May 13, 2008
The vaccine regime
Posted by Jamelle under society, the government | Tags: autism, public health, vaccines |I feel sorry for these parents - I really do - but I hope the government denies their claim:
Parents claiming that childhood vaccines cause autism should not be rewarded by the courts when the scientific community has already rejected any link, government lawyers argued Monday on the first day of a hearing in federal court.
Overall, nearly 4,900 families have filed claims with the U.S. Court of Claims alleging that vaccines caused autism and other neurological problems in their children. Lawyers for the families are presenting three different theories of how vaccines caused autism. The theory at issue Monday was whether vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal caused autism.
Lynn Ricciardella, a Justice Department lawyer, said that theory has not moved beyond the realm of speculation. She said that the Institute of Medicine and theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention have rejected any link between thimerosal and autism.
“There is no scientific debate,” Ricciardella said. “The debate is over.”
I’m a bit of a hardliner when it comes to vaccination; vaccines are responsible for the huge decreases in infant mortality and huge increases in general public health that western nations saw in the 20th century. The only reason why we don’t have thousands of deaths from recurring mumps, measles and polio epidemics is because enough people are vaccinated as to prevent the spread of infection in the event someone does contract any of those diseases. These parents - who I’m sure are resolutely anti-vaccine - are spreading a dangerous fiction by loudly claiming that vaccines are somehow responsible for developmental disorders. The more parents who believe this, then the more parents willing not to vaccinate their children, and the greater the chances for a deadly outbreak to occur.
Contrary to popular belief, vaccines don’t prevent the occurrence of a given disease, so much as they prevent outbreaks of a given disease. There will still be, for example, people who contract mumps, whether due to a weakened immune system or the fact that they are part of that five percent of the population for which vaccines don’t “take.” In order for a mumps occurrence to become a mumps outbreak (and this goes for any contagious disease) there needs to be a certain percentage of people - usually around fifteen percent - who are also susceptible to the disease within the population. What vaccines do, is ensure that we never reach that critical number, thus preventing an outbreak from occurring.
By encouraging an anti-vaccine hysteria, these parents are increasing the chances that parents decide not to vaccinate their children, and once enough children are unvaccinated, the chances of disease outbreaks (and these diseases are not pleasant) jumps exponentially. And, because not everyone is immune, these outbreaks have the potential to affect not just children, but teenagers, adults and the elderly. This anti-vaccine movement is literally putting our lives at risk. So, I hope the government denies their claim, and settles this “vaccine-autism” link once and for all. There are a few things which we must believe will work in order for modern society to function, and a public health system - with vaccines as its centerpiece - is one of them.
May 13, 2008 at 11:58 am
I’m NOT resolutely anti-vaccine, and I DO believe vaccines played a role in my child’s autism.
May 15, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Ok, as a scientist, I must jump in on this. It is my duty.
First of all, the CDC rejecting a link between mercury and autism is useless. There is too much bias here.
Secondly, ANY, and I mean ANY, study funded by a vaccine manufacturer, distributor, retailer, and/or prescriber has to be discredited due to ‘conflict of interest.’
Now, to the facts….
1. It is true that not all children that follow the CDC-recommended vaccine schedule develop autism - this however does not invalidate a link! However, as more and more vaccines are being added to the schedule with time, the numbers of kids with autism also increases.
2. Of ALL the autistic children in the USA, most, if not all, were vaccinated! so, let’s start here…most all autistic kids were vaccinated…
To study this truly, one must have two statiscally representative large populations of children (let’s say 5-10,000 children in each):
Population #1: they abide by the CDC-recommended vaccine schedule to the letter
Population #2: no vaccines during first 2-5 years of life
All other variables as constant as possible (many diet).
I hypothesize that population #1 will have a MUCH higher incidence of autism that population #2.
Mercury is toxic and will kill you. Check any material safety data sheet (MSDS) accompanying mercury containing chemicals and it will become quite clear that mercury exposure is highly dangerous and deadly. It accumulates in the body and really messes you up. Now, why the heck would anyone inject a liquid (a vaccine) that has been exposed to a mercury-containing agent into a 2 month old baby?
Aluminum: most vaccines contain aluminum metal. This is bad as well. Aluminum, like mercury, is cationic, have multiple oxidation states, can bind anions (i.e., proteins, cell surface receptors, certain enzymes, DNA, etc)and can inhibit their normal function, cause inflammation, etc. The last thing one wants to do is inhibit normal body functions in a developing baby.
3. Look at other countries who vaccine less USA:
(A) do they have a lower rate of autism? what’s in their vaccines?
4. Has the incidence of autism increased with time? The number of vaccines on the CDC schedule has increased with time and I bet so has autism.
5. People argue that the reason so many childhood illnesses has presumably been wiped out is due to the CDC vaccine schedule. Maybe but there is a fundamental saying among scientists and many Nobel Laureates:
“Correlation does not equate to causation”
I think parents should search the internet, speak with qualified doctors AND chemists (those in favor and those opposed to vaccines) and formulate their own opinion.
Keep in mind that over the years, food safety/environmental safety standards have improved vastly as well. These can easily be argued as contributing to the lower incidence of childhood diseases with time as well.
My take is that some babies and young children can physiologically handle the bad stuff that vaccines contain and do not become autistic. Others cannot handle it and develop the disease.
We must also look for the link between metals like aluminum which is in our deodorants to other neurological disorders such as Alzheimers and Parkinsons. Do the neurological systems of Alz and Parkinsons patients contain any metals? If so, which ones? what are the sources?
May 16, 2008 at 4:33 am
We recently wrote an article on a similar issue at Brain Blogger.
The days of patients blindly following doctor’s directions are over. After all, how many times do we hear that we are ultimately in charge of our own health? When it comes to parents who choose not to vaccinate their children, a study reports two types: radical (refuses everything) and reformist (selectively opt out). Especially for the reformist group, pediatricians must be able to discuss anti-vaccination issues with the parent without acting like he/she is dumb, naive, or insane. In order to convert a parent from “reformist” viewpoints, acknowledging his/her questions and concerns as valid is the first step.
We would like to read your comments on our article at our site. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Shaheen
May 27, 2008 at 3:48 pm
RE: David Williams
A responsible scientist wouldn’t accuse the CDC of a conspiracy.
Vaccine manufacturers probably don’t want to have vaccines that give children autism. It’s bad business. Either way, you can’t just automatically discredit a study because of it’s funding. Try replicating the study… or looking for others who have replicated it. And you didn’t manage to specify a particular study. Was that for a reason?
1. “However, as more and more vaccines are being added to the schedule with time, the numbers of kids with autism also increases.”
The number of food additives over time, the number of cars over time, the number of televisions over time. You are using selective reasoning to arrive at your premise.
2. “Of ALL the autistic children in the USA, most, if not all, were vaccinated! so, let’s start here…most all autistic kids were vaccinated…”
Of ALL the down syndrome children in the USA, most, if not all, were vaccinated! Most of the blind children, the deaf children, the children with cancer, the shy children. Perhaps we should have a control of non-vaccinated shy children to make sure that shy children aren’t being made shy by vaccines. ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE A SCIENTIST???
“Mercury is toxic and will kill you.”
Which mercury are you talking about? Ethylmercury or Methylmercury? You know there’s a difference, right? You do know that mercury is only in 3% of domestic vaccines now; that it was eliminated from the majority five years ago? And that it is in trace unharmful amounts currently? Unfortunately, the incidence of autism didn’t go down after the mercury was removed or your point would have some merit.
“Aluminum: most vaccines contain aluminum metal.”
Most breastmilk and formula contains aluminum too. Should we ban those things, as well?
3. “Look at other countries who vaccine less USA:”
Are their rates of deadly disease higher? Yes.
4. “Has the incidence of autism increased with time? The number of vaccines on the CDC schedule has increased with time and I bet so has autism.”
Has the detection of autism increased over time? Has the spectrum of autism widened over time? Have you bothered to factor those into your hasty generalizations.
5. “Keep in mind that over the years, food safety/environmental safety standards have improved vastly as well. These can easily be argued as contributing to the lower incidence of childhood diseases with time as well.
My take is that some babies and young children can physiologically handle the bad stuff that vaccines contain and do not become autistic. Others cannot handle it and develop the disease.”
Keep in mind that third world countries who choose not to vaccinate see a spike in diseases… see Nigeria. But wait… they don’t have the best food safety and environmental safety that we do? And yet, vaccines were helping them until they abandoned those vaccines.
Not to mention that years of research and knowledge has proven without a doubt the biological mechanisms that cause vaccines to work. Of course, perhaps we wiped out smallpox and polio because we all started washing our hands, and it wasn’t the vaccines that did it–THAT MAKES SENSE.
You do realize that your “take” doesn’t matter. The scientific research on vaccines and autism is what matters. There has been much science disproving a link between immunization and ASD, but you, a scientist, don’t bother examining any of those studies. Instead, you come on here with your “take”. Take a break. Get a new job, Mr. Scientist. I am not a scientist, but at least I’m honest about it. There is no way a true “scientist” would make such ignorant statements as David Williams.