Malcolm Gladwell

Yeah. If I told you you had a drug under development that had efficacy data where there was a 50X difference between treatment and control, what word would come out of your mouth?

Yeah. If I told you you had a drug under development that had efficacy data where there was a 50X difference between treatment and control, what word would come out of your mouth?

And now that Safi knew what we were talking about, it was time to see if he could answer my little puzzle. A puzzle connected to the co-inventor of Rototech, a man named Paul Offit. I want to read to you, now that we've done this, I want to read to you from a book. I'm going to have to tell you who wrote it, but it's someone in a position of real authority in the world.

And now that Safi knew what we were talking about, it was time to see if he could answer my little puzzle. A puzzle connected to the co-inventor of Rototech, a man named Paul Offit. I want to read to you, now that we've done this, I want to read to you from a book. I'm going to have to tell you who wrote it, but it's someone in a position of real authority in the world.

The best evidence indicates that Dr. Offit's rotavirus vaccine causes negative net public health impacts. In other words, Dr. Offit's vaccine almost certainly kills and injures more children in the United States than the rotavirus disease killed and injured prior to the vaccine's introduction.

The best evidence indicates that Dr. Offit's rotavirus vaccine causes negative net public health impacts. In other words, Dr. Offit's vaccine almost certainly kills and injures more children in the United States than the rotavirus disease killed and injured prior to the vaccine's introduction.

Do you want to guess who wrote that?

Do you want to guess who wrote that?

Oh, Safi, you win the prize. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. This episode is the very strange story of Rodotech, a vaccine that every American infant is supposed to get three times in their first eight months of life.

Oh, Safi, you win the prize. My name is Malcolm Gladwell. You're listening to Revisionist History, my podcast about things overlooked and misunderstood. This episode is the very strange story of Rodotech, a vaccine that every American infant is supposed to get three times in their first eight months of life.

or rather, the very strange campaign waged against Rodotech by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the man in charge of every aspect of health, medicine, and research in the United States. If you are the parent of small children in the developed world in the 21st century, Diarrhea is not high on your list of things you worry about.

or rather, the very strange campaign waged against Rodotech by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the man in charge of every aspect of health, medicine, and research in the United States. If you are the parent of small children in the developed world in the 21st century, Diarrhea is not high on your list of things you worry about.

But that was not true of your parents when you were a child. Or your parents' parents. Or anyone else, for that matter, going back as far as human beings go. Particularly those living in the poorest parts of the world. This is what it used to be like.

But that was not true of your parents when you were a child. Or your parents' parents. Or anyone else, for that matter, going back as far as human beings go. Particularly those living in the poorest parts of the world. This is what it used to be like.

This is Vishwajit Kumar, a pediatrician and public health researcher in Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest states in India, remembering his days as an intern in the 1980s.

This is Vishwajit Kumar, a pediatrician and public health researcher in Uttar Pradesh, one of the poorest states in India, remembering his days as an intern in the 1980s.

A small child would get sick with the rotavirus. They would run a fever. They would start vomiting. They would develop severe diarrhea as the virus wreaked havoc in their stomach and intestines. That's three sources of dehydration, suddenly and simultaneously. And if the child was far from a hospital and already malnourished, they were in trouble.

A small child would get sick with the rotavirus. They would run a fever. They would start vomiting. They would develop severe diarrhea as the virus wreaked havoc in their stomach and intestines. That's three sources of dehydration, suddenly and simultaneously. And if the child was far from a hospital and already malnourished, they were in trouble.

The best estimates at the time were the children in developing countries had between four and eight episodes of severe diarrhea in their first five years of life, each lasting from two to ten days. For Dr. Kumar, this meant a giant room full of shrunken infants, two and sometimes three to a bed.

The best estimates at the time were the children in developing countries had between four and eight episodes of severe diarrhea in their first five years of life, each lasting from two to ten days. For Dr. Kumar, this meant a giant room full of shrunken infants, two and sometimes three to a bed.