Dr. Gottman

02/11/2026

A series.

Antivaxxer: “It is the vaccinated shedding their live virus from the vaccine for a month after injection. They are causing outbreaks.”

Facts:

This claim is incorrect. Measles outbreaks are not caused by vaccinated individuals shedding vaccine virus. A systematic review of 773 articles found no evidence of human-to-human transmission of measles vaccine virus among thousands of genotyped clinical samples worldwide.[1] Measles outbreaks are driven by unvaccinated individuals, not vaccine recipients.[2][3][4]

While vaccine virus RNA can be detected in the respiratory tract of recently vaccinated individuals (typically 7-21 days post-vaccination), there is no evidence this leads to transmission. Studies in both children and macaques detected vaccine virus RNA but found no transmission to unvaccinated contacts.[5] When PCR testing detects measles in recently vaccinated individuals, it represents vaccine virus detection, not wild-type measles that can spread.[6][7]

The epidemiologic evidence clearly demonstrates that unvaccinated individuals drive measles transmission. Analysis of U.S. measles cases from 2001-2016 showed that among imported cases, 87% were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.[2] During the 2019 U.S. outbreaks, an important contributing factor was misinformation about vaccine safety in underimmunized communities.[2] More recently, 96% of measles cases in the U.S. through May 2025 involved persons who were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status.[3]

Vaccinated individuals who develop breakthrough measles infections are 3-4 times less infectious than unvaccinated cases. The reproduction number (R) for vaccinated cases is approximately 0.10 compared to higher values for unvaccinated individuals.[8] Studies from outbreak settings confirm that vaccinated cases have significantly lower odds of onward transmission (OR 0.41-0.44) compared to unvaccinated cases.[9] In a Japanese workplace outbreak, no onward transmission from vaccinated cases was documented.[10]

The evidence is unambiguous: vaccine refusal, not vaccination, is associated with measles outbreaks. Unvaccinated children with exemptions are 22-35 times more likely to contract measles than vaccinated children, and among recent U.S. measles cases with known reasons for non-vaccination, 70.6% had nonmedical exemptions.[4]

References

1. A Systematic Review of Human-to-Human Transmission of Measles Vaccine Virus. Greenwood KP, Hafiz R, Ware RS, Lambert SB. Vaccine. 2016;34(23):2531-6. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2016.03.092.

2. Measles. Strebel PM, Orenstein WA. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2019;381(4):349-357. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1905181.

3. Measles 2025. Do LAH, Mulholland K. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2025;393(24):2447-2458. doi:10.1056/NEJMra2504516.

4. Association Between Vaccine Refusal and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases in the United States: A Review of Measles and Pertussis. Phadke VK, Bednarczyk RA, Salmon DA, Omer SB. JAMA. 2016;315(11):1149-58. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.1353.

5. Detection of Live Attenuated Measles Virus in the Respiratory Tract Following Subcutaneous Measles-Mumps-Rubella Vaccination. Watkins TA, Brockhurst JK, Germain G, Griffin DE, Foxman EF. The Journal of Infectious Diseases. 2025;231(4):1089-1093. doi:10.1093/infdis/jiae537.

6. Implications of Measles Inclusion by Commercial Syndromic Polymerase Chain Reaction Panels - United States, May 2022-April 2023. Thomas CM, Hartley A, Schmitz A, et al. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2024;73(12):260-264. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7312a3.

7. Shedding of Measles Vaccine RNA in Children After Receiving Measles, Mumps and Rubella Vaccination. Washam MC, Leber AL, Oyeniran SJ, Everhart K, Wang H. Journal of Clinical Virology : The Official Publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology. 2024;173:105696. doi:10.1016/j.jcv.2024.105696.

8. Factors Associated With Measles Transmission in the United States During the Postelimination Era. Gastañaduy PA, Funk S, Lopman BA, et al. JAMA Pediatrics. 2020;174(1):56-62. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.4357.

9. Onward Transmission of Measles Virus Among Vaccinated Cases in a Large Community Outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand, 2019. Evans I, Jury S, Morrison A, et al. Vaccine. 2024;42(23):126257. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2024.126257.

10. Epidemiology of a Workplace Measles Outbreak Dominated by Modified Measles Cases at Kansai International Airport, Japan, During August-September 2016. Kobayashi A, Shimada T, Tanaka-Taya K, et al. Vaccine. 2020;38(32):4996-5001. doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.05.067.

👉

02/01/2026

We all need to stand up for the truth …

When political campaigns spread misinformation about our state’s healthcare, we will set the record straight — especially when it comes to Medicaid in Montana.

Fact: Zero people testified in support of legislation to end Medicaid expansion.

Medicaid is essential to keeping vital healthcare services available and small-town hospital doors open across our state. Montanans deserve facts, not fear.

02/01/2026

I appreciate Dr. Rossome's sense of humor.

The mental gymnastics it must take to actually believe this would be too exhausting for me…

01/28/2026

Just doubling up and doubling down on the AAP recommended immunization schedule.

Doctors and physician organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics are ignoring the CDC's new vaccination recommendations. Medical professionals argue that the science hasn’t changed, and neither will their recommendations. They vow to continue to use science-based, long-established vaccine recommendations.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/26/health/vaccine-recommendations-cdc-aap



Donate
https://immunizeusa.salsalabs.org/donatetotip2025/index.html

01/28/2026

American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a vaccine schedule backed by clinical evidence. The CDC's schedule .... not so much.

All blue states (those with Democratic governors) have departed from new federal guidelines on childhood vaccines, while four states (AK, MS, NH, and VT) with Republican governors have also done so for at least some.

As of January 20, 28 states, including D.C., say they won’t follow the new CDC childhood vaccine recommendations for at least some childhood vaccines, instead relying on prior recommendations, state recommendations, or those of external organizations.

Our expert explains: https://on.kff.org/4b82tDQ

01/09/2026

I love graphs, partly because math and statistics can be visually demonstrated.

01/06/2026

Truth

I’ve been getting a lot of questions asking where you should be getting your vaccine information and Vaccine Schedules given what is currently occurring with the RFK Jr., the HHS, the CDC, and this administration as a whole.

As pediatricians, our responsibility is — and always has been — to follow the science, not politics.

Recent efforts led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to influence vaccine policy have raised serious concern within the medical community. These pushes have promoted unscientific, disproven, and dangerous narratives about vaccines that directly contradict decades of high-quality research and real-world safety data.

Because of this politicization, pediatricians, and physicans in general, no longer trust vaccine guidance coming from the CDC when it deviates from established evidence at the direction of RFK Jr. and this administration. Public health guidance must be rooted in data, transparency, and rigorous scientific review — not ideology.

In contrast, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has made a clear and public commitment to remain strictly evidence-based. The AAP continues to uphold the childhood vaccine schedule exactly as science, safety data, and decades of outcomes research have shown to be most effective and safest for children.

At this time, the American Academy of Pediatrics is the only organization I personally recommend to families for accurate, trustworthy information about vaccines and the pediatric immunization schedule. Their recommendations are developed by pediatric experts, grounded in peer-reviewed research, and focused solely on protecting children — not appeasing political agendas.

Children deserve science.

Parents deserve honesty.

And medicine must remain guided by evidence — not misinformation.

👇🏻👀👇🏻 See comments for the link to the evidence-based, trustworthy, vaccine schedule from the AAP.

📣 SAME OLD DISCLAIMER: I will not tolerate any antivax comments or any misinformation regarding vaccines on my page and anyone commenting with such will be deleted and banned without warning (including fake questions/comments meant to disguise the true agenda - I see through this). I’m happy to post links from reputable sources as additional information but I WILL NOT engage with science deniers, especially on this topic.

12/08/2025

One of my recent pet peeves is the phrase "Prove me wrong ..." The onus is not on others to prove you wrong, it is upon you to prove yourself right. The phrase is used as a form of academic laziness by individuals not willing to do the actual research, or that can't actually prove their point, as this clip will show.

11/26/2025

I couldn't help myself. I laughed out loud. Second post tonight. I might retire from facebook now. Just kidding!

11/26/2025

Every healthcare provider knows that nurses are professionals. And damn good ones at that.

Nurses are professionals. Yet the Department of Education’s proposed definition of “professional degree” programs excludes nursing, which will restrict access to federal loans essential for advanced practice education.

At a time of historic workforce shortages, this threatens the future of safe, high-quality patient care.

Stand with nurses. Sign the petition today at the link in our bio or visit https://americannurs.es/professional-degree-petition

10/26/2025

Happy Halloween!!
Signed, Wilson

09/29/2025

RSV can be a truly nasty virus, leading to hospitalizations or worse. The RSV vaccine is a true blessing.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that affects the breathing system and causes symptoms like runny nose, cough, and sore throat. This JAMA Pediatrics Patient Page describes RSV in children and how to prevent its spread. https://ja.ma/4npEinK