Chickenpox Vaccine May Backfire Causing More Adult Shingles
I was struck by a recent town hall meeting on News Nation where Dr. Tariq Butt in the crowd pronounced the efficacy of the chickenpox vaccine among others
He said to Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, that “your stance on vaccines is dangerous to the health and wellbeing of millions.”
RFK replied that vaccines should be “safety tested.” Robert F. Kennedy Jr went on to educate the moderator and Dr. Butt on childhood vaccines.
While the chickenpox vaccine did reduce the childhood rash, RFK pointed out that when the kids grow up to adults, they will face an increased risk of painful and long-lasting shingles.
The doctors stance and body language said it all as he became less assertive and self confident while hearing the side effects in addition to comments on efficacy.
I took the time to check RFK on this observation and was interested to find this paper by Rafferty et al.
There are no 50 year studies after chickenpox vaccination, so the authors relied on point estimates for shingles incidence rates through time after childhood chickenpox vaccination.
They concluded that indeed the vaccine would reduce chickenpox but only to have children pay the price with increased rates of shingles during life out to 75 years after the vaccine.
Beyond that age the rate of shingles went down presumably due to the supplemental use of the shingles vaccine or other competing risks.
What we are learning is that there is no free lunch with vaccines.
They all have risks and benefits and cannot be touted as a “good for all” public health measures.
See more here substack.com
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Tom
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More BS as all vaccines lack thorough testing and safety studies.
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T. C. Clark
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Shingrix is the shingles vaccine – better get it or regret it – shingles can be a lot of pain. I am glad the polio vaccine was required…polio is serious stuff.
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Koen Vogel
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I never was vaccinated for chicken pox, and got it – as a child – when my mom asked me to play with an infected child. It’s not serious, just annoying, and at the time the thinking was “better to get it as a child than an adult”. You can vaccinate against any disease. RFK Jr’s point seems to be where do we draw the line? Polio, measles, small pox etc are all very ugly, and likely warrant the risk of getting vaccinated. The question is now: are the vaccines a net benefit, or are they being pushed to benefit Big Pharma. In hindsight, I would have never inoculated myself or my children against chicken pox.
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