The Skeptics Society & Skeptic magazine

INSIDE SKEPTIC

in this issue

• Centuries of Sorrow
• Smallpox Scourge
• Inoculating America
• Cows to the Rescue!
• Birth of the Anti-Vaccination Movement
• Vaccine Victories—and Risks Along the Way
• Contaminated Vaccines
• Hitchhiking Viruses
• Deadly Mistakes
• Side Effects
• Anti-Vaccine Myths
• Rumors and Panic
• Measles, Mercury, and Autism
• Conspiracy Theories and COVID-19

By Daniel Loxton. This issue’s cover features a school boy receiving a measles shot in Atlanta, Georgia in 1962. (Courtesy of the CDC)

from the Introduction

Hello!

“Vaccines” are medicines we take when we’re healthy to prevent us from getting sick later. Nobody loves getting their shots. But vaccines protect you, your family, and your community. Vaccines have helped us control many serious diseases. Right now, scientists are racing to develop a safe, effective vaccine to make us immune to COVID-19. However, some people claim that a COVID vaccine might not be safe, or even that it might be some sort of trick to control us. Others say vaccines are more dangerous than doctors admit. What is the truth? Are vaccines safe or risky? Or might the truth be something in between? Let’s find out!