5 Needs context
The swine flu vaccine caused side effects, complications, deaths, and Guillain-Barré syndrome.
"There was a problem with the swine flu vaccine where it was a problem and it caused a lot of side effects and complications and deaths and Guillain-Barré syndrome, which is paralysis. It was not a good situation, and that was in the '80s." (said at 0:11:05)
The host is correct that the US swine flu vaccination campaign was halted after surveillance detected a significant increase in cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), a rare immune-mediated condition that causes acute flaccid paralysis and can lead to death. However, this historic event occurred in 1976 (under the Ford administration), not the 1980s. Approximately 45 million people were vaccinated before the campaign was suspended due to the excess GBS risk (estimated at roughly 1 per 100,000 vaccinees).
Vioxx was removed from the market after research by Dr. Steven Nissen at the Cleveland Clinic demonstrated an increased risk of heart attacks.
"And then there are, you know, in medicine there are cases where there have been scientists who've questioned or doctors who question things like Vioxx, which is a one of the most powerful anti-inflammatory drugs we've ever had. And and Steve Nissen at Cleveland Clinic actually, who I know very well, is an brilliant guy. And he's like, gee, it seems like there may be, you know, some connection between increased heart attacks and taking Vioxx. And so he he did the research and he showed that there was a problem and it was taken off the market" (said at 0:16:40)
Dr. Steven Nissen, alongside colleagues Debabrata Mukherjee and Eric Topol at the Cleveland Clinic, co-authored a landmark 2001 analysis in JAMA showing a significant increase in adjudicated thrombotic cardiovascular events and myocardial infarctions associated with rofecoxib (Vioxx) in the VIGOR trial (RR 2.38, 95% CI 1.39–4.00). This research raised national concern regarding the drug's cardiovascular safety. Vioxx was ultimately withdrawn from the market in September 2004 following the preliminary results of the APPROVe trial, a randomized controlled trial that confirmed a significantly increased risk of myocardial infarctions and thrombotic events after long-term use.
- supports: Risk of cardiovascular events associated with selective COX-2 inhibitors. (JAMA ) · cited 1754x in the literature
"The results from VIGOR showed that the relative risk of developing a confirmed adjudicated thrombotic cardiovascular event (myocardial infarction, unstable angina, cardiac thrombus, resuscitated cardiac arrest, sudden or unexplained death, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attacks) with rofecoxib treatment compared with naproxen was 2.38 (95% confidence interval, 1.39-4.00; P =.002)." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Cardiovascular events associated with rofecoxib in a colorectal adenoma chemoprevention tr… (The New England journal of medicine 2005) · cited 2527x in the literature
"A total of 46 patients in the rofecoxib group had a confirmed thrombotic event during 3059 patient-years of follow-up (1.50 events per 100 patient-years), as compared with 26 patients in the placebo group during 3327 patient-years of follow-up (0.78 event per 100 patient-years); the corresponding relative risk was 1.92 (95 percent confidence interval, 1.19 to 3.11; P=0.008). The increased relative risk became apparent after 18 months of treatment; during the first 18 months, the event rates were similar in the two groups. The results primarily reflect a greater number of myocardial infarctions and ischemic cerebrovascular events in the rofecoxib group." (abstract, results, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi)
Measles mortality or incidence had already decreased by over 90% before the introduction of the measles vaccine in the 1960s.
"measles decreased by over 90% in 1968 when the measles vaccine came out, and it already had decreased by 90% in the population." (said at 0:37:50)
The statement conflates measles mortality with measles incidence. While measles mortality had declined significantly in the United States during the first half of the 20th century (due to improved sanitation, supportive care, and antibiotics for secondary bacterial infections), measles incidence did not decline prior to vaccination. Before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, measles was nearly universal, infecting an estimated 3.5 to 4 million Americans (and approximately 95% of children by age 15) each year. The drop in measles incidence of over 90% by 1968 occurred as a direct result of nationwide immunization campaigns following the vaccine's licensure in 1963.
- context: Benefits Due to Immunization against Measles (Public Health Reports (1896-1970) 1969) · cited 48x in the literature
"Before vaccines were widely used, this disease represented a major public health problem in the United States; an estimated 4 million cases of measles, 4,000 cases of measles encephalitis, and 400 deaths occurred each year. The isolation of measles virus in 1954 (1) led to the development of effective vaccines. With the licensure of the live virus vaccine in 1963, a means of protecting susceptible persons in the population through vaccination became available... In 1968 the estimated number of measles cases was 250,000 or about 6 percent of the estimated mean for the 10yea,r period (1953 through 1962) prec,eding immunization." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi) - context: Impact of Measles in the United States (Clinical Infectious Diseases 1983) · cited 51x in the literature
"In the early decades of the 20th century, thousands of fatal measles infections were reported each year. During the 1950s an annual average of greater than 500,000 cases of measles and nearly 500 deaths due to measles were reported in the United States. Surveys indicated that 95% of the population had been infected with measles by the age of 15 years. The introduction of measles vaccine and its widespread use, which began in 1963, has had a major impact on the occurrence of measles in the United States." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi)
All major world religions officially hold that receiving vaccines is doctrinally permissible.
"As of right now, all religions technically state that you can get vaccines and there's nothing that's problematic about it." (said at 0:57:00)
Virtually all major world religious traditions (including Roman Catholicism, mainstream Protestantism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Sunni and Shia Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism) have official theological frameworks or rulings confirming that vaccination is permissible and often praiseworthy under doctrines prioritizing the preservation of human life. However, stating that 'all religions' state this without exception or that there is 'nothing problematic' overlooks two caveats: first, several smaller faith groups and specific denominations (such as Christian Science, Faith Assembly, and certain traditionalist Dutch Reformed communities) maintain theological objections prioritizing faith healing or divine providence over medical prophylaxis; second, specific vaccine production methods and ingredients (such as porcine gelatin or historical cell lines derived from elective abortions) have raised theological debates requiring formal religious rulings and moral dispensations by authorities (such as the Vatican and Islamic jurisprudence bodies).
- context: Religious perspectives on Vaccination: Mandatory Covid-19 vaccine for SA Churches (Pharos Journal of Theology 2021) · cited 14x in the literature
"Despite the fact that few religious groups oppose vaccination for a variety of reasons, almost all major religions in the world support vaccination as long as it complies with religious precepts for the preservation, protection, or well-being of livelihoods." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi) - context: “What is the problem with vaccines?” A typology of religious vaccine skepticism (Vaccine X 2023) · cited 24x in the literature
"The typology consists of five main types: (1) a worldview clash type, in which vaccines do not make sense as a health intervention; (2) a divine will type, which represents a form of passive fatalism; (3) an immorality type, which considers some vaccines unethical because of their production or effect; (4) an impurity type, pointing to ingredients that will defile the body; and (5) a conspiracy type, in which a vaccine plot is targeting a religious group." (abstract, results, passage verified)
openalexfull study (doi)
Mumps infection in childhood can cause male infertility or sterility.
"my stepfather had mumps when he was a kid. He was, you know, born in the '20s and ended up getting infertility and sterile because of that." (said at 1:02:37)
Mumps virus infection can cause testicular inflammation (mumps orchitis), which can lead to testicular atrophy, impaired spermatogenesis, and subfertility or infertility. However, mumps orchitis is exceedingly rare in prepubertal children and predominantly affects postpubertal adolescents and adult men (occurring in approximately 15% to 30% of postpubertal infections). Furthermore, while unilateral orchitis frequently causes temporary semen abnormalities or partial atrophy, permanent complete sterility is uncommon and typically associated only with severe bilateral orchitis.
- context: The increasing incidence of mumps orchitis: a comprehensive review. (BJU international 2010) · cited 116x in the literature
"There has been a recent increase in mumps orchitis among pubertal and postpubertal males... Unvaccinated postpubertal males diagnosed with mumps virus frequently develop complications such as mumps orchitis. Therefore, it is important that urologists are familiar with the diagnosis, treatment and complications of this condition. Here we review the epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostic methods, treatment options and complications of mumps orchitis, as a complication of mumps virus, with particular emphasis on testicular atrophy, subfertility and infertility." (abstract)
pubmedfull study (doi) - supports: Viral threat to male fertility. (Andrologia 2018) · cited 139x in the literature
"Certain virus types of these viruses, such as mumps virus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), may severely damage the testes and consequently lead to male infertility." (abstract, passage verified)
pubmedfull study (doi) - context: Mumps Orchitis: Clinical Aspects and Mechanisms. (Frontiers in immunology 2021) · cited 78x in the literature
"Mumps orchitis frequently occurs in young adult men, and leads to pain and swelling of the testis... However, a recent global outbreak of mumps and the high rate of orchitis have recently been considered as threats to male fertility." (abstract)
pubmedfull study (doi)
Unverified means no publication matching the claim was located; it does not prove the claim false. Spotted an error? See the corrections policy - disputes from the people quoted are prioritized.