NVIC Vaccine News

For the record, I am NOT anti-vaccine.  I believe that vaccines have been created with the best of intentions, have saved many lives, and are one way to rid the human population of deadly diseases.  My son has been vaccinated against some diseases and I feel that the choice to do so was the best choice for us.  HOWEVER, I am also a believer that NOT ALL VACCINES ARE SAFE...which is why he has not had the "recommended" types and amounts of vaccinations for a child his age.  I believe the risks of receiving all of the recommended vaccines are much greater than of contracting the diseases the vaccines are made to protect against and having serious implications from doing so.  

Did anyone hear about the Rotavirus vaccine made from the pig virus? This is one of the recommended vaccines given to children at 2 months, 4 months, and 6 months.  I highly recommend watching the link below from the National Vaccine Information Center.  
 
NVIC Vaccine News

Just like anything else humans discover, create, and claim to be "factual", vaccines said to be safe today are often times, with the Rotavirus vaccine as a good example, deemed unsafe tomorrow.  I hope that parents understand the risks involved in vaccinating just as much as they understand the risks in not vaccinating.  Ignorance is a very big problem in the health and safety of our children.  This is a complicated...COMPLICATED topic and choosing to vaccinate or not should be made with confidence.

~Mommy Bridget

Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s Interview on His MMR Study

Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s Interview on His MMR Study

About 6 months ago, I wrote a post about Dr. Wakefield's research on the MMR vaccine. I highly recommend watching this video discussion between Dr. Wakefield and Dr. Mercola about his research. It's very interesting.

Mommy Bridget

H1N1 Improbable

A three-month-long investigation by CBS News, released earlier this week that  included state-by-state test results, revealed some very different facts. The CBS study found that H1N1 flu cases are NOT as prevalent as feared. A CBS article even states:

"If you've been diagnosed "probable" or "presumed" 2009 H1N1 or "swine flu" in recent months, you may be surprised to know this: odds are you didn't have H1N1 flu. In fact, you probably didn't have flu at all."

Mommy Bridget

Mercury Rising

My son woke up at 4:30am again this morning....let him cry himself back to sleep which never happened.  The good news is the entire house got to listen to him scream for and hour and a half until I went in and got him.

Second day this week.

So being especially angry this morning, I will rant on the obsurdity of the H1N1 hype:

In pushing this vaccine forward, Washington suspended mercury restrictions in the flu vaccine.  Mercury has been used as a preservative in vaccines for years until it was found to cause serious neurological disorders and has been linked to autism.

While the public assumes mercury in Thimerasol has been removed from vaccines...it has not.

People!  Hello!!!  Anybody in there???  This is much more dangerous than getting the flu.  But if you want to give in to all the media hype and harm your body while putting more cash in the pockets of the pharmaceutical companies... be my guest.

Do your homework.

Mommy Bridget

Media Overdone

Today's headline on our news channel said 3 dead in Utah from the Swine Flu, 126 confirmed cases in Utah of the Swine flu or the seasonal flu.

I wonder if anyone really thinks about the confirmed cases of the seasonal flu but only that it COULD be the swine flu???

The media has taken over our minds...ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh and here's one for ya this morning... a friend from back home received a letter in the mail a few days ago from the local hospital stating that she is going to have to bring her 6 mo. old back for another flu vaccine.  Apparently the original vaccine given wasn't "kept at the proper temperature". 

Drink that in with your morning coffee!!!

Mommy Bridget

Please watch if you are considering the flu vaccine for your children

6 Diseases Back from the Past

As noted in today's article by Dr. Mercola 6 Diseases Back from the Past, contrary to popular belief...the world has NOT eradicated age old diseases such as Polio and Bubonic Plague. See the article below:

6 Diseases Back From the Past
Posted by: Dr. Mercola
September 10 2009

Many think of bubonic plague, leprosy and polio as diseases of the past -- things that might have had a part in history, but aren't around any longer. But these diseases are still very much with us.


Pneumonic/Bubonic Plague

The pneumonic and bubonic plagues are caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, the difference being that pneumonic plague can spread from person to person -- without infected fleas.

The pneumonic form struck China earlier this year, and bubonic plague still persists in the United States, in the Southwest. Wild rats and fleas carry the disease, and when in proximity to humans, fleas will spread it to them rather than simply among rats.

Polio

Polio is still a problem in many countries. It can cause paralysis, in the legs and even the lungs.

But more often it has only subtle signs, so it is difficult to determine who has the virus, making it tricky to eradicate. Complicating matters is that symptoms of polio can often mimic those of other viruses.

Chagas Disease

The disease is spread by the bug known as the kissing bug and the assassin bug. It bites its human victim, defecating and causing an itch, which becomes Chagas disease when the victim scratches the area, allowing the infection to enter the body.

About 8 to 9 million people in Latin America are infected, and 400,000 people in the United States have the disease. The infection attacks the heart, but over the course of many years. Five percent of people will develop symptoms early on, such as liver or spleen enlargement. But the other 95 percent will show no signs for 20 or 30 years.

Leprosy

Leprosy is among the oldest of human diseases. The disease attacks skin and ultimately nerve cells. It is caused by a bacterium similar to the one responsible for tuberculosis.

The most common cause within the United States is exposure to armadillos, whether through eating them, having a farm of them or hunting them.

Hookworm

Hookworm still plagues many living in rural poverty throughout the world. The hookworm parasite, which lives in soil, causes severe anemia in its victim and the infection can prove difficult to get rid of.

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is still around, even if it isn't as deadly as it once was. But TB still poses a major problem for doctors. It's an insidious, slow-onset disease. Ultimately, patients can develop a persistent fever and lose energy and weight. Patients may not know they have the disease, and they can spread it to other people during that time.

Tuberculosis has become more of a threat than it once was with the development of forms that are resistant to the drugs typically used to treat the disease. Because of this, tuberculosis is still fatal to 40 to 50 percent of people who catch it.


Sources:

ABC News August 14, 2009

Web site for the vaccine safety skeptic

A mommy friend of mine posted a link to the President of the National Vaccine Information Center's personal blog. I read her postings and wanted to find out who she was and her credentials (very important when you are reading articles). I found the web site to the NVIC and thought it valuable to pass along.

www.nvic.org
Thank you Jess!

As Pres. Obama declared everyone should vaccinate for the swine flu this fall, I highly recommend learning more about it before rushing out to vaccinate for it.

Let me know your thoughts...

Mommy Bridget

Causal Connection between MMR vaccine and Autism?

Okay, where to begin...last night's Dateline presentation of the history behind the research finding a causal connection between the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) vaccine and autism in children was all in all disappointing. I was hoping for a clear representation of both sides, of the facts, and instead we got a media induced presentation that made Dr. Wakefield (whose research founded a "possible" link between autism and the MMR vaccine) look like he did bad research and the majority of the medical profession believing Wakefield's research to be the cause of bad medicine.

I could go on and on about the two sides...for I personally am not convinced one way or the other, but I will save yours and my precious time and give you the side of the scientist. (Not that I am one but I studied for years how to think like one)

Dr. Andrew Wakefield performed a causal comparative research between the independent variable (MMR vaccine) and a dependent variable (autism). This research that Wakefield worked on was peerly suggestive. He noted "suggestive" in his analysis, he noted that to the media, and noted it again last night on Dateline. Wakefield and his team of researchers were attempting to find a correlation between the two. He followed the scientific method used in any reputable test studies and his outcome showed a "causal" relationship. To many who don't understand this meaning, it became misconstrued as a definite relationship. Further studies will help prove or disprove this hypothesis.

One point Matt Lauer with Dateline made about the possibility of unsafe vaccines was that Thimerosal, an ingredient used in vaccines since the 1930's and was found to contain mercury, was "removed from all vaccines in 2002". This is not the case. In fact, Thimerosal has been removed from or reduced to trace amounts in all vaccines routinely recommended for children 6 years of age and younger, with the exception of inactivated influenza vaccine (see Table 1). A preservative-free version of the inactivated influenza vaccine (contains trace amounts of thimerosal) is available in limited supply at this time for use in infants, children and pregnant women. Some vaccines such as Td, which is indicated for older children (≥ 7 years of age) and adults, are also now available in formulations that are free of thimerosal or contain only trace amounts. Vaccines with trace amounts of thimerosal contain 1 microgram or less of mercury per dose. (http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/UCM096228).

Last fall I called my son's pediatrician to ask if they had a thimerosal free MMR vaccine. They replied that the thimerosal free MMR vaccine is only available at the county health clinic. So it is incorrect to say that the ingredient Thimerosal was "removed from all vaccines in 2002". It clearly was not.

So this episode of Dateline was a complete disappointment. There were inaccuracies and misinterpretations of Wakefield's research. I do not deny how important vaccines are to protect the public from deadly diseases. But I also do not deny a POSSIBLE connection between vaccines and other negative side affects...one which could include changes in brain activity. We don't know all the side affects. We don't know 100% how our bodies work and how or why things affect them. History of vaccines and other medical methods show inconsistencies. It shows that medicine changes and evolves from mistakes. Vaccine safety is always evolving. Make a vaccine that we know doesn't affect our children negatively, then "recommend" it to our children.

Okay, I would like any of you interested to respond. This is a very important topic to discuss as it affects all of us! Make your voice heard...join in the conversation and respond by comment to this posting.

Can't wait to hear!

Mommy Bridget

Autism debate

Dateline will broadcast the debate that links the MMR vaccine with autism. Tune in to see the story that started the controversy. This Sunday Aug. 30th at 7pm ET.

Mommy Bridget

And the vaccine debate continues...

Below is an article in The Huffington Post...an online newspaper. The vaccination debate is so controversial that as a mother, I don't trust the CDC nor do I trust any pediatrician's view on vaccinations. I believe every parent should investigate vaccines and make an INFORMED decision on whether to vaccinate, how much to vaccinate, or to not.

Comments are welcome!

Mommy Bridget

Recently, I was amazed to hear a commentary by CNN's Campbell Brown on the controversial vaccine issue. After a ruling by the 'special vaccine court' saying the Measles, Mumps, Rubella shot wasn't found to be responsible for the plaintiffs' autism, she and others in the media began making assertions that the judgment was in, and vaccines had been proven safe. No one would be more relieved than Jenny and I if that were true. But with all due respect to Ms. Brown, a ruling against causation in three cases out of more than 5000 hardly proves that other children won't be adversely affected by the MMR, let alone that all vaccines are safe. This is a huge leap of logic by anyone's standards. Not everyone gets cancer from smoking, but cigarettes do cause cancer. After 100 years and many rulings in favor of the tobacco companies, we finally figured that out.

The truth is that no one without a vested interest in the profitability of vaccines has studied all 36 of them in depth. There are more than 100 vaccines in development, and no tests for cumulative effect or vaccine interaction of all 36 vaccines in the current schedule have ever been done. If I'm mistaken, I challenge those who are making such grand pronouncements about vaccine safety to produce those studies.

If we are to believe that the ruling of the 'vaccine court' in these cases mean that all vaccines are safe, then we must also consider the rulings of that same court in the Hannah Polling and Bailey Banks cases, which ruled vaccines were the cause of autism and therefore assume that all vaccines are unsafe. Clearly both are irresponsible assumptions, and neither option is prudent.

In this growing crisis, we cannot afford to blindly trumpet the agenda of the CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) or vaccine makers. Now more than ever, we must resist the urge to close this book before it's been written. The anecdotal evidence of millions of parents who've seen their totally normal kids regress into sickness and mental isolation after a trip to the pediatrician's office must be seriously considered. The legitimate concern they and many in the scientific community have that environmental toxins, including those found in vaccines, may be causing autism and other disorders (Aspergers, ADD, ADHD), cannot be dissuaded by a show of sympathy and a friendly invitation to look for the 'real' cause of autism anywhere but within the lucrative vaccine program.

With vaccines being the fastest growing division of the pharmaceutical industry, isn't it possible that profits may play a part in the decision-making? That the vaccine program is becoming more of a profit engine than a means of prevention? In a world left reeling from the catastrophic effects of greed, mismanagement and corporate insensitivity, is it so absurd for us to wonder why American children are being given twice as many vaccines on average, compared to the top 30 first world countries?

Paul Offit, the vaccine advocate and profiteer, who helped invent a Rotavirus vaccine is said to have paved the way for his own multi-million dollar windfall while serving on the very council that eventually voted his Rotavirus vaccine onto our children's schedule. On August 21, 2000 a congressional investigation's report titled, "Conflicts in Vaccine Policy," stated:

It has become clear over the course of this investigation that the VRBPAC and the ACIP [the two main advisory boards that determine the vaccine schedule] are dominated by individuals with close working relationships with the vaccine producers. This was never the intent of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which requires that a diversity of views be represented on advisory committees.

Isn't that enough to raise questions about the process of choosing the vaccine schedule?

With many states like Minnesota now reporting the number at 1 in 80 children affected with autism, can we afford to trust those who serve two masters or their logic that tells us "one size fits all" when it comes to vaccines? Can we afford to ignore vaccines as a possible cause of these rising numbers when they are one of the fastest growing elements in our children's environment? With all the doubt that's left hanging on this topic, how can anyone in the media or medical profession, boldly demand that all parents march out and give their kids 36 of these shots, six at a time in dosage levels equal to that given a 200 pound man? This is a bias of the most dangerous kind.

I've also heard it said that no evidence of a link between vaccines and autism has ever been found. That statement is only true for the CDC, the AAP and the vaccine makers who've been ignoring mountains of scientific information and testimony. There's no evidence of the Lincoln Memorial if you look the other way and refuse to turn around. But if you care to look, it's really quite impressive. For a sample of vaccine injury evidence go to www.generationrescue.org/lincolnmemorial.html.

We have never argued that people shouldn't be immunized for the most serious threats including measles and polio, but surely there's a limit as to how many viruses and toxins can be introduced into the body of a small child. Veterinarians found out years ago that in many cases they were over-immunizing our pets, a syndrome they call Vaccinosis. It overwhelmed the immune system of the animals, causing myriad physical and neurological disorders. Sound familiar? If you can over-immunize a dog, is it so far out to assume that you can over-immunize a child? These forward thinking vets also decided to remove thimerosal from animal vaccines in 1992, and yet this substance, which is 49% mercury, is still in human vaccines. Don't our children deserve as much consideration as our pets?

I think I'd rather listen to the more sensible voice of Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the National Institute of Health, who says:

Listen to the patients and the patients will teach...I think there is an inexcusable issue, and that's the lack of research that's been done here...A parent can legitimately question giving a one-day old baby, or a two-day old baby [the] Hepatitis B vaccine that has no risk for it [and] the mother has no risk for it. That's a heavy-duty vaccine given on day two [of life]. I think those are legitimate questions.

Dr. Healy is also calling for a long overdue study of vaccinated vs. unvaccinated. Dr. Frank Engly, a researcher and microbiologist who served on the boards of the CDC, FDA and EPA during the 70s and 80s, warned:

The CDC cannot afford to admit thimerosal is toxic because they have been promoting it for several years...If they would have followed through with our 1982 report, vaccines would have been freed of thimerosal and all this autism as they tell me would not have occurred. But as it is, it all occurred.

In all likelihood the truth about vaccines is that they are both good and bad. While ingredients like aluminum, mercury, ether, formaldehyde and anti-freeze may help preserve and enhance vaccines, they can be toxic as well. The assortment of viruses delivered by multiple immunizations may also be a hazard. I agree with the growing number of voices within the medical and scientific community who believe that vaccines, like every other drug, have risks as well as benefits and that for the sake of profit, American children are being given too many, too soon. One thing is certain. We don't know enough to announce that all vaccines are safe!

If the CDC, the AAP and Ms. Brown insist that our children take twice as many shots as the rest of the western world, we need more independent vaccine research not done by the drug companies selling the vaccines or by organizations under their influence. Studies that cannot be internally suppressed. Answers parents can trust. Perhaps this is what Campbell Brown should be demanding and how the power of the press could better serve the public in the future.

-- Jim Carrey