elliebea
June 23rd, 2005, 12:48 PM
I'm hoping to throw out the alert to anyone who's planning to have children, has small children, or the parents of same (grandparents) regarding the danger of the vastly increased schedule of immunizations being routinely given to children these days, and most specifically, that many of these vaccines contain a substance called thermosal which basically is a hefty dose of mercury. And studies (especially one big one) have indicated a likely causal relationship between that and yearly increase in the rate of autism (1 in 10,000 in 1970 and 1 in 166 in recent years).
This article alerted me to the issue (mainly because I have a grand-daughter due soon):
Deadly immunity (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/06/16/thimerosal/)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It's quite lengthy, but here's a sampling of what's in it:
When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may have caused autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to conceal the data -- and to prevent parents from suing drug companies for their role in the epidemic.
Since 1991, when the CDC and the FDA had recommended that three additional vaccines laced with the preservative be given to extremely young infants -- in one case, within hours of birth -- the estimated number of cases of autism had increased fifteenfold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 children.
...
In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at handling the damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC paid the Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of thimerosal, ordering researchers to "rule out" the chemical's link to autism. It withheld Verstraeten's findings, even though they had been slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his original data had been "lost" and could not be replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism.
...
The drug companies are also getting help from powerful lawmakers in Washington. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has received $873,000 in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, has been working to immunize vaccine makers from liability in 4,200 lawsuits that have been filed by the parents of injured children. On five separate occasions, Frist has tried to seal all of the government's vaccine-related documents -- including the Simpsonwood transcripts -- and shield Eli Lilly, the developer of thimerosal, from subpoenas. In 2002, the day after Frist quietly slipped a rider known as the "Eli Lilly Protection Act" into a homeland security bill, the company contributed $10,000 to his campaign and bought 5,000 copies of his book on bioterrorism. Congress repealed the measure in 2003 -- but earlier this year, Frist slipped another provision into an anti-terrorism bill that would deny compensation to children suffering from vaccine-related brain disorders. "The lawsuits are of such magnitude that they could put vaccine producers out of business and limit our capacity to deal with a biological attack by terrorists," says Andy Olsen, a legislative assistant to Frist.
Even many conservatives are shocked by the government's effort to cover up the dangers of thimerosal. Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, oversaw a three-year investigation of thimerosal after his grandson was diagnosed with autism. "Thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines is directly related to the autism epidemic," his House Government Reform Committee concluded in its final report. "This epidemic in all probability may have been prevented or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch regarding a lack of safety data regarding injected thimerosal, a known neurotoxin." The FDA and other public-health agencies failed to act, the committee added, out of "institutional malfeasance for self protection" and "misplaced protectionism of the pharmaceutical industry."
I've been doing some research in the last few days and have found that the problems with autism are occurring in children who were otherwise normal and healthy, and that the onset followed an injection.
And because I managed to scare the bejesus out of my poor young daughter-in-law (who's 8 and a half months pregnant) the other night, I don't want to again sound an alert without the benefits of some of my research on what can be done.
There are a number of things that parents can do. First and foremost is the willingness to be assertive with pediatricians about separating the shots so that the child's immune system isn't bombarded (which can have lasting detrimental effect). And regarding the thermerosal, since the years 1999 or 2000, many companies have started producing vaccines without it. It just requires a parent demanding that these be used (and also asking to read the package insert) before agreeing. A good way to avoid those vaccines with it is to check this site and be prepared:
Thimerosal Content in Some US Licensed Vaccines (http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm)
(It's from the Johns Hopkins School of Medcine.)
The best and most thorough site that I've found to learn what to do and how to protect children is this one:
The National Vaccine Information Center (http://www.nvic.org/)
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is a national, non-profit educational organization founded in 1982. It is the oldest and largest national organization advocating reformation of the mass vaccination system.
Also, it's really important for parents to find out what their state's laws are regarding mandatory vaccines for school entry. They are mostly pretty consistent, but there are some very important exceptions.
Aside from the thermerosal issue, there is the importance of giving very strong consideration to the issue of the Hepatitis B vaccine that is injected hours after birth, unless the parent has indicated on the consent form (before signing), "I do not consent for my child to receive a Hepatitis B vaccination."
From what I've been reading, there's really no earthly reason for an infant to have this vaccination. It's a disease that is spread through needle-sharing and sexual activity with some risk for health care workers who are exposed to blood products and body fluids. The vaccine itself carries alot of risk, with many really bad conditions having been reported. So 'being on the safe side' doesn't seem a good choice, considering that it basically means introducing great risks where there are none otherwise.
Another issue is the combining of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines into one. Alot of studies (particularly in England) have indicated a likely causal relationship with a whole slew of permanent disorders (actually quite similar to Gulf War Syndrome and for the same reason). Parents can demand, although they'll probably meet with resistance, that these shots be separated. In the state of Virginia and no doubt some other states the mumps vaccination is not required for school entry, and though parents might wish to have it anyway, the option to administer the shot separately from other vaccinations is probably higher than in other states. The main thing is to find out and be prepared.
Two important things to remember is that an infant's system can't handle an overload of vaccinations (something about the brain/blood barrier which medical people here will obviously know about). Also, it attacks the baby's own natural immune system. So separating them is really important.
The second important thing is being willing to take a stand and delay these vaccinations so that the child will be older, and perhaps more importantly, the vaccinations will be separated in time and they can adjust more readily.
I hope people will read the Kennedy article. It does address the political background as to why all this isn't public knowledge and therefore doesn't exactly help in figuring what to do. But knowing the political background will enable parents to understand the resistance they meet.
This article alerted me to the issue (mainly because I have a grand-daughter due soon):
Deadly immunity (http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2005/06/16/thimerosal/)
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It's quite lengthy, but here's a sampling of what's in it:
When a study revealed that mercury in childhood vaccines may have caused autism in thousands of kids, the government rushed to conceal the data -- and to prevent parents from suing drug companies for their role in the epidemic.
Since 1991, when the CDC and the FDA had recommended that three additional vaccines laced with the preservative be given to extremely young infants -- in one case, within hours of birth -- the estimated number of cases of autism had increased fifteenfold, from one in every 2,500 children to one in 166 children.
...
In fact, the government has proved to be far more adept at handling the damage than at protecting children's health. The CDC paid the Institute of Medicine to conduct a new study to whitewash the risks of thimerosal, ordering researchers to "rule out" the chemical's link to autism. It withheld Verstraeten's findings, even though they had been slated for immediate publication, and told other scientists that his original data had been "lost" and could not be replicated. And to thwart the Freedom of Information Act, it handed its giant database of vaccine records over to a private company, declaring it off-limits to researchers. By the time Verstraeten finally published his study in 2003, he had gone to work for GlaxoSmithKline and reworked his data to bury the link between thimerosal and autism.
...
The drug companies are also getting help from powerful lawmakers in Washington. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who has received $873,000 in contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, has been working to immunize vaccine makers from liability in 4,200 lawsuits that have been filed by the parents of injured children. On five separate occasions, Frist has tried to seal all of the government's vaccine-related documents -- including the Simpsonwood transcripts -- and shield Eli Lilly, the developer of thimerosal, from subpoenas. In 2002, the day after Frist quietly slipped a rider known as the "Eli Lilly Protection Act" into a homeland security bill, the company contributed $10,000 to his campaign and bought 5,000 copies of his book on bioterrorism. Congress repealed the measure in 2003 -- but earlier this year, Frist slipped another provision into an anti-terrorism bill that would deny compensation to children suffering from vaccine-related brain disorders. "The lawsuits are of such magnitude that they could put vaccine producers out of business and limit our capacity to deal with a biological attack by terrorists," says Andy Olsen, a legislative assistant to Frist.
Even many conservatives are shocked by the government's effort to cover up the dangers of thimerosal. Rep. Dan Burton, a Republican from Indiana, oversaw a three-year investigation of thimerosal after his grandson was diagnosed with autism. "Thimerosal used as a preservative in vaccines is directly related to the autism epidemic," his House Government Reform Committee concluded in its final report. "This epidemic in all probability may have been prevented or curtailed had the FDA not been asleep at the switch regarding a lack of safety data regarding injected thimerosal, a known neurotoxin." The FDA and other public-health agencies failed to act, the committee added, out of "institutional malfeasance for self protection" and "misplaced protectionism of the pharmaceutical industry."
I've been doing some research in the last few days and have found that the problems with autism are occurring in children who were otherwise normal and healthy, and that the onset followed an injection.
And because I managed to scare the bejesus out of my poor young daughter-in-law (who's 8 and a half months pregnant) the other night, I don't want to again sound an alert without the benefits of some of my research on what can be done.
There are a number of things that parents can do. First and foremost is the willingness to be assertive with pediatricians about separating the shots so that the child's immune system isn't bombarded (which can have lasting detrimental effect). And regarding the thermerosal, since the years 1999 or 2000, many companies have started producing vaccines without it. It just requires a parent demanding that these be used (and also asking to read the package insert) before agreeing. A good way to avoid those vaccines with it is to check this site and be prepared:
Thimerosal Content in Some US Licensed Vaccines (http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm)
(It's from the Johns Hopkins School of Medcine.)
The best and most thorough site that I've found to learn what to do and how to protect children is this one:
The National Vaccine Information Center (http://www.nvic.org/)
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is a national, non-profit educational organization founded in 1982. It is the oldest and largest national organization advocating reformation of the mass vaccination system.
Also, it's really important for parents to find out what their state's laws are regarding mandatory vaccines for school entry. They are mostly pretty consistent, but there are some very important exceptions.
Aside from the thermerosal issue, there is the importance of giving very strong consideration to the issue of the Hepatitis B vaccine that is injected hours after birth, unless the parent has indicated on the consent form (before signing), "I do not consent for my child to receive a Hepatitis B vaccination."
From what I've been reading, there's really no earthly reason for an infant to have this vaccination. It's a disease that is spread through needle-sharing and sexual activity with some risk for health care workers who are exposed to blood products and body fluids. The vaccine itself carries alot of risk, with many really bad conditions having been reported. So 'being on the safe side' doesn't seem a good choice, considering that it basically means introducing great risks where there are none otherwise.
Another issue is the combining of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines into one. Alot of studies (particularly in England) have indicated a likely causal relationship with a whole slew of permanent disorders (actually quite similar to Gulf War Syndrome and for the same reason). Parents can demand, although they'll probably meet with resistance, that these shots be separated. In the state of Virginia and no doubt some other states the mumps vaccination is not required for school entry, and though parents might wish to have it anyway, the option to administer the shot separately from other vaccinations is probably higher than in other states. The main thing is to find out and be prepared.
Two important things to remember is that an infant's system can't handle an overload of vaccinations (something about the brain/blood barrier which medical people here will obviously know about). Also, it attacks the baby's own natural immune system. So separating them is really important.
The second important thing is being willing to take a stand and delay these vaccinations so that the child will be older, and perhaps more importantly, the vaccinations will be separated in time and they can adjust more readily.
I hope people will read the Kennedy article. It does address the political background as to why all this isn't public knowledge and therefore doesn't exactly help in figuring what to do. But knowing the political background will enable parents to understand the resistance they meet.