It’s SpOokY season, and Olivia and Ariel are digging into VAERS, the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, where one doctor reported turning into the Hulk after his flu shot (and the report was accepted). Olivia explains VAERS as a smoke detector that beeps at both fires (proven vaccine injuries) and burnt toast (lots of unverified reports). She covers where VAERS came from, the real safety signals it has caught, and why raw reports are so easy to misread and easily fearmongered. Then they unpack HHS’s new push to pay doctors for reports, add a VAERS app and QR code, and expand the vaccine injury table, and what all that could set up. Olivia closes with what you should do the next time a scary VAERS number shows up in your group chat.

This episode’s good news is Philly Joy Bank, a no-strings-attached cash program for pregnant mothers in Philadelphia. Also, stick around for Ariel on the HYROX athlete who kept competing through a GI emergency (ew), plus a good ol' list of recalls.

Other Links for This Episode:

• DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! Find your local polling place.
• Measles Counts (thx RFK Jr.)
• Find all recent recalls at: https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts

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