Wait! Did Julie Gerberding Just Admit that Vaccines Trigger Autism!?

I think that she did!

She could not have talked around it or downplayed it more... but she said it.

I only saw the video on CNN's web site, but Kirby found the transcript of the whole show.

I am gonna dig through the transcript and get back to you.. in the mean time:

UPDATE: She did. Let's go to the tape.

CNN, CDC, and Some Truth
Posted March 29, 2008 | 02:20 PM (EST)
Huffington Post

It was a big morning in Atlanta today. In case you missed CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding this morning on CNN's "House Call with Dr Sanjay Gupta," it was rather interesting:

If I have read the transcript below correctly, Dr. Gerberding is saying that, yes, in some mitochondrial disorder cases, vaccines can be the trigger that causes "symptoms that have characteristics of autism." So, Dr. Gerberding admits a link -- but then denies that it is a link to autism.

The only problem with this line of argument is that I know for a fact that Hannah, as well as the kids in the new unpublished mito study were, as one doctor told me, "plucked right from autism clinics. They all have autism, there is no question of that."

JULIE GERBERDING, DR., CDC DIRECTOR: "Well, you know, I don't have all the facts because I still haven't been able to review the case files myself. But my understanding is that the child has a -- what we think is a rare mitochondrial disorder. And children that have this disease, anything that stresses them creates a situation where their cells just can't make enough energy to keep their brains functioning normally. Now, we all know that vaccines can occasionally cause fevers in kids. So if a child was immunized, got a fever, had other complications from the vaccines. And if you're predisposed with the mitochondrial disorder, it can certainly set off some damage. Some of the symptoms can be symptoms that have characteristics of autism."

So, complications from vaccines can set off damage that causes characteristics of autism (just not autism itself). I don't believe I have ever heard that from a CDC official before, though that doesn't mean they never said it.

At the same time, this language does not quite jive with what Director Gerberding told reporters just over three weeks ago on a conference call:

"Let me be very clear that (the) government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are a cause of autism. That is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of the case, and a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today. So I think we need to set the record straight on that."

I guess it all depends on what the meaning of the word, "cause," is.

The CNN interview this morning with Sanjay Gupta continues:

GUPTA: Are we ready to say right now that childhood vaccines do not cause autism?

GERBERDING: We can say absolutely for sure that we don't really understand the causes of autism. We've got a long way to go before we get to the bottom of this.

GUPTA: And you are comfortable saying that with everything we know?

GERBERDING: I'll never be comfortable with everything we know. I mean, I think we have to have an open mind about this. We know that there is very little chance that something related to a vaccine is going to cause a serious problem for a child.

Amid the usual "vaccines save lives" answer to questioning if it's possible that childhood vaccines could cause autism, there is some new and interesting rhetoric in the CDC Director's statements:

To wit:

"Set off some damage"

"Have an open mind"

"We don't know"

"Get to the bottom" of vaccines and autism.

"Ill never be comfortable"

"Very little chance" - instead of "there is no evidence"

"Something related to A vaccine" - (as opposed to several vaccines at once)

This seems like news to me, but I could be wrong. At the least, I think it is interesting, and worthy of follow up, should anyone in the media be able to talk with Dr. Gerberding. For some reason, she doesn't return my calls.

The Study That FINALLY Got The CDC to Pay Attention

Last night we learned from David Kirby that the CDC is actually waking up to the vaccine/autism connection because of the recent revelation of previously missing middle man Mr. Mitochondria.

Here is the study that was the slap in the fact that has been so badly needed for so long:

Epidemiology of autism spectrum disorder in Portugal: prevalence, clinical characterization, and medical conditions

Guiomar Oliveira MD PhD, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Criança, Hospital Pediátrico de Coimbra; Assunção Ataíde BSc, Direcção Regional de Educação do Centro Coimbra;
Carla Marques MSc, Centro de Desenvolvimento da Criança, Hospital Pediátrico de Coimbra; Teresa S Miguel BSc, Direcção Regional de Educação do Centro, Coimbra;
Ana Margarida Coutinho BSc, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras; Luísa Mota-Vieira PhD, Unidade de Genética e Patologia moleculares, Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, Ponta Delgada, Açores; Esmeralda Gonçalves PhD; Nazaré Mendes Lopes PhD, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra; Vitor Rodrigues MD PhD; Henrique Carmona da Mota MD PhD, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Coimbra, Coimbra; Astrid Moura Vicente PhD, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
*Correspondence to first author at Hospital Pediátrico de Coimbra, Av Bissaya Barreto, 3000-076 Coimbra, Portugal. E-mail: guiomar@hpc.chc.min-saude.pt

The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and identify its clinical characterization, and medical conditions in a paediatric population in Portugal. A school survey was conducted in elementary schools, targeting 332 808 school-aged children in the mainland and 10 910 in the Azores islands. Referred children were directly assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th edn), the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised, and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Clinical history and a laboratory investigation was performed. In parallel, a systematic multi-source search of children known to have autism was carried out in a restricted region. The global prevalence of ASD per 10 000 was 9.2 in mainland, and 15.6 in the Azores, with intriguing regional differences. A diversity of associated medical conditions was documented in 20%, with an unexpectedly high rate of mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders.

David Kirby Drops Another Bomb: Autism Risk May Be 1 in 50

Of the thirty kids with regressive autism that were screened, 100% of them had the same biochemical imbalances as Hannah Poling.

All 30.

100%

Hannah is in no way, rare.

"The biochemistry of 30 children was studied intensively, and in each case, the results showed the same abnormalities as those found in Hannah Poling, participants said. Each child had moderate elevations or imbalances in the exact same amino acids and liver enzymes as Hannah Poling."

And... (I can't even believe that I am typing these words) on the conference call that Kirby is writing about the CDC was discussing adjusting the vaccine schedule to make it safer.

Keep reading...

UPDATE: Kirby offers bullet points to help us wrap our heads around all the info here:

I realize my Huffington essay was rather long and complicated. Here is a brief synopsis of just SOME of the larger points raised in the piece. I will probably alter this a little, but it hits most of the main topics. Please feel free to circulate - DK

● Up to 1 in 50 children (2%) may have a genetic mutation that puts them at risk for mitochondrial dysfunction.

● Up to 20% of all children with autism may have an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction

● Children with mitochondrial dysfunction are more likely to regress into autism between the ages 1 and 2 years, if they have fever or illness from viral infections or vaccines.

● The CDC is aware of this difficult situation and is taking measures immediately to address the current national vaccine schedule.

● The genetic susceptibility for mitochondrial dysfunction in autism is inherited through the father, not the mother, as previously thought, and is not rare at all.

● The DNA mutation might not be enough in itself to confer cellular dysfunction, and many doctors believe there is an environmental trigger as well.

● They note that thimerosal, mercury, aluminum, pollution, pesticides, medicines and prenatal alcohol exposure have all been shown to damage mitochondria.

● Other doctors believe that a corn-byproduct based diet in America has put children in a constant inflammatory state, thus making the DNA mutation more pathogenic.

● While some children with mitochondrial dysfunction regress into autism following fever and illness from a viral infection; other kids, like Hannah Poling, clearly regress following a reaction to vaccines.

● The exact percentage of people with vaccine induced autism is unknown. But even a 1% rate could mean 10,000 Americans with vaccine related autism, at a cost of many billions of dollars for lifetime care.

The Next Big Autism Bomb, Are 1 in 50 Kids At Risk?
Posted March 26, 2008 | 09:30 PM (EST)
David Kirby
Huffington Post

On Tuesday, March 11, a conference call was held between vaccine safety officials at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, several leading experts in vaccine safety research, and executives from America's Health Insurance Plans, (the HMO trade association) to discuss childhood mitochondrial dysfunction and its potential link to autism and vaccines.

It was a sobering event for all concerned, and it could soon become known as the Conference Call heard 'round the world.

The teleconference was scheduled by a little known CDC agency called the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) Network, a consortium of six research centers working on "immunization-associated health risks," in conjunction with the CDC's Immunization Safety Office and the health insurance lobby -- whose companies cover some 200 million Americans.

The hot topic of the day was mitochondria - the little powerhouses within each cell that convert food and oxygen into energy for use by the body. Recent news events have implicated mitochondria in at least one case of regressive autism, following normal development.

Some researchers on the call reported that mitochondrial dysfunction is probably much more common than the current estimate of 1-in-4,000 people. The potential implications for autism, then, are staggering.

"We need to find out if there is credible evidence, theoretically, to support the idea that childhood mitochondrial dysfunction might regress into autism," one of the callers reportedly told participants.

"THE CLOCK IS TICKING"

One person on the call (those interviewed for this article asked to remain anonymous) told me that, "the CDC people were informed, in no uncertain terms, that they need to look into this issue immediately, and do something about it." The clock is ticking, they were told, and if they don't respond, the information will be made public.

Still, the doctor said, he was enormously impressed by the "seriousness" with which CDC officials treated the possibility of a link between mitochondria, autism and possibly vaccines as well.

In the recent landmark Hannah Poling case, filed in Federal "Vaccine Court," officials conceded that Hannah's underlying mitochondrial dysfunction was aggravated by her vaccines, leading to fever and an "immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic reserves."

But on March 6, CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding claimed that Hannah's case was a rare, virtually one-of-a-kind incident with little, if any relevance to the other 4,900 autism claims currently pending in the court -- or to any other case of autism for that matter.(There were conflicting accounts about whether Gerberding was on the call or not).

Since then, however, Dr. Gerberding and other CDC officials were made aware of a Portuguese study, published last October, which reported that 7.2% of children with autism had confirmed mitochondrial disorders. The authors also noted that, "a diversity of associated medical conditions was documented in 20%, with an unexpectedly high rate of mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders."

"Apparently, the Portuguese study really got their attention," one of the participants said. "It's a highly significant finding. And it's worrisome enough to definitely look into. I think the CDC people know that."

They also know that some reports estimate the rate of mitochondrial dysfunction in autism to be 20% or more. And the rate among children with the regressive sub-type of autism is likely higher still.

Vaccine safety officials on the March 11 call may have been open to discussing mitochondria and autism, but they were probably highly unprepared for what was to come next.

One doctor reported his findings from a five-year study of children with autism, who also showed clinical markers for impaired cellular energy, due to mild dysfunction of their mitochondria.

The biochemistry of 30 children was studied intensively, and in each case, the results showed the same abnormalities as those found in Hannah Poling, participants said. Each child had moderate elevations or imbalances in the exact same amino acids and liver enzymes as Hannah Poling.

All thirty children also displayed normal, healthy development until about 18-24 months of age, when they quickly regressed into clinically diagnosed autism (and not merely "features of autism"), following some type of unusual trigger, or stress, placed on their immune system.

Researchers explained on the call that some data show that mitochondrial dysfunction can convert into autism "in numbers that make it not a rare occurrence," one participant told me. They explained this as "a distinct syndrome; not a mixed bag at all. Every kid had mild mitochondria dysfunction and autistic regression."

Another surprise came when one researcher announced an "inheritance pattern" that linked each case through the genetics of the father: In families where two cousins had autism, the genetic link was always through the father.

This unexpected discovery would clearly implicate nuclear DNA inheritance, and not mitochondrial DNA, which is inherited only through the mother.

Gerberding and others had previously insisted that Hannah and her mother, Teri Poling, both had the same single point mutation in their mitochondrial DNA. CDC officials asserted that Hannah had a pre-existing disease, a rare genetic glitch in her mitochondria, that may well have manifested as "features of autism" on its own, perhaps even without an environmental trigger.

"It's not in the mitochondrial DNA, and it's not rare," one participant confirmed. In fact, he said, many people probably carry the nuclear DNA mutation that confers susceptibility to mitochondrial dysfunction, they just don't know it.

1-in-50 GENETIC RISK?

On the call, speculation on the prevalence of a genetic mutation that could confer mild mitochondrial dysfunction in the general population ranged from about 1-in-400, to a staggering 1-in-50, or 2% of all Americans.

There was talk about the urgent need to do mapping studies, and find the locus of this gene. Some of the researchers said they want to test all 30 children for the actual DNA mutation. There was some expectation that they might discover that the mutation goes back generations, so parents and grandparents might be tested as well.

One belief is that a particular mutated gene may have become prevalent over the centuries, because of selective advantage. Mild mitochondrial dysfunction reportedly has been associated with intelligence, because it can increase activity of the brain's NMDA receptors. A large number of receptors can produce increased intelligence, but it can also increase risk of brain disease, one doctor explained to me. It's possible that increased receptor activity acts in same way.

But not everyone agrees that mitochondrial dysfunction is a purely inherited affair. Some researchers believe that, while a susceptibility gene for mitochondrial problems certainly exists, some type of environmental trigger, or "adversity," as one doctor put it, is needed to turn the mutation into a dysfunction.

The medical literature is replete with studies on mitochondrial health and the adverse impact of mercury, aluminum and other toxins. Even AIDS drugs like AZT and prenatal alcohol consumption can damage mitochondria and impact cellular energy.

The mercury-containing vaccine preservative, thimerosal, for example, "can definitely kill cells in vitro through the mitochondria," one teleconference participant told me. "And some people are beginning to suspect that the dose of hepatitis B vaccine given at birth might be interfering with proper mitochondrial function in certain children."

While the cause of mitochondrial dysfunction is up for the debate, so too is its potential effect on regressive autism.

All the researchers I spoke with agreed that, in many cases, there was an underlying, asymptomatic mitochondrial dysfunction, aggravated by some other stressful event imposed on the child's immune system, resulting in autism.

Such "metabolic decomposition" occurs when a child's system simply "cannot meet the energy demand needed to fight the stress of illness," one doctor explained.

But what causes the stress? That is a very big question.

Apparently, in only two of the 30 cases, or 6%, could the regression be traced directly and temporally to immunizations, and one of them was Hannah Poling. In the other cases, there was reportedly some type of documented, fever-inducing viral infection that occurred within seven days of the onset of brain injury symptoms.

All 30 of the regressions occurred between one and two years of age, at a time when the still-developing brain is particularly vulnerable to injury.

But if a significant minority of autism cases was caused by mitochondrial dysfunction aggravated by common childhood illnesses, then shouldn't we see fewer cases today than, say, at the beginning of the 20th Century? And wouldn't developing countries likewise show far more prevalence of autism than the United States?

Not necessarily, some experts said. They noted that many viral infections are still quite prevalent in modern-day America, and many children still get these types of viral infections about once a month, on average.

If that is the case, then why doesn't every child with "mito" dysfunction regress into autism? Surely, they must encounter viral infections during their yearlong window of neurological peril.

Again, not necessarily: Some doctors said it would depend on the severity of the dysfunction, the type of virus encountered, and perhaps other factors that are still not understood.

But at least two of the 30 kids with mito deficiencies were pushed over the edge into autism by their vaccines, and some researchers feel the number is probably much higher than that in the larger population.

"Vaccines, in some cases, can cause an unusually heightened immune reaction, fever, and even mild illness," one participant said. "A normal vaccine reaction in most kids would be very different in a kid with a metabolic disorder. We know it happened to at least two kids in this study, and I'm certain there are many more Hannahs out there."

One theory currently in circulation about what happened to Hannah and other children like her, is an apparent "triple domino effect." According to this hypothesis, it takes three steps and two triggers to get to some types of autism, and it goes like this:

STEP ONE: Child is conceived and born healthy, but with an underlying nuclear DNA genetic susceptibility to mitochondrial dysfunction, inherited from dad.

TRIGGER ONE: An early environmental "adversity" occurs in the womb or during the neonatal period, perhaps caused by prenatal exposure to heavy metals, pollutants, pesticides and medicines. Or, it occurs in early infancy, through environmental toxins, thimerosal exposure, or even the Hepatitis B vaccine "birth dose." This trigger results in:

STEP TWO: Child develops mild, usually asymptomatic mitochondrial dysfunction (though I wonder if the ear infections and eczema so common in these cases might also be symptoms of mito problems).

TRIGGER TWO: Child, now with an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, suffers over-stimulation of the immune system beyond the capacity of his or her metabolic reserves. This stress is either via a viral febrile infection, or from multiple vaccinations, as in the Poling case. This trigger results in:

STEP THREE: Acute illness, seizures, encephalopathy, developmental regression, autism.

Such a scenario might help explain why autism has increased right along with the addition of more vaccines to the national schedule.

And it might help explain why autism rates are not plummeting now that thimerosal levels have been significantly reduced in most childhood vaccines.

It's possible that exposures from the flu shot, and residual mercury left over in other vaccines -- perhaps in synergistic effect with aluminum used as an "adjuvant" to boost the immune response - might "contribute to the toxic mix that causes childhood mitochondrial dysfunction in the first place," one of the doctors said.

But like many hypotheses, this one has competition. Some researchers believe that the modern American diet is largely to blame for an increase in the number of children whose underlying mitochondrial dysfunction is "triggered" into autism by febrile infections.

The answer, they hypothesize, is corn.

The American diet has become extraordinarily dependent on corn oil and corn syrup used in processing, these experts contend. They say that corn oil and syrup are inflammatory, whereas fish oil is anti-inflammatory. Could our diet be a factor in making this mutated gene become more pathogenic? It's a biochemical defect that leads to biochemical disease, supporters of this theory say: The gene itself becomes more of a problem.

WHAT NOW?

This information raises so many questions it makes your head swim.

First and foremost among them: What to do about vaccinating children with known mitochondrial dysfunction?

In many respects, these kids should be first in line for vaccination, to prevent some illnesses that might trigger an autistic regression during the window of vulnerability. On the other hand, with multiple vaccinations, such as the case with Hannah, there is also a risk of overtaxing the immune system, and likewise triggering regression into autism.

What's needed most urgently, if possible, is a quick, affordable and efficient method of testing children for low cellular energy, perhaps before vaccination even begins.

There was some discussion on the conference call about altering the vaccine schedule in some way, to lower the risk of immune over-stimulation in susceptible children. Certainly, pressure will grow for a change in the schedule - the question is how, when, and if such changes will be made.

Some of the suggestions may not be popular among public health officials. They include:

1) Establishing a maximum number of vaccine antigens to which any child could be exposed on any given day.

2) Permitting the option of separating out the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) live virus combination vaccines into three distinct "monovalent" shots.

3) Not giving the varicella vaccine (chicken pox) on the same day as the MMR injection - the CDC recently withdrew is recommendation for the Pro-Quad MMR+Varicella vaccine because it doubled the risk of seizures.

Another option is to create new "recommendations for administering multiple vaccines to children who have fallen behind in the recommended childhood immunization schedule," according to the website of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Hannah had missed some shots and her doctor decided to "catch up" with the schedule by administering five shots, containing nine vaccine antigens, at once. But some autism activists have pointed out that giving five shots in one day is not that uncommon.

Moreover, they claim, many children regressed into autism following normal vaccination, when the parents religiously adhered to the official schedule.

According to the Johns Hopkins site, "Additional research is needed to determine if other children with autism, especially those with 'the regressive form' of autism, have the same or similar underlying mitochondrial dysfunction disorders."

It adds that, "the advisory groups who make recommendations regarding vaccines will undoubtedly examine this case carefully and make decisions regarding the potential need for changes."

That day may come sooner than you think. It was just announced that, on April 11 in Washington, DC, the National Vaccine Program Office at HHS will convene a meeting of the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's Vaccine Safety Working Group. The Working Group was established to go over the CDC's Immunization Safety Office draft research agenda, and to, "review the current vaccine safety system."

The meeting is open to the public, and I have my seat reserved. But I honestly don't envy the Working Group's very tricky task at hand.

It remains to be seen how all this plays out. And many important questions still lie ahead.

For example, if mitochondrial dysfunction turns out to be as common as 200-per-10,000, and autism is now at 66 per 10,000, did anything bad happen to any of the other 134-per-10,000 children, apart from autism (i.e., ADD, ADHD, speech delay, etc.)?

Moreover, if 10-20% of autism cases can actually be traced to an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, then what about the majority of autism cases where this did not come into play?

And, if 20% of autism cases are mito related, and 6% of those cases regressed because of vaccines, that would mean that at least 1% of all autism cases were vaccine related. Some estimates of autism go as high as a million Americans - that would mean 10,000 people with vaccine-triggered autism, and billions of dollars in the cost of lifetime care.

(While we are on the subject, isn't it time to fund a study of vaccinated and unvaccinated children, to settle this debate once and for all?)

Finally, the goals of the CISA Network, (which convened the teleconference) are rather progressive and far reaching. It remains to be seen how well the Network fulfills its stated mission, which includes:

Conduct research into "the role of individual variation" on vaccine injury;

"Empower individuals to make informed immunization decisions;"

Help policy makers "in the recommendation of exclusion criteria for at-risk individuals," and;

"Enhance public confidence in sustaining immunization benefits for all populations"

Let's see how long it takes before Network members hang out the proverbial banner: "Mission Accomplished."

CDC Offers Another Non Response on Autism and Vaccines in the AJC

The CDC has issued a response to David Kirby’s piece entitled, "Give Us Answers on Vaccines" offered to us in yesterday’s AJC by Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, MD.

I have done a lengthy break down of it, ridiculous assertion by empty statement, and responded to Dr. Schuchat on several of her statements.

"Vaccines' Benefits Outweigh Dangers"

Let’s start here, with the title. Have you heard this one before? Have you hear this one a thousand times before? We keep finding out more and more information about the dangers of vaccination and the increases in the risks, but no matter how much risk of danger is added to the balance, the scale not only never tips, but it never moves.

Vaccines like RotaShield cause so much damage that they get removed from the market, yet, this statement never wavers. There is never any variation like, "although we have discovered that risk of vaccine injury extends to those with mitochondrial dysfunction which must be taken into account when making vaccine decisions, we believe the benefits outweigh the dangers".

And it is all lumped together. Always. Every vaccine seems to have the same benefit/danger risk for everyone. There is never a CDC press release that says, "benefits outweigh dangers, except in the case of the Hepatitis B vaccine for those with mitochondrial dysfunction and an history of vaccine reaction".

No matter how much new information comes to light on the risks of vaccines, 'benefits outweigh risks' remains the mantra.

"Autism claim shouldn't deter parents"

Ok… she has made an emphatic 'should' statement telling parents what to do. Let's look at the information that she offers to justify giving that direction to parents

"By ANNE SCHUCHAT
Published on: 03/26/08
David Kirby's March 20 opinion column, "Give Us Answers on Vaccines," misinterpreted available information about a case before the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program and may have parents wondering what is best for their child when it comes to immunizations.

So Kirby got it wrong… let's find out where.

"That is unfortunate, given that our nation's childhood vaccines are very safe and are proven to protect and save lives."

Well… she has made the "very safe" safety claim, but that is kind of the statement that Kirby and mom’s like me are demanding proof of in light of the Poling case and the research that got HHS to concede it. We are looking to see what she has to offer us.

"Parents should know that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with other agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the wide range of scientists and health professionals involved in the nation's immunization programs take seriously questions and concerns related to vaccine safety."

Well… again… we don’t believe that this statement is true, because we don’t see actions that would prove it true. No one at the CDC investigates our vaccine injury claims, when I walked into my Pediatrician’s office with the safety data sheet of the first shot that harmed my son, he wouldn’t even read it because he didn’t have time. He was respectful, but said that he can’t even keep up with what the AAP was sending him.

The AAP takes direction from the CDC, if CDC is so concerned with vaccine safety, then why did my ped, who is only two degrees of separation from them, have no interest in my son’s vaccine injury?

And I myself have raised lots and lots of questions and echoed the questions and concerns of other parents, and CDC has completely ignored them. In the spring of 2005 CDC posted a notice on their web site saying that they would be responding to the questions and concerns raised in David Kirby’s book, Evidence of Harm, and three years later, still no response.

Dr. Schuchat, parents DON’T know that CDC takes questions of vaccine safety seriously, because you completely ignore them. Until you behave differently and actually even discuss and debate the questions and concerns publicly, why in the world would we just accept this easily disprovable statement from you?

I have often compared CDC’s claim of seriousness about dealing with the vaccine/autism connection to my claims of seriousness about dealing with the size of my big behind. If I got up and declared that I was obsessed with fitness, one would merely have to glimpse the size of my two hundred and (cough, cough, cough) pound form to see that such pronouncements, are indeed, malarkey.

You are not addressing the vaccine/autism question any more than I am jogging around the block. Let’s not embarrass ourselves by making claims that are so obviously false.

"Furthermore, our efforts in vaccines, developmental disabilities..."

What efforts in developmental disabilities are you referring to exactly?

"... and the health of children go far beyond our professional interests, as many of the dedicated professionals involved are also parents and grandparents."

While it is nice that many employees have children, I am not sure what that proves. I did note though from your bio that you do not seem to have children, so you are not really in the same risk boat that we are. Vaccine injury will never make you quit your career to care for a sick child as it has for most of us.

"Kirby's column included many inaccuracies related to childhood vaccines."

Great… now we are going to hear what they are and where Kirby was wrong.

"As such,.."

Wait, Doctor… don’t you have to list what those inaccuracies are and counter them with some sort of correction or argument to the contrary? You just made the statement, decided it was true and move onto, "As such"! How is this exactly advancing the vaccine autism discussion?

Are we just supposed to take your word for it that Kirby was wrong?

"As such, it illustrates…"

I guess that we are just supposed to take your word for it.

Except that you have not made your point, and now you want you point to actually prove another point?

"...that when it comes to immunizations, child development and specific medical conditions, the best source of guidance is the child's health care provider."

So now we are supposed to make two leaps here? David Kirby is wrong, which we know because you said so, which somehow also proves that pediatricians are right?

"Parents should not be reluctant to ask their child's doctors or nurses about any health concerns, including immunizations."

Dr. Schuchat, have you ever taken a baby into the office and actually done this? Try this experiment. Take off your uniform, put on a blond wig, borrow a friend’s baby and walk into a pediatrician’s office and say, "doctor, I have concerns that vaccines may cause autism" and watch what happens.

What usually happens to us is that, at best, we get belittled, at wost, reamed and dismissed from the practice. We even get harassed by nurses. I once had a doctor yell at me over the phone and hang up on me.

Is that behavior might make parents 'reluctant' to raise concerns about vaccinations?

"Vaccines are often given early in life in order to protect against diseases that can seriously harm infants and young children. The joint immunization recommendations of CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians do recognize there are instances when a child should not receive a recommended vaccine or when a recommended vaccination should be delayed."

They do? Because that is not what the head of the AAP, Dr. Tayloe, said on the Today show two weeks ago. He was asked the following question:

"Do you believe that all vaccines should be used on every child?"

His complete response:

"Yes. I think any of the vaccines we have today have been tested and proven to be safe, and the credible studies don't show any relationship between vaccines and permanent injury. So we favor this and we know that unless we have vaccination rates that are in the 90 to 95% range we are not going to prevent epidemics from coming into this country of measles, of polio, from countries where these diseases are still endemic. So its very important that we vaccinate all our children."

"Those decisions, however, are best made in consultation with the child's doctor."

This would be the doctor that is the member of the AAP and takes direction from Dr. Tayloe? Because not only does Tayloe not take the vaccine/autism concern seriously, he does not even believe that permanent vaccine injury exists.

How seriously do you think the medical professionals who follow his lead take vaccine injury and parental concerns about autism?

"As the column correctly noted, vaccine injury cases are often handled through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation program administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration."

They are "often handled" there (as opposed to 'always handled' there)because most vaccine injuries are not handled at all.

Many people who are victims of vaccine injury are not told that they are even victims of vaccine injury (raising my hand), and when they do believe they are, don’t even hear about the compensation program until the three year statute of limitations has run out. Their vaccine injury cases are not handled anywhere.

"This program is charged with determining whether a claimed injury meets pre-established criteria or if vaccination may have contributed to a child's serious medical or health condition. If such a determination is made, the program works to provide timely and compassionate compensation."

And by "timely" she means that it takes around 7 to 10 years to have your case heard, and by "compassionate" she means that when you actually win and award, they hold on to it for you and make you apply for your own money when you have a need of some kind.

A great example of this "compassionate" compensation is the family whose disabled daughter grew out of her wheelchair and when her parents tried to access her VICP money to buy her a new one, the "compassionate" program declined the request because they had already purchased a wheel chair for her. The one that she no long fit into.

Can you feel the government compassion!

"Since 1988, HRSA's vaccine injury program has provided compensation in about 2,100 cases, including some that have involved vaccines and encephalopathy (injury to the brain). While Kirby's column suggested otherwise, to date, this program has never determined in any case that autism was caused by a vaccine."

So says you. Let’s see the proof! Kirby says he has a document, you obviously have all the documents from all 2,100 cases. Get a big black marker out and start blacking out names and let’s get to readin'!

With 2,100 cases of proven vaccine injury, who knows how much we could learn about how many medical disorders and their causes and treatments! Not just autism, but who knows how many! Well... you know how many, because you have all the documents... but imagine the expansion of the knowledge base for everyone else!

I mean look how much we learned about the relationship between mito dysfunction and autism from just that ONE Poling document that Kirby released and then Dr. Poling commented on.

The autism world is abuzz with this new piece of the puzzle and talking with mito experts and I am even learning more about what could be going on in my own son’s little body.

Isn’t the thought off that flood of information entering the scientific community an exciting idea for you?! I mean, you and all the other officials at the CDC, NIH, HHS, AAP are so concerned about vaccine safety, and take these questions and concerns so seriously, so I would assume that you guys would be jumping for joy and the thought of such a big giant bolus dose of proven vaccine injuries to pick through and examine and contrast and compare! I know I am excited about the idea of what it could teach me about Chandler’s vaccine induced autism.

And we could even have some kind of open public forum for doctors and scientists and families and health officials and even the families of the settlement recipients (if they want to share more of their stories) can participate in so that we can all just feed off the information that will be out there!

When do we get started?!

"In comparison, during this same time period, about 100 million American children received recommended childhood vaccinations, and cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in the U.S. have decreased to record or near-record lows."

That is interesting, but that is not what we are talking about. Whether or not vaccines prevent diseases and whether or not vaccines trigger autism are two completely different, mutually exclusive questions. Both could be true or false and either statement's veracity actually has no impact on the other.

We are not examining the question of whether or not they prevent infectious disease right now. We are examining the question of whether or not they contribute to autism and other autoimmune and neurodevelopmental disorders.

Once we have the correct answer to THAT question, then we can go back and examine your title thesis that the ‘benefits outweigh the dangers” by comparing them to risks associated with disease from non-vaccination.

But you seem to try to get us to ignore the million dollar autism/vaccine question by distracting us with the 'prevents disease' assertion.

So can we set that aside until we actually know the real risk to compare to the benefits?

"Recently, mitochondrial disorders have become the focus of media attention with respect to vaccine injury compensation. Mitochondrial disorders, which occur very rarely in children, are believed to be genetic."

Not by these researchers. They found that thimerosal causes mitochondrial dysfunction.

You claim that the CDC is all about taking questions and concerns seriously. Why then will you not discuss the idea that, as Dr. Poling is asserting, that the first round of vaccines set up his daughter’s mito dysfunction and another round of vaccines interacted with that mito problem to cause the autism? HHS has already conceded the second half, and research clearly shows that the first half is possible too.

So why are you ignoring all this and saying that it is believed to be only genetic?

"Children born with these disorders often appear normal through the first years of life. When placed under severe stress from such things as infections, fever, dehydration, malnutrition or lack of sleep, children with these disorders often experience loss of some brain and nervous system functions."

Or vaccines… you forgot to mention vaccines.

"Some have suggested that infants and children be screened for mitochondrial disorders before getting recommended vaccinations. Unfortunately, mitochondrial diseases are very difficult to diagnose and it is usually not possible to identify children with such disorders until there are signs of developmental decline. A definitive diagnosis often requires multiple blood tests and may also require a muscle or brain biopsy (removal of a portion for testing, usually under anesthesia). Therefore, providing routine screening tests on children who have no symptoms would bring other medical risks and raise many ethical questions."

And honestly, and in all frankness, I don’t care how hard it is to do.

Figure it out.

HHS has admitted that mito dysfunction is a precursor to Autism. I don’t wanna hear "too hard", I don’t wanna hear, "too expensive", I don’t wanna hear any excuses what so ever.

You have billions of dollars at your disposal to figure out this problem. If you want to vaccinate every person in this country then come up with a way to discern which children are at risk for LIFE LONG PERMANENT BRAIN DAMAGE.

DO IT!

Repeating my mantra… My children are not acceptable losses in your war against communicable diseases.

"At present, we do not know definitively if vaccines can trigger neurological or developmental declines among children with mitochondrial disorders."

Then wait just a minute! HHS said that they did in Hannah Poling! They are paying her a million bucks or so because of it!

You guys need to make a decision. Either they do or they don’t. If they do, then you need to get into high gear and figure out exactly what this all means, and if they don’t and as an American tax payer I don’t want one single penny going to the Poling family for their fraudulent claim.

You don’t get to go with which ever theory is convenient to you in the moment. How dumb do you think we are?

"We do know, however, that infections can cause neurological and developmental declines among these children — and we also know that childhood vaccinations protect children against some of the same infections known to cause developmental decline among children with mitochondrial disorders. These include vaccine-preventable diseases like measles, chickenpox and influenza."

Again… distracting us from question A by diverting us to question B which does not help us answer question A in any way what so ever.

"In the case of children with mitochondrial disorders, we do not yet have sufficient evidence to make general immunization recommendations."

And I am betting, from the complete lack of interest in the mito question that you have shown since the Polings went on CNN (and since the concession was made last year for that matter) you will probably never get around to finding that "sufficient evidence" to make changes in recommendations in the vaccine schedule.

It is most likely on your list right under "Get back to David Kirby on that whole 'Evidence of Harm' thing".

"Physicians who care for children with these disorders usually recommend that these children receive their childhood vaccines, but, depending on the child's health status or medical condition, they may change when those vaccinations are provided."

It would be appreciated if the CDC could provide us a list of these physicians who might actually deviate from the vaccine schedule due to the health needs of an individual child. It is hard for us to find them on our own.

"We recognize that developmental disorders, whether related to mitochondrial disease, autism or other causes, are a serious challenge for many families. In the case of autism, CDC has actively supported vaccine safety research in this area."

Are you joking? Can you seriously say something like this and expect autism parents not to scream at you at this point? After years and years of bogus studies and ignoring us?

You should be ashamed at yourself for making this statement.

"To date, the best science indicates that there is no association between vaccines and autism."

Bull-shit.

"As part of our efforts to foster understanding of autism, CDC is currently conducting the largest study to date designed to identify potential autism causes and risk factors."

CDC has not yet addressed 'questions and concerns' with their last disaster of a vaccine/autism study, but actually stands by Verstraten, but you think we will be placated by the next one? How about you open up the Safety Data Link, bring Thomas Verstraten back into the country and have an open examination of that study.

Then when we get all our questions and concerns properly addressed there, we can move onto the next study, making sure it is open and transparent and not a piece of crap like that one.

"We recognize that much of the success of our nation's immunization efforts comes from the trust of parents. We do not take that trust lightly. Rather, CDC, FDA and other HHS agencies are continually working to expand efforts in vaccine safety research and science as well as clinician and parent input and involvement. Like parents, we want the best information possible when it comes to protecting and ensuring children's health."

Clearly you don’t understand that you have already lost the trust of the autism community and the rest of the public has taken notice, and call us for vaccine advice instead of their own doctors, or any of you.

"Our nation's high immunization rates are the reason why very few children suffer from vaccine-preventable diseases that in the past used to harm them in large numbers. These high rates show that parents realize the importance of childhood vaccinations."

Well if you keep insisting on touting the effectiveness of vaccines to distract from the question at hand, then I am just gonna post this:



And this:

"CDC is committed to maintaining that high level of support as well as making sure all our efforts are working to foster the health of children."

…Well not for your specific child, per se, but for most children. I mean if all the children in the US were melted into one big child, that child would be kinda healthy. That is the "children" we are referring to.

So that is the CDC's response. We never did get to find out what Kirby wrote that was incorrect, or get any of our vaccine questions answered, but we did get to hear, once again, that "CDC cares", "Vaccines safe and don’t cause autism", "benefits outweigh risks", and we have now added a new point to the old standbys, "Mito dysfunction too hard to screen for".

Truly Anne Schuchat has calmed our fears and addressed our lengthy and complicated questions with her repetition of the ethos, "Just Trust Us".

Except that blindly trusting government is what got us here in the first place. So we don't.

Wrapping up, I would like to point out that Admiral Schuchat has told us what her personal directive is on her bio:

"My top priority is to improve our ability to do excellent infectious disease science leading to public health impact." - Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, MD

Her top priority is infectious diseases, and autism is not an infectious disease. It is an autoimmune disorder, a toxic injury and a GI disorder, among other things. This is just another example of the phenomena that I have been complaining about for years now.

When we ask for answers on autism, we are not offered responses by immunologists or toxicologists or gastroenterologists, who might actually offer us some real understanding on the processes going on in our children’s bodies, and how vaccine additives like mercury and aluminum may be triggering the dysfunction of those processes.

Instead we are, time and time again, offered the testimony of government virologists Like Dr. Schuchat who are basically trotted out to defend their life’s work.

Here is a taste of her bio:

"…director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and has spent over 18 years at CDC working in immunization, respiratory, and other infectious diseases. Prior to her current appointment, she served as the director of CDC’s National Immunization Program (NIP); acting director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID)…" and on and on.

Read the whole thing. The woman has lived and breathed viruses and vaccines her entire professional life. But the CDC expects that we will see her as an unbiased source from whom we should be taking direction from on the safety of vaccines?

(I have long speculated that the reason that they don’t have a toxicologist come out and allay our fears about vaccines toxins, is that they can’t find one who will do it.)

This pronouncement is nothing more than a continuation of the public misinformation, political bullshit and CYA tactics, that we get every single time CDC addresses autism. Year after year I attend conferences and absolutely drown in new information on what is going on causes and treatments for autism. I can’t keep up with all of it.

But CDC hears none of it, recognizes none of it, discusses none of it, shows up at 0 conferences, interviews 0 parents who claim vaccine injury, and investigates 0 cases where parents claim recovery from autism.

But trust them… we may not be able to see it, but down deep, inside, they care.

HHS Public Vaccine Safety Meeting in DC April 11

The public needs to start showing up to these vaccine meetings in full force:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Meeting of the Vaccine Safety Working Group

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Secretary.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice that the National Vaccine Program Office (NVPO) will convene a meeting of NVAC's Vaccine Safety Working Group. The meeting is open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on April 11, 2008, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Department of Health and Human Services; Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 705A; 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Daniel Salmon, Vaccine Safety Specialist, National Vaccine Program Office, Department of Health and Human Services, Room 443-H Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20201; (202) 260-1587 or daniel.salmon@hhs.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NVPO has responsibility for coordinating and ensuring collaboration among the many Federal agencies involved in vaccine and immunization activities. The NVPO provides leadership and coordination among Federal agencies, as they work together to carry out the goals of the National Vaccine Plan. The National Vaccine Plan provides a framework, including goals, objectives, and strategies, for pursuing the prevention of infectious diseases through immunizations.

NVPO periodically convenes groups to address specific issues and topics that impact vaccine and immunization.

The Vaccine Safety Working Group has been established to (1) undertake and coordinate a scientific review of the draft Immunization Safety Office (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) research agenda, and (2) review the current vaccine safety system.

Following the advice of the Institute of Medicine in its report ``Vaccine Safety Research, Data Access and Public Trust'' (February 17, 2005), this meeting of the Working Group is open to the public, noting that pubic attendance is limited to space available. Individuals must provide a photo ID for entry into the Humphrey Building. Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should notify the designated contact person. Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments at the meeting. Public comment will be limited to five minutes per speaker. Any members of the public who wish to have printed material distributed to meeting participants should submit materials to the NVPO staff person designated as the contact for additional information. All materials should be submitted to the designated point of contact no later than close of business April 9, 2008. Pre-registration is required for both public attendance and comment. Any individual who wishes to attend the meeting and/or participate in the public comment session should contact the designated staff member, Daniel Salmon, by e-mail daniel.salmon@hhs.gov or call 202-690-5566.


Dated: March 18, 2008.

Bruce Gellin,
Director, National Vaccine Program Office.
[FR Doc. E8-5892 Filed 3-21-08; 8:45 am]

Jenny McCarthy on The Hour

So apparently The White House called Jenny and asked her to tell people to stop calling.

Apparently Jenny didn't feel like passing on the message because I have not heard her to tell us to stop calling.

When George Bush fires Julie Gerberding and shows up at a DAN conference with the new head of the CDC, then we can stop calling.

202-456-1414

The Responsible Government Fantasy

So in a discussion on a yahoo list, someone posted a quote from the Boston Globe that the US spends the entire autism budget in Iraq every four hours, which they argued, was a good reason to end the war.

I argue that even if Bin Laden and his friend Al Q surrendered tomorrow and they troops were home by Tuesday, the US would still not be doing any more than it is to deal with the autism problem.

Because governments do what is important to them and if autism causes and cures were important to the US Government and its health authorities, they would have been pouring resources into it for years.

Instead, we get very stupid statements from Julie Gerberding, who, after 5 years of ignoring parents increasingly loud demand for CDC action while sitting on her hands and insisting that no one look behind the vaccine curtain, said, "CDC recognizes that parents want answers. We share their frustration at not having more answers about the causes and possible cure".

Please. OJ looked harder for Nicole's 'real killers' than Julie has looked for the causes and possible cures of autism. She has outlived her welcome.

We have all lived through what it looks like for the government to pay lip service to autism, yet ignore, and even sabotage the progress in putting the pieces together.

For the sake of fun, and envisioning a better world... let's fantasize what it would look like if the government and the medical community who follow their lead actually DID want to know the causes and possible cures of Autism!

Here's what I think:

Julie Gerberding's press statements after the Hannah Poling announcement included these: "the government has made absolutely no statement about indicating that vaccines are the cause of autism, as this would be a complete mischaracterization of any of the science that we have at our disposal today", and, "This is a complete mischaracterization of the findings of a very simple situation of one child with an unusual disorder, and it would be completely wrong to say that this has bearing to the vast majority of children with autism",

In my fantasy, our good friend Julie would have said something to the effect of:

"We are excited about all that we are learning about the possible causes and potential cures of autism from the Poling case, and are grateful that the Polings have been so open with their daughters medical information so that we can use her case to help people both now and for generations to come. I am encouraging all medical experts, especially those with knowledge in mitochondrial function to take time this week to read Dr. Poling's study on Hannah and see if you can use your expertise to help shed light on how this new information on mito dysfunction piece may fit into the autism puzzle, and share your ideas with those already at work on autism.

I have spoken with Dr. Tayloe, head of the AAP, and they will be issuing an alert to pediatricians across the country to begin screening their patients with ASD for the mito dysfunction that Hannah has, so we can get an idea of what percentage of autism cases her medical scenario may represent.

In the mean time, we understand that this ruling may give parents pause in their decision making in vaccinating their children. We too want to be sure that the vaccine schedule is not contributing to the prevalence of autism, so we are putting the following measures in place.

First, in addition to the regular vaccine schedule, we will be adding two variations as options for parents. One for parents who are concerned about a link between vaccines and neurodevelopmental disorders that is a more conservative schedule. It will offer kids the same protection against diseases, but will take much longer to implement as the vaccines are spaced out. And another, much more conservative, schedule for those who who are classified as high risk.

Second, until we have a few more answers, we encourage people with ASD to forgo vaccination for the next few months until we have a better idea of how many of them may be effected by Hannah's mito problem and can put appropriate screening measures in place. We will work to have that done quickly, as we believe vaccination is important and want them to be able to continuing vaccinating if it is found that it is safe for them. Such people should only be vaccinated in the case of an immediate threat to their health from a viral outbreak of the following life threatening illnesses (insert list that does not include chicken pox or the flu)

Third, we are also working with the AAP on retraining pediatricians to accurately access, treat and report reactions to vaccines as there is a chance that these could be early signs that a child cannot tolerate vaccination. We have learned much from parents as to what the first signs of autism were in their kids and want to doctors to use that information to their advantage.

Fourth, since we know so much more than we did about the relationship between vaccination and autism that we did when the VICP was established, we are petitioning congress to remove the three year statute of limitations for filing a claim with the fund. Any one injured at any time may now apply. More from my good friend John Gilmore of A-CHAMP on that following my comments.

Further, we are petitioning DOJ and HRHS to open any other cases ruled on in the VCIP that included any symptoms of autism and inviting the families to come forward and share their stories if they feel comfortable doing so. The more we can understand these individual cases, the more clues that we will have to understanding autism as a whole.

It is our goal by the end of the year to have a screening plan in place so that every child can be screened at birth to see if they are at risk for vaccine injury.

This is an exciting time for autism research. We have so much information to sort through and piece together, and are so pleased that so many families have been so willing to share their stories of regression and successes. CDC is proud to announce that in partnership with Defeat Autism Now, Thoughtful House, Generation Rescue and The National Autism Association, we will be holding regional conferences beginning in six months that are free to medical professionals and autism parents so that we can share all that we are learning from these autism treatment pioneers with the medical community at large.

Vaccination against deadly disease is important, and we will do everything we can to find the balance between fighting off viral infections and protecting against developmental disabilities, so that Americans can live in a society free from these epidemics.

Can you imagine?? If stuff like that happened, people might start trusting their government!

Also, I think our kids would be little rock stars in their towns, or treated like little war heroes because everyone would know that they took the hit so that everyone else's kids would not get polio.

Lastly, I think that when I went to my new pediatrician and told him that my son was half way recovered from autism and lost many of his autism symptoms, he would be excited to have come across a recovery story of his very own. He would have a special luncheon with all the docs and nurses in his practice and invite me to come and bring Chandler and talk about all the things that we have tried and what worked for him and what didn't.

What do you think the world (or your world) would be like?

Please share with the class.

Can I Get The Flu Shot While Pregnant?

(I have noticed a lot of people coming to my blog from the "Can I get the flu shot while pregnant" search term. They have been referred to another post of mine, "Did You Get The Flu Shot While Pregnant". Feel free to visit that post, which is on mom's reports of long term damage done to their kids from getting the flu shot, but I thought I should write something that more directly speaks to this question:)

The CDC and it's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends the flu shot for pregnant women.

However, I believe that this is an irresponsible recommendation as the flu shot has not been safety tested on pregnant women.

And despite the fact that some of these flu vaccines are not for use in children, the CDC and ACIP have not issued a warning for pregnant women not to have them.

Additionally, despite repeated requests from parents of vaccine injured children, the CDC and ACIP will not state a preference for pregnant women to receive only Thimerosal free flu shots.

From the vaccine package inserts:

Fluarix (Thimerosal free):
Pregnancy: Pregnancy Category C. Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with FLUARIX. It is not known whether FLUARIX can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. FLUARIX should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed. The ACIP has issued recommendations regarding the use of the influenza virus vaccine in pregnant women.

Nursing Mothers: It is not known whether FLUARIX is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when FLUARIX is administered to a nursing woman. The ACIP has issued recommendations regarding the use of the influenza virus vaccine in nursing mothers.

Pediatric Use: FLUARIX IS NOT INDICATED FOR USE IN CHILDREN.

Flulaval (Contains Thimerosal):
Pregnancy: Pregnancy Category C. Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with FLULAVAL. It is also not known whether FLULAVAL can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. FLULAVAL should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.

Nursing Mothers: It is not known whether FLULAVAL is excreted in human milk. Because many drugs are excreted in human milk, caution should be exercised when FLULAVAL is administered to a nursing woman.

Pediatric Use: Safety and effectiveness of FLULAVAL in pediatric patients have not been established.

Flumist (Thimerosal Free):
Pregnancy: Pregnancy Category C Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with FluMist. It is not known whether FluMist can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. FluMist should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.
The effect of the vaccine on embryo-fetal and pre-weaning development was evaluated in a developmental toxicity study using pregnant rats receiving the frozen formulation. Groups of animals were administered the vaccine either once (during the period of organogenesis on gestation day 6) or twice (prior to gestation and during the period of organogenesis on gestation day 6), 250mcL/rat/occasion (approximately 110-140 human dose equivalents based on TCID50), by intranasal instillation. No adverse effects on pregnancy, parturition, lactation, embryo-fetal or preweaning development were observed. There were no vaccine related fetal malformations or other
evidence of teratogenesis noted in this study.

Nursing Mothers: It is not known whether FluMist is excreted in human milk. Therefore, as some viruses are excreted in human milk and additionally, because of the possibility of shedding of vaccine virus and the close proximity of a nursing infant and mother, caution should be exercised if FluMist is administered to nursing mothers.

Pediatric Use: FluMist is not indicated for use in children <24 months of age. FluMist use in children <24 months has been associated with increased risk of hospitalization and wheezing in clinical trials [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) and Adverse Reactions (6.1)].

Fluvirin (Contains Thimerosal)
Pregnancy: Pregnancy Category C
Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Influenza Virus Vaccine (FLUVIRIN®). It is also not known whether Influenza Virus Vaccine (FLUVIRIN®) can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. Influenza Virus Vaccine (FLUVIRIN®) should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed.
The clinical judgment of the attending physician should prevail at all times in determining whether to administer Influenza Virus Vaccine to a pregnant woman.

Pediatric Use: The safety and immunogenicity of FLUVIRIN® have been established in the age group 4 years to 16 years. The use of FLUVIRIN® in these age groups is supported by evidence from adequate and well-controlled studies of FLUVIRIN® in adults that demonstrate the immunogenicity of FLUVIRIN®. The safety and immunogenicity of FLUVIRIN® have not been established in children <4 years of age.

Fluzone (Comes in both Thimerosal Containing and Thimerosal Free):
PREGNANCY CATEGORY C
Animal reproduction studies have not been conducted with Influenza Virus Vaccine. It is not known whether Influenza Virus Vaccine can cause fetal harm when administered to a pregnant woman or can affect reproduction capacity. Influenza Virus Vaccine should be given to a pregnant woman only if clearly needed. For guidance regarding use in pregnant women, see INDICATIONS AND USAGE section.

PEDIATRIC USE: SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF FLUZONE VACCINE (SUBVIRION) IN INFANTS BELOW THE AGE OF 6 MONTHS HAVE NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED.

MMR + Chicken Pox Vaccine = More Seizures

Getting the Merck MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Chicken Pox combo vaccine), rather than the MMR and separate Chicken Pox vaccine, results in "slightly more" or more than double the seizures, depending on how you want to spin the story:

"It found a rate of febrile seizure of nine per 10,000 vaccinations among MMRV recipients, and four per 10,000 among children who got separate MMR and chicken pox shots. Of 166 children who had febrile seizures after either type of vaccination, 26 were hospitalized and none died, the CDC said."

So CDC removes its preference for the MMRV vaccine, but does not change it's preference to the MMR and separate chicken pox vaccine. It just does not state a preference. Because half the seizures is not worth stating a preference?!

This does not just call for a preference, it seems to make the MMRV obsolete. What they had before the MMRV was safer.

Is the CDC's priority the health of children or the health of Merck's bottom line?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Children who get a combined vaccine against measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox are slightly more likely to have seizures compared to those getting two separate shots for the same diseases, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

The seizures are not usually life-threatening and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was no longer expressing a preference that children get the so-called MMRV combined vaccine rather than two shots -- the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella (German measles) and a separate one against varicella (chicken pox).

The CDC said it made the change after seeing evidence that children who got the combined MMRV vaccine faced an elevated, but still very small, risk of suffering febrile seizures after vaccination compared to those who got the two shots.

A febrile seizure is a convulsion in young children associated with an increase in body temperature, often from an infection. While frightening, the seizures are not usually dangerous and only a small percentage of children who experience one go on to develop epilepsy.

Dr. John Iskander, the acting director of the CDC's Immunization Safety Office, said it remained very important that parents get their children vaccinated against these diseases.

"These are vaccines that have had enormous public health benefits," Iskander said.

The CDC said the availability of the MMRV vaccine, made by pharmaceutical company Merck, already was limited in the United States because of manufacturing constraints unrelated to vaccine safety, and was not expected to be widely available until 2009.

The CDC said a study examined the risk for febrile seizures seven to 10 days after vaccination among 43,353 children ages 12 months to 23 months who received the MMRV vaccine and 314,599 children of the same age who received the MMR vaccine and chicken pox vaccine administered separately.

It found a rate of febrile seizure of nine per 10,000 vaccinations among MMRV recipients, and four per 10,000 among children who got separate MMR and chicken pox shots. Of 166 children who had febrile seizures after either type of vaccination, 26 were hospitalized and none died, the CDC said.

My Letter To The Whitehouse

Mr. President,


This past week has not only brought the revelation that Hannah Poling's family was paid out of the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program for her "autism like symptoms", but that at least nine other families in the last 18 years have been paid as well. Despite this, and the mounting evidence to the contrary, government health authorities, lead by Julie Gerberding of the CDC, continue to deny any link between vaccines and autism.

It is becoming clear that the government has been withholding vital health information from parents for almost twenty years that has denied them of right to "informed consent" in making vaccination decisions for their children, and has been misleading physicians all over the world on the information they require to properly treat their patients.

In addition, the advances that could have been made in understanding and successfully treating what are commonly referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorders certainly must have been stymied by the governments hiding of these important cases. Who knows how much the scientific community could have learned two decades ago if authorities had shared with them what came to light in the first vaccine/autism case they settled.

Would we even have an autism epidemic today?

US Health Authorities have hidden information that the public had a right to know. It is time to find out who knew what and when they knew it.

I am calling for Congressional Hearings into the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program and for the DVIC to release the details of any previous case of a child who received compensation for any vaccine injury that resulted in any symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

In addition I am, along with many other parents, calling for the immediate removal of Julie Gerberding as the director of the CDC.


Sincerely,
Ginger Taylor M.S.
AdventuresInAutism.com
Autism Mom


CC: Julie Gerberding

Jenny McCarthy Calls For Julie Gerberding's Resignation

And she is not alone.

A number of different people have been calling for her ouster for a while now. Most significantly many from inside the CDC

I’m asking all parents and autism groups to join me in demanding Julie Gerberding’s immediate resignation as Director of the CDC.

On Monday, March 10th, beginning at 9:00am Eastern Daylight Time, let’s all start calling the White House and ask President Bush & Laura Bush to demand Julie Gerberding’s resignation for incompetence during the autism epidemic. The White House switchboard can be reached at:

202-456-1414

Also, on the same day, please call your local Congressperson and Senators from your state and ask them to call for her resignation, too.

Julie Gerberding has led the CDC for 6 years during a time when the autism epidemic has only gotten worse. Despite tens of thousands of children who declined just like Hannah Poling, Ms. Gerberding stood before cameras yesterday defiant, cold, and defensive. Where is her humanity in the face of such tragedy? Why couldn’t she have said, “We at CDC want to make sure what happened to Hannah doesn’t happen to any other children, we want to make vaccines safe”?

Rather than listen to the heartbreaking stories of so many parents, you can be sure that Ms. Gerberding is spending her time right now trying to get the Spin Machine up and running to minimize, confuse, and deceive the American public.

The autism epidemic won’t end until we fix the vaccine schedule by reducing total vaccines, separating shots, waiting until our kids are older to begin shots, greening our vaccines, and screening for at-risk kids. Ms Gerberding has stood by and watched self-interested parties more than triple our vaccine schedule and I’m certain her inactivity to help our kids will continue.

The chances of Ms. Gerberding taking the radical steps to reform the CDC and reform our vaccine schedule to make it kid-safe are zero! We need a new CDC Director who is an open-minded reformer and who recognizes that we are experiencing an epidemic of autism, which Ms. Gerberding has never publicly admitted.

Please, parents and national autism organizations, let’s all help make our voices heard on Monday.

Thank you,

Jenny McCarthy

Jenny Goes To Atlanta And She Wants Us To Come!

Sign up and let her know you are coming.

See you in Atlanta!

UPDATE: I won't be seeing you in Atlanta. Too many people are coming and they won't fit in front of the CDC any more. So things are moving up to DC. Proposed date June 4th.

Stay tuned for updates.

See you in DC!

New Study Implicates Mercury In The Development Of Autism

The American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology has published this study out of Rutgers and UMDNJ that exposed mercury to animals and found "neurobehavioral alterations" such as impaired social interaction, cognition and motor behavior. They also found that they improved when given vitamin E, suggesting that oxidative stress is at work in this process.

This is no surprise to any of us who have been treating our autistic kids for mercury toxicity and oxidative stress for years, but the big surprise in this study is in the credits.

The shocker is that this study is brought to you by Autism Speaks.

IMHO Autism Speaks has finally said something worth saying.

So... will we see this article in the press? Will the AAP recognize it and start looking at Vit. E as a helper for their patients with autism? Will CDC start taking another look at vaccines? Will Autism Speaks start coming around now that their own studies are implicating mercury as a factor in the development of autism?

Or will they all continue to proffer the lie that there is no convincing evidence linking vaccines to autism, while ignoring all the studies that are piling up on the hard drives of parents across the country?

American Journal of Biochemistry and Biotechnology 4 (2): 218-225, 2008
ISSN 1553-3468
© 2008 Science Publications

Corresponding Author: George C. Wagner, Psychology, Busch Campus, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08854
Tel: 732-445-4660 Fax: 732-445-2263


Evidence of Oxidative Stress in Autism Derived from Animal Models
1Xue Ming, 2Michelle A. Cheh and 2Carrie L. Yochum,
3Alycia K. Halladay and 2George C. Wagner
1Pediatric Neuroscience, UMDNJ, Newark, NJ
2Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
3Autism Speaks, Princeton, NJ

Abstract: Autism is a pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder that leads to deficits in social interaction, communication and restricted, repetitive motor movements. Autism is a highly heritable disorder, however, there is mounting evidence to suggest that toxicant-induced oxidative stress may play a role. The focus of this article will be to review our animal model of autism and discuss our evidence that oxidative stress may be a common underlying mechanism of neurodevelopmental damage. We have shown that mice exposed to either methylmercury (MeHg) or valproic acid (VPA) in early postnatal life display aberrant social, cognitive and motor behavior. Interestingly, early exposure to both compounds has been clinically implicated in the development of autism. We recently found that Trolox, a water-soluble vitamin E derivative, is capable of attenuating a number of neurobehavioral alterations observed in mice postnatally exposed to MeHg. In addition, a number of other investigators have shown that oxidative stress plays a role in neural injury following MeHg exposure both in vitro and in vivo. New data presented here will show that VPA-induced neurobehavioral deficits are attenuated by vitamin E as well and that the level of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a marker of astrocytic neural injury, is altered following VPA exposure. Collectively, these data indicate that vitamin E and its derivative are capable of protecting against neurobehavioral deficits induced by both MeHg and VPA. This antioxidant protection suggests that oxidative stress may be a common mechanism of injury leading to aberrant behavior in both our animal model as well as in the human disease state.

Dan Olmsted Is Back

... and calling out the CDC's shenanigans on The Rescue Post.

If you have not already made The Rescue Post a part of your regular blog reading, time to grab the feed.

Head's Up. More CDC CYA/BS Commin' Our Way

The CDC truly has no shame.

They didn't even include autistic children in this study. How much you wanna bet that dispite this fact, we will be reading media headlines that say, "new CDC study proves that vaccines not linked to autism".

[Update: That didn't take long. "New Study Results: Vaccines Not Tied to Autism"]

Exclusion of low birth weight babies, 70% participant drop out rate, focusing on blood mercury levels and ignoring brain mercury, conclusions not backed up by the data, conflicts of interests with all the researchers and on and on...

It is like a greatest hits of all the bad research done in the last decade wrapped up in one convenient package.

This thing looks to be Verstraeten all over again.

Thanks to A-CHAMP for the heads up.

Dear A-CHAMP subscribers:

On September 27, 2007 the New England Journal of Medicine will publish a study entitled, "Early Thimerosal Exposure and Neuropsychological Outcomes at 7 to 10 Years." For more than two years we at A-CHAMP have been hearing rumors of a new study that "exonerates" thimerosal, despite the fact that the study results were supposed to be kept strictly confidential.

Now the rumors have been turned into hype - another government funded study that tries to spin data and clear thimerosal of any suspicion of causing neurodevelopmental disorders. The study authors claim in their "Conclusions" that "[o]ur study does not support a causal association between early exposure to mercury from thimerosal-containing vaccines and immune globulins and neuropsychological functioning at the age of 7 to 10 years."

The statement is plainly false. The study's conclusions do not reflect the study's data or the limitations of the study,

Unfortunately we have come to expect misleading statements – some might say fraudulent statements – from studies emanating from the CDC and their associates. It is not merely the fact that the authors of the study are burdened by large conflicts of interests - almost all of the 18 study authors have worked for vaccine manufacturers, received money from them, or performed research on their behalf. What is truly shocking about this study is that it does, indeed, find significant associations between thimerosal-containing vaccines and tics, speech, executive functioning and attention, but irresponsibly dismisses the associations. The study did not even look at children with autism – that is the subject of another uncompleted study – and children who might be more vulnerable to mercury, like low birth weight babies and children from families with lower incomes, were excluded or under-represented in the study sample

Fortunately, an advocate from our own community was an external consultant to the study, participated in its development from the outset, and is intimately familiar with the data and methodology. She has dissented from the study's conclusions. In addition, our colleagues and fellow parents at SafeMinds will be issuing a critique of the study in the near future. We are also told that the study data will be made publicly available so that independent researchers may examine it and draw their own conclusions.

Although detailed analysis of the study is beyond the scope of this letter, below are some key points that cause us to distrust this study as another attempt to manipulate the scientific and public debate on thimerosal to the detriment of the health and safety of America's children:

1. The Study's Claim of No Causality is Contrary to the Study's Data

The study authors claim that the data disproves causality when in fact, several findings show a negative effect on neuropsychological functioning warranting more study. At least one such adverse association was also found to be associated with low dose thimerosal exposure in other studies. As with earlier studies hyped by vaccine promoters, the study is unable to prove or disprove causality. The blanket dismissal of the troubling neuropsychological outcomes in this study is disingenuous and misleading.

2. Children with autism were excluded from this study

The early media contacts we have received suggest that this study shows no association between thimerosal and autism. In fact, the study specifically did not look at children with autism as the sample size was too small and the testing is impossible to complete for the typical child with autism. The exclusion of children with autism from the study may have undermined the power of the study to draw any conclusions about thimerosal.

3. The Study's Authors Misrepresent Previous Toxicokinetic Studies of Thimerosal

The study authors falsely claim that research by Burbacher et al. at the University of Washington (distribution of thimerosal as compared with methylmercury in infant monkeys) shows that ethylmercury is safer than methylmercury. But the authors focus only on the blood "half-life", ignoring data, showing twice as much inorganic mercury trapped in the brains of monkeys than from same dose of methylmercury.

4. The Study's Methodology has Serious Limitations Negating Any Conclusions Drawn

Major flaws that that causes a large underestimation of neurological adverse effects burden the study: 70% of the families recruited for the study failed to participate. This kind of bias in epidemiological studies is well known to distort even large studies of health effects. (See , for example, NY Times Magazine, "Do We Really Know What Makes Us Healthy" by Gary Taubes 9/16/07). It is well established that people who choose to participate in this kind of study are probably very different than those who refuse to participate (the "healthy person" or "complier" effect); especially when the ones who refused to participate said they were too busy.

Simply put: if you have a kid with ADHD or mild ASD or other neurodevelopmental disorders, you are likely to be busier, more stressed, and less available than the mother of a healthy normal child. This phenomenon serves to amplify the effect of the "complier", the "healthy families," - those who do cooperate with the study - confounding or confusing the study's results. The cooperative parents included in the study were more likely to be those with relatively trouble-free kids

5.Major Conflicts of Interest Burden Almost Every One of the 18 Study Authors

Many of the study authors have either worked for or received money from vaccine manufacturers. Others are employed by the CDC, which has been criticized by an IOM committee for its inherent conflict of interest in promoting vaccines while simultaneously monitoring safety. Many of the remaining study authors have conducted studies for vaccine manufacturers. The conflicts of interest cast doubt on the validity of the study, especially of the clearly biased final conclusions.

6. The High & Low Thimerosal Exposure Groups Too Small to Draw Conclusions

In addition to the number of children of the study being too small to draw statistically significant conclusions, the numbers of children in the high exposure group and the low exposure group were far too small to draw conclusions. Yet the study ignored this limitation and drew sweeping conclusions of no causality.

7.Vulnerable Children Were Excluded from the Study; Early Intervention Was Ignored

Children with a birth weight under 5 lbs. 8 oz. were excluded from the study further skewing the results, as these children are likely more vulnerable to thimerosal than larger babies. In addition, the fact that early intervention may have reduced deficits such as speech delay detected by neuropsychological testing of children aged 7-10 was not accounted for in the study results. There also was no analysis of combined prenatal and postnatal mercury exposures. Only 103 mothers who were exposed to mercury from prenatal immune globulins participated in the study, far too small a group for researchers to draw conclusions regarding the safety of thimerosal in these products.

8. The Study Fails to Account for the Subset of Children with "Efflux Disorder"

Only approximately 1000 children participated in the study, out of more than 3000 that were recruited. In addition to the "complier" bias discussed above, the study sample size is too small to accurately estimate the adverse effect of Thimerosal on the subset of the population who have a problem in mobilizing and excreting mercury. While the study's author's focus on the average time it takes for mercury to clear from the blood, itself misrepresented, we know that in 15% of the population this average is greatly exceeded. It is these children who are vulnerable to the effects of mercury from thimerosal. This study fails to account for the effect of mercury from vaccines on this subset of children.

These are but a few of the serious problems with the study and the way the data have been presented. We look forward to the forthcoming SAFEMINDS critique of the study and thank them for their continued close monitoring and analysis of the scientific research that affects our children.

In the meantime, if you see headlines stating that "Vaccines Cleared in New Study" or "New Study Finds Thimerosal Safe" know that we are all again being played, and that those who we should be able to trust are compromising the truth and the health of our children.

Sincerely,
Bob Krakow, for A-CHAMP

CDC Schedule: 43 vaccines in the first 18 months

For those of you keeping track, Hep A and Rotovirus have been added to the CDC schedule for 2007 and we are now up to 43 vaccines in the first 18 months of life.

Would you want 43 vaccines over the course of the next 18 months?

UPDATE: I forgot the flu shot! So with the prenatal and yearly flu shots that are recommended, the total is actually at 46.

A Message From The CDC

Julie Obradovic sums it up nicely.

Congratulations on your new baby! And Welcome to the War on Disease!
By Julie Obradovic
The Rescue Post

We're the CDC and we'd like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. We'll be working closely over the next several years, and we need to get acquainted more quickly than you think!

Our job as the Center for Disease Control is to control infectious disease as well as possible. We believe that while nutrition and sanitation have substantially reduced the level of infectious disease in our world, the most important tool in doing so has been herd immunity via vaccinations. Admittedly, we have no proof to substantiate this. (For example, the Measles was 97% eradicated by the time the vaccine was developed.)

By now, your brand new little soldier may have already received his or her first piece of equipment (a vaccination) without you even knowing it!

In the late 1980's, the development of the Hepatitis B vaccine allowed us to provide a newborn with protection from this disease within hours of birth. Hepatitis B is a dangerous virus that is usually spread via an infected mother, sexually promiscuous people, and/or intravenous drug users; however, it can also be spread in hospitals, which is likely where you are now. Because of this risk, we believe getting this vaccine into your child as soon as possible is the most responsible thing we can do, with or without your permission or proper understanding. It is imperative you trust us if our relationship is to work.

Over the last several decades, scientists have been able to develop many vaccines to help eradicate and/or control dangerous (and sometimes just-plain-annoying) diseases. In fact, whereas in 1983 children only had the benefit of 10 vaccines for 7 viruses before kindergarten, they now have the benefit of 36! (And the list keeps on growing! Right now, there are over 300 new vaccines in the works! Imagine!)

Of course, all medical benefits come with their risks. We feel strongly, however, that the benefits far outweigh them. You probably don't remember the days when thousands of people suffered or died from diseases like Polio, the Measles, and Diphtheria. Allowing a child to suffer from those and other diseases in an era where we can possibly prevent them is frankly, irresponsible. Furthermore, without your participation in the vaccination program, these diseases may resurface even stronger than before. Ultimately, you might be putting your own child and others at great risk.

In the interest of transparency, however, here are some things to consider about us:

For starters, you should know we function with a high conflict of interest: We are in charge of promoting vaccines, ensuring their safety, and finding ourselves guilty of neglect if they are not. We profit from vaccines substantially, and almost all of our scientists are working simultaneously for the private pharmaceutical companies who manufacture them.

Surprisingly, we can actually not be held liable in a court of law for anything that happens if something goes wrong. In fact, if your child should have a negative vaccine reaction (which we emphasize is very, very rare), you will need to take it up with a specially created "Vaccine Court". Limitations on when you can use this resource do exist for our protection, and therefore if you do not realize your child's negative reaction was due to his/her vaccine within that statute, you are unfortunately without much recourse.

Moreover, any monetary settlement that you receive should the "Vaccine Court" find us liable will actually be paid by you, the consumer; Every vaccine given to children has a $0.75 surcha rge attached that funds these settlements. (In other words, if we mess up, you pay for us to defend ourselves and give you compensation!)

This of course, is in your best interest, as we might not survive a sympathetic jury awarding an astronomical settlement to the few children's families that are ever affected negatively. If that were to happen, pharmaceutical companies might lose the incentive to produce vaccines (which is money), putting all of us at great risk for infection. Truly, we are at the mercy of their bottom line if as a society we want to remain disease-free. As harsh as that reality is, you can surely understand how important your cooperation and participation is for the benefit of the masses. Without you, the system just doesn't work.

Specific risks of vaccination, again rare, include but are not limited to death, seizure, paralysis, mental retardation, loss of motor skills, and other life-threatening, life-altering conditions. We have the ability to identify at-risk children for these reactions, but choose not to because of the expense, and the reality that if we did it in our country, we'd have to do it in others. We simply don't have those resources, and therefore, have decided it's best no one receive special treatment. You will simply not know if your child will have a negative reaction until it is too late. (And, you will unlikely be able to prove it actually was, as the majority of our personally funded research shows vaccines rarely, if ever, do harm.)

The ingredients of a vaccine include but are not limited to, mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, anti-freeze, chicken embryos, monkey cells and aborted fetus diploid cells. (Yes, some vaccines contain aborted human fetus cells.) None of these ingredients has ever been individually tested for safety, even though some are neurotoxins. We believe, however, that the small amount of them used prohibits any possible negative effect. We have no proof of this belief.

Vaccines are not regularly studied in combination for any negative consequences they may have when used cumulatively versus individually, even though they are not given individually.

Vaccines have never been studied for long term consequences such as cancer or autoimmune conditions. We simply don't know what consequence they have long term, as we have never studied the vaccinated versus the unvaccinated, and have no plans to do so. The answers to such a study may cause a panic that would prevent people from participating in the program, a potential public-health disaster.

Your doctor will use his/her preferred brand of the required immunizations. Each brand contains different ingredients and different amounts of them. In order to know what they are, you will have to research that privately, as a list of ingredients in lay men's terms will not be provided for you upon your well-baby visits. (As a side note, questioning the doctor about this matter may prove uncomfortable and awkward, as your physician will probably take it personally that you are questioning his/her judgment.)

Vaccinating your child is the law in most states, although there are exceptions. If you chose to opt out of the system, you will be forced to provide a religious or medical exemption that you may or may not have, while signing damaging documentation that acknowledges you are willingly putting your child at great risk and are possibly an unfit parent. You may be investigated for child abuse or neglect as a result. Only a few states allow a philosophical exemption. Entry into a public or private school setting will require compliance with the law of your state.

Vaccines do not work on every person. For some, one is plenty, for others, several are needed. To save time and money, we just give everyone several of them to be sure. The vaccination schedule is universal and not concerned with your individual child’s needs.

Your pediatrician may be compensated based on how well his/her patients follow our vaccination schedule. You can expect a lot of pressure if you don’t comply, and in some instances may be asked to leave the practice.

Finally and most important, your input on how, when and why to vaccinate your child is not welcome. Unless you are one of us, we believe you simply do not have the expertise to know what is best for your child.

Again, to emphasize, we promote the vaccines, profit from them, investigate ourselves for neglect and cannot be held liable if we have committed it. We insist vaccines cause minimal harm, but do not allow independent researchers to validate our claim. (Even though thousands of parents swear their child's Crib Death or Developmental Delay, such as Autism, is due to their vaccine, we vehemently deny this with our own research. We do admit they can and do cause speech delay.) You pay for our legal troubles and your own compensation if it is awarded through a special vaccine court. You have to participate in this program as mandated by law or your parental fitness may be questioned and your child may not be allowed to attend public school. We do not know if your child will have a negative reaction to vaccines until it is too late, even though we have the resources to know otherwise. None of our products or their ingredi ents has been independently tested for cumulative use or long term safety. Questioning your doctor about this system or our product may result in his/her refusal to work with you.

Admittedly, it's not a perfect system, but it's what we've got to offer you. Participate, and accept the aforementioned risks of our flawed program, our lack of safety studies, and a possible debilitating negative reaction, or opt out, and accept the risk of polio and other life altering diseases that you may have prevented in your child (not to mention the difficulty in finding a doctor or attending school). Not a great choice, we know, but one all parents must make.

Ultimately, just trusting us is best for everyone involved.

In conclusion, please remember that in the event your child is hurt via his/her vaccinations, you can take comfort in knowing it was for the greater good. In all wars, some equipment back-fires and there are casualties. While it will be heartbreaking and guilt-ridden, your sacrifice ensures the safety of others. We respectfully remind you though, your little soldier’s sacrifice will only be quietly acknowledged, if at all, so as not to alarm other parents or care-takers. Your quiet suffering is appreciated and expected, and you will likely receive no public sympathy or support from the society who benefited from your family's sacrifice. Unlike other wars, your child will not be considered a hero, no plaque or medal will be issued to him/her, and no public display to honor him/her exists. You will still be expected to have your other children participate in this war regardless and promote the program for others, or risk public criticism and scrutiny. Speaking out about your negative experience and safety concerns will undoubtedly render society to question your mental and parental fitness and is highly frowned upon as irresponsible rhetoric.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know us. And thanks for being a team player. We hope this has informed you about the reality of vaccinating your child. And once again, Welcome to the War on Disease! Together, we will win!

Sincerely,

The CDC