Malcolm Gladwell

Then he writes the paragraph that I read to Safi at the beginning of this episode, that the list of adverse reactions is so long that Rotatech, quote, almost certainly kills and injures more children in the United States than the rotavirus disease killed and injured prior to the vaccine's introduction.

Then he writes the paragraph that I read to Safi at the beginning of this episode, that the list of adverse reactions is so long that Rotatech, quote, almost certainly kills and injures more children in the United States than the rotavirus disease killed and injured prior to the vaccine's introduction.

Now, I have to say that at this point, things get deeply confusing, because I couldn't figure out where that number, 953 to 1,689 adverse reactions a year, comes from. In the real Anthony Fauci, Kennedy lists as his source the package insert, but those numbers aren't in the package insert.

Now, I have to say that at this point, things get deeply confusing, because I couldn't figure out where that number, 953 to 1,689 adverse reactions a year, comes from. In the real Anthony Fauci, Kennedy lists as his source the package insert, but those numbers aren't in the package insert.

We hired a fact checker with a PhD in biology, and she couldn't figure out where Kennedy's numbers come from either. Then we thought, oh, he got the numbers from VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is the government-run database where anyone can report a side effect that they think is associated with a vaccine. Keyword, think. But VAERS isn't Kennedy's source either.

We hired a fact checker with a PhD in biology, and she couldn't figure out where Kennedy's numbers come from either. Then we thought, oh, he got the numbers from VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is the government-run database where anyone can report a side effect that they think is associated with a vaccine. Keyword, think. But VAERS isn't Kennedy's source either.

We found the numbers. VAERS only has 344 reports of side effects over 15 years for all rotavirus vaccines, of which only 32 are serious, which is like miles and miles away from the massive number of problems that Kennedy's talking about.

We found the numbers. VAERS only has 344 reports of side effects over 15 years for all rotavirus vaccines, of which only 32 are serious, which is like miles and miles away from the massive number of problems that Kennedy's talking about.

And even if he just made a typo and read the numbers wrong, it still doesn't prove his case because, as the CDC says, quote, a report to VAERS does not mean a vaccine caused an adverse event, end quote. So just because a baby vomited after getting his Rotatec doesn't mean Rotatec caused the vomiting. Babies vomit all the time.

And even if he just made a typo and read the numbers wrong, it still doesn't prove his case because, as the CDC says, quote, a report to VAERS does not mean a vaccine caused an adverse event, end quote. So just because a baby vomited after getting his Rotatec doesn't mean Rotatec caused the vomiting. Babies vomit all the time.

To prove the vaccine was the cause of the side effect, you really have to dig into the data, look for patterns, or better yet, go back to the original clinical trial and see if there were any clues when the vaccine was first tested for side effects. In the case of Rotatech, the clinical trial was enormous. 12 countries, 34,000 infants were given the vaccine. 34,000 were given a placebo.

To prove the vaccine was the cause of the side effect, you really have to dig into the data, look for patterns, or better yet, go back to the original clinical trial and see if there were any clues when the vaccine was first tested for side effects. In the case of Rotatech, the clinical trial was enormous. 12 countries, 34,000 infants were given the vaccine. 34,000 were given a placebo.

The babies were followed for a full year, and absolutely every medical event that happened to them was recorded and analyzed. 68,000 babies. If, in the course of a year, the babies who got the vaccine had more complications than the babies who got the placebo, then that would raise a red flag. It would suggest, wait, maybe the vomiting was the result of the vaccine.

The babies were followed for a full year, and absolutely every medical event that happened to them was recorded and analyzed. 68,000 babies. If, in the course of a year, the babies who got the vaccine had more complications than the babies who got the placebo, then that would raise a red flag. It would suggest, wait, maybe the vomiting was the result of the vaccine.

But if there was no difference in the experience of those two groups, it would suggest any associated problems were just the kind of health problems that you'd expect to see as a matter of course in a very large group of babies. All of this data is laid out in the package insert.

But if there was no difference in the experience of those two groups, it would suggest any associated problems were just the kind of health problems that you'd expect to see as a matter of course in a very large group of babies. All of this data is laid out in the package insert.

The table is a comparison of side effects in the kids who got the vaccine and the kids who didn't.

The table is a comparison of side effects in the kids who got the vaccine and the kids who didn't.

Yeah.

Yeah.