By Seanna Watson 
Polio eradication: Two down, one to go. Let’s start with some good news. A wild poliovirus strain has now been declared eradicated. Poliovirus Type 3 was officially declared eradicated by the WHO in October of 2019, four years after the eradication of Type 2. Only Type 1 still remains in the wild. (Read more here .)
Unvaccinated healthcare workers put patients’ lives at risk. Dismal statistics about caregivers for some of the most vulnerable patients in Massachusetts : In the 2019 flu season, many clinics, ambulatory care facilities, dialysis centers, nursing and rest homes, and adult day health centers reported worker vaccination rates well below 90 percent, some as low as 61 percent.
Amazon-owned Whole Foods sells anti-vaccine propaganda in its checkout aisles. Several magazines available at Whole Foods locations have included articles raising unfounded concerns about the safety or efficacy of vaccines, and touting “ non-toxic ” alternatives to vaccination.
Andrew Wakefield’s fraudulent research has been thoroughly discredited — why is it still widely cited? Retraction Watch investigates the causes, and suggests changes in science communication strategies.
This article appears in the January 2020 version of Critical Links.