Defeating the Ministers of Death

by David Isaacs

  John Walker-Smith: Walker-Smith v General Medical Council. [2012] EWHC 503 (Admin) Case No: CO/7039/2010; Dyer C. Co-author of Wakefield paper on MMR vaccine wins his appeal against decision by GMC to strike him off. BMJ 20122; 344: e1745, www.bmj.com/content/344/bmj.e1745.

  Measles mmunisation rates: Measles notifications and deaths in England and Wales: 1940 to 2016. Public Health England. www.gov.uk/government/publications/measles-deaths-by-age-group-from-1980-to-2013-ons-data/measles-notifications-and-deaths-in-england-and-wales-1940-to-2013; McBrien J et al. Measles outbreak in Dublin, 2000. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2003; 22: 580–4; Zelinski A. Number of unvaccinated children has soared. Houston Chronicle, 13 April 2017, www.houstonchronicle.com/news/local/article/number-of-un-vaccinated-children-has-soared-11071051.php.

  Rotavirus: Soares-Weiser K et al. Vaccines for preventing rotavirus diarrhoea: vaccines in use. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2012: 11; CD008521; Australian Government Department of Health. The Australian Immunisation Handbook. 10th ed. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 2015, 4.17.11, Rotavirus, Adverse effects, www.immunise.health.gov.au/internet/immunise/publishing.nsf/Content/Handbook10-home~handbook10part4~handbook10–4-17#4.17.11; Kassim P, Eslick GD. Risk of intussusception following rotavirus vaccination: an evidence based meta-analysis of cohort and case-control studies. Vaccine 2017; 35: 4276–86.

  OPV versus IPV: Tucker AW et al. Cost-effectiveness analysis of changing from live oral poliovirus vaccine to inactivated poliovirus vaccine in Australia. Aust NZ J Public Health 2001; 25:411–6.

  CHAPTER 12: The modern anti-immunisation movement

  Jenny McCarthy: Offit P. Autism’s False Prophets: Bad Medicine, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 2008.

  MMR immunisation in the United States: National Center for Health Statistics: immunization. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/immunize.htm.

  Andrew Wakefield in the United States: Whipple, T. Who is Andrew Wakefield and what’s his link to Donald Trump? The Times, 8 May 2017.

  Donald Trump: Trump DJ. Tweet, 28 March 2014, twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/449525268529815552?lang=en; Freedman A. Trump decries ‘tremendous increase’ in US autism cases. But it’s not so simple. Mashable, 15 February 2017, www.yahoo.com/news/trump-decries-tremendous-increase-u-221230113.html.

  Autism: Kanner L. Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child 1943; 2: 217–250.

  George Bernard Shaw: Shaw GB. The Doctor’s Dilemma, Getting Married, and the Shewing-Up of Blanco Posnet. New York: Brentano’s, 1911.

  Julie Leask: Attwell K, Leask J et al. Vaccine rejecting parents’ engagement with expert systems that inform vaccination programs. Bioethical Enquiry 2017; 14: 65, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11673– 016–9756–7; Leask J et al. Should we do battle with antivaccination activists? Public Health Res Pract 2015; 25: e2521515, www.phrp.com.au/issues/march-2015-volume-25-issue-2/should-we-do-battle-with-antivaccination-activists; Dunn AG, Surian D, Leask J et al. Mapping information exposure on social media to explain differences in HPV vaccine coverage in the United States. Vaccine 2017; 35: 3033–40, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X17305522.

  Pru Hobson-West: Hobson-West P. ‘Trusting blindly can be the biggest risk of all’: organised resistance to childhood vaccination in the United Kingdom. Sociol Health Illn 2007; 29: 198–215, dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467–9566.2007.00544.x.

  Vaccines and immune system stimulation: Higgins JPT et al. Association of BCG, DTP, and measles containing vaccines with childhood mortality: systematic review. BMJ 2016; 355: i5170, www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5170.long; Kandasamy R et al. Non-specific immunological effects of selected routine childhood immunisations: systematic review. BMJ 2016; 355: i5225, www.bmj.com/content/355/bmj.i5225

  HPV immunisation in Japan: Hanley SJ et al. HPV vaccination crisis in Japan. Lancet 2015; 385: 2571.

  HPV immunisation in France: Lefèvre H et al. HPV vaccination rate in French adolescent girls: an example of vaccine distrust. Arch Dis Child 2018; 103: 740–6, adc.bmj.com/content/103/8/740.

  HPV immunisation in the United States: Udesky L. Push to mandate HPV vaccine triggers backlash in USA. Lancet 2007; 369: 979–80; Knox R. HPV vaccine: the science behind the controversy. NPR, 19 September 2011, www.npr.org/2011/09/19/140543977/hpv-vaccine-the-science-behind-the-controversy; national Center for Health Statistics: immunization. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/immunize.htm.

  HPV immunisation in Australia: Coverage data. National HPV Vaccination Program Register, www.hpvregister.org.au/research/coverage-data.

  Katie Couric: Jaslow R. Katie Couric admits disproportionate reporting on HPV vaccine controversy. CBS News, 10 December 2013, www.cbsnews.com/news/katie-couric-hpv-vaccine-show-criticism-valid/; Couric K. Furthering the conversation on the HPV vaccine. Huffpost, 10 December 2013, www.huffingtonpost.com/katie-couric/vaccine-hpv-furthering-conversation_b_4418568.html?1386687305.

  Merck: Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Too fast or not too fast: the FDA’s approval of Merck’s HPV vaccine Gardasil. J Law Med Ethics 2012; 40: 673–81.

  Trust: Birkhäue J et al. Trust in the healthcare professional and health outcome: a meta-analysis. PLoS One 2017; 12: e0170988, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5295692/pdf/pone.0170988.pdf.

  Hepatitis B immunisation in France: Ascherio A et al. Hepatitis B vaccination and the risk of multiple sclerosis. N Engl J Med 2001; 344: 327–32; Le Houézec D. Evolution of multiple sclerosis in France since the beginning of hepatitis B vaccination. Immunol Res. 2014; 60: 219-25, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4266455/.

  CHAPTER 13: Immunisation and ethics

  Hippocrates: Lloyd GER (ed), Chadwick J (transl). Hippocratic Writings. London: Penguin Classics, 1950.

  Bioethics: Kerridge I, Lowe M, Stewart C. Ethics, Law and the Health Profession. 4th ed. Sydney: Federation Press, 2013.

  Nazi doctors: Annas GJ, Grodin MA (eds). The Nazi Doctors and the Nuremberg Code. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.

  Tuskegee Study: Jones JH. Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. New York: The Free Press, 1993; US Public Health Service syphilis study at Tuskegee: presidential apology. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 May 1997, www.cdc.gov/tuskegee/clintonp.htm.

  Willowbrook experiments: Fansiwala K. The duality of medicine: the Willowbrook State School experiments. The Review & Debates, 20 February 2016, www.thereviewatnyu.com/all/2016/2/20/the-duality-of-medicine-the-willowbrook-state-school-experiments.

  Vaccines developed from aborted foetuses: Luño AR. Ethical reflections on vaccines using cells from aborted foetuses. National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 2006; 6: 453–9, www.ncbcenter.org/index.php/download_file/force/178/159/; Vatican statement on vaccines derived from aborted human foetuses. Immunization Action Coalition, www.immunize.org/concerns/vaticandocument.htm.

  Tom Beauchamp and Jim Childress: Beauchamp TL, Childress JF. Principles of Biomedical Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1977.

  John Stuart Mill: Mill JS. On Liberty. London: John W Parker & Son, 1859, ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mill/john_stuart/m645o/index.html.

  Hepatitis B intervention: Isaacs D. Children have rights, too. J Paediatr Child Health 2009; 45: 627–8, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440–1754.2009.01620.x/full; Isaacs D et al. Ethical issues in preventing mother-to-child transmission of hepatitis B by immunisation. Vaccine 2011; 29: 6159–62.

  Rabies interventions: Hampson K et al. Rabies exposures, post-exposure prophylaxis and deaths in a region of endemic canine rabies. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2008; 2: e339, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2582685/.

  2017 European measles outbreaks: Measles continues to spread and take lives in Europe. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, 11 July 2017, www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2017/measles-continues-to-spread-and-take-lives-in-europe; Measles outbreaks still ongoing in 2018 and fatalities reported from fo
ur countries. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 9 March 2018, ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/measles-outbreaks-still-ongoing-2018-and-fatalities-reported-four-countries.

  Belgium polio case: Stafford N. Belgian parents are sentenced to prison for not vaccinating children. BMJ 2008; 336: 348, www.bmj.com/content/336/7640/348.1.full.

  No Jab No Play/Pay: No Jab No Play, No Jab No Pay policies. National Centre for Immunisation Research & Surveillance, www.ncirs.edu.au/consumer-resources/no-jab-no-play-no-jab-no-pay-policies/.

  Northern New South Wales tetanus case: MacKenzie B. Vaccination debate flares on NSW north coast after 7yo contracts tetanus. ABC News, 16 March 2017,www.abc.net.au/news/2017–03–17/tetanus-girl-not-vaccinated-say-health-authorities/8362722.

  Indiana hospital case: Lupkin S. Eight hospital employees fired for refusing flu vaccines. ABC News (United States), 3 January 2012, abcnews.go.com/Health/indiana-hospital-fires-nurses-refusing-flu-shot/story?id=18116967.

  Vaccine injury compensation schemes: National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Health Resources & Services Administration, www.hrsa.gov/vaccine-compensation/index.html; Looker C, Kelly H. No-fault compensation following adverse events attributed to vaccination: a review of international programmes. Bull WHO 2011; 89: 371–8, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3089384/; Isaacs D. Should Australia introduce a vaccine injury compensation scheme? J Paediatr Child Health 2004; 40: 247–9.

  CHAPTER 14: Overcoming the iniquity of poverty

  Immunisation statistics: Immunization. World Health Organization, www.who.int/topics/immunization/en/.

  WHO Expanded Programme on Immunization: The immunization programme that saved millions of lives. Bull WHO 2014; 92: 314–5, www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/5/14–020514/en/.

  Halfdan Mahler: De Leeuw E. A tribute to Dr Halfdan Mahler, 1923– 2016. Health Prom Int 2017; 32: 1, academic.oup.com/heapro/article/32/1/1/2964736.

  UNICEF: Adamson P et al. Jim Grant: UNICEF Visionary. Geneva: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, 2001, www.unicef.org/french/publications/files/Jim-Grant-LR.pdf; United Nations Children’s Fund, World Health Organization. Immunization Summary: A Statistical Reference Containing Data Through 2011. New York: United Nations Children’s Fund, 2012, www.unicef.org/immunization/files/En-ImmSumm-2013.pdf;UNICEF people: Danny Kaye. UNICEF, www.unicef.org/people/people_danny_kaye.html.

  March of Dimes: Rose D. A history of the March of Dimes, March of Dimes, 26 August 2010, www.marchofdimes.org/mission/a-history-of-the-march-of-dimes.aspx.

  Rotary: Our foundation. Rotary, www.rotary.org/en/about-rotary/rotary-foundation; You’ve probably never heard of Clem Renouf – but his idea changed the world. I Boost Immunity, iboostimmunity.com/articles/youve-probably-never-heard-clem-renouf-his-idea-changed-world; End polio. Rotary, my.rotary.org/en/take-action/end-polio.

  Bill and Melinda Gates: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, www.gatesfoundation.org/; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, www.gavi.org/.

  HPV immunisation: Millions of girls in developing countries to be protected against cervical cancer thanks to new HPV vaccine deals. Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, 9 May 2013, www.gavi.org/library/news/press-releases/2013/hpv-price-announcement/; Gallagher KE et al. Status of HPV vaccine introduction and barriers to country uptake. Vaccine 2018; 36: 4761–7, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X18301671?via%3Dihub.

  Hepatitis B immunisation: Hepatitis B, World Health Organization, www.who.int/immunization/diseases/hepatitisB/en/.

  Measles immunisation: Measles, World Health Organization, www.who.int/immunization/diseases/measles/en/.

  Cameron government: Heppell T, Lightfoot S. ‘We will not balance the books on the backs of the poorest people in the world’: understanding Conservative Party strategy on international aid. Political Q 2012; 83: 130–8; Cameron D. David Cameron: why we’re right to ringfence the aid budget. Guardian, 12 June 2011,www.theguardian.com/global-development/2011/jun/11/david-cameron-defends-aid-funding.

  Paul Wilson report: Wilson P. Giving Developing Countries the Best Shot: An Overview of Vaccine Access and R&D. Oxfam International, Médecins Sans Frontières, 2010, www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/giving-developing-countries-best-shot-vaccines-2010–05.pdf.

  Meningococcal C vaccine: Trotter CL et al. Effectiveness of meningococcal serogroup C conjugate vaccine 4 years after introduction. Lancet 2004; 364: 365–7, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140–6736(04)16725–1/fulltext.

  PATH: Better health moves humanity forward. PATH, www.path.org/about/index.php.

  Meningitis Vaccine Project: Kiffay T et al. The evolution of the Meningitis Vaccine Project. Clin Infect Dis 2015; 61 (Suppl 5): S396–403, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4639496/.

  Meningococcal A immunisation in Chad: Daugla DM et al. Effect of a serogroup A meningococcal conjugate vaccine (PsA–TT) on serogroup A meningococcal meningitis and carriage in Chad: a community study. Lancet 2014; 383: 40–7, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140–6736(13)61612–8/fulltext.

  Immunisation coverage: Immunization coverage. World Health Organisation, www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs378/en/.

  CHAPTER 15: Immunisation into the future

  Top 10 causes of death: The top 10 causes of death. World Health Organization, www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death.

  Effective use of vaccines: Investing in Immunisation Through the GAVI Alliance: The Evidence Base, Geneva: GAVI Alliance, 2012, www.gavi.org/library/publications/the-evidence-base/investing-in-immunisation-through-the-gavi-alliance---the-evidence-base/.

  Malaria: Gomes PS et al. Immune escape strategies of malaria parasites. Front Microbiol 2016; 7: 1617,www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5066453/.

  HIV: Naughtie A. HIV ‘invisibility cloak’ allows virus to evade immune system. The Conversation, 7 November 2013, theconversation.com/hiv-invisibility-cloak-allows-virus-to-evade-immune-system-19918; Understanding how HIV evades the immune system. Science Daily, 21 February 2017, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170221110654.htm.

  Malaria statistics: Malaria. World Health Organization, www.who.int/malaria/en/.

  HIV statistics: HIV. World Health Organization, www.who.int/hiv/en/.

  Dementia statistics: Dementia: A Public Health Priority. Geneva: World Health Organization, Alzheimer’s Disease International, 2012, www.who.int/mental_health/neurology/dementia/en/.

  Dementia vaccines: Marciani DJ. A retrospective analysis of the Alzheimer’s disease vaccine progress – the critical need for new development strategies. J Neurochem 2016; 137: 687–700, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.13608/epdf; Pasquier F et al. Two phase 2 multiple ascending-dose studies of vanutide cridificar (ACC-001) and QS-21 adjuvant in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2016; 51: 1131–43, content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-alzheimers-disease/jad150376; novak P et al. Safety and immunogenicity of the tau vaccine AADvac1 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial. Lancet Neurol 2017; 16: 123–34, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474442216303313?via%3Dihub.

  Helicobacter pylori: Ming Z et al. Efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of an oral recombinant Helicobacter pylori vaccine in children in China: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial. Lancet 2015; 386: 1457–64, www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140–6736(15)60310–5.pdf; Muljono DH. In conversation with Barry Marshall: using pathogens to help humans. The Conversation, 30 March 2016, theconversation.com/in-conversation-with-barry-marshall-using-pathogens-to-help-humans-56153.

  Edible vaccines: Concha C et al. Disease prevention: an opportunity to expand edible plant-based vaccines? Vaccines (Basel) 2017; 5: 14, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5492011/.

  Nasal RSV vaccine: Neuzil KM. Progress toward a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine. Clin Vaccine Immunol 2016; 23: 186–8, cvi.asm.org/content/23/3/186.full.

  Jet injectors: Resik S et al. Needle-free jet injector i
ntradermal delivery of fractional dose inactivated poliovirus vaccine: association between injection quality and immunogenicity. Vaccine 2015; 33: 5873–7, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X15008725?via%3Dihub; Jackson L et al. Safety and immunogenicity of varying dosages of trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine administered by needle-free jet injectors. Vaccine 2001; 19: 4703–9, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X01002250?via%3Dihub; Canter J et al. An outbreak of hepatitis B associated with jet injections in a weight reduction clinic. Arch Internal Med 1990; 150: 1923–7, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/613868.

  Microneedles: Pearson FE et al. Functional anti-polysaccharide IgG titres induced by unadjuvanted pneumococcal-conjugate vaccine when delivered by microprojection-based skin patch. Vaccine 2015; 33: 6675–83, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X15015248?via%3Dihub; Van der Maaden K et al. Microneedle technologies for (trans)dermal drug and vaccine delivery. J Control Release 2012; 161: 645–55, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168365912000740?via%3Dihub; Raphael AP et al. Formulations for microprojection/microneedle vaccine delivery: structure, strength and release profiles J Control Release 2016; 225: 40–52, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168365916300220?via%3Dihub; Rouphael nG et al. The safety, immunogenicity, and acceptability of inactivated influenza vaccine delivered by microneedle patch (TIV-MNP 2015): a randomised, partly blinded, placebo-controlled, phase 1 trial. Lancet 2017; 390: 649–58, www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)30575-5/fulltext.