In 2002, Dan Rather did a report for 60 Minutes on “The Most Dangerous Vaccine.”
Can you guess which vaccine he was reporting on?
Which Vaccine Is the Most Dangerous?
You are thinking his report was about MMR, the so-called “autism shot,” right?
“And then the nurse gave my son that shot. And I remember going, “Oh, God, no!” And soon thereafter I noticed a change. The soul was gone from his eyes.”
It was around the time that the “media’s MMR hoax” was in high gear.
“Whatever you think about Andrew Wakefield, the real villains of the MMR scandal are the media.”
Ben Goldacre on The MMR story that wasn’t
But 60 Minutes had already done a segment on “The MMR Vaccine” with Andrew Wakefield back in 2000.
No, this story was about the smallpox vaccine.
And if you had to rank vaccines from safest to most dangerous, then yes, you could say that the original smallpox vaccine, the one with the most side effects, is the most dangerous.
Fortunately, that very same smallpox vaccine helped eradicate smallpox and few of us need to even think about getting a smallpox vaccine. It is still given to some folks in the military though and is available if necessary.
The story was about a plan to vaccinate many more people, including hospital workers. At the time, there was a worry about terrorist attacks using smallpox.
“Here’s another way to do it. We can make the vaccine. Make sure we understand who’s going to get it, who’s going to be giving it. Then wait, wait for there to be one case of documented smallpox somewhere on the face of this earth and then we can move into vaccinating people, large numbers of people.”
Paul Offit, MD
Not everyone was on board with the plan though. Dr. Offit, for one, didn’t think that it was a good idea to start vaccinating people for a threat that we didn’t know would appear, especially since the older smallpox vaccine had more side effects than other, more modern vaccines.
Again, that doesn’t mean that the smallpox vaccine is dangerous.
Smallpox is dangerous and deadly. If there is a risk that you could get smallpox, then you would much rather have the smallpox vaccine, even with its side effect profile.
And fortunately, a new attenuated smallpox vaccine, Imvamune, is also available and has less side effects. Two other smallpox vaccines, ACAM2000 and APSV, which are similar to the original DryVax vaccine that was used in the US, are also still being used until Imvamune is formally approved by the FDA.
Vaccine preventable diseases are dangerous.
While they aren’t 100% without risk, vaccines, from rotavirus to HPV, are safe and necessary.
What To Know About the Most Dangerous Vaccine
All vaccines are safe and effective, but if you had to rank them, the original smallpox vaccine would be the most dangerous because it has the most side effects.
More on the Most Dangerous Vaccine
- CDC – Who Should Get the Smallpox Vaccine
- CDC – Smallpox Vaccination Strategies
- CDC – Smallpox Vaccines
- WHO – Safety of smallpox vaccines
- The Most Dangerous Vaccine
- D-Day For Bush’s Smallpox Strategy
- The media’s MMR hoax
- The MMR story that wasn’t
- CMPI Responds to Katie Couric and CBS Evening News’ Coverage of Vaccines and Autism Myth
- How the Media Fed the Anti-Vaccine Movement
- The Autism-Vaccines Myth: The Impact of the Media
- CMPI Responds to Katie Couric and CBS Evening News’ Coverage of Vaccines and Autism Myth