In this photo, a patient receives a vaccine known as the Jynneos vaccine, which is used to combat mpox. Although vaccines are the safest, most beneficial public health intervention in history (other than perhaps safe drinking water and sanitation), many have recently questioned both their safety and efficacy. (Credit: Christian Emmer/Creative Commons)
For centuries, vaccines have been the top life-saving, expert medical intervention known to humans. How can individuals make the right call?
The United States used to be a very different place not so long ago. When a new child was born and was first taken to the doctor, the doctor would talk the parents through a schedule of expected care for the first few months and years of the newborn’s life. That expected care included, importantly a schedule for vaccines: a series of inoculations, given at pre-set times in a child’s development, that would protect them against diseases that had ravaged humanity for generations prior. This included protections against diseases such as:
