Childhood vaccines are used to protect children from a range of serious illnesses such as polio, measles, diphtheria, tetanus, and meningitis. Practically everyone in the medical community unequivocally advocates vaccination for young children, but the issue has become complicated in recent years. For new parents, it is difficult to ignore the recent controversies generated by those who are opposed to vaccinations. A few high-profile celebrities, along with a growing grassroots movement, have made their vaccine refusal a big issue in the media, and this has many new parents wondering what they should do.
The anti-vaccine claims
Anti-vaccine advocates use a number of different arguments. Perhaps the biggest one is the idea that vaccinations cause more problems than they prevent. The argument is that a child’s immune system has trouble reacting to the onslaught of chemicals contained in a typical vaccine, and that this can lead to adverse effects and may cause issues such as autism. Meanwhile, many in the anti-vaccine community also argue that vaccination is part of some sort of conspiracy in the medical industry to force their products upon people.
While these arguments may raise some interesting issues-and every parent does have a right to be skeptical about these things-most in the medical community would agree that these concerns are baseless. With regard to the autism claim in particular, no scientific research has found a link between autism and vaccines. In some cases, autism may develop soon after a child receives his or her vaccines, but this is just a coincidence.
Another argument is that it is safer for children to develop natural immunity rather than receive a vaccination. While this may be true for illnesses such as the flu or the common cold, the diseases kids are vaccinated against are life-threatening and can have disastrous consequences. Before we had vaccinations, these diseases were a large reason for higher rates of childhood death and lower life expectancies. Most of us would rather not go back to those times.
Should you vaccinate?
The anti-vaccination crowd is probably not going to go away any time soon, but the fact is that the media noise surrounding their movement is disproportionate to the actual number of people who believe these things. In reality, the movement has made no solid claims, and there is no reason for anyone to take their arguments seriously.
What many people do not realize is that the past century has seen a revolution in health, and this is largely thanks to vaccination, which has all but eradicated many of the most serious illnesses from the developed world. The anti-vaccination movement comes at a time when we have forgotten what it is like to have to deal with these illnesses. One-hundred years ago, new parents had to worry about their children getting polio, mumps, measles, and numerous other illnesses. And it was not just a remote threat; these diseases were real concerns, and most people had friends, family members, or acquaintances who had been afflicted with them or had lost children, brothers, or sisters to them.
If these illnesses now seem mysterious and remote, it is simply because vaccination has made them that way. So yes, while it is good parenting to question and educate yourself about what your child’s doctor does, not vaccinating a child is simply irresponsible. If you still have doubts, ask your doctor to provide you with more information about why vaccination is a good idea.
By Lisa Pecos
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New Study Links Vaccines and Autism
A study in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health finds a relationship between the proportion of children who received the recommended vaccines by age 2 years and the prevalence of autism or speech or language impairment. The higher the proportion of children receiving recommended vaccinations, the higher was the prevalence of AUT or SLI. The results suggest that although mercury has been removed from many vaccines, the remaining mercury as well as other culprits such as aluminum and live viruses may link vaccines to autism. Further study into the relationship between vaccines and autism is warranted.
A Positive Association found between Autism Prevalence and Childhood Vaccination uptake across the U.S. Population
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A: Current Issues
Volume 74, Issue 14, 2011, Pages 903 – 916
Author: Gayle DeLong
DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2011.573736
Abstract: The reason for the rapid rise of autism in the United States that began in the 1990s is a mystery. Although individuals probably have a genetic predisposition to develop autism, researchers suspect that one or more environmental triggers are also needed. One of those triggers might be the battery of vaccinations that young children receive. Using regression analysis and controlling for family income and ethnicity, the relationship between the proportion of children who received the recommended vaccines by age 2 years and the prevalence of autism (AUT) or speech or language impairment (SLI)…
To read the abstract and/or purchase the article click HERE.
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Feds Know of Many Cases of Autism Caused by Vax
Take Action!
A two-year investigation of the records of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has shown that the feds have compensated many, many cases of vaccine injury where autism was one of the injuries. This investigation, based on public, verifiable government data, breaks new ground in the controversial vaccine-autism debate. The investigation found that a substantial number of children compensated for vaccine injury also have autism. The government has asserted that it “does not track” autism among the vaccine-injured. Based on this preliminary investigation, the evidence suggests that autism is at least three times more prevalent among vaccine-injured children than among children in the general population.
EBCALA and the families of the vaccine-injured call on Congress to investigate the VICP, the only forum in which parents may bring claims of vaccine injury on behalf of their children.
We need as many members of Congress and their staffs to watch the May 10th press conference. Please click on the Take Action link above to send an email to your Senators and Representative asking them to watch the press conference. If you know who your Representatives are please call their offices and politely ask them to watch. Channel:http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ebcala.
I think the evidence absolving vaccines from a link to autism is not at all as clear cut as this article suggests.
A Danish researcher who was a key figure in two of the earliest studies purporting to show no connection between vaccines and autism, has been indicted by the federal government for a host of crimes related to defrauding the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of more than $1 million. These accusations follow tax evasion charges brought by the Danish government against Poul Thorsen who is accused of having forged documents including signatures by CDC officials to obtain funds intended for use in a group of epidemiological studies paid for by the CDC.
Critics of these studies have long contended that highly suspect methods were used to arrive at the conclusion that there was no association between exposure to either thimerosal or the MMR vaccine and autism, even though standard epidemiological methods showed an association.
Our friends at Age of Autism, however, have been closely following the Thorsen story since the first report of his misdeeds was made public by the University of Aarhus in Denmark in 2009.
Gambling with your child’s health
What would you be feeling if you brought your brand new baby into the doctors office for a regular check up and they informed you they were going to expose your two month old baby to nine different diseases regardless of how well your child has been? If you haven’t already been through this, it will happen. There are doctors who feel it’s best to stick to a vaccine schedule suggested by the CDC that will have given your child twenty-eight doses total of fourteen vaccines. Of course your physician’s delivery of this news will be much less scary and he or she will bank on the fact that you have trust in them, they will also omit a few facts or some reason or another. Reasons like “it’s common knowledge” or “parents don’t need to know those details, they might become freaked out over minor risks.” I have developed a a report with my obstetrician and during a routine visit recently she asked about my feelings on vaccines for my son who is due in about a month. After I told her the very few details I knew she encouraged me to talk to my pediatrician about vaccines. I heard a few different perspectives about vaccines recently and decided to look into all of the options for my son. I started by talking to my mom and all the other informed mothers I know about their vaccine experiences. It was informative but I decided not to stake my opinion on just personal feelings. I also went to a few doctors on the internet who are known and trusted for their research and found some interesting articles. On the CDC website I found pretty much what I thought I’d find. From my experience doctors seem to believe that what you don’t know won’t kill you, that may be true at times but that does not seem to be a reason to exclude you from the facts and details. Every parent/guardian should have the chance to determine what is best for their child and should be given the respect to educate themselves on the matter.
I am a hypochondriac and I like to be informed of the facts of medical treatments and procedures, I talk to my doctor about everything from hair loss to moles and beyond but I also check other sources. While I did my research I found a few facts that really bothered me on the CDC website, in the section of the site for adverse reactions it gives you the chances of each reaction. Each vaccine recommended by the CDC has it’s own section with a list of mild, moderate and severe reactions but not all of the vaccines have severe or even moderate reactions associated with them. All of the combined vaccines, like MMR and TDaP, had severe reactions along with some others. I also noticed that the the odds of having these severe reactions were a lot higher than I find comfortable. People, my son included, have higher odds of reacting severely than winning the lotto in the US which are 1 in 80,089,128 and even in Ireland at 1 in 5,245,786(thelotterysite.com). These reactions were life altering and long term. The CDC combined these vaccines it to lower the chances of traumatizing infants and young children but around the time they started combining vaccines they just added more to the list that they consider “necessary”. Twelve hours after birth the hospital will send a doctor in to vaccinate an infant for Hepatitis B, which is only transmitted through blood or other body fluids that most infants are not exposed to very often and in every case they check to see if the mother is infected or a carrier. I am a little confused as to why the CDC says they want to keep from traumatizing infants and yet they want to give an infant that has not had a full day on this planet a vaccine against an illness they are not likely to come in contact with till at least school age and even those odds are very low. Giving a child one vaccine with a high risk of problems is bad enough but doctors will also insist on giving your child seven or eight shots with nine different vaccines in one day, but there have been numerous studies to show that layering vaccines can cause the reactions to be more severe or at the very least intensifies the mild and moderate reactions. If the CDC were to fund the clinical trials themselves I wonder if they would look a little closer at the results and maybe even finish the tests.
Vaccines were developed for a great reason and the thought behind them is still one I would
consider worthy. They came about to keep us alive in times of need, during the 1700’s smallpox was all over with no relief in sight then in 1796 Edward Jenner developed the first vaccine when he heard a milkmaid say she would never get small pox on account of she had contracted cow pox already. He developed it by exposing an eight year old boy to her pus and then six weeks later he exposed the boy to small pox. He then found he could do the same with infants, both cases were successful. It became a substitute for inoculating small pox itself in England. And is given credit for the end of the small pox epidemic. But there are a few other factors that come into play as well. Around this time people in general were improving their living conditions by using cleaner water, eating better and having better sanitation. This is probably where the real credit is due. There are even some who believe that Gardasil, a vaccine used to prevent HPV which is believed to cause cancer, is now causing cancer. I don’t know if that is true but I do know that certain vaccine never completed it’s clinical trials and absolutely contains 225mcg of aluminum, which is known to cause Alzheimer’s. There is no guarantee that being immunized will save you from the disease but a vaccine is a great way to try your best at avoiding the illness.
There are risks that come with being immunized and risks when you choose to go without. As an adult I feel I am capable of making decisions for my self in an educated way. That is why I have not had any vaccines in the last four years, I have a great immune system and I have had no regrets with my decision. As a parent I feel a lot more pressure in these decisions I have to make, it now affects my child’s life. It also affects other children’s lives as well especially if I don’t immunize my son and he becomes a carrier for a disease which goes on to harm another child. That pressure is probably why the CDC has made the decisions the way they have. But it is wrong to assume that all children are the same, they all have different immune systems and they all have had different physical experiences. From conception to death no person is the identical. It would likely cut down the amount of bad reactions if parents chose to wait till they see the way their child’s immune system develops before they begin immunizing and then setting a slower pace for the schedule. I am positive the severe reactions would be less if we stopped using combined vaccines. It’s not a race to see who can get done the quickest. If you truly feel your child is ready to take it on then that is your choice. Your child should be your number one priority when you make your decision but you need to make it before hand because your doctor might do it for you.