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« Opinion
Denying children vaccines will do more harm than good
Denying children vaccines will harm more than help
EDITOR:
This is in response to the concerns expressed about vaccines in a recent letter in The Vindicator.
While I agree with the concerns raised by the writers regarding the increasing number of vaccines the children are receiving and the potential for side effects, I would like the following facts to be known:
1. Originally, the vaccines were developed to prevent diseases that were killing or crippling people in the hundreds or thousands every year. Some of these vaccines were crude, considering today’s standards but from a benefit/risk perspective, their use was fully justifiable.
2. With the passage of time, vaccines have now been developed and recommended for use to prevent even those diseases which cause only 50 to 100 deaths in this country in a year and a few hundred hospital admissions with some resulting in residual disabilities.
The question we face is this: Can we knowingly not recommend the use of these vaccines to prevent these 50 to 100 deaths from a particular disease when it is known that the vaccine itself is extremely unlikely to cause any major side effects or death? Some of the “alleged” side effects are still under investigation, for example, links to autism.
3. Physicians and vaccine manufacturers are aware of the potential problems with vaccines and have been working on improving them. Several years ago, the DTP vaccine was reformulated, resulting in great improvement in side effects.
Recently mercury has been removed from all vaccines except one product with miniscule amounts still necessary to be used as a preservative.
4. At present, several trials are being conducted to evaluate the interaction of vaccines when used in different combinations. Our own practice is involved in some of these multinational/multicenter trials, and the results will be published in the near future.
There is definitely a need for continued evaluation and research to improve the vaccines and use prudent judgment in their use; however, we have to work with what we have. Not giving the vaccines will harm more people than giving the vaccines.
KHALID IQBAL, M.D.
Pediatric Associates of Youngstown
Coverage of graduations in region appreciated
EDITOR:
Thanks to The Vindicator for allotting the space, photographers and reporters to cover the 2008 graduations at local high schools.
I sold high school yearbooks for 35 years in this area and know first-hand how important graduation is to the seniors and the school communities.
Oftentimes their many accomplishments go unnoticed to the general public. However, your efforts in chronicling their contributions are thankfully recognized.
KEN BRAYER
Boardman
Wouldn’t it be nice if our leaders represented us?
EDITOR:
We, in the United States, have a federal government of representatives, senators and congressmen, a president and a vice president. It has been discussed in the last several months that in the upcoming election, we are going to elect our leaders. I belong to the Libertarian Party whose candidates offer only to be your representatives. We believe this is an important difference.
Most people do not need to be led. And, if we were to follow anyone, would you choose our politicians to lead us? Personally, I have not had any desire to be led by anyone in government. It would be nice if some of our government officials would represent us. It would be nice if they might try to understand the problems of ordinary people.
It would be nice if they would let us solve those problems for ourselves instead of being told what to do by persons who claim to be our leaders.
It would be nice if some of our representatives could simplify the governmental regulations that so often hamper our work and our solutions.
The Constitution makes it illegal to have titles of nobility in the U.S. government. Surely if the framers of the Constitution wanted us to have a government of leaders, they would have promoted the titles of lords, nobles and even kings. These titles would have indicated that these people were our leaders. By denying these titles, the framers were telling our government to represent us, not ask us to follow them. The gentlemen who wrote the Constitution were very wise indeed.
Let us, in 2008, see which candidates will offer to represent us.
DONALD BUTLER
Warren
Medicare should delay home medical care reforms
EDITOR:
Medicare bureaucrats are rolling out a new “competitive bidding” program for home medical equipment and services that are required by some senior citizens and people with disabilities.
This sounds good. Who can argue with competition? But the way this federal program has been designed is a disaster — for patients, providers, and taxpayers.
Homecare providers, disability organizations, and a growing number in Congress know that this bidding program will stifle competition and put qualified homecare providers out of business.
As a result, the program will reduce the availability of care for seniors and disabled Americans who require home medical equipment and services, such as home oxygen therapy, power wheelchairs, and hospital beds used at home.
While the bidding program is touted to save money, a true accounting would have to include the higher costs of delayed hospital discharges, more frequent emergency room visits, and the impact of failed businesses and lost jobs in home-care — the most cost-effective sector of Medicare.
Congress should delay this program for at least 18 months so it can review serious questions about access to care, quality, and fairness.
DIANE VOLOSIN, Controller
Boardman Medical Supply
Girard
- Requires free registration.
Comments
Vaccines with “trace” amounts of Thimerosal, by definition, “contain less than 1 microgram of mercury (Hg) per dose (http://www.fda.gov/cber/vaccine/thimeros... For example, consider that the reduced-Thimerosal flu vaccine with 0.0002% mercury is equivalent to 1 microgram [µg] of Hg per 0.5 mL, or 2 µg of Hg per mL, which is the same as 2000 µg per liter; or 2000 parts per billion [ppb].
0.5 parts per billion (ppb) mercury has been shown to kill human neuroblastoma cells (Parran et al., Toxicol Sci 2005; 86:132–40).
2 ppb mercury is the U.S. EPA limit for drinking water (http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminant...).
20 ppb mercury destroys neurite membrane structures (Leong et al., Neuroreport 2001:12733–7).
200 ppb mercury is the level in liquid that the EPA classifies as hazardous waste (http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste /mercury/regs.htm#hazwaste).
25,000 ppb mercury is the concentration of mercury in multi-dose, Hepatitis B vaccine vials, administered at birth from 1991-2001 in the U.S.
50,000 ppb mercury is the concentration of mercury in multi-dose DTP and Haemophilus B vaccine vials, administered 8 times in the 1990’s to children at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 18 months of age and currently “preservative” level mercury in multi-dose flu, meningococcal and tetanus (7 and older) vaccines.
Dr. Iqbal,
Was this letter meant to reassure parents about toxic vaccines and the rising incidents of autism? I believe you failed if that was your goal. Shouldn't administering vaccines in combination be tested BEFORE it is put into practice? So, you are suggesting we should continue allowing our children to be guinea pigs and wait to see if this is safe to do? I don't think so. At least you acknowledge the growing list of vaccines children are supposed to get is of concern. And, that physicians and vaccine manufacturers are aware of potential problems with vaccines- at least that was honest of you. Too bad you then recommend to just give them these potentially problematic vaccines anyways. You actually think the alledged 50-100 people saved a year by vaccines is worth risking a child developing autism along with other lifelong health problems? You use scaremongering and talk about death and disease. Do you not know that autism is a terrible disease/disorder? Surely, you must since you are a pediatrician. Children should not be collateral damage in the war on disease.
Thank you garygoldman for providing us with the facts about mercury in vaccines. It's still in them and it is very toxic indeed.
There is no scientific link between autism and vaccinations, it is just speculation at this point.
The evidence is mounting- daily.
Evidence: Published Studies
It is confusing for parents to read many of the comments in the mainstream media about autism and other neurological disorders ("NDs"). Typically, these NDs are described as having "no known cause and no known cure" and any link between vaccines and NDs is typically said to have been "disproven".
In fact, the evidence supporting the position that NDs are environmental illnesses with vaccines as a primary trigger is well documented, published in peer-reviewed journals, and growing every day.
Please note that most of the published science deals with autism, which we feel is equally relevant for a child with ADD/ADHD. What can parents learn from the existing science today? Generation Rescue believes the following has been proven to be true:
Please visit to read more:
http://generationrescue.org/studies.html...
http://www.aap.org/profed/thimaut-may03....
No scientific data link thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines with any pediatric neurologic disorder, including autism. Despite this, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Institutes of Health, and US Public Health Service have continued to investigate this issue to put theoretic concerns about this mercury-containing compound to rest. Thimerosal continues to be used widely as a vaccine preservative in many other parts of the world where economics and sanitation concerns mandate an effective means to safeguard vaccines from contamination when stored in bulk in multidose vials. Any scientific article that can prove a thimerosal link to significant adverse events in children must be published in respected and widely read journals because of the great general interest today in vaccine safety. These journals can be expected to apply the highest standards of critical peer review to the results of any research that purports the existence of these associations and claims of causality.
I can do that too.
Thimerosal is actually an ineffective preservative.
Please read:
http://www.autismboulder.org/pdf/Ineffec...
Atown person do you know who Dr. Bernadine Healy is?
"Dr. Bernadine Healy is the former head of the National Institutes of Health, and the most well-known medical voice yet to break with her colleagues on the vaccine-autism question. "
Please read her comments on vaccines and autism:
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health...
Check out her CBS interview with Sharyl Attkinson:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/1...
Define a respected and widely read journal. You mean the ones that are filled with drug company advertisements? Do you think that would affect the studies they publish?
The evidence is there if one only chooses to look.
http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pu...
To date there has been no conclusive, scientific evidence that any part of a vaccine, nor any combination of vaccines causes autism.There is also no conclusive data that any type of preservative (i.e., thimerisol) used during the manufacture of vaccines plays any role in causing autism.In 2001, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released findings from their separate reviews of the available evidence on a possible link between vaccines and autism. Both groups found, independently of one another, that existing evidence does not support such a connection (Immunization Safety Review Committee 2001; Halsey et al 2001).
Because there is no conclusive scientific evidence of a link between autism and vaccines, the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with the AAP and the American Academy of Family Physicians , suggest that physicians follow the recommended childhood immunization schedule that is published every year (MMWR 1998; Halsey et al 2001).
Physicians are advised to take careful family histories of all their patients to bring to light any factors that might influence their recommendations about the timing of vaccinations.
The CPEA Network, funded by the NICHD and the NIDCD, with additional funding from the CDC, is working to study autism and its relation to the measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine. CPEA researchers will compare vaccination records of groups of people with autism, to those who do not have autism, to see if the onset of autism symptoms was associated with getting the MMR vaccine or other vaccines.Lab tests in this study will also look for any signs of persistent infections that could be related to the MMR vaccine.
The NICHD fact sheet titled Autism Research at the NICHD—Autism and the MMR Vaccine has more information about this and other studies related to vaccines and autism.This publication and other fact sheets about autism are available on the NICHD Autism Web Site, at www.nichd.nih.gov/autism, or from the NICHD Clearinghouse at 1-800-370-2943.
And the evidence to refute that information is out there is one only chooses to look.
There has only been one study ever done analyzing U.S. children and the U.S. vaccine schedule (a schedule far more aggressive than any other country’s). The study was done by the CDC and the results were published in Pediatrics. The conclusion of the study was NEUTRAL. Neutral means that they could neither prove nor disprove the theory that the mercury in vaccines was causing a rise in the cases of autism. Soon after the release of the study, the press began reporting that the study "disproved" the mercury-autism theory. This caused the author of the study to write Pediatrics and explain the results of the study:
Further, in 2006 the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, at the request of Senator Joseph Lieberman, issued this report which effectively conceded that both the VSD study from Pediatrics and the "Danish Studies" were of poor study design and not reliable in determining whether or not Thimerosal causes autism. As this article from UPI reporter Dan Olmsted noted following the report’s release: "For three years, the CDC has used a study conducted on its own Vaccine Safety Datalink to reassure parents that mercury in vaccines does not cause autism. Now a panel of government-appointed experts says there are "serious problems" with exactly the approach the CDC took." Olmsted interviewed the Chairperson of the NIEHS Committee who was quoted as saying:
"It's an 'open question' whether anything about vaccines -- timing, dose, preservative -- is related to the rise in diagnoses [of autism]. Some studies are stronger than others. The Verstraeten [Pediatrics] study was an improvement on other studies including the two in Denmark, both of which had serious weaknesses in their designs that limit what we can learn from them.
Where does that leave us?
- The study most often cited "disproving" the Thimerosal-autism connection did no such thing, it had a neutral outcome
- That study and the "Danish Studies" have both had their credibility and usefulness recently questioned by the branch of our government in the best position to render a judgment, the NIEHS.
Video of Robert Kennedy Jr. @ the Green Our Vaccines Rally.
Please watch 3 parts 6 minutes each. Learn what a Biostitute is....
http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/06/post-...
You're invited to a free and opne to the public event - I hope you can attend Atownparent. I hope you can make it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirb...
David Kirby
Calling All Vaccine-Autism Critics
Posted June 15, 2008 | 06:46 PM (EST)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Read More: Autism, Brown University, David Kirby, Hannah Poling, Mercury, Northeastern University, Nyu, Public Lectures, Thimerosal, Vaccines, Living News
In the next two weeks, I will give three public lectures and Q&A sessions, free and open to the public, at Brown University in Providence, NYU Law School in Manhattan, and Northeastern University in Boston. (Other events are to be announced soon for New Jersey, Long Island and Southern California).
I sincerely encourage any and all vaccine-autism skeptics, critics, agnostics and cynics living in the northeastern US to please consider attending one of these talks, armed with all of your most pointed, difficult and critical questions.
For my part, I will present slides showing evidence to support and refute the link between autism, vaccines, mercury & heavy metals, air pollution and other environmental factors.
My only arguments will be that the evidence is NOT conclusive against a link, and it is premature to declare that vaccines and their ingredients have been 100% exonerated as environmental contributors to autism.
(continued)
I hope to have a reasoned and enlightening public discussion with members of the audience. Among the subjects we will tackle are:
1) The Poling Case - in which the government conceded that vaccines induced autism in one little girl, and updates on other court cases.
2) Brand New Evidence - of a link between mitochondrial dysfunction and autistic regression, and evidence of mitochondrial issues in many ASD kids.
3) Research Underway - at top universities on the connection between environmental toxins, oxidative stress, glutathione depletion, neuro-inflammation and autistic encephalopathy.
4) Declarations - By the US Presidential candidates and the former NIH director that autism is epidemic and calling for more research into vaccines and mercury as possible causes.
5) Recent Studies - Linking autism spectrum disorder with heavy metals and contaminants in air pollution.
Here are the times and locations:
PROVIDENCE: Thursday, June 19 - 6:30-9:00PM
Brown University, Salomon Center, Room 101
On the Campus Green
Hosted By Wendy Fournier, President of the National Autism Association
NEW YORK CITY: Thursday, June 26 - 6:30-9:00PM
NYU School of Law, 40 Washington Square South
Vanderbilt Hall, Room 204
Hosted By Mary Holland, NYU Law School
NOTE: RSVP REQUIRED: kirbylecture@gmail.com
BOSTON: Friday, June 27 - 6:30-9:00PM
Northeastern University
Behrakis Health Science Building (Bldg #26) - Room 10
Hosted by Dr. Richard Deth, Northeastern University Professor of Pharmacology
This series was made possible by Generation Rescue, Autism Research Institute, National Autism Association, Coalition for SAFE MINDS, and Talk About Curing Autism.
Announcements for each event can be downloaded at www.evidenceofharm.com - please feel free to circulate these electronically and otherwise to all interested parties.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Junk science & trial lawyers what a horrible combination. If you want an honest view, track down a credentialed immunologist without an ax to grind and an epidemiologist.
Vaccines can cause allergic reactions due to the media on which they are grown. However the “Mercury” Autism link is more tenuous than smoke in a hurricane.
How about the battle cry of “bring back Polio, no more vaccines”.
This goes right along with “the danger of silicone implants” and patients with “both silicosis and asbestosis”.
How about you ask an AIDS patient if they would have taken a vaccine if there was one available? Or maybe a Cancer patient, or terminal Diabetes patient. I know a beautiful little girl who was killed by Polio because Salk and Sabin were a couple of years too late. Do you think her family would have “RISKED” an immunization given the option?
Medicine is fallible, look at the results of “a night with Venus and a lifetime with Mercury” (look it up if you have the desire to understand pre-1938 medicine). But the risk associated with a modern vaccine is far outweighed by the benefits.
Can you say Human Papalova virus vaccine? Or do you prefer uterine cancer?
Dear concerned, I am glad you are so passionate about your beliefs regarding the links between autism and vaccines, but I have to wonder about your motive for posting all this information on a Youngstown, Ohio newspaper website when you are clearly not from this area. I have to wonder if you didn't just google autism and vaccines and came upon this website and then decided to distribute your opinions as proven facts. The FACT is that there is no scientific link at this time. The FACT is that the CDC is still conducting research. The FACT is that these vaccines have saved countless lives over the years that they have been administered.
Dr. Iqbal indicates his misunderstanding of this issue in his very first sentence. It's not about "denying" children vaccines; it's about administering them in a safe way. Furthermore, he tries to make a point about the safety of a single vaccine, when the safety issue is concerning mutiple vaccines that are stressing children's immune systems. We've gone from 10 vaccines in the 1970's to over 30 vaccines today, and at the same time, we've seen autism rates steadily climb. Some children have regressed into autism shortly after receiving mutiple vaccines in a day - sometimes 8 or 9 at once! This is unnecessary, and yet, the CDC allows this practice to continue despite infants going into convulsions and some dying of "SIDS" the very day they received multiple vaccines.
Worst of all, the CDC refuses to study the thousands of children who regressed into autism following their vaccinations. Perhaps Dr. Iqbal should hear what the former director of the NIH has to say about vaccines and autism. Perhaps everybody should:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/1...
Bull-
You're misinformation is laughable - unfortunately a child developing autism possibly from vaccines isn't. You are aware a young girl developed autism from vaccines aren't you? I'm not saying that - the doctors from Health and Human Services said that. She was supposed to be a test case for the vaccine court but the government conceded her case and are going to pay her and her family for the autism the vaccines she received (9 at one time) that caused her autism. Sure, they are saying her case is "rare". But, they have no idea how rare. So, the boy they picked to take her place in the test case didn't work out either. Know why? He had the same problems as her and they agreed his vaccines caused his autism as well. What a coincidence! Doesn't seem all that rare when 2 of the thousands upon thousands of kids in the vaccine court chosen as test cases present with the same scenario. Vaccines caused autism. The government has paid out over 1300 claims of brain injuries since the 80's. Are they looking at those cases? No. They are burying their heads in the sand and keep lying to the public about the "real" causes in the increase in autism.
Atown-
I am from the area. I know what the FACTS are regarding autism and vaccines. You don't, although you assume you do. You evidently believe the government is being forthcoming with the American public.They aren't- The CDC has lied to us time and time again. They conveniently loose data, deny independent researchers access to records, and buy studies conducted in other countries that don't resemble our vaccine schedule in the least bit, but provide the results they want. They count on people like you to stay misinformed, but just informed enough to keep spreading their "truth", which is really a lie. They aren't willing to publically admit sometimes vaccines cause autism in some kids. They have spent more time, money and effort figuring out how to cover their mistakes up then making safer vaccines and reworking the growing vaccine schedule.
A perfect example of the misinformation we are given by our public health officials about vaccines and their contents.
http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/06/thime...
“Concerned” posted “You're misinformation is laughable”. Actually, it is 100% factual and accurate. So is the part about knowing a young girl who succumbed to Polio (yes, I am that old).
As far as the girl that supposedly developed Autism from a vaccine, that is no quite accurate. The court stated that the child had a mitochondrial anomaly which caused Autism like emotional/social symptoms. The child had a vaccine like reaction within the appropriate length of time following a vaccination which MAY have contributed to the mitochondrial anomaly. HOWEVER, the child also had similar episodes outside of this specific event. The court ruled that they could not disprove a causal link. Further, this particular individual had significant physical anomalies also, something lacking in most true Autism cases.
Autism is a real and serious condition, and parents want to prevent it or find the cause and correct it. The problem here is that trial lawyers are driving the bus. Real science has been thrown out the window and pseudo or junk science rules.
In the silicon implants I referenced, courts ruled for significant payouts to the lawyers, with relative dregs going to the allegedly damaged patients. In the years following those rulings, science has proven no causal link.
In the patients who allegedly had both silicosis and asbestosis, the cases were stopped dead in their tracks. The expert witnesses and the lawyers were investigated and it was found to be simply a lawsuit mill.
If you are truly concerned, don’t just listen to what a particular group is saying, as I suggested, contact an epidemiologist and immunologist who don’t have an ax to grind. Get some real facts, not just urban legends being spread by lawyers and their stooge expert witnesses. Now I will admit there are some real medical practitioners who sincerely believe there is a causal link, that is why there is still a debate. However, there are also real medical practitioners who sincerely believe they have been abducted by space aliens and “probed”.
If you are just a stooge or front for a group of trial lawyers, may any compensation you receive be cursed by the innumerable children that will be damaged or die because their parents listened to you and your ilk.
Bull,
Wrong- Hannah Poling has autism. Ask her father the neurologist or her mother the nurse. The feds are only calling it "autistic like" after the fact so they are trying to trick people into thinking it's not really autism. You fell for it. It is really autism. Thanks for bringing up the mitochondrial issue. We have no idea how many children are susceptible to developing autism because they have some underlying medical condition. Dr. Poling (the little girl's father) isn't sure if the vaccines caused the condition, or as the feds are saying exasperated it. No matter, if the government really wanted answers they would be studying her and others like her and figuring out how to screen babies for these potential problems. But they are not- they call it rare and just want her to go away.
Anyways, you obviously think only good could come out of vaccines and are deluded into thinking they save lives and never have any side effects. Wrong again. I know a lot of families who had normally developing healthy babies who suddenly retreated into autism and became very ill as well. I know many children who have no immunity to viruses and diseases them have been immunized against. The vaccines didn't work. When their immune status was checked for a particular disease (like polio) they had zero immunity.Zip, zero, zilch, nada... We just assume they work and sometimes they don't. But you keep on believing in the sanctity of vaccines and ignoring the autism that will be proven to be an unwanted side effect to our vigorous vaccination schedule. Just like tobacco, remember seeing doctors advertise the brand of cigarrete's they smoked. As if smoking was actually healthy for you. Someday we will all know the truth, but for so many it will be too late.
Your arguments would be a little more believable if they weren't so filled with paranoia of the government. What about the genetic precursor that is found in parents of autistic children? Does that not count as a reason for kids getting autism? We as a society are so quick to blame everyone else for our problems, yet not take any accountability ourselves. Yes, there are issues with vaccines, but the children who develop autism have the gene for it already - could the vaccine speed up the process or make the gene active, sure, but again we have NO SCIENTIFIC LINK to prove that. And yes, we have more vaccines now, we have the flu, the chicken pox, the hep B, all of these that children did not have when we were growing up, but a majority of the vaccines they are given are the same now as they were decades ago. If you child is receiving 8-9 shots at one time, then you need to take some accountability in the doctor's office. Speak up if you don't like it. Spread the shots out. It is your child, be responsible parents.
Your ignorance on the topic is showing Atown. There is no "autism gene". That would be front page news wouldn't it? Scientists have suspected a series of genes, but nothing for certain. And,they'll never find the "one" cause of autism because there are probably multiple causes. But, vaccines top the list. I can't believe anyone couldn't possibly see a concern over the amount of vaccines kids get now before the age of 2. And are they really necessary?
Environmental triggers are what is causing our "genes" to go haywire. That's the way to explain increases in all diseases now cancer, asthma, diabetes etc..- blame it on the genes.
Diabetes is due to the obesity epidemic - again, people not taking accountability for their own actions, which you are not doing by blaming the environment. The environment didn't make you put the cheeseburger in your mouth. If as a parent you believe your child is getting too many vaccines at one time, then say something, go to a different doctor.
Just because I do not subscribe to your brand of crazy does not mean I am ignorant on the subject, I choose to ignore the paranoid ranting of people such as yourself who will find anything to put the blame on because your child is anti-social. This discussion is just like the abortion issue, certain people believe one way and certain people believe another. Lets just agree to disagree on this.
Oh BTW here is the information about the autism gene - you call me ignorant on the subject, yet you have no clue about the information on the other side of the debate.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/...
http://www.webmd.com/brain/autism/news/2...
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/20...
Oh so only fat people have diabetes? More ignorance....tisk tisk..
Read this article:
http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/new...
Still no autism gene even after reading your links. Only theories, on small studies that lead to more questions then answers. The one from Wired actually says the mutations they were looking at only affected less then 1% of those with autism, something else is going on with 99% of the other people with autism. Hardly convincing proof of an autism gene - it doesn't exist. As I said before there are certainly multiple causes. Vaccines top the list.
Yes, let's agree to disagree. I can't see attempting to reason with a person who believes autism equals only anti-socialness and parents need to accept that. What a vague and sorry understanding you have about autism.
You only read what you want don't you, selective reasoning I suppose. You claim that environmental triggers were the reason for the increase in things like diabetes, asthma, etc., I said the rise in diabetes is related to the obesity epidemic.
Yes, my understanding is vague, yours is paranoid, and yet we still have no scientific link to vaccines causing autism.
How timely.... Information for new parents and soon to be parents to consider.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/06...
She changed the schedule of the vaccines, and omitted the flu and chicken pox's 2nd & 3rd doses, yet she still had her child vaccinated - she didn't stop vaccines altogether. Responsible parenting, hmm, who knew.
As far as the “That's the way to explain increases in all diseases now cancer, asthma, diabetes etc..- blame it on the genes”, I’m afraid you are at the very least, disingenuous. Many years ago, in a medical ethics class (no, I am not a medical doctor), a guest lecturer stated “A high cancer rate is a sign of a healthy society”. You could have heard a pin drop in that room! He went on to explain that most cancers develop late in life. If you didn’t live past 62, then your chances of developing cancer was significantly reduced.
What we see today as possibly increasing rates for certain diseases may be an indication that medical science has advanced to the point where disease states that would have killed off people a few years ago are being effectively treated. Thus allowing for the expression of alternate disease states. Today it is not unusual for a premature infant of significantly less than 1 kilo to survive. That child enters a world with a generally compromised immune system, insufficient lungs, kidneys, etc. Could that child possibly be at risk at some point in their distance future of succumbing to a disease that their early weakend condition predisposed them for?
There were and still are those who do not ascribe to ‘germ’ based diseases. I still hear people spout the nonsense that the germs are created from bad humors in the body, not a quantifiable external source. Or that cancer is caused by an alkali PH in the body and if you make the person acidic and destroy all of the ‘parasites’ that cause the cancer, the patient will be cured.
I know you will never accept what I post. You appear to be either paranoid on a shill for the cause. Sadly, your side is responsible for countless needless deaths of children and young adults. It is much easier to sell paranoia then scientific fact, one is simply a belief (yours), the other is knowledge and understanding.
To continue with your list from above, who has the lowest asthma rate? Children exposed to the most pesticides, particulates, herbicides – in other words today’s farm children. What population has the highest rate of diabetes? Oh, my, it is the obese. If you believe that type 2 diabetes is not related to obesity, I have some beach front property for sale (just because it is on the ocean side of the beach should not be a problem).
Hopefully, those reading this particular thread will not blindly accept the scare tactics you thrive on. I can not believe you want to return to the time when these diseases KILLED OFF THEIR VICTIMS. I grew up in a time that Smallpox, Polio and Scarlet Fever were still regularly claiming their victims. My grandfather died of complications from Rheumatic Fever many years after he “recovered” from the primary case of the disease.
Please, if you love your children, vaccinate them. Other wise, unless it is for religious reasons, give them up for adoption to a family that does love them enough to care about their health!
You should be saying "if you love your children, educate yourself on the vaccines that are recommended for your children." Then make informed decisions on what YOU want your child to receive. Does every child need every vaccine that is available? If your doctor told you to take nine medications at once- would you? Wouldn't you want to fully understand what the meds were for, what the side effects would be and most of all how will all those drugs work togther? I would. And, I'll guarantee you nobody understands how 9 medications or 9 vaccines administered at the same time affects each individual. These are dangerous medical practices with no safety track record.
I am not suggesting people skip vaccines althogether unless they have a reason too. Such as, previous vaccine reactions, illness, or siblings who have reacted poorly to vaccines. Educate themselves on what the diseases are that are being vaccinated against. How about delaying some vaccines? Why does a baby need a Hep B shot when only hours old if the mother is not Hep positive? I'll tell you why. Because it is easy to give a baby a shot before they leave the hospital then to get a teenager back to the doctor's office or clinic when they are now at higher risk of contacting Hep B. The HPV vaccines has never been tested on 9- 11 year old girls, but that is the age range it is recommended for. Also, HPV vaccine only works on 4 strains of the Human Papalloma Virus when there are over 100 strains. Most people who contact HPV clear it on their own. So, no studies on the age group it is being given to and no long term studies. We have no idea what the long term affects of this vaccine will have on a developing girls reproductive systems. One thing we do know is it is the most expensive vaccine on the market. Almost $1,000 for a series of 3 shots. Merck has used some slick marketing directly to the consumers with their "one less" campaign. I'll tell you their are 2 less girls alive today from that vaccine. Two girls died after receiving the HPV vaccine just a short time ago. Plus reportsof various health problems and complications. But, you don't want to hear that do you?
(continued)
And you will never consider that sometimes the risks outweigh the benefits of vaccines for some individuals. Thank God you are an old fart and won't be procreating ever again. So you just hang on to your polio and small pox stories and keep getting that flu shot- it's loaded with mercury and it'll do wonders for your health. Ask your doctor- he'll tell you. I happen to know more then a few seniors who died shortly after receiving the flu shot or became deathly ill from it and then learned the hard way what was really in that vaccine. And 36,000 people don't die every year from the flu- that is a totaly fabricated number made up by the industry and sold to the American public. The sheeple lap that crap up.
I am not paranoid, I am living with results of vaccine damage. I am only urging parents to do the responsible thing as Atownparent suggested and educate themselves and make informed choices regarding vaccines. I am offended by your inferences of litigation. You are blissfully oblivious to what is happening to our children and you only see the upside of vaccines. Although, I'm not certain vaccines are solely the reason for the eradication of the diseases you speak of I will give them the benefit of the doubt. Vaccines save lives I've been told. OK I'll buy it, but when is it when a good thing becomes a bad thing? Today, we have too many vaccines, given too soon in life. It's aready been established that we don't have studies supporting giving all of thes vaccines in such a short period of time. D. Iqbal said they are just now studying this- after the fact. Yikes! So in your world I guess you would rather see chronically ill people and developmentally disabled people (I know pharma would -they make great consumers) then the few lives alledgedly spared by vaccines. Who's life is worth more? Chronically ill people die too they just take longer to do so.
If I could do it over again I would research, research and research some more before I would ever hold another baby down for another vaccine.
concerned posted
“I am offended by your inferences of litigation”
Interesting statement. You mean to say that if you believe you were damaged by someone’s negligence you would not seek legal relief to make you whole?
You also state “I am living with results of vaccine damage”. Well either you don’t really believe in your cause or you are a litigant. It is also interesting that you are sure there was “vaccine damage” when there is no scientific proof for most of what you post.
Thanks for the insults, it speaks clearly of you character. Please keep up the, ah, posting, in the manner you are. It is just like the reason we need to keep a few homeopaths, naturopaths and other ‘traditional’ healers around. We can point to them to illustrate the reasons non-factual based health movements always eventually fail.
THIS SHOULD BE FRONT PAGE NEWS:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-kirb...
David Kirby
CDC: Vaccine Study Design "Uninformative and Potentially Misleading"
CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding has delivered a potentially explosive report to the powerful House Appropriations Committee, in which she admits to a startling string of errors in the design and methods used in the CDC's landmark 2003 study that found no link between mercury in vaccines and autism, ADHD, speech delay or tics.
Gerberding was responding to a 2006 report from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), which concluded that the CDC's flagship thimerosal safety study was riddled with "several areas of weaknesses" that combined to "reduce the usefulness" of the study.
"CDC concurs," Dr. Gerberding wrote in an undated mea culpa to Congress, (provided to me through a Capital Hill staffer) adding that her agency "does not plan to use" the database in question, the Vaccine Safety Datalink, (VSD) for any future "ecological studies" of autism.
In fact, Gerberding's report said, any continued use of the VSD for similar ecological studies of vaccines and autism "would be uninformative and potentially misleading."
Ecological vaccine studies are large, epidemiological analyses of risks and trends using computerized data from large populations -- in this case children enrolled at several big HMOs -- without ever examining a single patient in person.
CDC officials conducted at least five separate analyses of the data over a four-year period from 1999-2003. The first analysis showed that children exposed to the most thimerosal by one month of age had extremely high relative risks for a number of outcomes, compared with children who got little or no mercury: The relative risk for ADHD was 8.29 times higher; for autism, it was 7.62 times higher; ADD, 6.38 times higher; tics, 5.65 times; and speech and language delays were 2.09 more likely among kids who got the most mercury.
Over time, however, all of these risks declined into statistical insignificance, statistical inconsistency or else outright oblivion: The relative risk for autism plummeted from 7.62 in the first analysis, to 2.48 in the second version, to 1.69 in the third round, to 1.52 in the fourth, and down to nothing at all in the fifth, final, and published analysis printed in the Journal Pediatrics in November of 2003.
Vaccine officials attributed the steady drop to the elimination of "statistical noise" from the data through due diligence and the endeavor for excellence in governmental statistical analysis.
Indeed, the VSD study was the main pillar of a hugely influential 2004 report by the Institute of Medicine, which also concluded that there was no evidence of link between mercury, vaccines and autism.
To this day, public health officials routinely point to five "large epidemiological studies" representing the "highest quality science," none of which found any link to thimerosal.
In fact, the American VSD study has long been held up as the best and brightest of them all (the others were in Sweden, the UK, and two in Denmark). And this reputation has stuck in the minds of medicine and the media.
Curiously though, even the study's lead author -- Dr. Thomas Verstraeten, an employee of vaccine maker GlaxoSmithKline -- protested that the VSD study "found no evidence against an association, as a negative study would. In fact, he said that additional study was needed, which "is the conclusion to which a neutral study must come."
That's when Congress stepped in.
In 2005, a group of Senators and Representatives headed by Sen. Joe Lieberman wrote to the NIEHS (an agency of the National Institutes of Health) saying that many parents no longer trusted the CDC to conduct independent minded studies of its own vaccine program. Lieberman et al asked NIEHS to review the CDC's work on the vaccine database and report back with critiques and suggestions.
The final NIEHS report was a serious and thoughtful critique of where the CDC went wrong in its design, conduct and analysis of the study. The NIEHS panel "identified several serious problems," with the CDC's effort, criticism to which the agency had not responded -- until now.
In her letter to the House Appropriations Committee, the CDC Director responded directly to many -- though not all -- of the most important criticisms and recommendations contained in the NIEHS panel report.
For example, the NIEHS had criticized CDC for failing to account for other mercury exposures, including maternal sources from flu shots and immune globulin, as well as mercury in food and the environment.
"CDC acknowledges this concern and recognizes this limitation," the Gerberding reply says.
The NIEHS also took CDC to task for eliminating 25% of the study population for a variety of reasons, even though this represented, "a susceptible population whose removal from the analysis might unintentionally reduce the ability to detect an effect of thimerosal." This strict entry criteria likely led to an "under-ascertainment" of autism cases, the NIEHS reported.
"CDC concurs," Gerberding wrote, again noting that its study design was "not appropriate for studying this vaccine safety topic. The data are intended for administrative purposes and may not be predictive of the outcomes studied."
Another serious problem was that the HMOs changed the way they tracked and recorded autism diagnoses over time, including during the period when vaccine mercury levels were in decline. Such changes could "affect the observed rate of autism and could confound or distort trends in autism rates," the NIEHS warned.
"CDC concurs," Dr. Gerberding wrote again, "that conducting an ecologic analysis using VSD administrative data to address potential associations between thimerosal exposure and risk of ASD is not useful."
Read that sentence one more time. The head of the CDC is saying that its most powerful and convincing piece of exonerating evidence for thimerosal is, in effect, "useless."
I hope everyone will read these documents, including the recommendations to make the VSD better, and the CDC's agreement with all of the suggestions.
As questionable as the US thimerosal study was, "it was an improvement on other studies, including the two in Denmark, both of which had serious weaknesses in their designs," Dr. Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Professor of Public Health at UC Davis Medical School and Chair of the NIEHS panel, told reporter Dan Olmsted at UPI.
That leaves very little for the CDC to go on in terms of proving that thimerosal and autism are not associated in any way.
Yes, there is always the study of disability services data from California -- which seem to be rising among the youngest cohorts of kids, who presumably received little or no mercury because thimerosal was largely removed from childhood shots.
But California is an "ecological study" with problems of its own.
"Although (this) information is often used by media and research entities to develop statistics and draw conclusions, some of these findings may misrepresent the quarterly figures," cautions the website of the California Department of Developmental Services (DDS). "Increases in the number of persons reported from one quarter to the next do not necessarily represent persons who are new to the DDS system."
Even the CDC admits that "there are several limitations" with linking a VSD study design with the California data, Gerberding wrote to Congress, because, among other things, California only counts "persons who were referred to and/or voluntarily entered" the disability system."
It will be interesting to see how the House Committee -- and the mainstream media -- react to this rather breathtaking confession by the CDC, which does seem to want to conduct the best vaccine-autism science possible (see Gerberding's replies to NIEHS recommendations for improving the VSD: CDC officials are currently conducting in- depth follow up studies with VSD patients).
As the waning months of the Bush administration get underway, I can't help but wonder if a little housecleaning might be going on at some of our top health agencies.
(And on that note, please see my blog about the upcoming HHS/FDA/CDC/NIH workshop on autism triggers in mitochondrial disorders (ie, Hannah Poling and her five vaccines).
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/06/19/...
After a decade of denying any possible association between vaccines and autism, the government quietly settled a vaccine-autism case last fall. When news of the case leaked out to the public months later, government officials labelled the case of Hannah Poling an "anomoly." The truth is, nobody is in a position to know whether Hannah's case is an exception. Government officials have told CBS News that they have not tracked vaccine-autism claims to see how many of them might involve children with the same undetected mitochondrial disorder Hannah had... one that may have made her susceptible to side effects from vaccines, triggering her autism. Government officials have also acknowledged to CBS News that they haven't looked for common denominators in other autism-related cases which have been compensated in federal vaccine court. Yes, there are other cases that have been paid. As CBS News has reported, the government has been settling vaccine injuries that resulted in autism and/or autistic symptoms since at least the early 1990's, while at the same time telling the public there is no cause for concern. Not all of the cases are published, but some of them are and can be found by searching legal case databases. That... with the help of some well-placed sources... is how CBS News turned up at least nine more cases... and counting. Considering that only a tiny fraction of vaccine-autism claims find their way to the little-known vaccine court, these cases are just a sampling of the total that may actually exist in the population. Further, according to knowledgeable sources, vaccine injuries compensated in the past due to encephalopathy (or brain damage) "often" resulted in autism, but the autism label was not used. Again, the government does not track how many of the encephalopathy cases involved children who got autism or ADD after their vaccinations.
One important factor is often lost in the discussion of a handful of cases: the fact that the debate has shifted from whether vaccines have any relationship to some cases of autism... to what is the role of vaccines in some cases of autism. And how big is the pool of cases. If vaccines can trigger autism in any way, directly or indirectly, that contradicts all the rhetoric and dogma heard from many public and government health officials for the past decade. And it supports what many other researchers have been saying for a decade, often to deaf ears, even after they published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Which is probably why Hannah's case is resonating under the radar in the medical community. A government conference has now been scheduled for later this month to examine mitochondrial disorders like hers and autism or neurological "triggers" (i.e. vaccines). See below.
Well, AtownParent, and all parents - I think you should be listening...
The Good Doctor IQBAL just told you:
"At present, several trials are being conducted to evaluate the interaction of vaccines when used in different combinations. Our own practice is involved in some of these multinational/multicenter trials, and the results will be published in the near future."
Your kids are being used as lab rats to find out what should have been known before the first multi-jab ever saw
it's way into your child's skin.
Isn't it encouraging to know? How do you feel about taking your child in to someone who has no idea of what the outcome will be when they inflict this experiment on your child?
Isn't it invigorating to know that all over the country, doctors are being paid by you, your insurance company or by taxpayer dollars to administer vaccine(s) while they are being paid by manufacturers (or with the government grants?) to experiment on children?
I wonder how many parents are being told their child is being given the combination they are to receive SPECIFICALLY to see if something bad will happen?
You see...if it were put in those terms, no parent in their right mind would say, "Sure doc! Is it ok to call you in the middle of the night if Johnny seizes and dies?" or, "Do you have the name of a good speech therapist if Timmy stops talking?"
What about the study methodology? Do kids that have reactions get kicked out if they don't get ALL the combinations tested because they DID get a reaction?
You see, AtownParent...they really don't know, after all...so quit defending something that doesn't exist.
Right here, in your very own neighborhood, children have achieved a distinction of being expendable as lab rats.
This is the same Dr that my children were seeing for 4 yrs. On May 24th we seen Dr I in the office and informed him we had filed for our VICP-the wonderful program set up by our government to save the vaccine makers from liability. When the "good doctor" found out we had filed he "politely" showed us the door. Why? Because he knew my children would NO longer be part of his UNINFORMED CONSENT STUDY. He is using the children of the Youngstown area as test subjects to find out if anything "bad" (statement #4 in his letter) will happen? AND when it went "bad" for my child he showed us the door. Not one time was I told what was REALLY in vaccines nor was I warned of the side effects of any vaccines. There are so many reason why they should NOT have vaccinated my son but they still did. To find out what would happen...Autsim is what happened.
You should be ashamed of yourself doctor for not telling the good people of Youngstown that you were experimenting on their children. These parents need to look twice at taking their children to you because you are NOT forthright or honest about your intentions for their children.
Excellent report by Steve Wilson out of Detroit.
http://www.wxyz.com/content/news/investi...
Watch the video to the right. Observe the president of the AAP lie her a$$ off about vaccines and their contents.
Dr. Iqbal and other area Pediatricians,
Please read and watch this report. This is alarming information.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/2...
The history of the LIE about a vaccine Autism link. 10 years of death and destruction of children not vaccinated because of quack science perpetrated by frauds, hucksters and con men.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/a...
Now Autism is used as a diagnosis to describe everything from bad behavior due to poor parenting to mental retardation. It assuages the guilt of bad parents and lessens the stigma of the retarded, but cheapens and cheats the children truly suffering from this malady. All the while, the quacks are providing “NATURAL” alternative treatments, sucking your wallets dry and putting your children at risk.