Guillain-Barre Syndrome after flu shot

Thanks for the link, Brian.

Funny, it's never the vaccine's fault. No, in this case, the man supposedly had a "rare disease" that was triggered by the flu shot. Oh, and a mystery study in 1976 said the chance of developing this was "one in a million." Where's the credibility? And what about all those girls getting Guillain-Barre from their Gardasil vaccines? And all the other vaccines with Guillain-Barre listed as a side effect? No, but it's not the vaccine. The benefits always outweigh the risks. You may be paralyzed or have chronic lifetime arthritis (another auto-immune disorder), but at least you might not get the flu or whatever.

Canadian Man Paralyzed for 5 Months After Flu Shot
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,443725,00.html

A Canadian man says a rare disease triggered by the flu shot left him paralyzed for five months, cbcnews.ca reported Wednesday.
Richard Ryan, 44, from New Westminster in British Columbia, said within two weeks of receiving his flu shot last year he was in the hospital with excruciating pain.
Although he initially thought the cause of his pain was a back injury, doctors isolated the problem as Guillain-Barre syndrome, an autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system.
A 1976 study determined that the odds of developing the syndrome from the flu shot was 1-in-a million, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports on its Web site. The CDC said most people who develop the disease from the flu shot recover completely, while some have lasting nerve damage. In very rare cases, it may result in death.
In addition to pain, Ryan also suffered from numbness and breathing problems. He spent 10 weeks in the hospital, including three weeks in intensive care, cbcnews.ca reported. One year later he remains heavily medicated, unable to work, and has memory problems.
Despite Ryan's experience, Dr. Danuta Skowronski, an epidemiologist at the British Columbia Center for Disease Control, told cbcnews.ca the benefits of the flu vaccine still outweigh the risks for most people.

Parents Protest in New Jersey

[Suggested action item: Call New Jersey Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk and thank her for standing up for informed consent and freedom of choice on vaccination: (201) 666-0881. Even if you don't live there, what happens in other states affects us all. Then call your local state representative and urge him or her to protect freedom of choice on vaccination in your state.]

From The Record:

Protesters rally at State House over state-mandated vaccines
Friday, October 17, 2008
BY ELISE YOUNG
TRENTON BUREAU

About 500 activists rallied outside the State House on Thursday, many with children who they said developed autism and other disorders after state-mandated immunizations.
"The shots just have to stop," said Lisa Driscoll of Maplewood, who brought her 4-year-old son Matt. "He's allergic to everything in the shots."
For years, activists across the country have protested compulsory vaccines for such diseases as chicken pox, flu, rubella and polio.
Some suspect that mercury-derived preservatives in some formulas trigger autism and other neurological ailments. Others say they're not opposed to vaccines in general, but they want to choose when and if their children will receive them.
But public-health officials say that children who have no immunity to common diseases are a risk to themselves and others.
The officials say that vaccination programs' achievements, such as the global eradication of deadly smallpox, far outweigh rare side effects. They say the federal government has identified no scientific link between the preservatives and autism.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a program called Healthy People 2010, is aiming to immunize 95 percent of the country's kindergartners and first-graders against seven diseases.
In New Jersey — home to the country's highest rate of autism, with one in 94 children affected — the issue erupted late last year, when the state adopted a Public Health Council recommendation for additional vaccines. Starting last month, all infants and toddlers in public schools and day cares were required to get annual flu shots, and sixth-graders had to receive a meningitis vaccination and a booster for diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus, or DPT.
At the rally, Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, R-Westwood, told the crowd that forced immunizations violate the Nuremberg Code, the set of ethical standards created in the wake of Nazi experiments on humans.
"We have a right to informed consent," Vandervalk said. "This once was a closet fear that now has become a public outcry."
Vandervalk is the sponsor of a bill to allow parents a conscientious exemption from vaccinating their children. Parents would claim a "sincerely held or moral objection" on paperwork to be filed with local health departments.
An identical bill in the Senate is sponsored by Sen. Gerald Cardinale, R-Cresskill, with a half-dozen more North Jersey lawmakers as co-sponsors.
Nineteen states have such a provision, according to the New Jersey Coalition for Vaccination Choice. Right now, the only way New Jersey parents can avoid vaccinations — and stay within the law — is to claim a medical or religious waiver. Roughly 2,200 children have such exemptions.
At the rally, Christine Levin said she drove for two hours from Sparta with her six children, ages 12 years to 5 months. None of them is vaccinated, she said.
"With my first child, I took classes in natural childbirth and learned that at birth, children are given eye drops, a Vitamin K shot and a shot for hepatitis B," Levin said.
"Hepatitis B, for a newborn? That's something that drug addicts and prostitutes get, and the vaccine is only good for 10 years. So we're protecting 10-year-old prostitutes and drug users. I said no way. We'd rather take our chances getting an illness."
Many protesters said their main fear was that a vaccine, once injected, can't be removed.
"I want to have a choice," said Melanie Miller of Bernardsville, Somerset County, mother of 3-year-old Frances Miller. "I'm not going to put a vaccine in her body every year."
E-mail: younge@northjersey.com


It's interesting that the article says the federal government has not found a link "between the (vaccine) preservatives and autism." We keep hearing that, but I have to wonder how much top officials know and are simply covering up. In June 2005 there was a meeting of government officials, scientists and doctors that Rolling Stone magazine reported on in the article Deadly Immunity. I blogged about this back in May, when I first heard of it. Everyone should read the article - and if we find it hard to believe, I think we need to ask ourselves if Rolling Stone would completely fabricate this story, or if it is true. And since many citizens (including myself) have managed to get their hands on the actual transcripts from the meeting, it's hard to pretend it didn't happen. Yet that's kind of what the federal government is doing, because they have no answers they want to share with the public.

My second bone to pick is this: the federal vaccine court DID concede back in March that 9-year-old Hannah Poling's autism was caused by her vaccines "in the presence of her mitochondrial disorder." Then when parents started asking if the feds would start screening for mito disorders before vaccination, the CDC said that would be too "risky" and "raised ethical questions." ... Good grief, I'll raise an ethical question. How can they say this child actually developed autism from her vaccines because of a biological condition she had, then continue to tell Americans that vaccines are safe for everyone? Isn't every parent out there wondering, "What if MY child has a mitochondrial disorder?" If the government says there is a link, but doesn't think screening for the disorder is a priority, then how can I trust that my child's safety is my government's top priority? Well, I can't. And I can't trust that they are doing everything in their power to protect kids from vaccine injury either. This is where it all breaks down. The trust is gone, and I am now an independent researcher, severed from the faith I used to have in public health authority to tell me what's best for my kids.

With the economy trembling, a lot of Americans have been reminded that human corruption runs deep in the people governing our country and our financial institutions. The phrase "follow the money" just keeps coming to mind. Should it be any surprise that human corruption also exists in the public health field? In the pharmaceutical companies? Does it alarm you that pharmaceutical reps spend more time talking to your legislators on Capitol Hill than you do? Covering up mistakes, lying and greed are human problems, not sector problems. Public health authorities are certainly not immune to these sins.

(thanks, Jeff, for the article)

Sample Exemption Form

I found the following document on Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's Web site (under Vax Forms). I have been thinking about creating my own documents for each vaccine (ha, if I ever get to it!) stating my reasons for not choosing to use it (should we choose not to). But for anyone looking for a standard exemption document, I thought this was pretty straightforward and helpful. I appreciate that it states specifically that there are no guarantees 1) regarding the efficacy of a vaccine nor 2) regarding a safe outcome.

Thank you, once again, Dr. Tenpenny. Here is the document:


We, _________________________, hereby state that we have chosen not to vaccinate our child,_________________ because we are philosophically opposed to the concept of vaccines.

We maintain this is a responsible and ethically justifiable position for the following
reasons:
-vaccination is a medical intervention performed on a healthy child that has the ability to result in injury or death of that child;
-the fact that there can be no guarantee that the deliberate introduction of killed or live microorganisms into the body of a healthy child will not compromise the health or cause the death of that child, either immediately or in the future;
-no predictors have been identified by medical science that can give advance warning that injury or death may occur in any individual child;
-there are no guarantees that the vaccine will indeed protect the child from contracting a disease;
-there is an absence of adequate scientific knowledge regarding the way vaccines singly, or in combination, act in the human body at the cellular and molecular level.

Therefore, we believe that vaccination is a medical procedure that could reasonably be termed as experimental each time it is performed on a healthy child.

Our state law makes provisions for non-vaccination of children whose parents object to vaccines for religious or philosophical reasons. We accept full responsibility for the health of our child, and because of philosophical conviction, do not wish our child vaccinated. In the event of any infectious condition, our child would of course remain at home. We further understand that during the course of an outbreak of any so called "vaccine preventable disease" would occur at your facility, our child is subject to exclusion from your facility for the duration of the outbreak.
_____________________________ ____________
Signature Date
______________________________ ____________
Signature Date

And After Vacation Came...

I don't really know if anyone still reads this blog, and I myself haven't had the stamina or heart to think about the topic for quite some time. I haven't added anything since July 7th, because after we got back from vacation, we sold our house, packed it all up, moved, found out we were pregnant, and this blog's author just has no energy for this right now.

I don't know when I will post again, but to all who have come across these pages as searching parents, I encourage you to keep researching. You'll know you've hit home when your blood pressure rises every time you think about the topic! There's just too much cash involved and not enough accountability. I truly believe the people in the system have good intentions (doctors, nurses, many public health officials), but the system matrix is broken. The stuff trickling down from the top rungs of public health authority and the drug industry has soured the whole lot, and we trusting parents are just along for the ride.

I started researching vaccines even though my public health background taught me all was normal and safe. I now find myself in an uncharted frontier, where I don't automatically trust what I read (on either side). But I also find I can never go back to thinking that vaccines are safe for everyone nor as necessary as we've been told. I certainly don't have all the answers, but I know a lot more than I used to. And when I am tempted to fear I am making wrong decisions, I just have to remember the God who is sovereign over my children's lives. My faith cannot ultimately be in my decisions or my information, but it must rest solely in the person of Christ.

"Those who know Your name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You." ~ Psalm 9:10

Vacation

(Or will it be more like this? ...)

Here's hoping Bertha sizzles out.

Question:

Why not get rid of "vaccine court" and bring paid lawyers back on the job for vaccine-injured childen?

(Currently, families who want to pursue legal recourse for vaccine injury must find a lawyer who will work for free for them for as long as it takes to win their case in the government's vaccine court. The government's lawyers are, of course, paid.)

It is just wrong that American citizens have to use this broken system to get justice.

But anyway, this post was originally going to be about HPV Vaccine. Read this: http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/07/hpv-vaccine-victims-pile-up-15b-for.html

Also, check out this blog: http://www.jenjensfamily.blogspot.com/ The family wants to be clear that they are not pointing fingers at the HPV vaccine as causing their daughter's paralysis. But it seems to me, from looking at the sheer number of adverse events being reported to our public health authorities, that Jenny is definitely not alone. Lord, please heal her body. Please spare young girls from harm and bring justice to those whose carelessness is hurting others!

Related story:
HPV Vaccine Linked to Teen's Paralysis? (CBS News, 7/7/08)
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/07/earlyshow/health/main4236581.shtml

Added to Side Bar: Evidence of Harm

I would absolutely love, love, love to see David Kirby speak sometime. What a great American.

http://evidenceofharm.com/

A Fair Article

The angst I always feel before reading a vaccine article in the mainstream press dissipated after a few sentences here. I am glad Julie Deardorff is approaching this on the level: it's not supposed to be "parents vs. the medical community." This vaccine issue is about parents learning about real information and growing concerned that our medical authorities aren't being straight with us. We deserve better.

Here is Julie's artice as printed in the Chicago Tribune today:

The AAP gets tough on vaccine dissenters
The American Academy of Pediatrics is growing so concerned about the climbing rate of vaccine exemptions--and the possible affect on community health--that it recently formed a group called the "Immunization Alliance" to address the growing refusal of some parents to vaccinate.
In a letter sent to members, the AAP identified the following as problems:
"Parent-to-parent spread of myths."
"A public that does not understand the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases."
"Unbalanced Internet and media exposure."
"Decreased trust in the government and health care providers."
"Slow response to negative news coverage."
"Increasing calls for philosophical exemptions."
But here's a problem the AAP missed: The sheer number of recommended and mandated vaccines is freaking parents out. And new combo shots that contain a stew of four or five different vaccines aren't going to help matters.
In 1982, The Centers for Disease Control recommended 23 doses of 7 vaccines for children up to age 6.
Today, the CDC recommends that children get 48 doses of 12 vaccines by age 6. That's a lot. Toss in flu shots for all infants and children and it boosts the number of recommended vaccines for children to 69 doses of 16 vaccines by age 18.
The two new combo shots approved yesterday by a federal advisory panel don't change the schedule; they just reduce the number of individual shots. GlaxoSmithKline's four-in-one shot offers protection against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and polio. Sanofi Pasteur's five-in-one shot is for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio and illness due to Haemophilus influenzae type b, or HiB.
But parents who are already asking doctors to unbundle the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine because they want their child to have individual vaccines aren't likely to embrace a five-shot cocktail. The new shots are also likely to raise questions, concerns and storage issues.
And how does the AAP plan to handle it? The organization will not talk about choice or informed consent, issues that should be raised with any medical procedure that carries a risk.
Instead, the AAP suggests in a sample letter to pediatricians, that physicians tell parents who refuse to vaccinate that they have a "self-centered and unacceptable attitude" since your child is getting protection from others who have chosen to vaccinate.
And if you absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child despite your physician's efforts, you could be booted from your pediatrician's practice. The sample letter to doctors from the AAP recommends saying:
"We will ask you to find another health care provider who shares your views. We do not keep a list of such providers nor would we recommend any such physician."

Perceptions vs. Reality

My husband and I just finished reading a children's book, Chasing Vermeer, for a project he was working on. It sounds silly to read 5th-grade novels, but it's actually pretty fun. We did the same thing with some of the Narnia and Harry Potter books, taking turns reading them out loud.

Anyway, the book got me thinking about vaccines many times, because the characters often wonder if the things they see are real or not. It references a real life book written by a man named Charles Fort, who collected at least 294 newspaper articles documenting showers of living things (frogs falling from the sky and that sort of thing). (It turns out Fort still has a following today, though he died in 1932.) Fort wrote that it seemed the common practice of humans was to process unexplained events or facts through the conclusions we already held about life, rather than starting with the facts and drawing conclusions (I paraphrase; the book is currently at class with my hubbie, so I can't quote it).

One of the characters in the book, at one point, feels that he has fallen into a puzzle and cannot get out. I, too, have had days where it felt like that. I have often wondered if all the research I am doing is "real," or is the perception I had before (that vaccines are generally safe) the more accurate one?

I lay in bed the other night with a scene from Disney's Alice in Wonderland in my head: Alice in the dark forest, walking a path that is in the process of being completely erased by some strange, four-footed creature with a broom for a face. The creature makes its way around her, leaving her standing on one square of path with no clue as to how to get out of the forest.

It seems like a scary place to be, not knowing where you came from or where you should go. But then, I thought, maybe we need more moments like that in life. If we don't have the "Think This Way" path in front of us, then we are forced to examine information and forge our own path.

Now, I'm not saying that all areas of life are open for re-writing. I am pretty orthodox in my beliefs, especially regarding right and wrong. But are there certain things where our thinking has been shaped by an outside force that isn't necessarily trustworthy?

It is hard to get a firm intellectual grasp on vaccine safety now. The information is very controlled. I used to think that my doctor would always know exactly what was correct, but I am beginning to see that doctors only have so much time and are most likely reading the newsletters they receive from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, or whatever other medical organizations they belong to.

When my doctor, the CDC and the AAP say that serious reactions are rare, I can't take it at face value anymore. How rare? What are the numbers? Are those pre-market numbers or post-market? When will the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System ever contain accurate numbers? Where is the paper trail for vaccine injury, and why isn't it discussed in the press? Why is vaccine injury hidden from the public? Because medical "authorities" do not trust us to decide for ourselves? No wonder we have such misconceptions about vaccines.

Why haven't the multiple vaccines in the vaccine schedule ever been tested together? Why aren't many vaccines tested for carcinogenicity before going to market? Do vaccines even work that well? How well? Why are there so many accounts of measles outbreaks among the highly vaccinated? Are the public's (and the scientific community's) perceptions of vaccine effectiveness completely wrong? Is it true what Dr. Robert Mendelsohn wrote in 1984, that no vaccine can be credited with eliminating any disease? Is it true that these diseases were on their way out before the vaccines were invented? (I have read much about this and it is shocking!) It is so hard to believe that we are vaccinating for no good reason! But what if it is true? What if we gave alllllll the numbers to little Alice on her square to calculate? What path would she re-write, and would it amaze us?

The AAP recently wrote that parents who question vaccinating simply don't understand things. They are not experts. They are selfish. Their decisions are emotional. My question is, do I not deserve to know everything? Why should the AAP and CDC make my decision for me? Why do they get to tell me what reality is? Such control of information is not fit for America.

The other day I read a TIME magazine article (dated June 2nd) titled "How Safe Are Vaccines?" In the subheading, it noted that parents are concerned about autism and are declining shots. Then it said, "What the science says about the real risks - and what you should do about it." Of course, the "experts" at TIME told me to get the shots and stop worrying (in a nutshell). (And cited the same old, faulty autism/thimerosal studies the government has been using for years.) Well, I guess I am a hard sell for TIME and whoever else commiserated to write that article (Dr. Paul Offit was quoted as always); I have a brain of my own and plan to draw my own conclusions based on the science they weren't so eager to publish. The perceptions I have regarding vaccine safety just won't fit into that neat little model of theirs anymore.

Does that make me a renegade? A fool? Or maybe a "fearless thinker," as one of the Chasing Vermeer kids called Charles Fort? (ha ha - I really don't know much about this Fort guy and say that somewhat in jest ... I'm not sure I want to align myself with him!) I read a quote in TIME that I've pondered for a few days -- a mom, whose son almost died from a vaccine-preventable bacterial infection after they elected not to get his shots, said she was "angry" that people are out there spreading information that would cause parents not to vaccinate. I felt for her as a fellow mother, and would definitely be shaken up if that happened to my child. I am sorry they went through that. I pictured her face looking angrily at me if she knew who was behind this blog. It made me want to be really sure I am sticking to facts, but not apologizing for them. I just can't see how turning a blind eye to the risks of vaccine injury is the solution.

As someone wrote recently on another blog, parents who don't vaccinate "know they are playing Russian Roulette with their child's health." Yes, the decision is emotional. It is hard to know if there are shots we should decline. But there needs to be room in this country for more than one answer. We allow many freedoms and many "ways of being" in this nation. American society assumes that not everyone believes the same things. It needs to be just as politically correct here.

Washington 101 (Part 1)

I am constantly feeling like I want to DO something whenever I read about parental rights being threatened, vaccines harming children, or normal Americans being marginalized for questioning the untested vaccine schedule. Having a 14-month-old in the house, however, largely hinders me from doing much. Congressmen and lobbyists go on about their inside-the-beltway, day-to-day politics, and little moms from small-town America can easily be ignored.

But ... that doesn't mean we don't speak up anyway. A few years working in a lobbying organization in DC taught me a small bit, and I wanted to post a few more useful links.

1) Finding your officials is probably the easiest and most important first step. Once you know their names, you're well on your way. Congress.org allows you to type in your zip code and instantly see who your federal and state officials are. (There's a box on the left side of the page, and at the top right inside the navigation bar.)

2) Now that you have your representatives' names, just write down this phone number and keep it handy: Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121. When your call is answered, just say to the operator, "Senator _____'s office, please," or "Could you please direct me to Representative _______?" or something to that effect.

Sometimes this number gets very busy and it's hard to get through. You can try this number in addition: (202) 225-3121, and you can always use the House.gov or the Senate.gov Web sites to find additional phone numbers and email addresses for your legislators.

... Now, this may be elementary to most, but just as a refresher, every American has two Senators (no matter where you live in your state, your Senators are the same -- there are 2 for each of the 50 states) and one Representative in the House (different depending on your geographic location). All in all there are 535 members of Congress - 100 in the Senate and 435 in the House.

Tips on calling your Representatives/Senators:

- Don't be afraid to pick up the phone on the spur of the moment to voice your opinion. Your legislators work for you. I preach to myself when I say we need to make our voices heard. It literally could take only one or two minutes to call and speak three sentences while you're washing your dishes.

- The phone is probably being answered by a college-aged intern or an entry-level staff member (though sometimes the higher-ranked staff answer). This person may sound completely disinterested, but don't let that hinder you from saying all you want to say. Even if they only write down part of your comments or merely make a hash mark next to a topic showing that their boss got a call, your call is better than no call, and if asked for details later, they may recall some of what you said. Remember to be polite!

- This person also may not be able to explain the Rep./Senator's positions or answer "why" questions, such as, "So why did your boss vote in favor of such-and-such?" You can try, but don't be surprised if they keep mum.

- If you have lots of questions, ask if you can speak with the L.A. (legislative assistant) who works on (whatever issue). You might even be able to find a name before calling by going to the representative's Web site and looking up staff and issues. Some members provide this information. If your issue is vaccine safety, this topic may fall under something broader like "Health and Human Services." If you aren't sure, you can always just ask the person on the phone. ("Which L.A. can I speak to regarding ______?")

In-person visits can sometimes be scheduled in your vicinity when your federal Representative/Senator is home for a recess (such as in August). Or, you can call the local office and ask about meeting with staff regarding an issue anytime. Be sure to have clear talking points and handouts ready if you decide to pursue this route.

Next "Washington 101": How to Research Congressional Bills

The Academy Thinks You're Stupid

It would be one thing if the American Academy of Pediatrics actually used this recent letter to doctors to calmly and professionally discuss vaccine injury and parental rights. But they've dug in their heels, insulted everyone who's not an expert on vaccines, and if you had trouble with your pediatrician before regarding your child's vaccines, it may very well get worse.

"When you can't reason, insult."

Parents, stay vigilant! You ARE correct to research your child's vaccines. It will take work, but the information is out there, and it's in medical journals and CDC documents - not just wacky Web sites as anyone who opposes you is likely to suggest! You are doing the right thing. YOU, and only you, have God-given authority over your child. Be empowered. You are not alone.

http://vaccineawakening.blogspot.com/2008/06/aap-leadership-fights-informed-vaccine.html

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/06/aap-insulting-p.html#more

What can you do?
- Contact your federal and state representatives and tell them you want your medical rights protected - we want informed consent on vaccination, a medical procedure that carries risks, and we want the option to take exemptions on vaccines. Ask them to do all they can to protect our medical rights.
- Be prepared to discuss the facts you have discovered regarding vaccination with your child's pediatrician. Personally, I am working on a binder with dividers for each vaccine/disease that I can carry with me anywhere, open it up and point right to the information I need. A good book on vaccines would also do the trick. (Do an Amazon search on vaccine books by Stephanie Cave or Neil Z. Miller)
- If you're feeling saucy, give the AAP a call and tell them you do not appreciate being insulted for taking a reasonable look at the risks and benefits of vaccines. The motto on the AAP Web site is "Dedicated to the Health of All Children" - and since the former NIH Director, Dr. Bernadine Healy, recently said that "there is this susceptible group" (who is sensitive to vaccines), then perhaps the Academy needs to take it down a few notches and admit that not all children need all those vaccines. 847/434-4000 (Elk Grove, IL, headquarters) 202/347-8600 (Washington, D.C. office - Dept. of Federal Affairs)

Go get 'em.

Travels, Family and Grad Classes

These things have been the major obligations on my schedule the past few weeks (the grad classes are my husband's - it's the computer he's hogging that I need :) ha ha - j/k of course, babe) It's been hard to get to the blog since before Memorial Day, but I do have some things in the works and if you keep coming back here to the same old title, please don't give up. Umm, I'll be back. (Will my brain always automatically do its worst Arnold imitation every time I put those 3 words together?)

Stay tuned.

Where Does it End?

Three questions:

1) Is anyone else wondering if we are getting too "vaccine-happy"?

2) Will the manufacturer of this stomach ulcer vaccine lobby for it to be added to the pediatric schedule?

3) Does anyone still doubt that vaccines are primarily a business and not a philanthropic endeavor?

Again, we see that drug companies are not kindly little non-profit organizations; their motivation is for profit: "Novartis has recently stepped up its investment in vaccines as part of a strategy to diversify its business."


Novartis plans new anti-ulcer vaccine trial in '08

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssHealthcareNews/idUSL0418525920080604

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Novartis AG (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to launch a proof of concept trial for its experimental vaccine against a bug that causes stomach ulcers by the end of 2008, it said on Wednesday.
The Helicobacter pylori vaccine is currently in Phase I trials and has been shown to be safe and immunogenic in early tests.
Other products in early development include a Group B Streptococcus vaccine candidate in Phase I and a vaccine against infections from Group A Streptococcus, which is due to enter Phase I trials in 2010. A pneumoccocus vaccine to cover new strains is also expected to start Phase I testing in 2010.
The Swiss drugmaker laid out its development plans for the new vaccines in a statement ahead of a R&D meeting on its vaccines business to be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, later in the day.
Division head Joerg Reinhardt said the products underlined the potential of the Novartis vaccines pipeline.
Its most advanced new vaccines are two against meningococcal infection in late stage development -- Menveo and MenB -- which analysts view as potential blockbusters.
Novartis has recently stepped up its investment in vaccines as part of a strategy to diversify its business. A new research site with up to 250 scientists is expected to open in Cambridge later in 2008. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Rory Channing)

Real Families. Real Hurt. Real Change Needed.

DC Rally Pictures
(Thanks, Ginger T.)

Video Coverage
(Thanks, Autism One)

And seriously? No news in any major papers? I searched Washington Post, Washington Times, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS... Found a few things in smaller news outlets, and one blurb on WJLA, the Washington ABC affiliate. Nothing very substantial, and nothing giving credence to the protestors' message. Reminds me of when the March for Life comes to town - the papers virtually ignore tens of thousands of protestors marching in the bitter cold of January through Washington.

There are some truths that are, unfortunately, very inconvenient.

Please pray for June 4th rally

Tomorrow (Wednesday, June 4th), hundreds (or thousands?) of parents and activists will march on Washington in one, unified voice to urge government officials to take toxic ingredients out of vaccines and ease up on the pediatric vaccine schedule. Many Americans (me included) believe that the current schedule is somewhat overzealous and that children are receiving too much immune stimulus too soon. There is also concern that the interactions of the vaccines have not been tested together, and the safety of so many injections at once is in question.

I am all for this rally and I wish I could afford to be there; however, it doesn't need me to be successful. What I do believe it needs is God's blessing, and if you are the praying sort, please join me in praying some specific things for the day:

• Pray that God would work in the hearts of the members of Congress and also officials in other branches of government, that they might hear the valid concerns of these parents and do what is right.
• Please pray that God would bring to light the conflicts of interest in vaccine manufacturing and approval processes and how money has corrupted a program that is supposed to be for the public good.
• Pray that God will have mercy on our nation and bring about change, as the vaccine program is one that most people blindly trust in (me included, until 3 months ago!)
• Pray that more families will become aware of problems with vaccines and be able to educate themselves and act in the best interests of their children.
• Pray for the families of vaccine-injured children -- for strength, endurance, hope, and joy, and that their trials would point them to Jesus and the compassion He has.

Oh Lord, Your word says that the king's heart is a stream of water in Your hand; You turn it wherever You will (Proverbs 21:1). Lord, would you please use this rally to bring about change in our nation? Please work in the hearts of our rulers so that they can accomplish good things for our children. Please use this rally to protect children from future harm. Lord, you are sovereign over our land and we ask that you would divert the plans of dishonest men who care more about monetary gain than they do our health. Please give wisdom to parents and reveal the problems with vaccines to more people. In Christ's name, Amen.

The Book Every American Should Read

This is the book I should have read when I first started trying to figure out what was going on with this whole autism/vaccines thing.

It hasn't been clear to me thus far, but this excellently written book, Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby is telling me the history of this whole ordeal. The issue is newer than I thought (according to this book, concerned parents didn't even know that thimerosal was mercury until 1999), yet still entirely too long-lived. A lot of hard-working, passionate parents have done a lot of good and faced a mountain of opposition. Mr. Kirby, I think this book will go down in history as the one that told the story when so many still couldn't hear.

The book reads like a novel yet is solidly documented. I have been devouring it and have learned a ton, yet I'm only 1/4th of the way through. I can't wait to read it again tomorrow (had to stop today when my eyes couldn't take it anymore!).

I don't know if this will bring me much closer to deciding what is best for my baby, since thimerosal is almost all phased out of vaccines, but it certainly gives me a greater understanding of the public health machine we're dealing with. All I can say is, you are not crazy to do your homework on your child's vaccinations. And you should read this book! Get on Amazon or Ebay or what-have-you and spend a few bucks on a cheap copy. I personally think this is one of the most important stories to be told.

Will Dr. Healy's words change things?

All right, I'm waaaay behind on putting this landmark interview up. But I need this for a reference for my own research and perhaps anyone reading this blog would want it also.

Here is the link to the CBS Web site, where you can watch video of Dr. Bernadine Healy, former head of the National Institutes of Health and a current member of the Institute of Medicine, say that her colleagues in the public health field have been "too quick to dismiss the (vaccine-autism) hypothesis as irrational." (If the main video is too long for your liking, click on the smaller "screens" down below - the middle video that is 3:05 long is the one that aired on CBS Evening News on Monday, 5/12/08)

"What we’re seeing in the bulk of the population: vaccines are safe," said Healy. "But there may be this susceptible group. The fact that there is concern, that you don’t want to know that susceptible group is a real disappointment to me. If you know that susceptible group, you can save those children. If you turn your back on the notion that there is a susceptible group… what can I say?"

By the way, for what may be the first time, I read a mainstream article today that didn't automatically dismiss the "autism from vaccines" theory. It was here, on U.S. News and World Report, in an article authored by Nancy Schute. Could this attitude be a sign of things to come?

Hepatitis A Vaccine

Helpful links:

CDC Hepatitis A page

National Vaccine Information Center Hepatitis A vaccine page

Both of these pages are quick to read and the information is straighforward on both. I don't even feel like I need to say anything further. (Hooray!)

If I think of anything to add later, I will.

New Scientific Paper Finds Correlation between Thimerosal, Autism

From the Journal of the Neurological Sciences. Abstract here.

"Consistent significantly increased rate ratios were observed for autism, autism spectrum disorders, tics, attention deficit disorder, and emotional disturbances with Hg (mercury) exposure from TCVs (thimerosal-containing vaccines). By contrast, none of the control outcomes had significantly increased rate ratios with Hg exposure from TCVs. Routine childhood vaccination should be continued to help reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with infectious diseases, but efforts should be undertaken to remove Hg from vaccines. Additional studies should be conducted to further evaluate the relationship between Hg exposure and NDs (neurodevelopmental disorders)."

Service Dogs for Autistic Children

Interesting article in the New York Daily News (click here). Excerpts:

As it is for many kids with autism, life has been isolating for 12-year-old John Haugh, whose lack of verbal and play skills has kept the Floral Park, L.I., boy from making any friends. But the recent arrival of his special golden retriever, Buddy, has opened a new window to John's world. ...
For a mother, autism can be very lonely and consuming, she said. But puppies need to be walked, and Buddy gets her back out into the neighborhood - a connection to the outside world that she had lost.
"Buddy is a breath of fresh air," she said.
The North Star Foundation is supported by donations. For information, go to NorthStarDogs.com or call (860) 423-0664.

What does the CDC say about not vaccinating?

Taken from a PDF document found on this page under "What if you don't immunize your child?":

We strongly encourage you to immunize your child, but ultimately the decision is yours. Please discuss any concerns you have with a trusted healthcare provider or call the immunization coordinator at your local or state health department. Your final decision affects not only the health of your child, but also the rest of your family, the health of your child’s friends and their families, classmates, neighbors, and community.

Without immunizations, your child can infect others.

• Children who are not immunized can transmit vaccine-preventable diseases throughout the community. Unvaccinated people can pass diseases on to babies who are too young to be fully immunized.
• Unvaccinated people pose a threat to children and adults who can’t be immunized for medical reasons. This includes people with leukemia and other cancers, HIV/AIDS and other immune system problems, and persons receiving chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or large doses of corticosteroids.
• Unvaccinated people can infect the small percentage of children whose immunizations did not “take.”

Reading this brochure puzzles me and even insults my intelligence in a few ways. First of all, they use the label "unvaccinated people," when what they really mean is "sick people." Being "unvaccinated" does not make a person the carrier of a disease! Being sick does. An unvaccinated person is not the same as a sick person! And vaccinated people can get sick too, because vaccines do not necessarily confer immunity.

In fact, many times it is the vaccine itself that makes that person sick. While our society believes that smallpox and polio were eradicated by vaccines, if you look at the actual numbers, people got sick from these inoculations, with disease rates increasing after mass vaccination programs started. Many sources (doctors and historical records) say that these diseases declined naturally, having been on their way out before vaccination even began.

Which brings me to the second thing, and that is that when we are vaccinated, it is possible to "shed" the germs from the vaccine (I've read about this in vaccine package inserts and various articles). So really, those dangerous "unvaccinated" people are sometimes the ones at risk of catching disease from the vaccinated ones, not the other way around.

Third, this brochure uses the word "immunize" to mean "vaccinate." Technically, the terms are not interchangeable, even though the vast majority of medical texts use them like this. The word "immunize" literally means to make immune. Vaccines are an attempt at making us immune, but they do not guarantee immunity. Even this brochure hints at that when it says, "Unvaccinated people can infect the small percentage of children whose immunizations did not 'take.'"

I am sure there are truths in this brochure as well, but I am somewhat distracted by the way it misleads. Here, the reader is led to believe that unvaccinated people are dirty and can't be around the rest of society because of the risk they pose. It's things like this that make me now question almost everything the CDC says. It shouldn't be like this! I'm just a layperson, and I shouldn't have to question public health expertise like this. I just want the truth. I just want to know what real health problems have resulted from vaccination, and I want real numbers. I'm tired of feeling like I have to figure this out for myself.

Oh, so you'll see I added the CDC Vaccination home page to my sidebar. This is for research purposes for anyone who wants to see what they have to say. But personally, I can't help it if I read their site with the proverbial grain of salt.

Oh yea, and I still haven't heard back from them regarding my phone message about Prevnar (I called about a month ago to ask why Prevnar vaccine is not tested for carcinogenicity, mutagenic effects or impairment of fertility). Since then, I've found a few other vaccine inserts that state the same thing - they aren't tested for these things before they're mandated for our kids. And the CDC has yet to tell me why not. If you want to call them, I'll tell you that number again: 404-639-8256. Have at it, and let me know if you get any answers.

Shingles Booster Recommended by CDC

The CDC is recommending shingles booster shots for anyone over 60. Shingles is the more serious form of the chickenpox virus and can be dangerous in adults.

The more I read about epidemiology as it relates to increased vaccination, it seems that diseases just find new ways to work their ways into the population. Vaccines do not confer lifetime immunity the way getting the disease does, so we are told we need booster shots, and we can never be 100% sure we are immune. For example, mumps, one of the classic old childhood diseases, now occurs at higher rates in the older populations as the vaccines wear off. So, what you have are teens and adults getting it instead of school-age kids, and these older populations are the ones who are actually more susceptible to long-term damage (such as sterility in males). (This phenomenon was cited in Neil Z. Miller's Vaccine Safety Manual and Dr. Robert Mendelsohn's How to Raise a Healthy Child ... in Spite of Your Doctor.)

Natural chickenpox immunity, which (in my understanding) would have remained steady in the adult population because most adults had it as kids, is now collectively wearing off. Dr. Sherri Tenpenny explains in her DVD, Vaccines: The Risks, the Benefits, the Choices, that our adult immune systems sort of need our kids to get chickenpox so that we can get exposed to it again --- this re-exposure actually helps our immune systems "remember" the virus and bulk up again. But instead of allowing this natural course to go on, we've just vaccinated against chickenpox and now, as a population, we are becoming weaker at fending it off. Dr. Tenpenny cites a CDC publication (the July 12, 1996, MMWR) that says the incidence of developing shingles within 10 years after vaccination is occurring at a rate of about 1 in 5,000. And so, instead of adults getting natural "immune boosters" from their kids being left alone to get this normal childhood disease, kids are getting shingles from the vaccine (!), and adults are getting shingles from their kids.

Thus, the advent of a shingles booster for adults, and more cash for the pharmaceutical industry yet again.

According to the journal Vaccine, there is a real threat of a shingles epidemic due to mass vaccination against chickenpox (as cited by Dr. Tenpenny).

I'm just a layman, but to me this seems illogical. It seems healthier for our population just to get the chickenpox and let natural immunity occur, rather than going around inventing ways to circumvent nature. I know I didn't mind the little itchy bumps, and as my husband said, remembering his long excuse for days full of video-gaming, "Those were the best two weeks of my school career!"

Why I Didn't Give a Dollar to Autism the Other Day

Last Friday, my husband and I took our little man to Toys R Us to spend some of his birthday money (I was surprised by how many people give a one-year-old money on his b-day!) I'd (ahem, I mean he'd)been wanting one of those cute "push-around" buggies made by Step 2, so we can cruise around the 'hood.

At the register, there are signs hanging with puzzle pieces and children's faces on them -- the organization represented is Autism Speaks. When you pay the nice cashier, they ask you if you want to give a dollar to autism. A few months ago, I am sure I would have said yes, but after learning some things about this particular organization, I had to be "that person" who couldn't even spare a buck. Here's why:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/05/founders-of-aut.html#more

Polio Survivor Writes on the Runaway Truck of Vaccine Policy

There's so much good stuff over at Age of Autism. Hope it's OK I just grabbed this story from there.

"Polio Survivor on Immunization"

BY ANNE VAN RENSSELAER

Mother Nature cleverly designs any gene pool to include pioneers, renegades, warriors and stay-at-homes, whether she's working on animal forms, germs, or algae. So in any pool of a species, there are certain individuals best suited to meet particular challenges.When we started immunizing against smallpox, we set loose a grand and persistent fantasy that we could eradicate diseases, but germs and Mother Nature are busy doing push-ups in the parking lot while we're sitting in the doctor's waiting room with our babies, waiting to be Nature-proofed.
Have you noticed how often you've read about a newly-discovered strain of measles or mumps or anything else? How many of these are produced inadvertently by laboratory buccaneers? We can't keep up our defense fast enough, and our efforts only drive the pathogens' adaptive changes on; we're forcing the production of "designer genes" in germs that used to be innocuous, by making designer drugs, designer germicides. Are any of our scientists cynical enough to think that triggering a pathogen mutation is "no biggie,"since they can come up with a new antibiotic or vaccine in response, so the cash cow never dies?
Ma Nature keeps letting us know she will not be bested in this game, but like the classic sucker, we keep signing on for a new round.
When I had polio during the epidemic of 1952-3, only 1 in 4,000 kids in America got sick with it; a tiny percentage of us were paralyzed (only 1%, according to some), but mass hysteria ruled. Did humanity jump too hard, too fast, on the vaccine bandwagon? And as we hopped on board that bandwagon to "save" one in 4,000 from one illness, did that commit us to later blindly shove one in 150 of our babies over the side, to fall by the wayside with autism disorders?
So when conservative medical opinion fondles its beard and mumbles about "Herd Immunity," I find myself muttering, "Yeah, right. Big Pharma stands in line at the patent office, while Ma Nature whistles as she tinkers in her Laboratory." At best, we can accomplish an apparent herd immunity, a momentary herd immunity, but there is no such stasis.
So, as you watch the glorious bandwagon of western medical progress come trundling by, step back a few paces and take a longer, larger view, and see if you can't see a trail of little bodies, blighted lives, broken, exhausted families, behind the great vehicle as it rumbles on. If you're quick, you might even be able to catch some as they fall, mid-air, and take them to a safe place.
I wrote some of that a few days ago, and posted it as a comment on a friend's blog. My son commented in his typically dry way, "My friend Alex just recovered from MRSA which stands for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. I find it difficult to believe that there was MRSA before the advent of Methicillin."
And my daughter sent me an email reporting an article in The Independent (April 14) in the UK: "INCREASE IN SEVERE PNEUMONIA IN CHILDREN MAY BE CAUSED BY VACCINE" http://tinyurl.com/69skyx Written by the paper's health editor, it describes how Prevnar, a vaccine against seven of the ninety or so streptococcal germs known to cause pneumonia, is suspected of creating new problems: "When one (germ) is eliminated, it creates an opportunity for another to take its place.
In the US, where Prevnar was introduced in 2000, researchers have reported an emergence of "sero-replacement" disease—types of pneumonia not covered by the vaccine." Serotype 1 pneumonia, the strain of greatest concern, develops rapidly, ending in surgery to clean out pus and septic fluid gathered in the pleural cavity between the chest wall and lungs."Linda Glennie, head of research at the Meningitis Research Foundation, which is funding the surveillance programme with the HPA (Health Protection Agency, UK), said the challenge was to keep one step ahead of Nature." You said a mouthful, Linda Glennie. We can't even keep up with Nature's artful dodging, so how are we going to keep one step ahead, is what I want to know?
P.S. If someone knows how to let Bill and Melinda Gates in on this little insight about who's in charge (them or Nature), the future might be a better place for children everywhere.

Autism and Vaccine Studies

I got myself in hot water sending the email I posted in my previous post (should have seen that coming). I offended somebody and, among other things, they wanted to know to which studies I was referring in order to support a link between autism and mercury poisoning. Well, here are some to start with. And if the CDC isn't talking about it, does that mean I'm foolish, or that the government really is whitewashing this? At some point, it begins to feels like only one of those things can be true. Thanks to TACA and Generation Rescue for compiling this list, and Ginger Taylor (adventuresinautism.com) who I know had a hand in this too (Her list is here).

[EDITED 5/14/08 to add]: This is a short list. The TACA Web site has a 346-page document containing all sorts of studies on autism. To view it, go to http://www.talkaboutcuringautism.org/index.htm and scroll down until you see "Vaccines" in the left-hand column. Mouse over it and click on the PDF link to autism studies. You can even download the whole thing to your computer. The book Evidence of Harm by David Kirby is also (I've been told) a well-documented resource on this topic. (I still need to read it.)

Blood Levels of Mercury Are Related to Diagnosis of Autism: A Reanalysis of an Important Data Set
Journal of Child Neurology, Vol. 22, No. 11, 1308-1311 (2007)
M. Catherine DeSoto, PhD, Robert T. Hitlan, PhD, Department of Psychology, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa
Excerpt: ”We have reanalyzed the data set originally reported by Ip et al. in 2004 and have found that the original p value was in error and that a significant relation does exist between the blood levels of mercury and diagnosis of an autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, the hair sample analysis results offer some support for the idea that persons with autism may be less efficient and more variable at eliminating mercury from the blood.”

Developmental Regression and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in a Child With Autism
Journal of Child Neurology / Volume 21, Number 2, February 2006
Jon S. Poling, MD, PhD, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery
Johns Hopkins Hospital
This article showed that 38% of Kennedy Krieger Institute autism patients studied had one marker for impaired oxidative phosphorylation (mitochondrial dysfunction), and 47% had a second marker.
Excerpt: "Children who have (mitochondrial-related) dysfunctional cellular energy metabolism might be more prone to undergo autistic regression between 18 and 30 months of age if they also have infections or immunizations at the same time."

Oxidative Stress in Autism: Elevated Cerebellar 3-nitrotyrosine Levels
American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology 4 (2): 73-84, 2008
Elizabeth M. Sajdel-Sulkowska, - Dept of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Shows a potential link between mercury and the autopsied brains of young people with autism. A marker for oxidative stress was 68.9% higher in autistic brain issue than controls (a statistically significant result), while mercury levels were 68.2% higher.
Excerpt: The preliminary data suggest a need for more extensive studies of oxidative stress, its relationship to the environmental factors and its possible attenuation by antioxidants in autism.”

Large Brains in Autism: The Challenge of Pervasive Abnormality
The Neuroscientist, Volume 11, Number 5, 2005.Martha Herbert, MD, PhD [Harvard University].
This study helps refute the notion that the brains of autistic children are simply wired differently and notes, "neuroinflammation appears to be present in autistic brain tissue from childhood through adulthood." Dr. Herbert suggests that chronic disease or an external environmental source (like heavy metals) may be causing the inflammation.
Excerpt:
"Oxidative stress, brain inflammation, and microgliosis have been much documented in association with toxic exposures including various heavy metals...the awareness that the brain as well as medical conditions of children with autism may be conditioned by chronic biomedical abnormalities such as inflammation opens the possibility that meaningful biomedical interventions may be possible well past the window of maximal neuroplasticity in early childhood because the basis for assuming that all deficits can be attributed to fixed early developmental alterations in neural architecture has now been undermined."

Neuroglial Activation and Neuroinflammation in the Brain of Patients with Autism
Annals of Neurology, Feb 2005.Diana L. Vargas, MD [Johns Hopkins University].
This study, performed independently and using a different methodology than Dr. Herbert (see above) reached the same conclusion: the brains of autistic children are suffering from inflammation. Excerpt:
"Because this neuroinflammatory process appears to be associated with an ongoing and chronic mechanism of CNS dysfunction, potential therapeutic interventions should focus on the control of its detrimental effects and thereby eventually modify the clinical course of autism."

Evidence of Toxicity, Oxidative Stress, and Neuronal Insult in Autism
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Nov-Dec 2006.Janet Kern, Anne Jones
"This article discusses the evidence for the case that some children with autism may become autistic from neuronal cell death or brain damage sometime after birth as result of insult; and addresses the hypotheses that toxicity and oxidative stress may be a cause of neuronal insult in autism..the article discusses what may be happening over the course of development and the multiple factors that may interplay and make these children more vulnerable to toxicity, oxidative stress, and neuronal insult."

Oxidative Stress in Autism
Pathophysiology, 2006.Abha Chauhan, Ved Chauhan
This study provides a helpful overview of the growing evidence supporting the link between oxidative stress and autism. Excerpt:
1"Upon completion of this article, participants should be able to: 1. Be aware of laboratory and clinical evidence of greater oxidative stress in autism. 2. Understand how gut, brain, nutritional, and toxic status in autism are consistent with greater oxidative stress. 3. Describe how anti-oxidant nutrients are used in the contemporary treatment of autism."

Porphyrinuria in Childhood Autistic Disorder: Implications for Environmental Toxicity
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 2006.Robert Nataf, Corinne Skorupka, Lorene Amet
This new study from France utilizes a new and sophisticated measurement for environmental toxicity by assessing porphyrin levels in autistic children. It provides clear and unequivocal evidence that children with autism spectrum disorders are more toxic than their neurotypical peers. Excerpt:
"Coproporphyrin levels were elevated in children with autistic disorder relative to control groups...the elevation was significant. These data implicate environmental toxicity in childhood autistic disorder."

Thimerosal Neurotoxicity is Associated with Glutathione Depletion: Protection with Glutathione Precursors.
Neurotoxicology, Jan 2005.S. Jill James, PhD [University of Arkansas].
This recent study demonstrates that Thimerosal lowers or inhibits the body's ability to produce Glutathione, an antioxidant and the body's primary cellular-level defense against mercury. Excerpt:
1"Thimerosal-induced cytotoxicity was associated with depletion of intracellular Glutathione in both cell lines...The potential effect of Glutathione or N-acetylcysteine against mercury toxicity warrants further research as possible adjunct therapy to individuals still receiving Thimerosal-containing vaccines."

Uncoupling of ATP-mediated Calcium Signaling and Dysregulated IL-6 Secretion in Dendritic Cells by Nanomolar Thimerosal
Environmental Health Perspectives, July 2006.Samuel R. Goth, Ruth A. Chu Jeffrey P. Gregg
This study demonstrates that very low-levels of Thimerosal can contribute to immune system disregulation. Excerpt:
1"Our findings that DCs primarily express the RyR1 channel complex and that this complex is uncoupled by very low levels of THI with dysregulated IL-6 secretion raise intriguing questions about a molecular basis for immune dyregulation and the possible role of the RyR1 complex in genetic susceptibility of the immune system to mercury."

Aluminum adjuvant linked to gulf war illness induces motor neuron death in mice Neuromolecular Medicine, 2007Christopher Shaw, Ph.D. [Department of Ophthalmology and Program in Neuroscience, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada]
This study demonstrates the extreme toxicity of the aluminum adjuvant used as a preservative in vaccines. Excerpt:
"testing showed motor deficits in the aluminum treatment group that expressed as a progressive decrease in strength measured...Significant cognitive deficits in water-maze learning were observed in the combined aluminum and squalene group...Apoptotic neurons were identified in aluminum-injected animals that showed significantly increased activated caspase-3 labeling in lumbar spinal cord (255%) and primary motor cortex (192%) compared with the controls. Aluminum-treated groups also showed significant motor neuron loss (35%) and increased numbers of astrocytes (350%) in the lumbar spinal cord.

Activation of Methionine Synthase by Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 and Dopamine: a Target for Neurodevelopmental Toxins and Thimerasol.
Molecular Psychiatry, July 2004.Richard C. Deth, PhD [Northeastern University].
This study demonstrates how Thimerosal inhibits methylation, a central driver of cellular communication and development. Excerpt:
"The potent inhibition of this pathway [methylation] by ethanol, lead, mercury, aluminum, and thimerosal suggests it may be an important target of neurodevelopmental toxins."

Environmental mercury release, special education rates, and autism disorder: an ecological study of Texas.
Health & Place, 2006Raymond F. Palmer, University of Texas Health Science Center
This study demonstrated the correlation between environmental mercury and autism rates in Texas. Excerpt:
"On average, for each 1,000 lb of environmentally released mercury, there was a 43% increase in the rate of special education services and a 61% increase in the rate of autism. The association between environmentally released mercury and special education rates were fully mediated by increased autism rates. This ecological study suggests the need for further research regarding the association between environmentally released mercury and developmental disorders such as autism."

Autism Spectrum Disorders in Relation to Distribution of Hazardous Air Pollutants in the SF Bay Area
Environmental Health Perspectives – Vol. 114 No. 9, September, 2006
Gayle Windham, Div. of Environmental and Occupational Disease Control, California Department of Health Services
284 ASD children & 657 controls, born in 1994 in Bay Area, were assigned exposure levels by birth tract for 19 chemicals. Risks for autism were elevated by 50% in tracts with the highest chlorinated solvents and heavy metals. The highest risk compounds were mercury, cadmium, nickel, trichloroethylene, and vinyl chloride, and the risk from heavy metals was almost twice as high as solvents.
Excerpt: “Our results suggest a potential association between autism and estimated metal concentrations, and possibly solvents, in ambient air around the birth residence.”

Comparison of Blood and Brain Mercury Levels in Infant Monkeys Exposed to Methylmercury or Vaccines Containing Thimerosal
Environmental Health Perspectives, Aug 2005.Thomas Burbacher, PhD [University of Washington].
This study demonstrates clearly and unequivocally that ethyl mercury, the kind of mercury found in vaccines, not only ends up in the brain, but leaves double the amount of inorganic mercury as methyl mercury, the kind of mercury found in fish. This work is groundbreaking because little is known about ethyl mercury, and many health authorities have asserted that the mercury found in vaccines is the "safe kind." This study also delivers a strong rebuke of the Institute of Medicine's recommendation in 2004 to no longer pursue the mercury-autism connection. Excerpt:
"A recently published IOM review (IOM 2004) appears to have abandoned the earlier recommendation [of studying mercury and autism] as well as back away from the American Academy of Pediatrics goal [of removing mercury from vaccines]. This approach is difficult to understand, given our current limited knowledge of the toxicokinetics and developmental neurotoxicity of thimerosal, a compound that has been (and will continue to be) injected in millions of newborns and infants."

A Case Series of Children with Apparent Mercury Toxic Encephalopathies Manifesting with Clinical Symptoms of Regressive Autistic Disorder
Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, 2007David A. Geier, Mark R. Geier
This study reviewed the case histories and medical profiles of nine autistic children and concluded that eight of the nine children were mercury toxic and this toxicity manifested itself in a manner consistent with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Excerpt:
"...these previously normally developing children suffered mercury toxic encephalopathies that manifested with clinical symptoms consistent with regressive ASDs. Evidence for mercury intoxication should be considered in the differential diagnosis as contributing to some regressive ASDs."

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and blood mercury level: a case-control study in chinese children
Neuropediatrics, August 2006 - P.R. Kong [Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, The University of Hong Kong].
This study demonstrates that blood mercury levels are higher for children with ADHD. Excerpt:
"There was significant difference in blood mercury levels between cases and controls, which persists after adjustment for age, gender and parental occupational status. The geometric mean blood mercury level was also significantly higher in children with inattentive and combined subtypes of ADHD. High blood mercury level was associated with ADHD. Whether the relationship is causal requires further studies."

The Changing Prevalence of Autism In California
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, April 2003Mark Blaxill, MBA
This study helps to refute the supposition made by some researchers that autism's epidemic may only be due to "diagnostic substitution". Excerpt:
"They have suggested that 'diagnostic substitution' accounts for an apparent increase in the incidence of autism in California that is not real. This hypothesized substitution is not supported by proper and detailed analyses of the California data."

CBS Evening News TONIGHT

My email to friends today... (if only I could tell them all I really know!):

Dear Friends,

I thought you might be interested to know that tonight, CBS Evening News is supposed to air a segment on some more of the families whose autistic children they believe were harmed by thimerasol (mercury) in vaccines. It *should* air at 6:30 or 7:00. Hopefully, the programming won't change, but I heard this first-hand from one of the families interviewed for the show.

Here is an article on yahoo about the new "test cases" coming down the pike in vaccine court -- there are about 5000 families like the one in the news back in March (Hannah Poling), and the government needs to decide how to judge them all, so they have hand-selected certain ones to be sort of like "examples." (Just so you know, Paul Offit, who makes a patronizing comment about so-called "anti-vaccine" families in the article, has a financial conflict of interest as he owns part of the patent on Rotateq, a vaccine which has actually killed and harmed babies):
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080512/ap_on_re_us/autism_court_case
Documentation on Rotateq deaths here: http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/04/rotateq-causes.html

And I have a conflct of interest as I have a child I want to remain healthy.

This is a very controversial subject in the news and there is lots of misconception. What is most important to recognize here is that thimerasol is actually a mercury derivative and mercury is actually a poison. Earning my degree in public health I learned that loud and clear - and back in World War II, they actually had to label vaccines containing thimerasol as "toxic." The term "mad hatter" even came into being because hatters literally went mad -- mercury was used in the hat-curing process and they breathed it and touched it. It's very serious stuff, yet it's been injected into babies' bloodstreams for years.

Thimerasol has been removed from most vaccines, but there are still a few that contain it. (Hello!) You can see them here: http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm What's strange is that instead of dumping the supply of thimerasol-containing vaccines back when the government said to phase it out, vaccine manufacturers and public health decision-makers decided to use it up here and also send it abroad to developing nations. (Again, hello!) If anyone wants documentation for this, let me know, I'll direct you to the right place.

My position is probably very clear now that you've read this far. All I meant to do was tell you about the program tonight, but couldn't help discussing a little more - sorry. Anyway, just thought you might be interested... lots of information out there and it may actually be a little worse than the mainstream media reports.

Cheers,
Sara

P.S. Feel free to forward this if you like.

Whoa. Like, whoa.

Have you ever read something that kinda makes your head feel like it's gonna explode because the stuff you found out was so unbelievable? But even though it was unbelievable, you knew it was true and you finally were putting pieces together that had kind of been floating around without direction inside your head? Well, that happened to me today.

When I started researching vaccines two months ago, I had no idea what I would encounter, nor that this blog would come into being, nor that I would become so passionate about it. I even thought, if vaccines truly have legitimate dangers, then our government is not being honest with us ... and if I believe that, then I would have to be some sort of conspiracy theorist. If I discover information that makes me reconsider vaccinating, then people are going to think I am crazy. I'm going to be on the "outside." My family is going to talk about me behind my back, my doctor is going to tell me I don't know what I'm talking about, that I'm endangering my child, and my friends are going to wonder what kind of nutty I'd have to be to say, "I don't believe my government, and I don't believe my doctor." I mean, that's nuts, right? That's out there.

Well, if you want to find out how those stray pieces came together for me today, read this:

1) Medical Mistakes Through the Ages, by Kim Stagliano (blogger),

and/or this:

2) Deadly Immunity, by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. in Rolling Stone (2005)
[EDITED 5/14/08 to add]: I have the documents to back this story up if anyone wants them. Just email me at cadillacmtn2000@gmail.com.

and this:

3) Kennedy Report Sparks Controversy, by Rolling Stone editors (less than a month after the story above) They say, "Rolling Stone and Salon fact-checked the article thoroughly before publication, insisting on primary documentation for every statement in the story, and posted links to the most significant materials online to enable readers to judge for themselves."
And, "'Science,' as one doctor in our story insisted, 'is best left to scientists.' But when the scientists fail to do their job, resorting to closed-door meetings and rigged studies, others in society have not only a right but a moral obligation to question their work."

Epiphany. Either these things happened, or they didn't. Either I can trust the government and medical community to be honest with me about vaccines, or I can't. And though it is grave, it's still not just about the mercury -- it's still not just about the autism. There is so much more. So much.

With all this, I can only turn to the One who is sovereign over all. The One who holds my child's life in His hands. The One who watches over us when we lay down our heads and sleep. When I look at my son asleep in his bed, I am amazed that he is well, that he wakes every morning and gets to play all day. I am amazed at Christ's mercy in the midst of a suffering world.

"Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand; forget not the afflicted.
Why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart, 'You will not call to account'?
But You do see, for You note mischief and vexation, that You may take it into Your hands;
to You the helpless commits himself;
You have been the helper of the fatherless."
-- Psalm 10:14