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KENNEDY, in interview with Sean Hannity that aired on Fox News on March 11: “There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes — it causes all the illnesses that measles itself causes, encephalitis and blindness, et cetera. And so people ought to be able to make that choice for themselves.”THE FACTS: The measles vaccine is safe and its risks are lower than the risks of complications from measles. There have been no documented deaths from the MMR vaccine in healthy, non-immunocompromised people, according to the

Most people who get the MMR vaccine have no serious problems from it, the. The most common side effects are mild: a sore arm, fever, mild rash and temporary joint pain or stiffness in teenage or adult women who don’t already have rubella immunity. There is a very small risk of febrile seizures that increases as infants get older, which is why the shot is recommended as early as possible.Some people can have allergic reactions; people allergic to the antibiotic neomycin should not get the shot,

KENNEDY, in an April interview with CBS: “We’re always going to have measles, no matter what happens, as the (MMR) vaccine wanes very quickly.”THE FACTS: The measles vaccine is highly protective and lasts a lifetime for most people. Two doses of the vaccine are 97% effective against the virus,

Before the vaccine was introduced in 1963, the U.S. saw some

per year. Now, it’s usually fewer than 200 in a normal year.While Montgomery is thrilled with Looney’s progress, he’s done most work using Revivicor pigs with just

, in a xenotransplant last April and in research with the deceased.“Our feeling is, you know, less is more,” said Montgomery, noting it’s easier to mass produce pigs with fewer gene alterations. Looney’s transplant offers a chance to compare “really how much difference those additional gene edits are making.”

In Boston, eGenesis has still another approach – a whopping 69 gene edits. In addition to 10 genetic alterations to improve human compatibility, genes linked to certain pig viruses also are inactivated.Researchers feel pressure to show if pig organs can keep people alive much longer than a few months, said eGenesis’ Curtis. If not, the question will be “do we have the right gene edits?”