Strollerderby : vaccines

They Say: Another Reason to Vaccinate Your Kid

JeanneSager — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:28:00 GMT

The no-vax movement got more bad news this week with a report in Pediatrics that confirms herd immunity does not keep the non-vaccinated safe.

The study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health determines kids whose parents opt out on vaccines are twenty three times more likely to develop pertussis than their vaccinated peers.

More commonly known as whooping cough, the incidence of pertussis was rapidly declining in the U.S. from the 1940s through the late nineties thanks to vaccinations. But with parents forgoing the vaccines, the numbers are back up - big time. In 2005 alone, more than twenty-five thousand cases were reported (for comparison check out the numbers in 1976 - only one thousand ten cases in the entire U.S.).

Those numbers should have proven the importance (and efficacy) of the vaccine, but parents have been skipping the vaccine in increasing numbers, or delaying it as part of the system touted by Dr. Robert Sears, a much revered pediatrician by the middle-of-the pack vax crowd. The study at Kaiser found that eleven percent of the kids who contracted pertussis were kids whose parents actually refused the vaccine (which makes a difference - these weren't kids whose parents opted out because of a medical issue that kept them from getting the vaccine).

What a fair number of anti-vaccine parents fail to realize is the problem isn't just the other kids their kids are coming in contact with. Even if the majority of American kids get the vaccine, adults age out of their immunity. Which means unless they head to the doctor for a booster, they're susceptible to the disease, and carriers who could be passing it on to your kids (studies indicate at least one third of pertussis cases were transmitted by mother to child).

And pertussis is not a silly, laugh it off disease. It can kill, particularly infants.

So if herd immunity isn't protecting your kids from pertussis, what else isn't it protecting them from?

Image: LA Times

Mom Tells State Don't Make Me Vaccinate

JeanneSager — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:04:00 GMT

It's one of only two states that won't allow parents to use religion as an excuse to avoid vaccinating their kids, and now West Virginia is facing a lawsuit from a mom who says she doesn't want her six-year-old daughter to receive the shots.

Jennifer Workman says it's a "sacrilege" to expect her to vaccinate her daughter. But wouldn't you know, this so-called religious excuse is coming from a mom who claims vaccines cause autism.

I say so-called religion in this case because it sounds awfully convenient. Workman describes herself as "bapticostal," a mix of Baptist and Pentecostal religions, and she's asked a federal judge to overturn the state's demands that her daughter be immunized before attending public school based on religious freedom.

But her real problem? Her elder daughter, teenaged Susanna, has autism. And she's afraid of vaccinating Madison because she believes the vaccines are to blame. Never mind the long line of studies that have discredited that theory. That's only a small portion of the problem here - because Workman isn't presenting this as a medical case.

She's clearly using religion to push through her agenda. And she's not alone. Two years ago, Babble reported on a hike in religious dispensations being requested by parents who didn't want to vaccinate.

But where our forefathers were talking the right to assemble and pray to your own God (or G-d or Allah . . .), to circumcise your kids, to not eat pork, to string a cross around your neck, they were also talking about personal rights as they affect one person. They weren't, however, talking about excuses couched in religious belief that void the social contract. Just as ritualistic killings can not fall under the guise of religion because it's an express harm to others, an unvaccinated child walking into a school building is a public health risk. Allowing these types of dispensations only increases that risk.

Should kids in West Virginia be forced to bow to a mother's attempts to skirt the law?

What Explains High Autism Rates Among Somali Immigrants?

Kate Tuttle — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:01:00 GMT

A medical mystery is brewing in Minnesota, where thirty to sixty thousand Somali refugees and their families have settled and where, increasingly, that community's children are experiencing high rates of autism. According to an article in the New York Times, while about 6% of the Minneapolis public school population is Somali, they represented 25% of the students enrolled in special preschool classes for children with autism. And a Somali father is quoted as saying he knows ten other dads, all from Somalia and living in the US, who have autistic kids. What can explain this alarming and sad development?

Nobody is quite sure, just as nobody knows for certain that it even is a meaningful cluster; public health officials are trying to determine whether Somali communities in other cities are experiencing the same rates of autism. But if the number of Somali kids with autism in Minneapolis means anything, it's too early yet for anyone to determine that meaning, much less to figure out whether there's anything to be done to lower it. Clusters of non-contagious disease can indicate environmental causes, such as mesothelioma among people working near asbestos, and then that cause can be attacked. But so far no environmental cause has been found -- and health workers are concerned that anti-vaccine crusaders are now taking their message to the Somali community, a population that often travels back to the home country, where measles remains rampant. It's probably only a matter of time before an outbreak affects any un-vaccinated Somali kids.

A disease without a known cause appears to be rampaging through a community that has already weathered much hardship. Let's hope someone can help solve the mystery and bring them some much-needed help.

Photo: Allen Brisson-Smith for The New York Times

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Bad Science: How The Autism Vaccine Scare Snowballed

Kate Tuttle — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:31:00 GMT

Jenny McCarthy as an activist, "Green Vaccines," death threats against pro-vaccine doctors, deadly measles outbreaks: all sprang from one source, a flawed medical study with a tiny sample size, a lead author willing to fudge the facts, and a story the media found too fascinating to fully examine.

Writing in this week's Newsweek magazine, Sharon Begley lays out the timeline of what would become one of the biggest medical fairy tales of the past decade -- a narrative of corrupt pharamaceutical companies, poisoned children, and devoted parents. Too bad it wasn't, you know, true.

As is now clear, the study published in the Lancet medical journal back in 1998 linking the MMR vaccine to autism (via intestinal problems) was just plain bad science. The study looked at only twelve children, for one thing. Worse yet, the lead doctor, Andrew Wakefield, fudged the facts. A decade later, ten of the twelve co-authors have disavowed the research they published, but as Begley's story made clear, at the time the media and public found Wakefield and his findings not only trustworthy, but revolutionary. And he wasn't alone; in 2000 U.S. Representative Dan Burton chaired a congressional hearing to look into the connection, and TV's 60 Minutes gave it the old expose treatment. It wasn't hard to paint parents as heroes (because so frequently they are, even when their facts are wrong), nor to deride the drug companies as villains (because, again, they often are). A story so delicious has a tendency to rob the media of its hallowed skepticism -- how else to explain the major coverage of a study of 12 kids, when subsequent studies (such as one at Boston University that looked at two million children) showed zero relationship between the MMR and autism.

The story rode a wave of parental anxiety and media hype so big that it caused actual changes in behavior around vaccination -- and here's where, I think, Wakefield and his ilk bear some major culpability. As vaccination rates went down and outbreaks broke out, children died of easily preventable diseases. And despite the frequent exhortation from anti-vaccine crusaders to "follow the money" in looking at relationships between doctors and pharmaceutical companies, I'd love to see more digging into Wakefield's financial stake in the autism industry (he was officially sanctioned for misconduct in having hidden the financial support he had received from parents of children with autism before undertaking the 1998 study, and now makes his living running a center that claims to cure autism).

The recent ruling by a special court that declared no connection between autism and vaccines has settled the legal question, for now. As for what happens in the court of public opinion, it's clear that's a far more complicated matter. The anguish felt by parens of autistic kids is real, as is the desire of every parent to protect her child. Let's hope that getting past the vaccine witch-hunt will free up more energy toward finding causes, cures and treatments for peope with autism.

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Flu Has Claimed at Least Three Kids This Season

JeanneSager — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:09:00 GMT

When people ask me why I'm so pro-vaccine, I have one answer: they prevent disease and/or death.

So why have three kids already died in what is being described by doctors as a pretty average flu season?

At least one of the children went unvaccinated not because his parents were lax, but because the twelve-year-old reportedly lost his permission slip to get the immunization at a school clinic. Hunter Pope is the first child in Massachusetts known to have died from the flu this season; he was fine on a Friday and gone by Sunday.

Sadly, the weekend also brought the death of a ten-year-old boy on Long Island, the first ever pediatric flu death in the five years since public health officials have been tracking the diease. First believed to have been fighting meningitis, tests eventually showed the boy was carrying the A-strain of the flu, one of two preventable by this year's vaccine. The two deaths followed the announcement of a six-year-old North Carolina child who succumbed to flu complications on February 9 - again because he had not been vaccinated.

Why? It's the question you always ask when a child dies (when anyone dies, really, but the question is more plaintive when a child has been taken). It's just that much more confusing when there was a clear method for preventing a tragedy, and people opted to ignore it. I equate vaccines with seatbelts - they might not work every time, but there's a much higher degree of success with them than without them.

The Centers for Disease Control came out with new recommendations this flu season, calling for every single American under the age of eighteen to get the shot - which paved the way for insurance companies to cover the shot and for those on public assistance to get them for free. They made it even EASIER this year, and yet parents refused.

Why? Read the answers to my post on the CDC recommendations last fall: because they've never gotten it before (neither - might I add, had Hunter Pope - whose parents said he had no pre-existing health conditions), because they are afraid of thimerosal (not necessarily - there are thimerosal-free flu vaccines available for kids six months to twenty-three months), because they think the pro-vax crowd is too preachy.

I realize I stand on a soapbox and beat the vaccine drum, but I will tell you I also practice what I preach. On Halloween day, I lined up at a crowded neighborhood clinic with my daughter so the two of us could get our flu shots. My husband got his - separately, but around the same time.

Seeing the flu really can kill children, will you do the same?

Image: Flu-Vaccine.org

Florida Dad Pushing To Ban ALL Thimerosal in Vaccines

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:01:00 GMT

I'm already prepared for what "Dr. Gary" is going to say to this post.

Because the chiropractor friend of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and father of two autistic children isn't listening to anyone in his bid to have the state ban all vaccines that contain thimerosal.

All of them. Even those not administered to kids.

The proposal by Dr. Gary Kompothecras would be the strictest in the nation, and doctors say it would keep vaccines like the one that prevents the flu, from saving people most at risk of dying. Kompothecras's response? He calls everyone who dares disagree with them "dirt bags."

The argument over vaccines and autism is at an all-time fervor of late, spurred by last week's revelation by the London Times that the "study" that started all the hubub about autism and thimerosal back in the nineties was bogus. As in fabricated. Made up. Nonsense. Then came the report from a special court here in the states that says the measles vaccine didn't cause three children's autism. All of that was preceded by another study, this one in Italy, that determined thimerosal itself is safe.

What's concerned me most in the responses here on Babble to each reporting of these incidents is not that parents are concerned about autism or concerned about vaccines. That's natural. Autism is real. Autism is terrifying. And there is still a lot about vaccinations that we don't know.

It's the all-consuming nature of the focus on vaccinations. It's the refusal to home in on anything else. It's the assumption that disagreement means another parent doesn't care about your plight. We have written dozens of stories here on the 'Derby about other studies that have been linked to autism. The environment. Aged parents. Prematurity.

But there are still parents like Kompothecras who are blind to any other suggestions. Dare disagree with him, and he calls you a "dirt bag." The trouble is, they are not only doing a disservice to their own kids, but a disservice to other people. In Kompothecras' case, his proposed ban of the flu vaccine would put the thousands of Florida residents who are at highest risk for the flu - ie. the elderly, the asthmatic - at permanent risk. People die from the flu. But he doesn't care.

He is doing this because, as he told the Herald Tribune, "If I can do this, my son won't go down for nothing."

How can you argue with that? How can you argue with the parent of an autistic child who only wants an answer? Because I do believe autism is real. And I do believe that the parents of autistic children need an answer. The fact that I am pro-vaccination because I've seen it save lives does not mean I am unfeeling or that I refuse to see the forest for the trees. Autism diagnoses are up, and there are children in trouble. Somewhere, some scientist has to break this code.

But I don't see how taking the flu vaccine out of the hands of people who need it, people who choose to use it, is going to help the parents of autistic children. I don't see how ignoring existing science and accusing parents who are "pro-vax" of being "dirt bags" or "not caring," is going to provide an answer.

Might there be something else in a vaccination that might lead to autism? Maybe. There might also be a link in the environment. In aged parents. In prematurity.

So let's get started on those. Thimerosal is a dead horse. It doesn't deserve another beating.

Image: Herald Tribune

Special Court Says Vaccines Don't Cause Autism

Brett Singer — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 20:15:00 GMT

In a decision that will infuriate many parents (including readers of this web site), a special court has ruled that the MMR vaccine did not cause autism in three children.

Special Master George Hastings of the Department of Justice wrote that, "The evidence does not support the general proposition that thimerosal-containing vaccines can damage infants' immune systems." The ruling comes from The Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceeding. (Aside: "Special Master"? "Omnibus"? It sounds like a comic book.)

Addressing one of the children whose parents say became autistic after receiving the MMR vaccine, Hastings said, "I further conclude that while Michelle Cedillo has tragically suffered from autism and other severe conditions, the petitioners have also failed to demonstrate that her vaccinations played any role at all in causing those problems."

There have been over 5,000 cases filed by parents seeking compensation from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a $2.5 billion fund that was created through a "75-cent-per-dose tax on vaccines," according to Reuters.

Everyone's least favorite vaccine guy Dr. Paul Offit hailed the decision, saying, "it's a great day for America's children when the court rules in favor of science." I think there are a few parents out there who will disagree with him.

Does this put the issue to rest? I doubt it. I myself am highly skeptical of the notion that vaccines "cause" autism, mostly because so far the studies that I have read about can't find a link between the vaccines and autism. Of course, it doesn't help the anti-vaccine movement's case that the doctor who conducted a landmark study on the matter faked his data.

I know that many of you have strong feelings on this issue. Does this court ruling change your opinion at all?

Source: Reuters

Image: USA Today via Babble

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They Say: Vaccines are Safe - Take That Jenny McCarthy

JeanneSager — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:31:00 GMT

In yet another round of good news for those of us who vaccinate, the February issue of Pediatrics features a study out of Italy that says . . . wait for it . . . vaccines are good for kids!

In a month when I've written first about the meningitis vaccine working (yay!) and the death of a child from a disease his parents refused to vaccinate against (bad), I'm starting to feel like I'm beating the non-vaccinators out there over the head with all this pro-vaccine talk.

And then, there's more good news!

The study in Pediatrics comes out of Italy, and it's centered on the whole "thimerosal causes autism" debate. Children in Italy were given two different sets of shots in the early 1990s. According to the AP: Ten years later, 1,403 of those children took a battery of brain function tests. Researchers found small differences in only two of 24 measurements and those "might be attributable to chance."

Out of more than one thousand kids, only one case of autism was found - and that child received the lower level of thimerosal in his or her vaccine. Overall, the kids tested all scored - on average - within normal ranges on mental acuity tests.

The significance in this study is in the varying amounts of thimerosal, and its affects. If thimerosal causes autism, scientists who worked on the Italian study say it would stand to reason that increased dosages would show marked effect on kids. Yet the only autistic child in the randomized study to fall on the autism spectrum received a lower dose. The kids exposed to more thimerosal (which breaks down as ethyl mercury, hence some advocates' claims that mercury poisoning causes autism) should have been at higher risk if the theories held true.

"Put together with the evidence of all the other studies, this tells us there is no reason to worry about the effect of thimerosal in vaccines," said the new study's lead author, Dr. Alberto Tozzi of Bambino Gesu Hospital in Rome.

So, is it time those who don't vaccinate their kids stop looking cross-eyed at those of us who do?

Image: USA Today

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They Say: Meningitis Vaccine Actually Works

JeanneSager — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:24:00 GMT

We hear a lot of bad news these days about vaccines. Aack, autism. Aaack, superbugs.

Finally, some good news: the meningitis vaccine is working.

Since pushing the Prevnar plunger into the thighs of babies two months to two years began in 2000, rates of pneumococcal meningits have dropped sixty-four percent in kids under age two.

That’s based on studies in kids in 1998-99 to 2004-05 published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine. The numbers are dipping for bigger kids (and the biggest kids of all - us) too, dropping thirty percent in the same time frame. In people over sixty-five, the rates dropped by more than fifty percent.

The study notes that vaccinating children is as important if not more than getting to the rest of the population, because fewer sick kids means fewer germs spread around.

When kids are sick, they not only fail to cover their mouths and practice the type of hygiene adults (should) practice, but they’re also a sector of the population that can’t be isolated when sick. We as adults can stay home from work and hide on the couch, kick everyone out of the room (well, unless we’re parents, in which case we just try to hide from our kids and spray a lot of Lysol).

Kids, on the other hand, need to have someone in close proximity caring for them - and that someone can easily pick up their germs. The disease cycle doesn’t stop when you’re dealing with kids – it just gets passed over to Mom and Dad. But with immunized kids, researchers say they're able to create a "herd immunity."

It doesn’t solve the autism debate or the superbug debate, but this is the kind of news that puts a little wind back into the sails of Moms like me who have vaccinated their kids. At least some of them are working.

Image/Source: USA Today

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New Pro Vaccine Book Author Getting Death Threats

Brett Singer — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

A lot of parents feel very strongly that vaccines cause autism. And they are very vocal about their feelings. So Dr. Paul A. Offit, author of "Autism’s False Prophets", probably expected a certain amount of resistance to a book that posits a different theory.

What he might not have anticipated are death threats.

According to the New York Times, Dr. Offit has in fact received death threats. Some members of the antivaccine movement dispute this, however. One of them is J. B. Handley, the founder of Generation Rescue (although a Google search calls it "Jenny McCarthy's Autism Organization"). Handley told the Times: "We have hundreds of fully recovered children. I’m very frustrated that Dr. Offit, who’s never treated an autistic child, is spending his time trying to refute the reality of biomedical recovery."

Offit is called "Dr. Proffit" because he created a vaccine himself and receives "millions in royalties" from it.

I have no idea if the vaccine that Dr. Offit helped create is one that is given to all children, or how much money he makes from it. If Generation Rescue's members believe that Offit's book is just self-promotion, they have a right to question his motives.

It's the fervor that I find disturbing. When you attack anyone who disagrees with you with name-calling and insults, it becomes difficult to convert anyone to your way of thinking. Numerous scientists and doctors feel that autism is a genetic condition, and there is evidence to back this up. It's not possible that there is a similar body of evidence to support the notion that vaccines are a cause of autism simply because the concept hasn't been around long enough to be studied as much as genetic causes. That isn't to say that it's impossible, or that the antivaccine crusaders are wrong. I'm only pointing out that the body of evidence isn't there.

Another reason could be the conspiracy theory version – that vaccine makers work to keep such studies from happening. Personally, I'm more inclined to believe that than I am to believe that vaccines cause autism. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but our dependence on foreign oil is partly fueled (no pun intended) by an automobile industry that doesn't want to make electric cars. (That's an oversimplification; my point is that sometimes even the weirdest-sounding conspiracy theories can be at least partly true.)

There was a time when doctors told us that smoking was healthy. Or that eating lots and lots of red meat was a great idea. So yes, sometimes doctors and the entire medical industry make mistakes. And Dr. Offit does sound a tad smarmy in the Times article: "I’ll speak at a conference, say, to nurses. But I wouldn’t go into a bookstore and sign books. It can get nasty. There are parents who really believe that vaccines hurt their children, and to them, I’m incredibly evil. They hate me." And, referring to the vaccine he helped create: "When Jonas Salk invented polio vaccine, he was a hero — and I’m a terrorist?" he jokes, referring to a placard denouncing him at a recent demonstration by antivaccine activists outside the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Well, polio was a bigger disease. Also, you're not funny. But maybe that's doctor humor.

I suppose its possible that Dr. Offit is lying about the death threats, but I doubt it. As Dr. Gregory A. Poland, chief of vaccine research at the Mayo Clinic, says in the Times piece, "a few years ago this ceased to be a civil scientific discourse and became about crucifying individuals." The key word there is "civil". Parents can get very emotional when their children are involved; I know I can get a little crazy when anyone is doing something that I feel is harmful to my kid. But I've learned that I get better results when I calm down and try to figure out the best way to solve whatever the problem is. It's not about expressing my anger or frustration. It's about getting something done. If someone really and truly feels that vaccines, which are given to millions of babies every single day, are a cause of autism, that is a very serious charge. It should be taken seriously by those making the claim. If you want to convince someone that what you believe is true, calling them names and making threats is not a good way to do it.

Source: NY Times

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New Study Says Autism is Environmental

KeriF — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 13:30:00 GMT

When I was a kid, I didn't know anyone who was autistic. Today, I know a lot of people with autism, and not just because my 10-year-old nephew is autistic. People have written of an "autism epidemic," but many insist that the rise in autism figures is not an epidemic at all, but rather due to increased awareness and diagnoses.

A new study in California says this is B.S.

Autism rates in California rose more than 500 percent in 10 years, from less than 9 in 10,000 for those born in 1990 to more than 44 in 10,000 for those born in 2000. The study, by the University of Davis M.I.N.D. Institute, used data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the state of California to debunk the theories that those higher figures were due to migration, earlier diagnoses, and inclusion of milder forms of autism.

Instead, researchers argue, the increase in autism is likely due to external factors. "We're looking at the possible effects of metals, pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment," said Irva Hertz-Picciotto, who co-authored the study. "If we're going to stop the rise in autism in California, we need to keep these studies going and expand them to the extent possible."

This is huge news for many in the autistic community, many of whom had long suspected that while there may be a genetic predisposition to autistic spectrum disorders, there are external factors at work as well.

Now, if we can only figure out what those external factors are…

FDA Asked to Approve Gardasil for Boys

JeanneSager — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:25:00 GMT

If you thought parenting boys meant you were off the hook on having to decide whether or not to go with the Gardasil shot, listen up.

Gardasil, the HPV prevention shot aimed girls nine to twenty-six, has been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by maker Merck for consideration as a vaccine for boys.

Obviously, we're not talking about cervical cancer here (please, tell me that was obvious), but a Merck study tracked four thousand boys ages sixteen to twenty-six who were given Gardasil and found it prevented ninety percent of cases of penile cancer and genital warts caused by the four common virus strains targeted by the vaccine.

The proposal calls for the vaccine to be approved for boys in the same age group as that already approved for girls - nine to twenty-six - and all report indicate it would come at a similar cost.

The three-series shot has drawn controversy for its $360 pricetag in the past, and its not the only one. Parents have had mixed reactions to the vaccine, some rushing out to have it administered to be on the safe side. As reported on Babble last month, however, others parents say Gardasil has caused paralysis in their daughters. I'm still undecided, myself, and hoping more conclusive research on the risks and benefits is available six years down the line when my daughter would first be "of age" for Gardasil.

But if the Merck study results are to be believed, this could save little boys lives. What do you think parents, would you take your sons in for the shot?

Image: Jezebel

Source: USA Today Via Jezebel

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AAP: Delayed Vaccines Too Risky for Kids

JeanneSager — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:24:00 GMT

Parents who have become wary of vaccinations for their children have been making the news for ahile now. But decisions by parents to simply delay vaccinating their kids seemed to have taken off this year.

It’s a trend that’s alarmed the American Academy of Pediatrics – enough to prompt the AAP to publish an article this week, along with its new vaccination guidelines, that strikes at the core of the delayed vaccine movement.

The movement got traction this year with sales of pediatrician Dr. Robert Sears’ book. The Vaccine Book: Making the Right Decision for Your Child came out last fall, and calls for splitting up the MMR and chicken pox vaccinations.

“Theoretically, giving each shot separately may allow the immune system to create better immunity to the disease,” Sears says in a blog that complements the Amazon listing for the book. “Since the MMR and chickenpox vaccines are live viruses, injecting them all on the same day is like exposing a child to all four diseases at once. That doesn’t happen in nature, and I feel it is safer to ‘simulate’ these infections one at a time so a child can handle them better.”

The AAP’s article comes from the desk of Dr. Paul Offit, chief of infectious diseases at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who cites that break Sears says will allow the child’s body to heal may actually put a baby at further risk. What’s more, Offit says Sears developed his “delayed schedule” without any clinical trials to determine how effective or safe they might be for the kids.

"This alternative schedule may respond to parental anxiety at the price of keeping the baby susceptible to serious infectious diseases for a longer period of time," Offit notes.

Ironically, even Sears can’t say the delay is the best bet for baby.
In the same blog, he notes, “Now, I admit that this precaution is completely theoretical. I have no research to show that giving these four live virus vaccines together is dangerous. In fact, in safety research virtually all kids who get them together don’t have any apparent problems at all.”

Regardless, Sears stands behind his writings, and he says parents who are wary of going forward with the vaccination schedules put forth by their doctors would do better breaking them up than they would to eliminate vaccinations entirely. He is also supportive of parents going full bore with their vaccination plans – and following the AAP-approved schedule.

So who do you trust? Raised in a healthcare-heavy home, I’ve always been pro-vaccine myself, so I can hardly speak for the anti-vaccine crowd. But for those parents who are still on the fence, does the lack of clinical trials bother you? Or does Dr. Sears’ all-encompassing attitude give you faith that he’s got your kids’ best interests at heart?

Image: Amazon

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They Say -- Vaccines Work

Brett Singer — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 14:00:00 GMT

We do a lot of stories on Babble about the potential dangers of vaccines, and about people who are trying to raise awareness of those dangers. Nothing wrong with that. But sometimes it’s a good idea to show the other side of things.

A recent article in U.S. News and World Report points out that deaths from measles declined by 74 percent from 2000 to 2007. The article actually used the word "plunged", which for once was not hyperbole. A 74 percent drop is big. The data comes from a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, which stated that "the number of deaths fell from 750,000 to 197,000." In some countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan) the drop was as high as 90 percent.

Now here's a stat to make you cringe – "worldwide child deaths from measles have dropped to 9.2 million," according to Ann M. Veneman of UNICEF.

What's cringeworthy about that? Later in the same article, Veneman puts it another way: "It is estimated that 500 children a day die of measles. This is an unacceptable reality when there is a safe and effective and inexpensive vaccine to prevent the disease." Unacceptable? No kidding.

While there are very few measles deaths in the United States, the disease is on the rise here, with 130 cases reported in 2008. Says U.S. News and World Report: "Almost half of these cases were among children whose parents declined vaccinations."

I wonder about that last line. "Almost half" implies that more than half of the cases were from vaccinated children – right? Which would seem to conclude that the vaccine is less than perfect. But let's look at it another way – the more parents refuse to allow their children to be vaccinated, the more measles cases there are, and so on. Is there a point when the potential dangers of vaccines outweigh the potential risks?

I feel strongly that the devil lies in the details – for example, is it possible to make vaccines without mercury, one of the substances many people feel is dangerous? Rather than a "vaccines or no vaccines" debate, we could have a debate about the particular vaccine itself. But that doesn't make for an easy headline.

The link to the U.S. News and World Report article was suggested by a commenter on this post by Hannah about a toddler who died after an MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccination. The parents blamed the vaccine for the 18 month old's death; the coroner's report later found "no link" between the tragic death and the vaccine. While stories like these can inspire parents to refuse to get their children vaccinated (regardless of what the coroner's report said), it is worth remembering that vaccines have enormous benefits as well as risks.

Source: U.S. News and World Report (Thanks to commenter gpgirl for the link.)

Image: helpyourautisticchildblog.com

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Morning News: Bush Acknowledges Crappy Presidency ... Yet Leaving With Head Held High

Madeline Holler — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Last night in an interview with ABC's Charlie Gibson, the man who is barely still president (big sigh of relief) owned up to a few of his failures as president. He said the Iraq war exceeded his expectations (and not in a good way) and that he was unprepared for war. He also took a bit of the blame for John McCain's election loss. The biggest regret of his presidency?

Intelligence failure in Iraq, he said. He wishes the intelligence "had been different." It was, Bush, it was! Also, no mention of regrets RE: Katrina or Dick Cheney.

Hey, drop the confetti! The U.S. has officially been declared in recession! In fact, the U.S. economy has been secretly in recession for an entire year! What sneaky, debt-ridden, lay-offing, over-extended little devils Americans are. On mention of this stealth-now-real recession, the Dow plunged nearly 700 points. In case you're wondering, President Bush is sorry about the economy too.

Is it shame? Economic realities? Good ol' Alaskan consignment store shopping attitude? Sarah Palin is rewearing clothes from the campaign (and not even the cutest stuff, which, we're left to believe she did, indeed, give back)!

The Obamas are headed to Hawaii this Christmas! It's actually not news, since they spend every Christmas there, but back in August, when he took a week off in Hawaii before the convention, there were calls for him to go somewhere "normal," like Pebble Beach, S.C. Nevermind that when you grow up in Hawaii and your only living relatives live in Hawaii, going to Hawaii for Christmas is normal. (And nevermind when you grow up anywhere west of the Mississippi -- or is it west of I-95? -- going to Pebble Beach is not normal.

Some doctors don't want to scale back on vacations, so they're dropping -- yes, DROPPING! -- vaccines from their caregiving offerings to families with kids. Apparently, private insurers don't reimburse enough to make it worth it for the doctor. Plus, there's gotta be a whole lot of profit in caring for kids with measles, ear infections and meningitis! We'll file this one under "Pros" in the Universal Healthcare: Should We/Shouldn't We debate.

MSNBC has a list of the 20 Top Medical Breakthroughs for Women. So you think it's going to be about detecting heart disease early or studies determining correct dosages of common drugs. Nah. It's stuff like "liposuction is great because there are stem cells in belly fat." And also, "anti-aging products really work!"

Somebody, cut this guy off! No, not literally. But this Dutch man has fathered 46 kids through sperm donation and he's nowhere near ready to stop. He sounds altruistic (even hosting a party recently for all his children), but should his genes really be so over-represented in the population?

Photo: ABCNews.com

John McCain Snubbed Jenny McCarthy on Autism

SunnyChanel — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:31:00 GMT

Jenny McCarhty and John McCain share more than the same initials and a McCa in their names. They both believe that there is a correlation between vaccines and autism. Back in March, McCain said "It's indisputable that autism is on the rise among children... The question is, What's causing it? And we go back and forth, and there's strong evidence that indicates that it's got to do with a preservative in vaccines."

The actress Jenny McCarthy has claimed that the MMR vaccine, that’s supposed to immunize kids against measles, mumps and rubella was what changed her healthy, attentive and affectionate six-year-old son, he was later diagnosed with autism.

Since she shared the much debated opinion that vaccines and autism are linked with Senator McCain, she thought she would find a kindred spirit. McCarthy reached out to the Senator and him and his team agreed to the meet on the topic. She flew out to interview McCain in person, was prepped and ready. But McCain backed out at the last minute. Why? His campaign manger said "He's ahead in the polls, and this is too controversial, and he doesn't want to go one way or the next."

Would you have liked to have "Maverick" McCain stick to his guns on this topic?

via: Contactmusic.com

7 Tips for Playgroup Survival

Madeline Holler — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:31:00 GMT

Playgroups are like childhood vaccines. Some parents wouldn't dare raise their young children without a regularly scheduled one. Others don't want anything to do with them. Others attend reluctantly, off schedule, skipping frequently.

And it's true, playgroups, like vaccines, sometimes get knocked for a few bad outcomes. They get blamed for giving you a low self-esteem ("the other moms made me feel like I brought the wrong snack," "we didn't have the right stroller!"). They're a hotbed of self-deprecation. Playgroup was the miracle that promised to prevent loneliness and first-time parent confusion but wound up making you feel like a loser.

I have always loved the idea of playgroups more than the playgroups themselves. After being in several, I've come to look at them more like pick-up bars: you meet someone you like, trade phone numbers and see each other outside the set time and location.

In fact, the bigger a playgroup, the better. There are more parents to choose from, the leadership is weak and you can slink in and out without drawing too much attention to yourself. But that's just me. I'm willing to use the hospitality of others to fulfill my own personal needs. It's worked well for me. Here are 7 more tips for surviving (and getting what you need out of) playgroups.

1. Go as yourself. Seriously, if you're a ponytail and yoga pants type, don't actually put on lipstick and pleated khaki shorts. You don't want to accidentally fall in the wrong crowd (you know, the ones that are also planning to caravan to next weekend's Sarah Palin rally).

2. Think of it as material. Instead of clenching your jaw through two hours of kiddie/mommy hell, think of your disastrous playgroup as writing material for your blog, or storytelling material for your single friends.

3. Remind yourself that this isn't the last stop, just layover. If you just need to be around warm bodies and hot coffee, suck it up and keep going. This won't last forever. Eventually, you'll either go back to work or find someone you really like hanging out with. Which leads us to 4.

4. Feel free to form cliques. Playgroups are not the boardroom. There is no common goal, there is no singular vision. Just you and a bunch of moms and dads looking for other parents and, eventually, like-aged kids for your toddlers to play with. Glob on to the funny mom! Fight for a seat next to the one who packs wine! Have a side conversation. Don't worry about including everyone. Don't feel obligated to laugh at stupid jokes.

5. Gather supporters and break off on your own. A playgroup's minimum membership is two. Feel free to exchange phone numbers and meet the following week, just the two of you.

6. If it's your turn to host, feel free to dial it down. I don't care what kind of cheese and sausage board Alpha Mom set out when she hosted, you don't have to meet or exceed her expectations. If you're a store-bought muffins and coffee type, crack open that blister pack and serve without shame. You don't want to participate in the escalation of at-home parental duties, you want to minimize. Tell everyone I told you the bowl of pretzels and lukewarm tap water was OK.

7. Use your kid -- he got you into this mess, he can get you out. Is the gathered group really that intolerable? Seriously, no one with mom-friend potential? Then gather up your kid, claim the kid's getting fussy and say you'll try again next week. And then run, run like the wind, become a park regular and never, ever go back to playgroup.

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Photo: chickspeak.com

They Say: Get Your Kid the Flu Shot

JeanneSager — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:40:00 GMT

My mother used to roll me over early in the morning and poke a needle in my arm. "Good morning, honey, you've just been vaccinated against the flu." Welcome to life as a nurse's kid.

It's no wonder I've been lining up each year to get my daughter her flu shot since her first shot at 7 months. Yes, 7 months - her summer birthday set her up to hit the minimum approved age for the vaccine in the heart of flu season, and I wasn't taking any chances. So I was one mom who was happy to hear the CDC extend the recommended age for vaccinating kids against the flu this year.

For us, it's just in time. Recommended before for kids 6 months to 2 years and only to kids older if they're at a heightened risk, this would have been the first year I would have had to pay for her shot out of my own pocket. Then the word from the CDC - get a shot for every kid, age 6 months to 18 years. Which means my insurance company should pony up. It also means I'm pressing harder on other parents to follow suit.

What makes the flu vaccine so important? The flu is rampant. It's easily transmitted from person to person, and it puts 20,000 American children in the hospital every year. And every year, 36,000 Americans die from the flu. From the flu? Yes, from the disease I hear people tell me year in and year out is "no big deal. It's just a like a bad cold."

Wrong!

Sorry, I think something that kills people is sort of a big deal. Something that sends 20,000 kids to the hospital every year sounds like more than a bad cold. The flu is symptomized by high fevers, nausea, diarrhea, muscle aches, extreme fatigue, sore throat, stuffy nose - none of this is fun stuff.

Second claim I hear from moms (and dads) who don't get their kid vaccinated? "You can get the flu by getting the shot - so what's the point?"

Wrong again.

The flu shot contains an inactivate (dead) virus. As your body builds up antibodies to the virus, you can experience low grade fever and muscle aches. Now compare that to the list above of what the flu can do to your body. Do they really compare?

The flu shot doesn't always work - some people still get the flu. But anyone who's just sent their kid to school or just put a child in daycare knows how fast the bugs spread from kid to kid and then from your kid to you. So let one flu germ loose on a school and every kid is going to have it, and so is every parent of every kid.

So it's up to you - do you want to run the risk of being one of 200,000 Americans sent to the hospital every year because they got the flu? One of 36,000 who die? The parent of one of the 20,000 kids sent to the hospital? Or do you want to suck it up, call the pediatrician and get your kid a flu shot?

Image: Health News-Stat

We Know Some Toys are Infectious, but This Will Put a Pox on You

Party with the Pox, but Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

We Know Some Toys are Infectious, but This Will Put a Pox on You

JeanneSager — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:02:00 GMT

Think Chucky in bear form. But the Pox Teddy won't kill you, just infect your kid with a live virus. Worried your kid won't get the chicken pox and there isn't a party in town?

You could let him cuddle with his new favorite teddy bear. Just tell him to take deeeeeep breaths because the pressurized capsules of varicella virus will only last 10 minutes after you've released them all over his little body.

Creepy doesn't begin to sum this one up for me, but it does remind me of the tale of Velveteen Rabbit, the threadbare bunny chucked in the dustbin after his little boy went through a bout with the highly infectious scarlet fever. My daughter asks for the story often enough I should have all the details down, but we have the abbreviated version (it was a gift), and I can't remember just where the boy goes to recover when his bedroom is thoroughly cleaned to kill all the germs. I do know the bunny is scooped up and thrown in the pile to be burned, but he's saved by the fairy who turns him into a real bunny who hops off into the forest to frolic and play.

I've already had my say on exposing your kids to chicken pox instead of whisking them off to the doctor's office for a vaccine. Yes, I'm one of those moms who truly believes shots in the arm are good for kids, and yes, designer Mikael Metthey actually considers this a "needleless vaccine." But I'm not ready to turn the playroom into the next staging area for bio-warfare.

Are you?

Source, Image: Wired

Party with the Pox, but Don't Say We Didn't Warn You

New Study States Kids Spread the Flu - Duh!

SunnyChanel — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Since I had my daughter two years ago, I’ve been plagued with more bugs, illnesses and viruses than ever before. I blame sleep deprivation, playgroups, playgrounds, and frequently forgetting my Purell. Hot off the AP wire, they've reported that “new evidence that children are key flu spreaders”. Duh! The smartypants at Harvard spent four flu seasons studying the appearance of flu symptoms in local ERs and then tracked what zip codes the illnesses were most prevalent in. The answer won’t surprise you. Areas with more dirty, nose picking, non-mouth covering sneezing and coughing “germ factory” children were “struck first and worst” with the flu symptoms. Yeah, any mom or dad could have told you that.

In response to this new study, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is sticking with the previous recommendation that children from age 6 months to 18 years old should be vaccinated, the previous recommendation was just for children under the age of five.

Flu season starts in just a month, so if you’re a flu shotter family you better get yours sooner than later.

Via AP

They Say: no link between autism and measles vaccine

Brett Singer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:30:00 GMT

This news is unfortunately not likely to solve anyone's questions about whether or not vaccines are a cause of autism.

"Dr. W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University, collaborating with a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Trinity College in Dublin, tackled the hot-button question: whether the MMR vaccine causes autism.

"'We are persuaded there is no link,' said Lipkin, director of the center on infection and immunity at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health in Manhattan."

HOWEVER…

"The study was not designed to address other rumored theories of autism's cause, such as thimerosal, the much-debated mercury-based preservative in some other vaccines, Lipkin said."

Now, as usual, the devil is in the details. The 1998 study that linked MMR vaccines to autism was based on a whopping 12 children. I'm no scientist (nor have I played one on TV) but that doesn't sound like a very large sample base.

For this new study, "Lipkin and colleagues searched for traces of genetic material linked to the virus in intestinal tissue taken from 25 children with autism and gastrointestinal problems. They compared the samples to those from 13 children without autism but with intestinal problems. In 24 of the group of 25 and in 12 of the 13, there was no evidence of viral persistence, leading researchers to conclude the vaccine did not cause autism or gastrointestinal problems." So it’s a larger group of kids. Not that many, but on the surface it sounds more valid.

HOWEVER…

Why not do a study on thimerosal, which contains, as Jenny McCarthy calls it, "frickin' mercury"? Wouldn't that be, like, actually useful?

In theory, this study will put to rest parents' fears about this particular vaccine. Of course, as the great Homer Simpson once said, communism works -- in theory. In other words, I doubt this news will do anything to change anybody's mind one way or the other.

source: Newsday

image: timesonline.typepad.com

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Needle Camps

Adrienne Martini — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:30:00 GMT

When one polarizing parenting debate dies down, there is always another to take its place. It's like Whack-a-Mole, only less fun. This week's mole is vaccines.

If you want to start a fight, walk into any group of mothers and say, "Vaccines cause autism" or "Vaccines are a social good." Then walk out, just so you don't get hit by the flying fur.

Which is why this completely sensible take on vaccines by Sari Weston in Brain, Child will tick off just about everyone who insists on believing that this is a binary argument. Weston looks at pros and cons -- pointing out along the way that it is almost impossible to evaluate the information because there is so much bias -- and comes to a difficult-to -disagree-with conclusion.

Still, folks have found plenty to disagree with. Judging by the comments Weston's received, this mole keeps popping up, no matter how many times you thwack it.

Image credit: Brain, Child Magazine

Controversy: Autism and Vaccines

Amy S.F. Lutz — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:24:00 GMT

In response to Rachael's post about triplets with autism, readers were adamant in both their defense and rejection of the theory that childhood vaccines can trigger autism - from tom, who wrote, "Vaccines are evil poisons," to John, who stated, "The onset for autism is usually at the same time that children get vaccines . . . This does not mean vaccines cause autism. There is NO data to support this. Vaccines are important and vital to our society."

As the parent of a son with autism, here's my take: we will never know.

What I can say is that John is wrong. Several studies have found links between vaccines and autism, one in particular done by the CDC in February, 2000. Dr. Thomas Verstraeten examined data from over a hundred thousand California children, and announced at a CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, "Researchers found statistically significant associations between thimerosal and neurodevelopmental disorders . . . there seems to be an increasing trend, an increasing risk for any of these outcomes, any of these neurological developmental outcomes, with increasing thimerosal exposure among kids who received the highest exposures, compared with children who received little or no mercury at all." Children exposed to high levels of thimerosal were 35% more likely to have a neurological developmental disorder (NDD) than those who received low levels of the vaccine preservative.

What happened to this study? The CDC had the results re-calculated three times before publishing the fourth version in the November 2003 issue of Pediatrics, manipulating the data until that correlation disappeared. For example, about half of the diagnosed NDDs were excluded from the final version, allegedly because those children had been diagnosed by doctors who were not members of the HMOs whose databanks were used in the study. Children younger than three were also included in the later versions of the study, which is significant because at that time autism wasn't often diagnosed officially before age 3. There were several other important adjustments to the data, which you can read about if you like in the book Evidence of Harm, by David Kirby, which examines the mercury-autism connection. Kirby is clearly a believer and is forthright about his bias, but since he uses the CDCs own data, and quotes from the CDCs own researchers, his arguments are still important - and more than a little scary.

Do I believe vaccines definitely cause autism? No, not definitely. And as I said, I don't think we'll ever know. Because the harm to public health if it were definitely proven that vaccines can cause autism would be catastrophic. Parents would stop vaccinating their children in droves, and we would see epidemics of measles, mumps, pertussis, and maybe even polio. That means that virtually everyone who cares about the "greater good" has a vested interest in making sure that this connection is never proven.

So what should a concerned parent do? Well, even if vaccines are responsible, at least in part, for the rise of autism cases, it's still unclear whether thimerosol is to blame, or the sheer number of vaccines kids get at one time, or - as those who indict the MMR vaccine claim - it's the introduction of a heavy dose of live viruses into a genetically vulnerable immune system. I suspect that all of these may have played some role in different children. As the recent decision of the vaccine court to compensate a family - whose daughter's autism, the court determined, was in fact caused by vaccines - proves, different children have different genetic weaknesses, and different environmental triggers affect them differently. Given that, what's the harm in vaccinating slowly? My other kids have all been vaccinated, but we never let them have more than one shot at a time, and we made sure all their immunizations were thimerosal-free (which is true now of virtually all vaccines but the flu shot). We held off on the MMR until our kids were over three, and it was clear they were showing no signs of developmental delays. Although some pediatricians are more amenable to this kind of schedule than others, the fact is there's no reason why a brand-new baby with an immature immune system has to be pummeled with vaccines for diseases for which the vast majority aren't immediately at risk, like polio or hepatitis B (unless mom is a prostitute or a drug addict). And I know it's not statistically significant, and it may be the luck of the proverbial draw, but all four of my other kids - knock on wood a million times - show no symptoms of autism.

No Easy Answers

Adrienne Martini — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 17:00:00 GMT

Most parents on the planet want to do the right thing for their kids. But given that the world is an imperfect place, the right thing can be just so very, very hard to figure out.

Some issues are no-brainers. It is wrong to feed your kid mud or lead or glass. But is it also wrong to feed non-organic produce? McDonald's? Juice?

And vaccines? Oy. Vaccines. Just look at the comment thread on this 'derby post about an autism/vaccine case in Georgia. If nothing else, it proves that there are no universal right answers right now.

Here are two more bits of data to throw in the mix: That Georgia case probably won't set any sort of precedent for other similar cases and measles, which is life-threatening in kids, is on the rise. Before the vaccine, nearly 6 million people globally were killed each year by this disease and the rates of infection are creeping back up in developed countries.

For me, it's a case of weighing the misery and possible fatality of measles against a nebulous, frequently disproved link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorders. In a worse case scenario -- which is worse: death or disorder? There are no easy choices.

Photo credit: bbc.com

Government Concedes Georgia Girl's Autism Caused By Vaccines

Amy S.F. Lutz — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 19:03:00 GMT

Hannah Poling was a precocious toddler until her 18-month check-up, when she was given five vaccines in one visit. She had a strong reaction to the shots - for the next 48 hours, she ran a high fever and wouldn't stop crying. She refused to walk and stopped sleeping through the night. Within three months, Hannah began showing classic signs of autism: spinning, and staring at lights and ceiling fans. For a while, she completely stopped talking. Now 9, Hannah needs one-on-one care all the time.

Although my son, who is also autistic, did not follow this pattern of regression following his immunizations, it's very common to hear similar stories from other parents. But now the Polings have something those other parents don't have, at least not yet: acknowledgement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that Hannah's autism was caused by vaccines.

It's still unclear what ramifications this decision will have for the 5000+ other families seeking compensation from the federal vaccine court. Although the Polings' records are sealed, leaked documents show that Hannah has an underlying mitochondrial condition that was aggravated by her immunizations and caused her autism. In a press conference, Hannah's father, Dr. Jon Poling, explained that this condition is vastly more common among the autistic population, with some experts claiming a rate as high as 7% or more. Only .02% of neurotypical children are affected.

Since the vaccine court was established by Congress in 1988, over 950 claims have been paid, but this is the first for autism. Although the amount of the Polings' award has not yet been determined, the average compensation is about $1 million, paid from a fund created to protect both children harmed by vaccines and the pharmaceutical companies who produce them.

In response to the Poling decision, the CDC reiterated its claim that autism is not caused by vaccines. But how could they say otherwise, given the public health emergency that would result if parents stopped immunizing their children? Even John McCain - a Republican! - stated last week that "there's strong evidence" the mercury preservative thimerosol is involved in the explosion of children diagnosed with autism in recent years. As many as 1 in 150 American children suffer from the disorder.

The cases of two more families who believe thimerosol caused their children's autism will be heard in May. I know I'm not the only one who can't wait to hear how the court rules on those claims.

Atlanta Journal Constitution photo