In some cases, the vaccination game is like a giant “wac-a-mole” game. You smash down one infectious disease only to have another, more powerful bug rise up in it’s place.
The Prevnar vaccination against the Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria was originally designed against just 6 of the types of this bacteria that can cause ear infections, pneumonia and meningitis.
Sounds great, right?
But, as I mentioned in the title, Mother Nature doesn’t appreciate us trying to best her.
In this particular article, research looked at what happened to the type 19A, a type of this bacteria that is harder to kill with antibiotics, when the Prevnar 7 vaccine was introduced. Here’s what they found when they looked at the bacteria hiding in 948 infants given different Prevnar vaccinatin schedules (2 doses of Prevnar-7 at age 2 and and again at 4 months; 3 doses at 2, 4, and 11 months; or no vaccinating as the control group) :
- In those who received the 3-dose vaccination schedule, there was a 75% higher risk of having the more dangerous 19A present (16.2% vs 9.2% in the unvaccinated).
- In the 2-dose schedule, these infants were 43% more likely to harbor 19A (13.2% vs 9.2%).
Luckily, after this was realized, on a white horse rode Prevnar 13, which now included the 19A. But then everyone who had been vaccinated to get vaccinated again.
Wow. I really wish I had a financial machine like this. Make billions on the first product that creates a bigger problem, than make MORE money fixing the problem they solved! And everyone thinks BP Petrolum is the evil corporate giant…