vaccination – Dr. Pate’s blog

Polio

In my post yesterday, I alerted people that the CDC’s Advisory Committee chair – Dr. Milhoan – broadcasted that polio vaccines are likely going to be on the cutting room floor and very soon potentially. I have listened to a lot of vaccine nonsense from a small number of doctors over the past six yearsContinue reading “Polio”

We Can No Longer be Paralyzed by Indifference or Soon, Children and Young Adults will be Paralyzed by Disease

I am a hopeless romantic, an eternal optimist, and a cup half-full kind of guy. Those that have worked with me over the years, I suspect would tell you that I am not prone to exaggerating, panicking, catastrophizing, or overreaction. I value calm, emotion-free discussion, airing all points of view and giving thoughtful consideration whenContinue reading “We Can No Longer be Paralyzed by Indifference or Soon, Children and Young Adults will be Paralyzed by Disease”

It is an Unfortunate Time for Our Country to be Tolerating an Anti-Vax Administration and the Undermining of our Public Health System and Scientific Research Infrastructure

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Meeting of December 4 and 5, 2025 PART I I’ll make the connection to the poor timing in Part II, but first an explainer of what happened at the end of last week with the ACIP meeting. A vote on aContinue reading “It is an Unfortunate Time for Our Country to be Tolerating an Anti-Vax Administration and the Undermining of our Public Health System and Scientific Research Infrastructure”

What to Know About This Week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC) Meeting

Part I: The Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Varicella (MMRV) Vaccine The Issue – Children are recommended to receive a two-shot series of measles, mumps, rubella (German measles), and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines with the first dose at 12 – 15 months of age and the second dose between ages 4 – 6 years. There are twoContinue reading “What to Know About This Week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC) Meeting”

What to Know About This Week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC) Meeting

A new blog series This is my introduction of a new blog series. The blog series will first cover the three major vaccine decisions made by the committee during their meeting that spanned Thursday, September 18 and Friday, September 19. Then, I will cover how we assess vaccine safety, because a primary strategy of thoseContinue reading “What to Know About This Week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (CDC) Meeting”

The Loss of Control of Measles in the U.S.: A Harbinger of Bad Things to Come

For the past five years, we have been seeing the impacts of decades of coordinated anti-vaccine, and more generally and more recently, anti-science campaigns on a grand scale. When writing the previous sentence, I initially used the phrase “we have been seeing the end results,” but then I replaced “end results” with “impacts.” That isContinue reading “The Loss of Control of Measles in the U.S.: A Harbinger of Bad Things to Come”

Measles

What is measles? Measles is a highly contagious virus that causes infection (also called measles). Because it is so contagious, most people who have not yet been infected or vaccinated who are exposed to someone infected with the virus will develop measles. How is measles transmitted? Measles is spread by direct contact with respiratory dropletsContinue reading “Measles”