we'll get more

10:22

into that in these episodes. Parents

10:25

want the best for their children. They want to set

10:28

them up for a happy and healthy life.

10:30

Every decision that you make seems

10:33

fraught with the potential for harm. Things

10:35

like which crib to choose, what

10:37

sleeping schedule is going

10:40

to be the best.

10:40

Belong to you even I

10:43

don't know, I

10:46

have no.

10:46

Idea, But

10:49

you want to do the right thing for your child.

10:51

Wanting to make the right decision and worrying

10:54

about the outcome is completely understandable.

10:57

To help you decide what to do, you

10:59

may ask your doctor, You may talk with

11:01

your trusted friends, or you may

11:04

you know, ask the internet.

11:05

Consult the tickto consult

11:07

TikTok. Oh, gosh, no, don't

11:10

consult TikTok.

11:12

But each of these things might advise

11:14

you differently, or they might see the balance of risks

11:17

and benefits differently. When

11:19

it comes to vaccines, finding reliable

11:21

information on the internet is increasingly

11:23

challenging, and given our medical system

11:26

here in the US, finding the time to make

11:28

an appointment with your doctor to fact check

11:30

some of the things that you've read about vaccines

11:32

on the internet that can be next to impossible.

11:35

Yeah right. Or let's say that

11:37

you.

11:38

Do find the time and you

11:40

find the money to make an appointment to

11:42

talk with your doctor, and somehow, in that

11:44

ten minute appointment, you managed to squeeze

11:46

in a couple of questions about vaccines, and

11:49

your doctor just scoffs and condescends to

11:51

you, making you feel bad for asking

11:53

these questions in the first place. And

11:56

maybe you can't shake that little seed

11:58

of doubt planted by a TikTok video

12:00

that you saw that was spouting vaccine

12:02

misinformation, This video

12:05

that makes you ask what if?

12:08

The what if that anti vaccine activists

12:11

the question that they try to plant is what

12:14

if these vaccines are not safe? When

12:16

really the what if should be what

12:19

if my child gets measles? Yeah,

12:23

disinformation spreaders minimize

12:25

that future threat of being unvaccinated,

12:27

and they falsely amplify the minuscule

12:30

risks posed by vaccinations,

12:32

or they just invent risks altogether.

12:36

Choosing not to vaccinate gives you the

12:38

illusion of control, when in fact,

12:40

it takes it away entirely because

12:43

you cannot predict whether your child

12:45

will be the one to die in a measles

12:47

outbreak, or one of the ones to die

12:50

in a measles outbreak, or it

12:52

is it's so tremendously sad.

12:55

You can't predict whether they'll have permanent lung

12:58

damage after about of whooping cough, which

13:00

they also transmitted to a baby that

13:02

was too young to be vaccinated. We

13:05

want to start these episodes with the message

13:07

that we get it right. It

13:09

is easy to fall prey to this

13:12

vaccine disinformation because of the

13:14

way that it plays on those specific

13:16

fears, because it gives you this illusion

13:18

of control, because it tells you that you're

13:21

doing right by your child. Vaccine

13:23

disinformation is specifically engineered

13:26

to do this.

13:27

Right, and not just on TikTok. I feel like we

13:29

no, no, I know we lasted poor TikTok a

13:31

few times.

13:32

Yes we have, yeah, but it's everywhere

13:35

in everything.

13:36

Yeah.

13:37

And addressing each one of

13:39

the invalid claims that are made by

13:42

anti vaccine activists, it can actually

13:44

breathe more air into their movement.

13:47

And so rather than doing targeted

13:49

mythbusting, what we're going to do in this

13:51

and next episode is we're going to present the

13:53

factual information about vaccines,

13:56

the diseases that they prevent, and

13:58

why we have childhood vaccine

14:01

schedule that we do.

14:02

Yeah.

14:02

So first, Aaron, let's start back at the beginning.

14:05

What are vaccines and.

14:07

How do they work?

14:08

I can't wait to get into

14:11

this, Aaron. It's really just like an

14:13

appreciation of our immune system for a moment

14:15

here.

14:15

Ready, love our immune system.

14:18

Every single time that

14:20

we breathe in, everything

14:22

that we put in our mouths, that we wipe

14:24

across our snotty noses that we rub

14:26

into our eyes, all

14:28

of this exposes us to

14:31

antigens. And antigen is

14:33

just the fancy medical word for stuff

14:36

that our immune system can recognize

14:39

as not me right,

14:41

not self. We are exposed

14:44

to these antigens all the time, from

14:46

literally the minute that we're born and we take our

14:48

first breath and we open our eyes, and

14:50

once these antigens enter our body,

14:53

they get recognized by white blood cells,

14:55

whose job is antigen

14:57

recognition.

14:58

That's their title.

15:00

Then they present that antigen to other

15:02

white blood cells in our lymph nodes. Some

15:05

of these white blood cells in our lymph nodes

15:07

make antibodies, and antibodies

15:10

are like little Lego flags

15:13

that are hyper specific markers

15:16

that can recognize and lego

15:18

click onto one

15:21

single antigen or like one

15:23

part of one single antigen.

15:25

I love, I love the visual of a lego

15:27

flag.

15:27

It's just, you know, and they they

15:30

really do. He and key

15:32

in lock can't lock.

15:34

Lego and they

15:36

they basically flag it for destruction. That's

15:38

what an antibody is doing. But the

15:41

part that actually protects us in the

15:43

long term is that these

15:45

antibody producing cells stick

15:48

around in our bodies so

15:50

that if that particular antigen

15:52

ever dares to show its face in our body

15:54

again, we're ready for it, right.

15:58

These memory cells can suit quickly

16:00

make a whole bunch more of these Lego

16:02

flags and just stick them all over any

16:05

anigens that dare to enter before

16:07

that virus or bacteria or whatever

16:10

it is can make us sick. And

16:13

this process is how our

16:15

antibody mediated immune response,

16:17

which is just one of our incredible

16:19

immune system things.

16:21

That's how it works across the board.

16:23

When we are sick with a viral infection

16:25

or a bacterial infection like the flu or

16:28

something else, our immune system

16:30

is running through this whole immune response,

16:33

but it's doing so while

16:35

the virus is replicating, and then we

16:37

get super super sick.

16:39

Yeah, and we can die

16:41

exactly.

16:43

We're protected from a repeat infection.

16:46

But there is a cost, right, some of us

16:48

will get very sick, we might be hospitalized,

16:50

we might even die from this infection. So

16:53

what vaccines do is just allow

16:55

us to produce these antibodies that

16:58

will protect us from a future your infection

17:01

without ever having to get sick

17:03

in the first place.

17:05

That's what they do.

17:06

Like, it's just truly incredible.

17:08

It is.

17:09

It is.

17:10

Vaccines are so

17:13

I love them.

17:14

I'm

17:17

like, it's simply put.

17:18

It's simply put.

17:19

Because vaccines are just introducing

17:22

these antigens in a very small

17:24

amount in a in a specific

17:27

time and place.

17:29

It's a shortcut that saves

17:32

lives and saves saves

17:34

permanent injury and illness

17:37

and even just short term right,

17:39

right, like being miserable

17:41

with the flu.

17:42

You don't have to feel that, right.

17:44

It's They're incredible, And there are a number

17:46

of different types of vaccines that we use. There

17:49

are things like live attenuated vaccines.

17:52

There are killed virus or killed bacteria

17:54

vaccines, There are toxoid

17:56

vaccines, there are mRNA vaccines,

17:59

and there are lots of other types of like

18:01

specific.

18:02

Vaccines, subtypes and whatnot.

18:04

Yeah, we can link to so many detail

18:06

more detail, but the bottom

18:09

line is that each of these different types of vaccines

18:11

has both pros and cons and

18:13

some types of vaccines are going to work better

18:16

for some diseases than others. And

18:18

when people, meaning

18:20

regulatory bodies, are deciding which

18:23

vaccine is approved or included

18:25

in our vaccine schedule, they're looking

18:27

at things like efficacy, safety,

18:30

and how well it produces an immune

18:32

response. All of these things have to be considered.

18:35

And every single vaccine,

18:38

just like every single thing that

18:40

we put into our bodies, medicine, food,

18:42

quarantinies, all of it, as

18:45

well as every single disease or pathogen

18:47

that we're exposed to, has a potential for side

18:49

effects. But the side effects

18:52

of vaccines are generally quite

18:54

mild.

18:55

There are things like.

18:56

A sore arm, swelling

18:58

maybe around the injection site. Fever

19:02

now fevers in children can sometimes

19:04

cause seizures and while vaccines

19:07

can cause a fever, febrile

19:09

seizures after vaccination are actually

19:12

quite rare, and you're far more

19:14

likely to get a febrile seizure from an infection

19:17

rather than a vaccination, right, And

19:21

in general, any serious side

19:23

effects from a vaccine, like, for example,

19:25

the rash that can happen after an MMR

19:27

or a veraricella vaccine, they tend

19:30

to be milder versions of the

19:32

same symptoms that you can have from

19:34

the disease itself, But

19:37

most of the time you can't then spread

19:39

that to others the way that you can

19:41

in the context of an infectious disease, right.

19:43

Right.

19:44

The only risk that exists with

19:46

vaccination that doesn't really exist

19:49

with what people call natural

19:51

infections whatever that means, is

19:54

the potential for an allergic reaction, and

19:57

that mostly has to do with vaccine component

20:00

rather than the antigens from that virus

20:02

or bacteria itself. And it's

20:04

estimated that there are one to two

20:07

severe allergic reactions per

20:09

million doses of vaccines.

20:12

So when we're comparing risks and benefits,

20:15

we have to compare apples to apples.

20:17

One to two severe allergic reactions

20:20

per million doses of vaccine.

20:22

If we're looking at measles, for example,

20:25

one in five kids with measles

20:27

is hospitalized with severe infection,

20:30

and one to three of every

20:32

one thousand kids with measles

20:35

will.

20:35

Die, one to three for every

20:38

one thousand kids.

20:40

Yeah, and no kid should

20:42

be dying from a disease that we can prevent.

20:44

No, no, no.

20:47

So that's like how vaccines

20:49

work across the board, and a little

20:51

bit of the risks and comparing

20:54

the actual risks to risks of

20:56

the diseases that we're preventing against. So,

21:00

if we're talking about the childhood vaccinations

21:03

schedule, what are the

21:05

vaccines on that schedule and what are

21:07

the diseases that we're actually able to prevent.

21:10

Yes, let's go through it.

21:12

Let's we're going to back and forth.

21:15

This this is a fun this is not episode.

21:18

It's been fun to put together.

21:20

Yeah, but before

21:22

we get into it, let's take a quick break

21:24

and then we'll come back with all of these vaccines

21:28

and diseases.

21:28

Yeah.

21:29

Wait, So

21:47

when we're talking about protecting kids,

21:49

which is what we're talking about in this episode, we actually

21:52

can start before they're even born because

21:54

there are some vaccines that we can give during pregnancy

21:57

to provide passive immunity to the baby,

22:00

which includes t DApp and we'll

22:02

get into the diseases covered by that

22:04

vaccine in a little bit, but it also

22:06

includes RSV, And if you

22:08

didn't get the RSV vaccine during pregnancy,

22:11

there's another type of immunization works

22:13

a little bit differently that your baby

22:15

can get in the first week of life. So Aaron

22:17

walk us through what is RSV?

22:20

What is the RSV vaccine protecting us from?

22:22

Okay, I am going to tell you all of that,

22:24

but first I've realized we should

22:27

probably mention that we have

22:30

disease specific episodes for many

22:32

of the diseases that we will cover, in addition

22:35

to a two parter on vaccines

22:38

right the history of their development and how they work,

22:40

more detail about all of this, And so just

22:42

as a little preamble to this section,

22:45

we will link to all of these other episodes

22:47

in the show notes for this one and on our website.

22:50

And so if you want more info.

22:52

We've got so much.

22:54

I feel like we said that to each other so many times

22:56

while we were working on this episode.

22:57

That we forgot to say it.

23:00

We're like, oh, it will obviously We'll say that a million

23:02

times.

23:03

Yeah, okay, but anyway,

23:05

want more detail, We've got it.

23:07

This is overview. Go.

23:09

RSV is one of those we do have an RSV

23:11

episode.

23:12

Okay, Yeah.

23:13

RSV stands for respiratory

23:15

sensitial virus, and, as

23:17

its name suggests, it is a respiratory

23:19

infection.

23:20

It sure is.

23:21

It's transmitted via air and direct

23:23

contact, and for most adults,

23:25

infection with RSB is relatively mild,

23:28

but in infants and in elderly

23:30

adults or those who have lung issues,

23:32

it can be deadly or it can lead

23:34

to complications like repeat hospitalizations,

23:37

long term lung impairment, and asthma,

23:39

or recurrent weez There

23:42

is no widely available

23:44

treatment for RSV widely available,

23:47

and each year this virus causes

23:49

three point six million hospitalizations

23:52

globally and an estimated one

23:55

hundred thousand deaths

23:57

in children under the age of five, one hundred thousand.

24:00

Which is so s I know, I

24:02

know it's going to be on repeat.

24:04

Yeah, We're going to be repeating so many numbers. I

24:06

feel like both the vaccine given

24:08

to the pregnant person and the monoclonal antibody

24:11

given to a newborn offer short term

24:13

protection for the newborn until their

24:15

lungs are a bit more developed, and

24:17

then they're less likely at that point to have a

24:19

severe infection that requires hospitalization.

24:22

Yeah, and in general, people are recommended to get

24:24

one or the other YEP. So if

24:26

they didn't get the RSV vaccine during pregnancy,

24:28

then that baby will get the monoclonal antibody

24:31

imanization. But most

24:33

babies, the first vaccine that they

24:35

will get is actually hepatitis

24:38

B, which is given right after

24:40

birth, usually within the first twenty four to forty

24:42

eight hours of life.

24:43

Aarin. What's hepatitis B.

24:46

Well, the hepatitis BE virus.

24:48

It's a viral infection. It's transmitted

24:51

via blood and bodily fluids, and it

24:53

can be transmitted from mother to baby at birth.

24:56

And the real risk with hepatitis B,

24:58

especially for those who are infected at a young

25:00

age, is chronic infection, which can

25:02

lead to liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

25:05

So, just to like emphasize

25:07

this, here's some numbers. So

25:09

it's estimated that five percent of adults

25:12

newly infected with the hep B virus

25:14

will develop chronic hepatitis, but

25:17

ninety five percent of children

25:19

under five who have the virus will

25:22

develop it, which is why vaccination is

25:25

so critical. The

25:27

three dose series of this vaccine

25:29

is nearly one hundred percent effective

25:32

in entirely preventing

25:34

infection with this virus.

25:36

Nearly one hundred percent. It's amazing.

25:39

And even though we've had a hepatitis

25:41

B vaccine since the early nineteen eighties

25:43

and estimated two hundred and fifty

25:46

four million people around the world

25:48

are chronically infected with this virus,

25:51

with around one point two million new infections

25:53

every year and an estimated one point

25:55

one million deaths in twenty

25:58

twenty two.

25:59

Yeah, that's why

26:01

we vaccinate.

26:02

That is why we vaccinate.

26:04

After the birth dose of hepatitis

26:06

B, the first round

26:08

of shots, as it's often called for

26:11

babies in the US, is at

26:13

two months old. So at

26:15

the two month well child visit, we

26:18

get five different vaccines

26:20

plus a second dose of the hepatitis

26:23

B. So we get DETAP,

26:26

which is diphtheria tetanus and acellular

26:28

protessis. We get IPv

26:30

which is the inactivated poliovirus,

26:33

and we get hib or hemophalous

26:36

influenza type B and PCV

26:39

or the new macaccle vaccine.

26:41

As well as rotavirus.

26:43

So Aaron and the second dose

26:45

oft beat in a second.

26:46

I said that I did so

26:49

Aerin. That's a lot all at

26:51

once. Can you please walk me through what

26:53

each one of these diseases are?

26:56

These five, these five vaccines. It's amazing.

26:58

Okay, you are protected from.

27:00

So many things.

27:02

I know. Let's start with rotavirus, right.

27:04

So.

27:04

Rotavirus is transmitted fecal, oral,

27:07

or direct contact with an infected individual

27:09

or through contaminated objects. Symptoms

27:12

of rotavirus can include watery diarrhea,

27:15

vomiting, and severe dehydration

27:17

that can lead to death if rehydration

27:19

therapy is not provided. Rotavirus

27:22

is a major killer

27:25

globally, with a two point five

27:27

percent case fatality rate in children who

27:29

are living in low income countries. And

27:32

even though we've had a vaccine since two thousand

27:34

and eight, rotavirus still causes

27:37

a substantial burden of global death

27:39

and disease. So, for instance, in twenty sixteen,

27:42

rotavirus was estimated to cause two

27:44

hundred and fifty eight million

27:47

infections globally and

27:49

one hundred and twenty nine thousand

27:51

deaths in children under the age

27:53

of five.

27:53

It's just so sad. Eric and

27:56

so hard vaccine preventable

27:58

diarrheal disease. Okay,

28:01

okay, next more diphtheria.

28:04

So, diphtheria is our first bacterial

28:06

disease on this list, and it's our first in a

28:08

combo shot along with the vaccines for tetanus

28:11

and protessis detap is

28:13

what the vaccine is called, detap.

28:16

Yeah, T tap for adults. Hey, yes, if

28:18

anyone's confused about that.

28:20

In my head, I've been saying T tap detap, Which one

28:22

is? Detap?

28:24

It's fine detap.

28:26

Diphtheria is caused by a bacterium named

28:28

Karinibacterium diphtheria. Karanibacterium

28:31

is just a really fun word to say, isn't

28:34

it.

28:34

It is.

28:35

It's another respiratory pathogen. It's transmitted

28:37

through sneezes and coughs, and

28:40

the symptoms of diphtheria can be

28:42

things like sore throat, fever, swollen

28:44

necklands, weakness. And I still

28:47

vividly remember from our diphtheria

28:49

episode years ago, like back in twenty

28:52

eighteen, twenty seventeen.

28:53

It's very old, twenty I

28:57

don't remember anyway, I mean it was months

28:59

apart. It's yeah, it's stuck in your mind,

29:01

suck in my mind.

29:02

And this is one of the hallmark

29:04

symptoms of diphtheria. It is a gray,

29:07

odoriferous membrane made

29:09

up of dead tissue that coats your respiratory

29:12

tract and this makes it super difficult

29:14

to swallow and breathe, like makes

29:16

it difficult to breathe. The

29:19

bacterium also produces a toxin that

29:21

can injure your heart and your nerves, leading

29:23

to long term complications. Diphtheria

29:26

is an incredibly deadly infection,

29:29

with death occurring in thirty percent

29:31

of unvaccinated individuals without

29:34

access to treatment like antibiotics

29:36

or serum. But even

29:38

having those things is not a guarantee

29:41

of safety, right. A study that looked at diptheria

29:43

cases in unvaccinated individuals

29:45

between nineteen fifty nine and nineteen

29:48

seventy found that even when treated

29:50

with antibiotics, antiitoxin, and

29:52

supportive care, ten percent

29:55

of people died.

29:57

Yeah, yeah, dip theoria is a scary

29:59

one. It really is.

30:01

Okay, we've got a few more for this

30:04

round, a lot more.

30:05

The well child check is a big deal.

30:08

It's like when it's no

30:10

longer truly terrifying.

30:13

If your child gets a fever because before

30:15

this point, like they're in the emergency

30:17

room, you're concerned for a very serious infection if

30:20

they have a fever. And after this they're protected

30:22

from so many of the things that used to

30:24

kill babies all the time.

30:27

All the time.

30:28

So like tetanus my tetanus

30:30

next on our list.

30:31

This is another bacterial disease caused

30:33

by Claustridium tetani and

30:35

most people probably know that it's transmitted

30:37

through exposure to spores of this bacterium,

30:39

which can live in soil, ash, rusty

30:42

tools, and in the intestinal tracts

30:44

and feces of humans and mammals who

30:46

are infected with this infection

30:48

can occur when you have like a deep puncture

30:50

wound, but most tetanus infections

30:53

actually happen during birth, like if the

30:55

umbilical cord was cut with a contaminated

30:58

tool or if the pregnant person not

31:00

been adequately vaccinated. The

31:03

symptoms of tetanus include

31:05

painful muscle spasms, trouble swallowing.

31:07

Lock job is another name for tetanus,

31:09

seizures, headache, fever, blood pressure

31:12

changes, elevated heart rate, and death

31:14

is quite a common outcome. Even

31:17

with all that modern medicine can offer.

31:19

Like you, you know, get tetanus

31:21

symptoms, show you go to the hospital right away. You

31:24

have all of the best treatment in the world. And

31:28

twenty twenty five, ten percent of people

31:30

with tetanus will die from the infection, and

31:32

those that do recover are

31:35

not protected from future infections.

31:38

Only the vaccine gives you immunity,

31:40

not the infection itself, which.

31:42

Is so interesting and like you could do a deep

31:44

dive on why that is. And it's because we are

31:47

exposed to a much larger amount of the toxin, but

31:49

it can't actually make us sick, whereas that it's so

31:51

interesting, yes.

31:52

Yeah, yeah, so in

31:54

and this is still a major problem around the world.

31:57

The WJO reported that in twenty eighteen,

32:00

twenty five thousand newborns died from

32:02

neonatal tetanus. That

32:04

is a huge number. Yeah,

32:07

but that number, twenty five thousand was

32:09

a ninety seven percent drop from

32:11

nineteen eighty eight, when seven hundred

32:13

and eighty seven thousand babies

32:16

died within their first month of life from

32:18

tetanus.

32:19

Oh my god, erin in nineteen

32:21

eighty eight, that's the year I was born.

32:23

Yeah,

32:25

there's more, there's more. These vaccines protect

32:28

you FROMPHS protesis.

32:30

So this is protestis is.

32:32

The last in our tee dap trio detap.

32:35

Sorry see I have written detap

32:39

in my head wants to say tea dap okay

32:42

protestas.

32:43

So this protestis is.

32:44

A bacterial disease caused by Bordetella

32:47

protessis. This is another airborne

32:49

infection. It's spread when someone talks, sneezes,

32:51

or coughs, and symptoms can include fever,

32:54

running nose, and the characteristic

32:57

hacking cough of this infection that gives

32:59

it its their name whooping cough. Protesses

33:02

can turn into a very serious

33:04

illness, especially in infants, and this

33:07

disease remained a major killer in

33:09

childhood for many parts of the world

33:11

into the mid twentieth century, with the

33:13

case fatality rate of around ten percent.

33:17

Antibiotics aren't very effective

33:19

against protessis, even though this is a bacterial

33:21

infection, and antibiotics are mostly

33:23

used just to reduce the spread

33:26

of the disease, not reduce the severity

33:28

of an individual infection Like that's what they're

33:30

most effective against.

33:31

Yeah, preventing other people in the community

33:33

who are unvaccinated or under vaccinated

33:36

from getting sick.

33:37

Yes.

33:38

A study from the CDC showed that kids

33:40

not vaccinated against protessis or

33:42

sixteen times more likely to

33:45

get the infection compared to vaccinated

33:47

kids. Within a few

33:49

decades of the protest's vaccine being

33:51

introduced, mortality rates dropped

33:53

around ninety percent.

33:55

Wow. Yes, yeah.

33:57

And since babies can't get the protesters

33:59

vavaccine right at birth, they are super

34:02

vulnerable to this infection, which is why

34:04

pregnant people get the vaccine during

34:06

the last weeks of their pregnancy and

34:09

why it's so important to be vaccinated,

34:11

to be up to date on your vaccines if you're

34:13

going to be spending time near a newborn.

34:15

Yeah, yep, got to get those

34:18

chots next next

34:20

day.

34:21

And there's so many more, so many two

34:23

months well child check. I love I

34:25

love doing this. By the way, this is filling, this

34:27

is yeah.

34:28

I just I just love that like this

34:31

we have we're naming all these really

34:33

scary things and there

34:35

were also there are ways to prevent them from

34:37

right.

34:38

We're not just saying these are scary things. We're

34:40

saying these are scary things that we protect

34:42

against. When your child is two months

34:44

old, yes, protected two months

34:46

yep.

34:47

Like Hemophilus influenzae type

34:50

B, so this is also known as hibs

34:53

bacteria that can cause severe respiratory

34:55

infections, especially in children under five

34:57

years of age. These bacteria are

35:00

common residence of our respiratory tract

35:02

and in most people they don't cause any disease. They're

35:04

just part of our microbiome. But

35:06

if a baby or a child gets exposed,

35:09

HIB can cause severe invasive

35:11

disease. So what does that mean. It means

35:14

meningitis, it means pneumonia, it means

35:16

severe ear infections, epiglottitis,

35:19

even sepsis. Complications

35:21

of infection such as deafness, blindness,

35:24

cerebral palsy, and hydrocephalus

35:26

happened at high rates. So

35:28

there was a study that looked at the global

35:30

burden of HIB infections prior

35:32

to the vaccine and found that more

35:35

than five hundred and twenty thousand children

35:38

died of HIB infections every

35:41

year.

35:42

Wow, every year, that's

35:44

a half a million babies. Yes globally

35:48

ugh.

35:49

Yes. Between twenty twenty

35:51

fifteen, the vaccine has been estimated

35:53

to save over one point two million

35:56

children from dying of HIB, which is a decline

35:58

of ninety percent and again,

36:00

like with protessis, diphtheria and tetanus,

36:02

this is not an infection where you can rely on

36:04

antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance

36:07

has become a real issue with hib

36:09

and the search for and effective medication

36:12

can cost you precious hours.

36:13

Yeah, and especially with meningitis

36:16

or with epiglottitis, which is very that's

36:18

an infection of like your

36:21

throat that basically makes it so that you can't

36:24

breathe. It like blocks

36:26

off your track yet so that you cannot breathe. So it's it's

36:28

very severe if it's not treated

36:30

right away. Yeah, So

36:33

antibiotic resistance is super scary.

36:35

Yep. But there's a vaccine.

36:36

But there's a vaccine, just

36:38

as there is a vaccine for pnumococcal

36:41

conjugates. So this vaccine protects

36:43

against a bacterium Streptoccus deemonia

36:45

that's commonly found in people's respiratory tracts,

36:48

kind of like hib who don't appear sick, and

36:50

it's also transmitted it just lives there. And

36:52

this one is also transmitted via the respiratory

36:55

route, and infants and young

36:57

children are especially susceptible to severe

36:59

disease from this bacterium. And

37:01

like hibs. Strep pneumonia can cause pneumonia,

37:04

meningitis, sinus infections, ear infections,

37:06

bacteremia, and sepsis.

37:08

Yeah.

37:09

The deployment of these vaccines between twenty

37:11

and twenty fifteen reduced deaths

37:14

globally due to strep pneumonia

37:16

by fifty one percent.

37:18

Yeah. Again, antibiotic resistance.

37:20

Is a growing concern that makes these vaccines

37:23

ever more important.

37:24

This one also really hits home for me because

37:27

the Newmaccco conjugate vaccine wasn't

37:29

approved for kids until the year two thousand

37:32

and In nineteen eighty eight, my

37:34

older brother got meningitis from

37:37

newmacaccle from Streptoccus pneumonia

37:40

and almost died, did not die,

37:43

lost his hearing completely. So

37:45

it's like very much

37:47

a reality that's not that long ago.

37:49

It's like that was the year.

37:51

That I was born. So these

37:53

and I mean, we get pneumonia and

37:55

things. These bacteria circulate everywhere

37:58

all the time. So the fact

38:00

that we have this vaccine is phenomenal.

38:02

It is. Yeah, it is amazing, And

38:07

we have more and we have more polio

38:11

polio.

38:11

Polio is caused by poliovirus,

38:14

sure is it is. This virus

38:16

is transmitted through the air like coughing

38:18

or sneezing, and through the fecal oral root.

38:21

Those who aren't symptomatic can still

38:23

shed virus into the environment and infect

38:26

others. Polio can cause fever,

38:29

fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiff

38:31

neck, and classically

38:33

can sometimes progress to paralysis

38:35

that is usually permanent. Paralysis

38:38

can be so extreme that five

38:40

to ten percent of people who have this

38:43

symptom can die as a result.

38:45

Yeah.

38:46

There is no.

38:46

Treatment, none,

38:49

none for polio. None.

38:51

There is only prevention via

38:53

vaccination. In the US,

38:55

In nineteen fifty two, which is the year before

38:58

the vaccine was introduced, there were more

39:00

than fifty seven thousand polio

39:03

cases, twenty one thousand

39:05

paralytic, and three thousand fatal

39:08

in the US and the US alone.

39:11

In twenty twenty three, zero

39:14

cases in the US. Yeah, yep,

39:17

and similar amazing improvements

39:19

have been seen around the world. In nineteen

39:21

eighty eight, when the global campaign to eliminate

39:23

polio started, three hundred and fifty

39:26

thousand people globally were paralyzed

39:28

due to polio. Since then, cases

39:31

have dropped ninety nine percent.

39:33

It's amazing, it is amazing,

39:36

so close and yet so far from eradication

39:39

of polio.

39:39

I know it's hard to because it's environmental

39:42

contamination and all that stuff.

39:43

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

39:45

So most of all of those vaccines

39:47

that we've had so far require

39:50

multiple doses to provide enough

39:52

protection. So as

39:54

we're going through our childhood vaccine schedule,

39:57

the next well child check is

39:59

usually yet four months, and

40:01

at that visit you actually get all those

40:03

same ones that we just talked about, minus

40:06

hepatitis B.

40:07

You don't need a third dose of hepatitis B quite

40:09

yet, okay.

40:11

And then again at the sixth month visit,

40:14

you'll get a third dose of that de

40:16

TAP, another dose of that pneumonia,

40:19

the newmococcal vaccine, another

40:22

dose of the polio vaccine,

40:24

and a third dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.

40:27

And then, depending on like vaccine manufactures,

40:29

because there's a few different types, there might be another

40:31

dose of HIB, there might be another dose

40:33

of the rotavirus, or sometimes you don't

40:35

need those, depending on which ones you got,

40:38

which one your doctor's off has had. But

40:41

at six months old is also when

40:43

babies are finally old enough to get their flu

40:45

and covid shots. So

40:48

Aaron, we all know about this one right,

40:51

most people.

40:51

Are familiar with both of these, I think,

40:54

but we'll just go over them again.

40:56

Yeah. COVID, right, I think we.

40:58

All know, we all do?

41:00

We know? Yeah, y'all know.

41:01

We all know. COVID is caused by stars

41:03

COVID two coronavirus, and at

41:06

this point in time, it has caused over seven

41:08

hundred and seventy seven million

41:10

reported cases worldwide since twenty

41:13

twenty probably.

41:13

Five years, okay, nine even five years, and

41:16

it.

41:16

Has killed over seven million people since twenty

41:18

twenty. And this of course continues to circulate

41:20

and cause significant morbidity and mortality.

41:23

Yep, yep, that's covid influenza.

41:27

Of course, we know, you know, we

41:29

know Influenza. It's also caused

41:31

by a respiratory virus causes

41:33

seasonal outbreaks, and in the

41:36

US in the twenty twenty four to twenty twenty

41:38

five season so far, as

41:40

of the week of February twenty second, influenza

41:43

has already resulted in ninety

41:46

eight pediatric deaths and has caused

41:48

at least thirty seven million illnesses,

41:51

four hundred and eighty thousand hospitalizations,

41:53

and twenty one thousand deaths

41:56

overall from flu season so

41:58

far. In the US alone,

42:02

I actually can't.

42:04

Like, those numbers are so astounding to me. It's been

42:06

a very bad flu season, a

42:08

very bad flu season, but like still, yeah,

42:11

oh goodness, yep, So.

42:14

That's fluent COVID.

42:15

You're eligible for those at six months

42:18

during flu season. Obviously it might you might

42:21

be older if it's not flu season. Anyways, after

42:24

six months in the US, on our schedule,

42:26

there usually aren't any other vaccines at

42:29

the nine month well baby visit, which is typically

42:31

the next time that you'll see your doctor, unless

42:33

you missed any of your vaccines. So

42:36

then the next round of vaccines is at

42:38

twelve months of age, and

42:40

at this visit there'll be a few of our old

42:42

faves. Now you'll get either

42:45

your third or fourth dose, your final dose

42:47

of HIB whether it was three or four, depends on

42:49

the manufacturer, the fourth dose

42:51

of the newmacccle vaccine, and

42:53

then three very important

42:56

vaccines that a baby hasn't gotten yet.

42:58

That's mmrzels, mumps, your

43:00

bella verisala, chicken

43:02

pox, and hepatitis A.

43:05

So erin take it away.

43:07

Let's start with MMR right, please,

43:10

Okay, let's start with the first m which I

43:12

am designating measles.

43:14

It is always measles.

43:15

Yeah, I mean it was the first of

43:17

these vaccines to be developed.

43:19

Oh okay, that makes sense. Yeah, it is the

43:22

big one.

43:23

It is the big one. Yeah, and so yes,

43:25

measles is the first M in the MMR

43:27

combo vaccine, and it's caused

43:29

by a virus, the most contagious

43:32

virus ever discovered.

43:33

Period period one.

43:35

Infected person can transmit the virus

43:38

to fourteen to eighteen susceptible

43:41

people.

43:41

You'll probably know what do.

43:43

You get that?

43:45

That means for every one person who

43:47

has measles, fourteen

43:50

to eighteen people will get infected

43:53

from that one person if they're all

43:55

not vaccinated.

43:56

Yep, yeah, this the

43:59

are not I think that most of us are now familiar with

44:01

that term thanks to COVID. Yeah,

44:03

fourteen eighteen.

44:04

Yep.

44:05

It is staggering. It is staggering.

44:08

Measles is airborne, and infectious

44:11

particles can hang out in the air for

44:13

hours, even after the infectious person

44:15

has left. Infected individuals

44:18

can spread measles to others before symptoms

44:20

appear, which also contributes to its contagiousness.

44:24

These symptoms include a runny nose, cough,

44:26

red watery eyes, and the classic rash

44:29

starting on the face and neck and then spreading

44:31

throughout the whole body. Measles

44:34

is not a mild illness. It can

44:36

lead to complications such as blindness,

44:38

encephalitis, ear infections, pneumonia,

44:41

and death. Even if a child's

44:43

course of illness seems minor, Measles

44:46

can induce immune amnesia, which

44:48

makes their immune system forget how

44:51

to fight off infections that they've previously

44:53

been exposed to, and this leaves them

44:55

vulnerable to other pathogens.

44:58

It wrecks you, It

45:00

really really does.

45:02

Before the measles vaccine was developed in

45:04

the nineteen sixties, this infection was one

45:06

of the most dreaded childhood

45:09

infections and has throughout history

45:11

led to enormous death tolls,

45:13

especially in more isolated communities or

45:15

ones under oppressive colonial rule

45:18

like Fiji, which in eighteen seventy

45:21

five, as you heard in our firstan account,

45:23

lost a quarter of its population

45:25

to measles.

45:26

A quarter of its population.

45:29

Before the vaccine was introduced in nineteen

45:31

sixty three, the measles virus caused

45:34

an estimated two point six

45:36

million deaths each

45:38

year globally, two point six

45:40

million every year.

45:43

I yeah, it's you can't you can't

45:45

wrap your head around that, ye, kind of just

45:47

destruction.

45:48

Between two thousand and twenty twenty

45:50

three, the measles vaccine as estimated

45:53

to have prevented sixty.

45:55

Million deaths due to measles.

45:57

Sixty million deaths that didn't

45:59

happen because we had this vaccine.

46:01

Right, And that's not even just like that's not infections,

46:03

because there's plenty of other complications that can

46:06

arise just after an infection. That's

46:08

sixty million people who are alive

46:10

today because they had a measles

46:13

vaccine.

46:15

And because measles is so infectious,

46:18

is so contagious, vaccine coverage has

46:21

to be really high to prevent outbreaks

46:23

and thus deaths, and unfortunately

46:25

that isn't always achieved due to access

46:27

and or choice, and each year

46:29

the death toll remains high. The

46:32

WHO estimates that over

46:34

one hundred and seven thousand people, mostly

46:37

unvaccinated or under vaccinated children

46:40

under five, died of the disease

46:42

in twenty twenty three alone. That's so

46:44

sad, so many children.

46:47

Yeah, and this is why measles infections

46:50

often serve as a canary in the coal

46:52

mine, because that indicates that

46:54

vaccination coverage has waned, and

46:56

we'll talk more about the current outbreak

46:58

that's ongoing seems to be

47:01

growing in the US. We'll talk about that next

47:03

week. And I think just

47:05

to really hammer home how infectious

47:07

measles is and how much the vaccine

47:10

protects you, there was a study

47:12

from Johns Hopkins that found that unvaccinated

47:15

children between the ages of

47:17

five and nine were one hundred

47:19

and seventy times more likely

47:21

to contract measles compared to their vaccinated

47:23

peers.

47:24

Yeah, I mean, the measles vaccine

47:26

is incredibly effective. Like one single

47:29

dose is like ninety three percent effective, and two

47:31

doses is like ninety seven percent effective.

47:33

Yes, like it is. It is incredible.

47:36

It is incredible. Yeah, yeah,

47:39

Okay, moving on to the next m

47:42

which is mumps. So the other this is the other

47:44

m in MMR. Mumps is

47:46

also a viral infection. It's transmitted via

47:48

direct contact or airborne particles.

47:51

Symptoms include body aches, headache, general

47:53

cruddy feeling, low grade fever, and often

47:56

these like big painful swellings

47:58

of the prodded salvary glands.

48:00

Down here, yeah, down here.

48:03

Mumps can also lead to swelling of the testes

48:06

and ultimately infertility.

48:07

Yeah.

48:08

Before the vaccine, mumps used to be incredibly

48:10

widespread, and during World War II, the

48:13

US Surgeon General called it one of the most

48:15

disabling infectious diseases among

48:17

new recruits. It really spreads well

48:19

in a crowd, as do most diseases, many

48:21

disease. Yes, Since

48:24

the introduction of the vaccine in the late nineteen sixties,

48:26

mumps cases have declined over ninety

48:29

nine percent. Wow, over ninety

48:31

nine percent since its introduction in nineteen

48:33

sixty seven.

48:34

That's incredible, Aaron, It is all

48:36

right.

48:37

Moving on to R This is rubella

48:39

the R and MMR Lubella

48:42

is also caused by a virus transmitted

48:44

also through airborne droplets. Symptoms

48:46

can consist of rash, fever,

48:49

nausea, conjunctivitis, and swollen lymph glands

48:51

behind the ears and in the neck. For most

48:53

people who get infected, the illness is mild

48:55

and self contained. But this

48:57

virus poses a huge risk

49:00

to pregnant people. This virus

49:02

can cross the placenta and infect the fetus,

49:04

which in eighty percent of cases

49:07

will result in the death of the fetus

49:09

or congenital Rubella syndrome, Yeah,

49:12

which is very severe, very severe

49:14

before the rubella vaccine was developed,

49:17

cases of rubella numbered into the millions.

49:20

For instance, in the US, in the

49:22

nineteen sixty three to nineteen sixty five

49:24

rubella epidemic, there were twelve

49:26

and a half million cases of

49:29

rubella in the US alone, in the US

49:31

alone, leading to twenty thousand

49:34

cases of congenital rubella syndrome,

49:36

eleven thousand miscarriages and therapeutic

49:39

abortions, and two thousand

49:41

newborn deaths.

49:42

Jeez, Louise Aaron yep.

49:45

Just in a couple short years, Just a couple

49:47

of years, yeah, right, and right before the vaccine

49:49

came out. And since the introduction

49:52

of the vaccine in nineteen sixty six, cases

49:54

of rubella, congenital rubella syndrome,

49:56

and miscarriage and neonatal death attributable

49:59

to rebella have declined sharply

50:01

in countries that have incorporated the vaccine into

50:03

their schedule. Yeah, all

50:06

right, MMR is done.

50:08

Far.

50:09

I'm sorry, Press the way you just breezed through

50:12

all that air, I mean,

50:15

the numbers way heavily. I know they do,

50:17

don't they?

50:19

All right, there's more. Next is Vericella.

50:22

So Veriicella is also known as chicken

50:24

pox. It's an infection caused by the Veriicella

50:27

zoster virus. It's spread through the air

50:29

from respiratory secretions or from the fluid

50:31

of skin lesions, and also direct contact.

50:34

Symptoms include fever, a general creddy

50:37

feeling, and of course the classic itchy chicken

50:39

pox rash which sucks.

50:41

It sucks, can confirm

50:43

speaking from experienced

50:46

the vaccine. Oh, I do remember, yeah,

50:49

And then I remember I think that I think my mom said

50:51

we had appointments to get our chicken

50:53

pox vaccine or something. It was like the year I

50:55

think that the vaccine came out,

50:57

but then we just got sick instead.

51:00

I'm older than you, so my

51:03

one hole. But

51:08

you know, I think chicken pox. We have this idea of it

51:10

potentially as this like mild infection, but

51:12

it is not right. Here are severe

51:15

complications that can arise after

51:17

chicken pox infection or during chicken pox infection.

51:20

And these things can be like secondary bacterial

51:23

infections, pneumonia, encephalitis,

51:26

and permanent nerve damage or visual

51:28

impairment. Newborn's,

51:30

elder adults, and immunocompromised individuals

51:32

are especially at risk of severe infection

51:35

with this virus and even if you

51:37

have a mild infection in childhood,

51:39

the virus will hide out in your nerve cells

51:42

where it can become reactivated later

51:44

in life and cause shingles. Before

51:47

the vaccine was introduced, vericella caused

51:49

and estimated four million cases

51:51

in the US alone every

51:54

year, leading to ten thousand, five

51:56

hundred to thirteen thousand, five hundred

51:58

hospitalizations and one hundred to

52:00

one hundred and fifty deaths, primarily

52:02

in children. Yeah, access

52:05

and uptake of this vaccine is not very

52:07

high globally, and so we do still see

52:09

a substantial number of cases and complications.

52:12

One hundred and forty million infections with four

52:14

point two million hospitalizations

52:16

and four th two hundred deaths

52:18

around the world each year.

52:22

Again hard to take.

52:23

In, Hard to take in, erin a

52:25

last at disappointment, Last

52:27

disappointment.

52:28

Hepatitis a HEPA

52:31

like HEPB is a viral infection that affects

52:33

the liver. It's spread fecal orally, often

52:36

through food or water contaminated with the feces

52:38

of someone who is infected with the virus.

52:41

Symptoms include things like fever, feeling

52:43

cretdy, appetite, loss, diarrhea, nausea,

52:45

jaundice dark urine. Usually

52:47

this infection is self limited, but it can

52:50

progress to fulminent hepatitis, which can lead

52:52

to death. There is no treatment

52:54

for hepatitis A.

52:56

None. None.

52:58

But even though a vaccine has

53:00

been available since nineteen ninety five, global

53:02

cases of hepatitis A have been on the

53:05

rise, with nearly one hundred and sixty

53:07

million infections estimated in twenty

53:09

nineteen.

53:10

Yeah, huge number, huge number.

53:12

And this rise is in part due to

53:14

the vaccine not being included in

53:17

routine immunizations in many countries which

53:19

often have high rates of the disease.

53:21

Yeah, so that

53:24

was a lot, But

53:27

that is also the vast majority

53:29

of all of the childhood vaccines

53:32

because by your twelve month visit, they're

53:34

almost all done. Yay, because

53:37

by twelve months, your baby is strong enough to kick

53:39

when you try and give them their shots.

53:42

Just saying.

53:44

Usually at the fifteen month visit there's a

53:46

fourth dose of the d TAP. That's

53:49

usually when that one is given, and then at

53:51

eighteen months is when you'll get the second dose

53:53

of hepatitis A. That's a two dose vaccine

53:55

series. But after that, after

53:58

that eighteen months, it's annual

54:00

flu in covid shots until

54:03

a kid reaches school age, which is

54:05

four to six depending on when you start

54:07

school, and to enter kindergarten,

54:10

kids will get a couple of other shots.

54:12

They're all just booster doses essentially

54:14

of the shots that they've already gotten. So it's

54:17

a fifth dose of the d TAP, a

54:19

fourth dose of the poliovirus,

54:22

and a second dose of mmr and vericella,

54:25

which sometimes can be given as one MMRV

54:28

shot, So cool combined in one.

54:30

Combo shots are great.

54:31

I love combo shots. I wish we had more of

54:33

them. Then

54:36

during the rest of most of the rest of elementary

54:39

school, it's just annual flu

54:41

in COVID like just like what adults

54:44

get, until

54:46

age eleven to twelve years old, which

54:48

is when kids will get their first

54:50

dose of t DAP. We've

54:53

said we'll mention it. It's

54:55

basically just a different version of DTaP.

54:57

It has like slightly different concentrations of things,

55:00

okay, but t DApp has

55:02

a booster for tetanus as well as protessis

55:05

and the diphtheria in there. And

55:07

then they'll also get

55:09

two vaccines they haven't gotten yet,

55:12

and that is HPV and

55:14

the meninjacccle vaccine. So Aarin

55:17

tell us about these to close us

55:19

out on the childhood vaccination schedule.

55:21

You know, I am so passionate about the HPV

55:24

vaccine. It's it's yeah,

55:27

so life saving, it is so life I

55:29

mean they all are r I

55:31

know, yes, but.

55:32

I think it's because this one is the most recent for

55:34

us, and so it feels like must.

55:36

And it's also like uphill battle because of the

55:38

way it was marketed, et cetera, et cetera.

55:40

Yes, well it prevents cancer, which is so

55:42

cool. All right, Sorry,

55:45

we're getting ahead of ourselves.

55:46

HPV, also known as human papillomavirus,

55:49

is of course a virus a group of viruses

55:51

that cause cervical cancer and also

55:54

warts. This group of viruses

55:56

caused nearly seven hundred thousand

55:59

cases of cancer globally in.

56:01

Twenty nineteen twenty nineteen.

56:03

One year, including all cases

56:05

of cervical cancer that were tested, and

56:08

also upwards of eighty percent of

56:10

anal cancers, up to fifty percent

56:12

of penile cancers, thirty percent

56:14

of orofer angeal cancers, also

56:16

vulgar and vaginal cancers, lourngeal

56:19

cancer, and more. Cervical

56:21

cancer alone caused an estimated

56:23

three hundred and fifty thousand deaths

56:25

in twenty twenty two. This

56:28

is a preventable can.

56:30

Cancer, Yes, preventable cancer

56:33

and so many I think that also gets under

56:36

attension, yes, not enough

56:38

attention is the array of cancers

56:40

that can cause so many other

56:43

times, I mean eighty percent of all anal cancers

56:45

HPD associated.

56:46

Yes, Hello, vaccination

56:49

lastination all right, Meninja

56:51

cockle.

56:52

So the menina coccle vaccine

56:54

protects against a bacterium

56:56

known as Niceria meningititis, and

56:59

this bacteria can cause severe

57:01

infections, mostly meningitis and

57:03

bloodstream infections. These are most

57:05

common in children and adolescents. It

57:08

is spread by respiratory droplets, and an estimated

57:10

five to ten percent of people carry

57:12

this bacterium in their nose without it causing

57:14

illness.

57:15

Just hangs out, just hangs out there.

57:17

But when it does cause illness, it is

57:19

often very severe, and even

57:22

with antibiotic treatment, about ten

57:24

to fifteen percent of cases result in

57:26

death. Yeah, yep. It

57:28

has also been on the rise in the US since

57:30

at least twenty twenty one, with an estimated

57:32

four hundred and thirty eight cases of invasive

57:34

meningococcal disease in the US alone

57:37

in twenty twenty three, and antibiotic

57:40

resistance is on the rise.

57:42

Yeah, me, Ninjococcus is

57:44

no joke. It is no joke.

57:46

Yes, but that is

57:49

the childhood vaccine schedule.

57:52

I also feel like.

57:53

We should mention, or maybe I want to mention, is

57:56

that if you didn't get one of

57:58

these vaccines as a child, or if you didn't

58:01

get them as the number of doses

58:03

that we just mentioned, talk to your

58:05

doctor. Yeah, and because these

58:07

are not like things that you can only

58:09

get in a narrow window. Even with HPV,

58:11

they're expanding the age.

58:14

It's up to forty two.

58:15

Now you can get it covered by insurance up to

58:17

age forty two for HPV vaccine used to only be twenty

58:19

six. The new macacco vaccine

58:21

didn't really exist when a lot of us that

58:23

were adults were kids. And so we're that's also

58:25

recommended for adults either over

58:28

a certain age or if you have asthma or other

58:30

commorbidities. So, yeah, like all of these vaccines,

58:33

talk to your healthcare providers because

58:35

yeah.

58:36

If you're not sure if you were vaccinated,

58:38

like, yeah, exactly.

58:41

Love it. Okay, So it

58:43

was a lot. It was a lot.

58:44

Yeah, we just ran through what feels like

58:46

a million, a million different vaccines

58:49

and diseases, and you know, we've

58:51

got all these facts and numbers that are swirling

58:53

around in our heads. Yeah, it's

58:55

a lot to take in.

58:56

It can't be And we wanted to.

58:58

Go through each of the disease is in the childhood

59:01

vaccine schedule so that there's a sense

59:03

of what each vaccine protects you from

59:05

and what life was like or

59:08

what life is like without these vaccinations.

59:11

Because we have a short memory as a society,

59:14

most of us have never met someone who

59:16

was paralyzed from polio, or whose child

59:19

died of measles, or who lost their

59:21

pregnancy due to a rubella infection. And

59:24

thank goodness for that, right Like that.

59:26

Is amazing that we can

59:28

say that, yes.

59:30

Vaccines are in part a victim of their own success.

59:33

They have been so effective in preventing

59:36

disease and death that we take them for granted.

59:39

Tragedies are obvious, we can

59:41

easily observe them, we can see them,

59:44

but a tragedy averted is nearly

59:46

invisible. If you look around.

59:48

A high school graduation in the US in the

59:50

nineteen thirties, you would immediately

59:52

see the impact of polio, crutches,

59:55

wheelchairs, empty chairs. But

59:57

if you do the same thing today, you'd

1:00:00

don't see how many kids are alive

1:00:02

and healthy and excited to start their future

1:00:04

lives because of vaccines, because

1:00:06

they didn't die or suffer permanent injury

1:00:08

from polio or measles, or rubella or

1:00:11

vericella or hybrid eptheria or tetanus

1:00:13

or so many other vaccine preventable diseases.

1:00:16

It's actually like genuinely making me cry.

1:00:18

I know, it's like because

1:00:20

that's an image we don't ever think about looking

1:00:22

around us and thinking how

1:00:25

incredible it is that we are all here and

1:00:27

alive.

1:00:28

Yes, and I

1:00:30

mean it's not we do. We just

1:00:32

take it for granted.

1:00:33

We take it for granted so

1:00:35

so much.

1:00:36

Yeah.

1:00:36

And also in this country, we take

1:00:38

it country.

1:00:39

Especially because that's not true everywhere.

1:00:41

It's not.

1:00:42

Yeah, in the US,

1:00:45

in and other high income countries. Vaccines

1:00:48

have given us profound freedom

1:00:50

from infectious disease, and one

1:00:52

of the greatest tragedies is that people use

1:00:54

that freedom to choose not to vaccinate

1:00:58

and hopefully.

1:00:59

With our disease by disease.

1:01:00

Shpiel of the facts. You know. We've

1:01:02

shown you how deadly these diseases can

1:01:05

be without vaccines, and why vaccines

1:01:07

are the best way to ensure your child's

1:01:09

health. But not every

1:01:11

person can be vaccinated, or

1:01:14

not every child who is vaccinated

1:01:16

actually mounts an immune response. Vaccines

1:01:20

don't just protect you, they

1:01:22

also protect your community. When

1:01:24

enough people in a community are vaccinated,

1:01:27

these diseases can't spread. That's

1:01:29

called herd immunity. But this herd

1:01:31

immunity only works when a certain

1:01:33

proportion of the population is vaccinated.

1:01:36

As that proportion declines, as it has

1:01:39

done in recent years, that leaves more

1:01:41

people vulnerable to infection and

1:01:43

allows outbreaks to happen. Speaking

1:01:46

specifically about the US, although I'm sure

1:01:48

that this applies elsewhere as well. We

1:01:51

are infected with this idea

1:01:54

of total freedom. It is what

1:01:56

we deserve, it is what we have.

1:01:59

This is a free country, mean me,

1:02:01

yes, protect you. It's like the

1:02:03

people in your immediate circle,

1:02:06

like that's yeah, right, we

1:02:08

should be able to do whatever we want, whenever

1:02:11

we want, just like no consequences.

1:02:13

Right. But that is simply not true.

1:02:15

That is not true.

1:02:16

It is false. It is not the reality

1:02:19

of the world.

1:02:20

No by living in

1:02:22

a society by driving

1:02:24

on the roads, the public roads that we drive

1:02:26

on, but everything we

1:02:29

have to abide by certain rules, by

1:02:31

a social contract. We should

1:02:33

want what's best not just for ourselves,

1:02:36

but also for our neighbor. We're

1:02:38

not on our own. We all depend

1:02:40

on each other, and we are affected by the choices

1:02:43

that we make, both individually and

1:02:45

collectively. And what we need to do

1:02:47

is reconnect with the truth that vaccines

1:02:49

are a big part of what gives us this

1:02:51

freedom. They don't take it away.

1:02:53

Right because vaccines

1:02:56

are preventing against diseases

1:02:59

that spread through populations.

1:03:01

They're not something that just affects

1:03:03

an individual. Yes, they

1:03:06

are not the same as a lot of

1:03:08

other medical choices that

1:03:10

people make.

1:03:11

Mm hmmm yeah.

1:03:13

And to bring it all the way back to what we

1:03:15

said at the top of this episode, we understand,

1:03:18

We understand the fear, the hesitancy,

1:03:21

the confusion, the shame. This

1:03:23

is not an easy thing to navigate when

1:03:25

the overwhelming amount of conflicting

1:03:28

information that is out there about

1:03:30

this topic makes it really hard

1:03:32

to know what to do, makes it really hard

1:03:35

to sift through to find

1:03:37

quality information and then recognize

1:03:39

it when we find it. How do we even

1:03:41

know that that is quality equality.

1:03:44

Source, especially because most of the quality

1:03:46

information is hard to read, hard

1:03:48

to get through, yep, and TikTok

1:03:51

videos are snappy. Not

1:03:54

to again, I'm not just blaming TikTok.

1:03:56

I don't know, are you though, Eric, No, But

1:04:00

one of the biggest battles in this is just knowing

1:04:03

who you can trust and where to find

1:04:05

this information. And so I

1:04:07

think on that note, I

1:04:09

would like to bring it to the sources

1:04:11

that we used for this episode, and.

1:04:13

Let's prove you can trust us.

1:04:15

Yeah,

1:04:19

Aaron, I have like one million and one

1:04:21

sources for them.

1:04:22

That's wonderful.

1:04:23

I don't have as many as I expected, but I

1:04:26

also have a million old episodes

1:04:28

that we did that I went back to my notes on

1:04:30

so.

1:04:31

Yes, largely, I would say, just like

1:04:33

to not go through these million and one I

1:04:35

used a lot of the for the individual

1:04:38

diseases. I used a lot of the who

1:04:40

website has a great for

1:04:42

most of the diseases, great websites for

1:04:45

pre vaccine mortality rates, and

1:04:48

also like the symptoms, what this

1:04:50

vaccine does when it was developed, all these

1:04:52

types of things. And then also I

1:04:54

found really just broadly speaking,

1:04:57

there's a paper from twenty

1:04:59

twenty four from the Lancet

1:05:02

and I'm going to find it right now,

1:05:05

and it is by Shaddock

1:05:07

at All, twenty twenty four and

1:05:09

it is titled Contribution of Vaccination

1:05:12

to Improved Survival and Health Modeling

1:05:14

fifty years of the Expanded Program

1:05:16

on Immunization And just as like a

1:05:18

bottom line of this,

1:05:20

this paper found that since

1:05:23

nineteen seventy four, vaccination

1:05:26

has averted one hundred and fifty four million

1:05:29

deaths around the world. Wow,

1:05:31

And that includes one hundred and forty six million

1:05:34

deaths among children younger than five.

1:05:37

So vaccination saves

1:05:40

lives millions and million, millions

1:05:43

and millions of lives.

1:05:45

I also use the World Health Organization

1:05:48

and the CDC for a bunch of

1:05:50

things, including like the side Effects from

1:05:52

Vaccines. We'll link to that site that they

1:05:54

have.

1:05:55

The paper though, that

1:05:57

I.

1:05:57

Wanted to give a shout out to, was from two

1:06:00

twenty twenty one in the

1:06:02

journal Vaccines, called Vaccine

1:06:04

Technologies and Platforms for Infectious Diseases,

1:06:07

Current Progress, Challenges and Opportunities

1:06:09

has a lot more deep dive on the different types

1:06:11

of vaccines and what we use and why

1:06:14

we use it, and those kinds of things, which I think is really

1:06:16

helpful. But we have a lot,

1:06:18

a lot more sources, so

1:06:20

we'll post all of them from

1:06:22

this episode and all of our other

1:06:24

episodes on our website, this podcast

1:06:27

will kill You dot Com under the episodes tab check

1:06:29

it out.

1:06:29

We certainly will check it out. Thank

1:06:33

you to Bloodmobile for providing the music for

1:06:35

this episode and all of our episodes.

1:06:37

Thank you so much. Thank you to

1:06:39

Tom Brifogel and Leona Scilacci for the

1:06:42

incredible audio mixing. Thank

1:06:44

you to Brent and Pete and the entire video

1:06:46

editing team.

1:06:47

Love you, thank

1:06:49

you too, exactly right. And thank

1:06:52

you to you listeners.

1:06:54

Yes, thank you for listening. Thank you for

1:06:56

tuning in. Thank you for watching I thank you for

1:06:58

watching.

1:06:58

If this is a video, it's so really weird.

1:07:01

Yeah, and a special thank you

1:07:03

to our patrons. We appreciate your support

1:07:06

so so very much. It really

1:07:08

does mean.

1:07:08

So much to us, it really does. Thank you.

1:07:11

Well. Until next time, wash

1:07:13

your hands, you filthy animals.