The Vent

Slideshow Detailing Vaccine Ingredients

2012-01-05T15:41:00.001-05:00

I recently viewed this slideshow on Dr. Mercola's website (link posted below). It is a little crude looking, but extremely informative. Every parent should watch this before vaccinating their child. Please share this with your family and friends, especially if they are planning or expecting a child.

Link to original article here.

Pertussis Vaccine: Please Read

2011-11-05T22:58:00.001-04:00

Are you expecting a child soon? Below is a video from Dr. Mercola's website. It tells a real story, about real people. Please watch the video. Please read the artilce here. If you're expecting, the parent in this video could soon be you.

Red Alert: The Vaccine Responsible for Half the Awards for Injury and Death

Posted By Dr. Mercola | November 02 2011

Story at-a-glance

In the United States, over half of the 2,480 compensation awards made made under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, which total more than $2 billion dollars, have involved brain inflammation and encephalopathy resulting in permanent brain damage associated with whole cell and acelullar pertussis vaccine in DPT and DtaP shots.
Previous research from Guinnea-Bissau demonstrated that a single dose of pertussis vaccine in DTP shots doubled the mortality rate in infants and more than quadrupled the mortality rate after the second and third DTP doses.
A recent Danish study suggests many infant girls in Africa die after vaccination with diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine and that aluminum-derived adjuvants in the vaccine may play an important role. (Past studies have shown that pertussis toxin and endotoxin in whole cell pertussis vaccine are involved in the development of brain inflammation, shock and encephalopathy but the role of the aluminum adjuvant has been less clear).
Mercury (thimerosal) preservatives and aluminum adjuvants are two additives commonly used in inactivated vaccines, including DPT vaccine. Although U.S. pertussis containing shots (DtaP/Tdap) no longer include mercury, they still contain aluminum. Mercury is used as a preservative and aluminum advjuvants are used to boost immune responses in an attempt to reduce the need for booster shots. However, both mercury and aluminum are known neurotoxins and can cause serious side effects when injected into the body.

Vaccine for acne

2011-09-27T10:37:00.003-04:00

Sanofi Pasteur Acquires Exclusive, Worldwide License for Acne Vaccine

The above link will take you to Sanofi Pasteur's press-release detailing their vaccine for acne. This vaccine is in the pre-clinical stage at the University of California, San Diego. This news was released about three days ago, on September 21, 2011, and seeing it leaves me with a few questions...

Is acne a disease?

In the beginning of their article, Sanofi Pasteur states,

"Acne vulgaris (acne) is one of the most common skin diseases worldwide and affects more than 50 million people in the United States alone..."

However, the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), on their PubMed website, for the US National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) states this (emphasis in bold is mine):

"The fact that acne, which is almost universal and not a true infection, is (1) initiated at puberty by the action of pubertal hormones on likely distinct, pro-acne follices, and (2) typically resolves in one's early twenties when prefrontal cortex development is complete, suggests that the condition's timeframe is meaningful."

Some medical affiliations consider acne a disease, and some consider it a hormonal condition or a disorder. Regardless how it's classified, for most people acne is typically only a problem in the teenage years. Very rarely does it persist into adulthood. Although acne is not pleasant, it is not a life-threatening condition. It does not require hospital stays. As a matter of fact, in most cases, changing the way you take care of your skin resolves the problem.

Do we really need a vaccine for acne?

Since acne isn't life threatening, doesn't require hospital stays and doesn't cause missed days of work or school, do we really need a vaccine for it? Without a doubt, there will be some people who will jump all over a chance at getting a vaccine for acne. But who will these people be? What ingredients will the vaccine contain, and what kinds of risks will they pose to a young person who's desire not to get acne will outweigh their desire to consider vaccine safety?

Who will get the vaccine?

There is no way for us to know who will have an issue with acne and who will not. We generally don't know we have a problem with acne until it happens. Since acne problems usually present in the early teen years, and theoretically an acne vaccine would need to be given before it is a problem, obviously it will be young people who are targeted to get the vaccine. So that leaves the window open for, let's say, the ages of birth to about twelve years.

Speaking from a business standpoint, if you are Sanofi Pasteur, your customer base for the vaccine will dwindle as the people in the available market get older. Children, as they get older, do not come in for regular check-ups as often, reducing a doctor's access to them. Vaccine manufacturers know this. They know that to get their vaccine into the most children, it has to be done when they are very young while parents are still bringing them in for their well-visits.

The hepatitis B vaccine given at birth is an excellent example of this. There are literally zero newborns who are sexually active and/or intravenous drug users, which is how you acquire Hep B. So unless the mother is infected, and all mothers are tested when they become pregnant, the baby is not at immediate risk for the disease. So why are ALL babies immunized with the HepB vaccine? Convenience. Because they can. Because doctors have access to them. Because if they don't do it when they're babies, and the babies grow up, they may never decide to get the HepB vaccine and at that point they become customers who have been lost. There is not a business on the planet who wants to lose customers, and those in the business of making vaccines are no different.

So, the only way to ensure a large customer base would be to put an acne vaccine on the childhood immunization schedule with the rest of the vaccines. It is my belief that Gardasil will be there too someday, for girls and boys. Here are some quotes for the Sanofi article dated September 21, 2011:

"According to Sanofi Pasteur’s estimates, the annual worldwide market for acne therapeutics is in excess of US $3 billion."

In Glaxo Smith Kline's annual report for 2010, it shows that their Hepatitis vaccinations produced worldwide revenues of 700 million British pounds, which is equivalent to approximately $1.1 billion US dollars. The only way Sanofi will make anywhere close to the $3 billion quoted on an acne vaccine, will be to put it on the childhood immunization schedule.

"Moderate to severe acne occurs in 14 percent of five to 17-year olds and this group is more likely to seek treatment and currently faces an unmet medical need."

Do you know any five year old with an acne problem? This definitely gives us a clue of the age group Sanofi will target with this vaccine. Since according to Sanofi, five year olds apparently have acne problems, I'm certain they will want this vaccine on the childhood schedule.

"Acne is considered a chronic disease for a limited life-time period and, although often a simple and self-limited condition, it can result in psychological, physical and social implications"

Here Sanofi Pasteur admits that acne is only a problem for a 'limited life-time period' and that it is a 'simple and self-limited' condition. What they don't mention is that not everyone gets acne and that not everyone who does get it, has it to the same degree. Some people get one pimple here or there, some people only break out when they are nervous, and so on. However they are going to target five year olds for the vaccine to save them from the 'phychological, physical and social implications' that acne can cause. Really?

Maybe, with a vaccine, someday we will all be physically and socially perfect.

Video - Watch as mercury damages brain cells

2011-09-26T14:11:00.002-04:00

Thimerasol is a mercury-containing ingredient which was used in some vaccines until about ten years ago. When questions started arising about the safety of mercury in vaccines, especially ones injected into small children, vaccine manufacturers agreed to take the thimerasol out of the shots, even though they denied the mercury was a danger.

Vaccine manufacturers maintained that the amount of mercury in vaccines was so small that it was impossible for it to be a danger to anyone. In this video from University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, it is stated that inhaled mercury causes problems. Vaccines are injected, not inhaled (with the exception of some flu vaccines). This video goes on to show what happens to brain cells in a petree dish when they inject small amounts of mercury into the fluid in the dish. The brain cells, which at first are growing, go into a degenerative state.

In the video they talk about the mercury burden on the body. Mercury causes a burden when it accumulates in the human body from dental fillings and the food we eat, in addition to other sources. It also causes degeneration in brain cells when injected into the surrounding fluid in a petree dish. But according to vaccine manufacturers, and a large part of the scientific community, mercury can't cause damage when injected by way of vaccines, repeatedly into a small child. What is wrong with this picture? Why does anyone, whose brain is NOT in a degenerative state, accept this?

I know what you're thinking right now.

Mercury has been taken out of most vaccines, so it doesn't matter. But it does. How can you trust an industry which says mercury is safe, when it clearly is not. Even after the mercury has been taken out of the vaccines, how can you believe anything they tell you about vaccine safety?

Here is the link for the original video at University of Calgary.

Below is the same exact video which can be found on YouTube.

ONE MORE GIRL - Documentary

2011-09-24T12:30:00.001-04:00

This is a trailer for a documentary regarding HPV vaccines like Gardasil. When you view the trailer, or visit their website, they ask for donations to help produce the film. I am not posting the trailer here so that you will donate money to them. I am posting it so that you are aware of its existence, and so that you may follow it to its completion, if you wish.

ONE MORE GIRL from ThinkExist Productions on Vimeo.

What You Need to Know about HPV Vaccines

2011-09-22T21:33:00.000-04:00

If you are a female, have a daughter, or just want more information on the Gardasil vaccine, this is an excellent read. The post below is from SANEvax. It is an excellent website with a ton of information regarding HPV and it's vaccines. Please share it with those you care about.

The Five Things You REALLY Need to Know about HPV Vaccines

Monday, September 19, 2011
By Tony Isaacs, Contributing Author

After the political tempest about Gardasil and mandatory HPV vaccinations which began at the GOP Tea Party debate, CNN posted an article on September 14th titled “The five things you need to know about the HPV debate”. The article could scarcely have been more pro-HPV vaccination than if Gardasil manufacturer Merck had ghost written it (a practice Merck is known for).

The article contended that the HPV vaccine controversy was mostly political and that HPV vaccines were safe. It also noted that we have been vaccinating children for many years. Besides missing the obvious difference between vaccinating against diseases spread by social contact in schools versus sexual contact in later years, the article’s contention that HPV vaccines are safe is a complete whitewash of the truth.

For those who prefer the truth over mainstream propaganda, here are five things you really need to know about HPV vaccines:

1. Merck needed a new cash cow to replace the billions in profits lost due to its evil drug Vioxx finally being pulled from the market after it caused upwards of 50,000 deaths. Gardasil became the new cash cow heir apparent. Contrary to mainstream misinformation, Gardasil has not been proven to be safe in either the short or the long term. Instead, Merck has once again used deception to portray it as safe and ignored evidence of harm, the same as they did with Vioxx when they hid evidence of harm, rigged studies, and paid scientists and doctors to put their name on articles and papers supporting Vioxx..

In the initial safety tests where Gardasil was compared against a placebo, instead of using a truly benign placebo such as saline solution Merck used a placebo which was identical to the Gardasil vaccine minus only the HPV virus components.
In addition to sodium chloride and water, the placebo also contained aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate.

Aluminum is a dangerous toxic metal. Even small amounts are deposited in the brain and it has been linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease as well as memory loss and speech problems which mimic those diseases. It has also been linked to a wide variety of other health problems.

Side effects and severe allergic reactions listed for aluminum include rash, hives, itching, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue, loss of appetite, muscle weakness, nausea, slow reflexes, and vomiting.

According to the Polysorbate 80 Material Safety Data Sheet, it may be carcinogenic as well as mutagenic. When injected into prepubescent rats, polysorbate 80 caused abnormal growth of reproductive organs and made the rats sterile. When used intravenously with vitamins it has been known to cause anaphylactic shock.

Sodium borate is widely known for its use as a roach pesticide. The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health have declared sodium borate to be a dangerous poison. Listed side effects include: vomiting, collapse, coma, convulsions, low blood pressure and twitching of facial muscles, arms, hands, legs, and feet.

Many of the side effects for aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate coincide with those of the Gardasil victims who have been injured and killed by the vaccine. Thus it comes as no surprise that the side effects for the Gardasil vaccine in Merck’s trials were no greater than those of the toxic placebo they selected.

An analysis of the actual trial data for Gardasil reveals that a shocking 73.3 percent of the participants who received Gardasil acquired a new medical condition ranging from flu-like symptoms to paralysis. Almost 60% had systemic reactions. Though the “placebo” recipients had similar results, obviously no mere saline solution would have produced even a fraction of such reactions. The results would likely have been even higher if the study had lasted longer than 15 days.

2. Studies have actually shown that Gardasil and its sister vaccine Cervarix (from GlaxoSmithKline) provide no protection for women already exposed to the HPV virus and in fact present highly elevated risks for already exposed women as well as for expectant mothers.
The more sexually active a woman is, the greater the chances she will become exposed to HPV viruses. Likewise, the older a woman is the more sexual encounters she will likely have had and thus the greater the risk of HPV exposure. Information provided for the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) in May 2006 revealed that when the vaccine is administered to a woman with a dormant or harmless form of HPV, the virus can become activated, increasing the likelihood of precancerous lesions developing by a staggering 44.6 percent.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has reported 45 cases of spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, following vaccination with Gardasil. At the time the vaccine was approved, five babies had been born with congenital birth defects after their mothers had been immunized with Gardasil, as opposed to a placebo group that had zero. Later reports put the number of birth defects in the vaccinated group closer to 40.

3. Just this month it was announced that Gardasil has been discovered to be contaminated with a substance many government health and safety agencies classify as a bio-hazard. After months of research, SANE Vax Inc. has discovered a substance many government health and safety agencies classify as a bio-hazard. SANE Vax Inc. contracted with an independent lab to test for contamination and found HPV recombinant DNA (rDNA) in 100% of the samples tested. The 13 Gardasil vials, with different lot numbers were from New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Poland, France, and three states in the U.S. All contaminating recombinant HPV DNA was firmly attached to the aluminum adjuvant in the vaccine.

4. The lack of dangers in the prescribing information furnished to doctors by Merck and the VAERS requirement that only serious and life-threatening events be reported both likely play big roles in the under-reporting of Gardasil reactions. Doctors are reluctant to report deaths and injuries from anything they administered or performed in the first place, and the lack of information and guidelines have insured that they are far less likely to report anywhere near all the adverse reactions from Gardasil.

Other factors which help skew the picture of Gardasil dangers include:

*The rate of deaths and adverse reactions are reported as a percentage of doses distributed, not doses actually administered.

*Gardasil is given in a series of three injections. Thus the number of adverse reactions per number of patients is triple the adverse events per injection.

Even with under-reporting, Gardasil causes 400% more deaths than other common vaccines. The true magnitude of Gardasil’s harm and dangers could be horrendous. Reports for other vaccine deaths and adverse reactions are estimated to represent no more than 10% of the actual totals. With Gardasil, estimates range as low as only 1%.

If 10% are reporting, there could be as many as 690 deaths and over 190,000 adverse events from HPV vaccines in theU.S.and its territories alone. If only 1% of deaths and adverse events have been reported, the numbers could be 6, 900 deaths and over 1,900,000 adverse events.

5. Behind Gardasil’s huge trail of deception is a very large and mostly hidden trail of tears. If anyone doubts that Gardasil is causing deaths, permanent injuries and devastation of mothers, fathers and other family members they should check out the SANEVAX vaccine safety site created by mothers of daughters killed and injured by HPV vaccines (www.sanevax.org). There, they will find story after story illustrating the harm HPV vaccines can cause.

Here are just two examples:
“What is Wrong with the Gardasil Girls? Amy’s Story”
“The journey of a Gardasil victim’s mother from trusting vaccines to vaccine activist”
Parents and the general public richly deserve to be told the full truth to keep that trail from leading to an ever larger ocean of suffering.

Sources included:
The five things you need to know about the HPV debate
Merck Sponsored Study……
SANE Vax Inc. Announces the Discovery of Viral HPV DNA Contaminant in Gardasil
Gardasil’s Trail of Deception….
Gardasil Risks Magnified for Sexually Active and Expectant Mothers

Original article here.

Article from Dr. Mercola on Gardasil

2011-09-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

September 16, 2011

A Parent's Horrid Nightmare: Coming Soon to YOUR State?

Posted By Dr. Mercola

The state of California has just passed bill AB499, which will permit minor children as young as 12 years old to be vaccinated with sexually transmitted disease vaccines like Gardasil without parental knowledge or parental consent. This means that if you live in California, school or medical personnel would be allowed to vaccinate your child against an STD without your ever knowing it.
At issue, of course, is whether 12-year-olds are mature enough to fully analyze the benefits versus risks of vaccination (or any medical treatment for that matter), or recognize the alternatives to STD prevention, such as abstinence. Meanwhile, a child could suffer a vaccine reaction and the parent, not knowing the child had been vaccinated, could mistake it for the flu or another condition, delaying getting help until it is too late.
But, perhaps the greatest issue of all is whether this law violates your basic right to be involved in important decisions regarding your child's health.

How Can Parental Consent be Completely Ignored?

As Barbara Loe Fisher of the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) has stated, informed consent is a human right.

"The right to voluntary, informed consent to a medical intervention, including use of a pharmaceutical product such as a vaccine that can injure or kill you or your child, is a human right. While the State may have the legal authority to mandate use of vaccines, nobody has the moral authority to FORCE you to get vaccinated or vaccinate your child without your voluntary, informed consent," she says.
We as parents, who know and love our children better than anyone else, we, by U.S. law and a larger moral imperative, are the guardians of our children until they are old enough to make life and death decisions for themselves. We are responsible for their welfare and we are the ones who bear the grief and the burden when they are injured or die from any cause.
We are their voice and by all that is right in this great country and in the moral universe, we should be allowed to make a rational, informed, voluntary decision about which diseases and which vaccines we are willing to risk their lives for -- without fearing retribution from physicians employed by the state."
Not only does AB499 remove a parent's right to give their informed consent, but parents will not even have the right to be informed if their child is vaccinated. As Age of Autism recently reported, this could be disastrous for the child's well-being for a number of reasons:

“A child will most likely not know his or her family history of allergies, autoimmune diseases, or adverse reactions to other vaccines or medications, all of which are essential to consider before the administration of any vaccine.

A child is not capable of weighing the risks and benefits of vaccination, and under this bill, a parent will not be present to ask the appropriate questions to elicit this important risk/benefit information.

A child can be easily swayed by a person of authority, his or her peers, and by misinformation

... Who will determine if the child falls within the category of those who should not be vaccinated on the label (especially in the absence of the child's medical records and the child's parent)?”

Informed consent is especially important when it comes to vaccination, because there is no way for you or your physician to predict if your child will be one of the children who has a devastating vaccine reaction, such as brain inflammation, immune dysregulation, or even death.

AB499 More About Profits than Health

Pharmaceutical and medical lobbyists were heavily involved in pushing AB499 through the state legislature. After all, by stripping parents of their right to make informed decisions about medical procedures that could harm their children, they have tapped a new market for their Gardasil vaccine. And, at a cost of $108 per dose to the government, Merck, the vaccine's manufacturer, stands to profit handsomely.
Meanwhile, California taxpayers will likely foot the bill for the multi-millions of dollars this law will cost to implement. Parents are NOT responsible for the costs (how could they be if they're not even informed that a vaccine was given?), so the bulk will come from the government (i.e. the taxpayers). As Fisher states:

"This proposed law would cost the cash-strapped state of California multi-millions of dollars to implement. Most of that money will go to Merck and other vaccine corporations to pay for multiple doses of each vaccine that will be aggressively promoted to young children, who are not yet physically, mentally or emotionally mature enough to make fully informed decisions about risk-taking, including whether or not to take a medical risk."
Further, has anyone considered who will be held responsible if a child is permanently injured or killed from receiving a vaccination without their parents' consent? Neither physicians nor drug companies have any legal liability, so the parents will ultimately be the ones who will have to carry the financial burden if their child suffers damage from the vaccine.

If You Live in California, Talk to Your Child About Gardasil Risks!

You have the legal right to know the risks and complications of vaccines BEFORE you make the choice of whether or not to allow your child to be vaccinated. If you live in California, this right may soon be taken away, unless you ACT NOW to stop the Governor from signing it into law. Still, it would be prudent to discuss this issue with your child now, before they are given the opportunity to receive this vaccine, so they will be able to make an educated decision when and if the time comes.
In the four short years since Gardasil came on the market, there have been more than 21,000 reported incidents of adverse effects and death, despite the fact that only two out of every 10 women in the approved age group have gotten the vaccine so far.
Add to this the fact that an estimated 90 to 99 percent of all adverse effects are never reported, and the abnormally large risks of the HPV vaccine compared to other vaccines should give most people reason to pause. Further, you and your child should know that:

Gardasil is NOT a cancer vaccine. It is simply a vaccine for two strains of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) that in some instances can lead to cancer in some women (Gardasil's other two HPV strains are for genital warts, which don't cause cancer). There is absolutely no proof and no clinical trials that show Gardasil protects against cancer in the long-term.

Since there are at least 15 HPV strains that can lead to cancer, Gardasil-vaccinated girls can still get cervical cancer from the other 13 HPV strains not contained in the vaccine.

The vaccine doesn't work if you've already been infected with the HPV strains in the vaccine.

In the United States, infection with HPV is very common, and it is estimated that about 20 million Americans have an HPV infection at any given time. In fact, HPV is so common that most sexually active people will get it at some time in their lives.
The important thing to know about HPV is that in almost all cases, it clears up on its own without any adverse health effects within two years in most healthy people. So not only is the HPV vaccine one of the most unnecessary vaccines on the market, it is also the most dangerous! If AB499 is not vetoed, it's important, if you live in California, to arm your children with these facts in advance.

Urgent Action Alert for ALL Parents

If California parents can be stripped of their legal right to make informed medical decisions for their minor children, so too can parents in any state. I encourage you to get involved with the work that NVIC is doing to protect your right to choose which vaccines you want your children to get, including the legal right to use all, some, or no vaccines at all.
Register for the free NVIC Advocacy Portal that educates you about how to communicate effectively with your elected state representatives and protect vaccine exemptions in your state. Stay informed about what is happening in your state and make your voice heard.
Go to www.NVICAdvocacy.org and register today to take action.
For those of you who live in California, it is imperative that you take part in NVIC's urgent action alert. If Governor Brown does not veto AB499, vaccine exemptions for sexually transmitted disease vaccines become NULL and VOID in California. Please take just 5 minutes to help support this cause by:

Forwarding NVIC’s Urgent Action Alert to everyone you know

Posting the link to this alert on Facebook, blogs, or other social media sites:
http://nvicadvocacy.org/members/Resources/VetoAB499.aspx

Contact Governor Jerry Brown and ask him to VETO AB499. The most effective way is to call the Governor’s office. They’ve already added a simple voicemail button for a "yes" or "no" vote on the legislation.

Call: (916) 445-2841

Fax: (916) 558-3160

Email Web Form: http://govnews.ca.gov/gov39mail/mail.php

Register for the NVIC Advocacy Portal so you can receive updates

The more people who get involved, the better chance there is that California will get the message that parents will not lie down while their parental rights are removed. Together we can make a difference and keep this legislation from standing, and influencing the right to informed consent in the rest of the United States as well.
Our entire country needs to come together and send the state government of California the strong message: Keep your hands off our kids!

Original article on Mercola.com posted here.

Why I focus so much time on vaccines

2011-09-14T14:52:00.001-04:00

You may have noticed that the majority of my posts relate to vaccines. This is because vaccines are something which affect each and every one of us, especially individuals who have children. When we have governments mandating that we inject ourselves or our children with anything, we need to make sure we are as fully informed as possible.

I personally feel that the information which is readily dispersed to the public from vaccine manufacturers and vaccine proponents through doctors is incredibly lopsided - in favor of the vaccine's safety, of course. Not only is the information given to us sparse and lop-sided, but most of us trust what our doctors tell us. If they say something is not only needed, but is also safe, most of us believe them. We have to step outside of this paradigm somewhat, and realize that, with regard to vaccines, we're just not getting all of the information. It then becomes our personal responsibility as individuals, and as parents, to educate ourselves on the "whole" of the information, instead of just the "parts" which are made easily accessible to us.

As I've stated on this site before, information regarding vaccine safety (or lack thereof) is out there, you just have to find it and I want to make this easier for you. And there you have the reason so many of my posts focus on the topic of vaccines.

The pharmaceutical industry and our government have designed our vaccine schedule. Some of the individuals involved are in both groups. This is what's called a conflict of interest.

You are born and you get vaccines. Parents have little choice. If you choose to exercise the little choice that you do have, you are labelled as an anti-vaxer and called irresponsible. You are stigmatized and ostracized by those who have opposing viewpoints. All of this just for questioning the status quo.

Family practitioners and pediatricians don't know everything. This isn't sarcasm, it really is the truth. They aren't "vaccine specialists." They simply regurgitate information given to them by the vaccine manufacturers.

Gardasil

Gardasil is one of the vaccines which is recommended for all girls as young as nine years old. This vaccine is supposed to prevent HPV (human papilloma virus), which in turn can cause some forms of cervical cancer. Now, not only is it recommended for injection into girls, but also into young boys.

For the past several years Gardasil has continuously been in the news for adverse reactions, including death. Here is an excerpt from an interesting March, 2010 op ed in the Washington Examiner:

Cervical cancer accounts for less than 1 percent of all cancer deaths, so it was somewhat surprising when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration fast-tracked approval of Gardasil, a Merck vaccine targeting the human papilloma virus that causes the disease, in 2006.

As of Jan. 31, 2010, 49 unexplained deaths following Gardasil injections have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. By contrast, 52 deaths are attributed to unintended acceleration in Toyotas, which triggered a $2 billion recall.

No recall for Gardasil, which is required for sixth-grade girls in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and many other states. Parents can opt out, but few know the true risks.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://washingtonexaminer.com/node/104241#ixzz1Xx5a7m8s

This Washington Examiner article also provide snippets of personal experiences regarding individuals who had the Gardasil vaccine. Though you shouldn't base your decision to vaccinate or not based on other's personal experiences alone, they are part of the big picture and you should take them into consideration.

Also search for information on Dr. Diane Harper. She was one of the lead researchers for Merck's Gardasil. She has spoken out on the risks of the vaccine. Here is an excerpt from a CBS Investigates article about Dr. Harper, including some of her quotes regarding Gardasil, emphasis in bold italics is mine...:

(CBS) Amid questions about the safety of the HPV vaccine Gardasil one of the lead researchers for the Merck drug is speaking out about its risks, benefits and aggressive marketing.

Dr. Diane Harper says young girls and their parents should receive more complete warnings before receiving the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Dr. Harper helped design and carry out the Phase II and Phase III safety and effectiveness studies to get Gardasil approved, and authored many of the published, scholarly papers about it. She has been a paid speaker and consultant to Merck. It's highly unusual for a researcher to publicly criticize a medicine or vaccine she helped get approved.

Dr. Harper joins a number of consumer watchdogs, vaccine safety advocates, and parents who question the vaccine's risk-versus-benefit profile. She says data available for Gardasil shows that it lasts five years; there is no data showing that it remains effective beyond five years.

This raises questions about the CDC's recommendation that the series of shots be given to girls as young as 11-years old. "If we vaccinate 11 year olds and the protection doesn't last... we've put them at harm from side effects, small but real, for no benefit," says Dr. Harper. "The benefit to public health is nothing, there is no reduction in cervical cancers, they are just postponed, unless the protection lasts for at least 15 years, and over 70% of all sexually active females of all ages are vaccinated." She also says that enough serious side effects have been reported after Gardasil use that the vaccine could prove riskier than the cervical cancer it purports to prevent. Cervical cancer is usually entirely curable when detected early through normal Pap screenings.

She also worries that Merck's aggressive marketing of the vaccine may have given women a false sense of security. "The future expectations women hold because they have received free doses of Gardasil purchased by philanthropic foundations, by public health agencies or covered by insurance is the true threat to cervical cancer in the future. Should women stop Pap screening after vaccination, the cervical cancer rate will actually increase per year. Should women believe this is preventive for all cancers - something never stated, but often inferred by many in the population-- a reduction in all health care will compound our current health crisis. Should Gardasil not be effective for more than 15 years, the most costly public health experiment in cancer control will have failed miserably."

Link to original article here.

So...Dr. Harper, Merck's lead Gardasil researcher states the Gardasil vaccine is a costly public health experiment? Wow. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

I believe this is my first official vent...um or it might be a rant

2011-09-02T16:21:00.001-04:00

When I stop and think about the sheer number of people around the world who believe whole-heartedly that vaccines are safe, it astounds me. The majority of these people are parents who have done absolutely no research into vaccine safety. They believe vaccines are safe simply because someone told them they are...not because they've done their own research. Some have heard the recent headlines regardingThe Lancet retracting Dr. Andrew Wakefield's study from 1998 as proof that vaccines don't cause autism. Others just do what their doctor tells them to do without having an original thought in their head to start with.

Vaccine inserts plainly state that vaccines can cause brain damage. It is also stated on the release forms parents are required to sign before vaccines are administered to their children. What do the characteristics of brain damage look like? Do you know? Quite often, they look like autism. However, as long as the word "autism" is part of the argument, we will never get anywhere. Vaccine dangers need to be addressed for what they are...brain damage. It's easy for the industry to state that vaccines do not cause"autism", but if they start saying vaccines don't cause brain damage, it sounds a little different. The reason it sounds different is because vaccines can cause brain damage.

It's All in the Presentation

Imagine if a doctor came to you with a syringe and said "Okay, Mrs. Smith, today we're going to inject your little two-month old, twelve pound baby with formaldehyde, polysorbate 80, aluminum hydroxide, ammonium sulfate and aluminum phosphate, along with several diseases. There also may be some remnants of calf liver or beef heart included...we're not sure at this point. But we hope that by injecting this in to your child, he will not get sick, umm...but he still might. Oh, and one more thing Mrs. Smith, we need you to sign this paper releasing us of responsibility if your baby swells up, turns blue, has a seizure, stops breathing, becomes brain damaged or dies within the next few days. In addition, if any of these things do occur, not only will we not be responsible, but we will also deny that the vaccine had anything to do with the adverse occurrence(s)."

Wow. That sure would be a different presentation of vaccines.

But instead, here's how it goes..."Hi Mrs. Smith! How's little junior today? Great! We're just gonna check him out and then give him his shots so that he doesn't get sick! You don't want junior to get sick do you? We're only going to stick him four times in his thighs with the needle, and it will only hurt for a minute. He's going to cry...so we're gonna need you to hold junior down while we stick him. But guess what? We'll give little two-month-old junior a sticker when he's all done so he can put it in his sticker collection! Oh yeah, and we need you to sign this paper before we can give the shots. There are some risks associated with the vaccines, but they're not nearly as bad as the risks of not getting the shots! Okay now, are you ready?"

This is the extent of the information that new parents are given when they take their new baby in for his two month checkup. NO information is given on vaccine safety what-so-ever. Huh?? Then, if the parent does decide to ask questions, they are either demonized or treated in a condescending manner, as if they are a three year old who wants to know why he has to eat the broccoli on his dinner plate. Serious questions regarding vaccines deserve serious answers.

Feeling warm and fuzzy yet?

That warm and fuzzy feeling you get from blindly trusting your doctor is a lot easier to handle than actually taking the time, and sometimes lots of it, to sit down and do the research regarding vaccine safety. And it's a whole lot easier than trying to debate a doctor while you're sitting in their little five by seven foot exam room.

Questioning vaccine program safety and it's necessity definitely puts you in the minority. But in my opinion, it puts you in the educated minority, which would be a good thing. There are real, credible doctors, some who have held high positions within the health and pharmaceutical industries, who legitimately question the safety of the vaccine program as it exists today. Soon, on this site, there will be a list of these individuals complete with links to their resources.

Questioning vaccine safety doesn't make you a bad parent, but being ignorant of the facts and blindly following the majority certainly might. It is your responsibility to get educated on vaccines. No one is going to volunteer all of the information to you. You have to search for it on your own. It is out there, you just have to look for it. It is your duty as a parent to know what is in that vial that the needle draws from, before it sticks your child. Simply trusting your doctor when they say it's okay isn't enough.

Find out what the vaccines are for, and what's in them.
Find out what the adverse reactions can be to the vaccine and to the separate ingredients contained in it.
Does any ingredient in the vaccine have an MSDS (material safety data sheet)? If so, then why is it being injected into anyone, let alone a child?
Is there animal DNA in the vaccine? What are the consequences to a young child's neurological development if it's injected into them?
What disease is the vaccine for, and what is the vaccine's efficacy?
What year was the vaccine invented, and was the disease already on the decline beforehand?
What role has having access to clean water and good personal hygiene played in the decline of the disease?
Is the risk of the illness REALLY worse than the risks associated with the vaccine?
Why are all vaccines on the program mandatory. Not even the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine is voluntary anymore, but it used to be. Why did this change?
The window for reporting an adverse event after receiving a vaccine is a matter of a few days. If some vaccines interfere in neurological development, or cause brain damage, who says that a few days is enough time to notice in an infant or a young child? Maybe the damage isn't immediately recognizable in someone so young...until later...when they're not hitting their milestones or their language development is failing.

I wish you and your families all the best. There is no excuse for ignorance. Get educated. Ask questions. Be part of the minority for now...if you don't, the minority will never become the majority and the status quo will always be the status quo.

Vaccines and Ritalin?

2011-09-02T08:24:00.000-04:00

Below is an interesting article from American Chronicle discussing the possible relationship between childhood vaccines and neurological disorders such as ADHD, among others.

May 30, 2010

Big Pharma's only interest in society today is profit. Healthy people are of no use to them whatsoever, after all a healthy person does not need a cure. So bearing this in mind a few adverse reactions here and there do not worry the likes of Glaxo Smith Kline, Merck and Eli Lilly because where there is an adverse reaction there is the chance to prescribe another drug.

I wonder just how many Americans are aware of the fact that a reported 4 and 8 million children are on the drug Ritalin. That's right, a staggering 4 to 8 million of all USA children are diagnosed with ADHD and some of these children are on Ritalin which is a stimulant from under the age of 5years old. Evelyn Pringle has reported on this fact in her article Kids on ADHD drugs: A dangerous path to addiction She says:-

"More recent statistics show a 369 percent increase in spending on ADHD drugs for children under 5. From 2000 to 2003, the rise in the use of attention deficit drugs by children under 5 years contributed to an overall 23 percent increase for all children, according to an analysis by the nation's largest prescription benefit manager, Medco Health Solutions."

If this was not bad enough, I have found reports of babies of under the age of 1 years old, being put on this drug by their GP's, as this article GPs 'giving Ritalin to babies under a year old clearly shows.

Can you believe these tiny babies are being prescribed a drug so powerful it can cause horrendous side effects, including mania, psychosis, hallucinations, depersonalization, suicidal ideation, heart attack, stroke and sudden death? This report does say however, that Andrea Bilbow, the chief executive of ADHD charity Addiss, dismissed the research that lead to the article as "misleading" and claimed that the disorder was still "under-diagnosed and under prescribed. Mind you, Andrea would say that, after all her ADHD support group ADDISS has been heavily funded for years by many of the drug companies that supply ADHD drugs and this fact was reported by Daniel Foggo in THE TELEGRAPH in ADHD advice secretly paid for by drugs companies although, how even she can stoop as low as to condone babies under 1 year old being prescribed a powerful drug like Ritalin is totally beyond me.

This goes to prove that nowdays as well as their breakfast, many millions of children are beginning their day popping pills before they are out of nappies and the drugs companies are making billions out of this latest breakfast snack.

So why are all these children being diagnosed with a condition that was barely heard of twenty years ago? Well, many explanations have been given as to why we have suddenly become a nation of kiddy pill poppers. Everything from computer games, television, bad parenting to additives and artificial colours in foods have been blamed for the rise in ADHD. Vaccines are also seen by many leading experts to be a cause of the rise in the numbers of ADHD, although this fact is conveniently ignored by the Government in favour of any other excuse they can find, whilst they suck up to the pill peddling pharmaceutical industry.

Lisa Blakemore-Brown an expert in Autism and ADHD once said on Rapid Response on the British Medical Journal the following:-

"To The Point

Lisa Blakemore-Brown,

Independent Psychologist, specialising in Autism and ADHD

UK

If a group of people collapse after eating, say, Lemon Sole,in a particular restaurant, it would be ludicrous for those responsible to wave a hand over the problem saying that millions of people eat Lemon Sole every day and there are no problems. Health and Safety officials will get straight to the point of the issue and look at the fish in the restaurant, look at the individuals, test findings in the lab.

As hundreds of parents have found their children to react to vaccine, in some cases leading to the `new variant autism` of loss of communication skills, motor impairments and bowel problems, is it not these cases the Government should be looking at for answers?

The incidence of this particular tapestry of autism is indisputable. This is not related to increased recognition of autism, The TYPE is unusual and baffling to education and health professionals. In one of my cases of very obvious and indisputable reaction to pertussis vaccine the child in question has been found to have Kawasaki disease, her own immune system attacking itself. She presents as Asperger. There is no autism in the family. but the baby had allergies prior to the vaccine.It is scientific examination of cases like this which will enable us to ultimately put measures in place to reassure the public.

Blanket refusal to look at the real issues and prevention of individuals exercising choice seems a dangerous policy, especially just before an election.

Editorial comment

The parents of the child whose case is mentioned in this response have given their written informed consent to publication".

She does have a point, then, she always did. She also stated this on the BMJ in another brilliant post:-

"Education and the rise in ASD and ADHD

9 July 2004

Lisa C Blakemore-Brown,

Psychologist

UK

Send response to journal:

Re: Education and the rise in ASD and ADHD

The experiences in Canada are echoed here in the UK. There is a vast increase in neurodevelopmental disorders, motor impairments and associated obesity.

The diagnoses of Autism and ADHD have been affected by the political move to deny the increase in the problems and the introduction of parent blame theories have helped to shift the focus.

Within schools, teachers are expected to be all things to all people and to cope with the many extreme behavioural problems associated with this range of disorders. With the significant increase in such problems, their task is exceptionally difficult.

Now social workers are being encouraged to work within school systems as the message is that parents are causing the problems. Once a social worker is brought in, neurodevelopmental problems such as Autism, ADHD, ME etc. are viewed as `child abuse`.

In fact, since the introduction of the triple vaccine programme it is amazing how we are being invited to believe that parents have begun to increasingly abuse their children.

Competing interests: Specialist in Autism and ADHD spectrum disorders

I personally think that the Government have been mandating vaccines from birth for so many years that they would look pretty stupid if they admitted that they had made an error at this late stage, it is far easier to blame parents, computer games, TV and foods for the problem. The Government in the UK knew from a very early stage that vaccines were causing problems as I prove in my article Hidden Government Papers On The Measles Vaccine Exposed In this article I have outlined very clear evidence, that the Government, were only too aware that vaccines were causing very serious side effects and I have backed this up with Government papers that have been hidden for decades.

Original article here, written by UK journalist Christina England.

Interview About Vaccines with Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD Part 3

2011-09-01T23:45:00.000-04:00

This is the final entry regarding the interview with Dr. Ratajczak, originally posted at Vaccine Truth.

Dr. Ratajczak was or remains a member of Sigma Xi; American Thoracic Society; American Association of Immunologists; International Society of Chronobiology; Society of Toxicology Immunotoxicology Subspecialty Section; North East Chapter of Society of Toxicology and the Autism Society of America.

Now, to the last of my interview questions.

Q. 15. Why do vaccines increase blood histamine levels?

Vaccines activate the immune system that responds in a specific way to the antigen in the vaccine, but, in the process, the vaccines also cause inflammation, which is a defense mechanism in which there is increased vascular permeability and release of mediators. Mast cells and basophils have receptors for both C3a and C5a, components of the complement cascade, which is intimately involved in inflammation. Reaction of the complement components with their receptors can cause degranulation of the mast cells and basophils, with the release of histamine and other mediators of anaphylaxis and inflammation. (See Golub and Green, 1991a.)

Q. 16. Do vaccines decrease Vitamin C levels? If so, what does that imply?
Yes, vaccines do decrease Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) levels. The adjuvants in vaccines are pro-oxidants that drain the body’s supply of antioxidants including vitamin C (Buttram, 2010). Any infection, even the common cold, causes a sharp drop in the blood leukocyte Vitamin C concentration (Clemetson, 1999; MacLennan, 1977). Vitamin C acts as a coenzyme or cofactor, and promotes resistance to infection through the immunologic activity of leukocytes, production of interferon, process of inflammatory reactions and the integrity of the mucous membranes (Mahan, 1992). The drop in Vitamin C levels implies that the Vitamin C was used in response to the infection or vaccine. Vitamin C deficiency is correlated with a highly significant increase in blood histamine level, which would promote allergic reactions. (See Q15) The Vitamin C promotes the detoxification of histamine by converting it to hydantoin-5-acetic acid and then to aspartic acid. When blood Vitamin C levels fall below 1 mg/100ml, the whole blood histamine level increases exponentially as the ascorbic acid level decreases. Oral administration of ascorbic acid decreases the blood histamine levels (Clemetson, 1980).

Q. 17. Can peroxidation occur in the brain from vaccine adjuvants?

Yes, peroxidation can occur in the brain from vaccine adjuvants. The brain has the highest fat content of any organ of the body with membrane lipids being 60% of the solid matter (Buttram, 2010; Sing, 2005). The adjuvants are pro-oxidants that drain the body’s supply of antioxidants including Vitamin C.

Q. 18. Please talk about lipid peroxidation and brain swelling/inflammation. Is there any impact on myelin development or demylination?

Lipid peroxidation occurs when vaccine adjuvants interact with lipids in the brain. See answer to Question 17 above. The inflammation that results in brain swelling also causes demylination.

Q. 19. Elevated C-Reactive Protein (CRP) blood test results indicate elevated inflammation in the body. Should that be a standard test in assessing Shaken Baby Syndrome or Autism Disorder Spectrum (ADS)?

C-Reactive Protein (named because it binds to the C protein of pneumococci) is an acute phase reactant protein, one that is at low levels in normal serum. Its level increases rapidly to 100X those in normal serum within hours after infection, inflammation, or tissue damage. C-reactive protein binds to the surfaces of a variety of bacteria and fungi and activates complement and increases phagocytosis. (See Golub and Green, 1991b.) Quantitation of CRP could be part of a test to indicate inflammation as a result of Shaken Baby Syndrome or Autism Disorder Spectrum.

Q. 20. Some researchers claim that 2 toxins (e.g., Hg & Al) in a single vaccine increase toxicity ten-fold and that 3 toxins (e.g., Hg, Al, Formaldehyde) in a single vaccine increase toxicity a hundred-fold. What is your comment about that?

The increase beyond additivity in toxicity when 2 or more toxins interact is called synergism. This is a very serious consideration, and safety tests must consider this possibility. [CJF emphasis]

Q. 21. Can vaccines cause ‘cytokine storms’ (hypercytokinemia) in infants? Can you talk about that at length a little, as parents—and maybe some MDs and emergency room docs and nurses—aren’t aware of that type of adverse reaction to vaccines?

Yes, vaccines can and do cause hypercytokinemia, also known as cytokine storms (Ponce, 2008; Binstock, 2009). A cytokine storm results when the body’s immune system rages out of control, resulting in overwhelming inflammation, rapid organ failure, and death if not quickly diagnosed and treated (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 2011). Immunostimulation may develop via modulation of pathways involved in immune system regulation. Binstock gives some side effects of various vaccines, taken from the CDC’s list of possible side effects from vaccines, which are given for individual vaccines. For DTaP: fever, swelling (for 1 to 7 days) of the entire limb in which the shot was given after the 4th or 5th dose of DTaP vaccine; fussiness; tiredness or poor appetite; vomiting; jerking or staring; non-stop crying for 3 or more hours; fever of >105 degrees Fahrenheit; long-term seizures, coma or lowered consciousness; permanent brain damage. For Hib: fever > 101 degrees Fahrenheit. For MMR: fever, seizure; temporary low platelet count (which can cause a bleeding disorder); temporary pain and stiffness in the joints, mostly in teenage or adult women; long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness, permanent brain damage. For Vermicelli: Fever, mild rash, up to a month after vaccination. Binstock notes that the first dose of MMRV vaccine has been associated with rash and higher rates of fever than MMR and varicella vaccines given separately. Seizures caused by a fever are also reported more often after MMRV. In addition, usually occurring 5-12 days after the first dose, vaccines can induce seizure (jerking or staring), caused by fever and other serious problems (which are very rare) including severe brain reactions and low blood count.
Two manuscripts that describe means of ameliorating cytokine storms follow: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2011) conducted a study on clues to calming a cytokine storm. Included in those suffering from cytokine storm, children with juvenile arthritis and patients with lupus or Epstein-Barr virus infection may also suffer from macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). The study reports development of an animal model of MAS in mice, and differentiates MAS from hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), which also causes a life-threatening cytokine storm in children. HLH is caused by a genetic mutation, but MAS is not. Inflammation from rheumatological diseases like systemic juvenile arthritis causes MAS by acting through immunological pathways. Two important molecules in the immune system control the severity of MAS: Interferon-gamma, which makes MAS more severe, and Interleukin-10, which has a protective effect.

Another study by Boukhvalova et al. (2006) describes a TLR4 agonist, monophosphoryl lipid A, which attenuates the cytokine storm associated with respiratory syncytial virus vaccine-enhanced disease.

Dr. Ratajczak, can you briefly explain respiratory syncytial virus vaccine-enhanced disease. That is something I’m not familiar with.

When vaccines were first made to prevent disease caused by the RNA viruses measles and respiratory syncytial virus, the vaccines were made against killed viruses, and injected with an aluminum-containing adjuvant intramuscularly. The vaccines did not confer protection, but introduced hypersensitivity to the vaccines. Some of the recipients, when they next encountered the vaccine in its natural state, were severely affected and died. After this, the vaccines were made with attenuated viruses, those treated so they would not divide at normal human body temperatures. (See Fulginiti et al., 1967, 1969; Kim et al., 1969, 1971).

I asked Dr. R if I were a dinwitty because I was not familiar with respiratory syncytial virus vaccine-advanced diseases, and she candidly replied, These events received a lot of attention at the time they happened, but once vaccines were produced with the attenuated viruses, the adverse reactions to the inactivated or killed virus vaccines were downplayed.

Lastly, what are your personal thoughts about vaccines and their implications in Autism and other childhood diseases or syndromes?

Vaccines have saved a great many lives throughout the years since they were first developed in the Middle East centuries ago, with the intradermal application of powdered smallpox scabs (variolation) for the prevention of smallpox. However, it is important to remember the wisdom of the Hippocratic oath to “First, do no harm”. Epidemiologic data suggest that vaccines are intimately involved with autism. As more vaccines were given to children, and given at earlier ages, the incidence and prevalence of autism increased. [CJF emphasis]
There are many aspects of vaccines that cause autism. Some examples follow: The pertussis component of the DPT vaccine integrates into the G proteins, which are regulatory proteins, inhibiting their function (Megson, 2000). The metal aluminum in the adjuvant(s) accompanying the vaccine(s) is toxic (Shaw and Petrick 2009). In addition, the mercury in the preservative thimerosal is a known nerve toxin. This preservative was removed from most childhood vaccines around the year 2000 (Schechter and Grether, 2008), but still is present in some vaccines, the most pertinent being influenza, which is sometimes given to pregnant women. The fetus is thus exposed to mercury, a nerve toxin, when the brain is in its most formative stages.
About the time thimerosal was removed from most childhood vaccines, the host for the growth of some viral components of vaccines was changed from animal to human tissue. When a virus grows it takes some of the DNA of the host cells with it. This means that the vaccine using the virus now contains human DNA, which can be incorporated into the vaccine recipient’s DNA by homologous recombination. Now the vaccine recipient has altered DNA or altered self, which is attacked and killed by the immune system. Much of this killing occurs in the brain.

The federal government and Dr. Gerberding, Director of Vaccines at Merck & Co., Inc. say that autistic conditions can result from encephalopathy following vaccination (Child Health Safety, 2010).

It would be very beneficial if tests of the safety of vaccines were conducted on the following:

Increasing the age at which the vaccines are given

(Many vaccines are given at 2 months of age, which is the most vulnerable age. At that age, the immune protection given by the mother is on the wane and the infant’s immune system is not yet competent.)

The effects of injecting more than one vaccine at the same time, with perhaps toxic levels of the metals in adjuvants

Preparation of a thimerosal-free influenza vaccine

Cessation of the practice of giving vaccines to children who are ill or are immunologically incompetent

Design of safer vaccines (without preservatives and without human DNA)

Conduction of safety tests on animal models prior to clinical safety tests

Dr. Ratajczak, your six recommendations listed above to increase vaccine safety represent state-of-the art medical, vaccine, and pharmacological science to my way of thinking. If you, an immunology and toxicology research scientist, understand the need and recommend them, I have to wonder why those who are the driving force behind vaccines in the U.S. and elsewhere have not implemented such basic safeguards to human health, particularly for infants and toddlers—the future of humankind.

As a result of our interaction during this interview, I’ve concluded that your new post-retirement career focus on Autism certainly will contribute much to unraveling the cause of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, we already know the effects.
Thank you for what you do to bring responsible research into the often-hyped world of vaccines and vaccinations.

References:

Please click here for Catherine J. Frompovich's references, posted on her original article at Vaccine Truth.

Interview About Vaccines with Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD Part 2

2011-09-01T23:32:00.000-04:00

This is part 2 of Catherine J. Frompovich's interview with Dr. Ratajczak, originally posted at Vaccine Truth.

During her career, Dr. Ratajczak developed an ELISA assay for Rat Alpha-2-Macroglobulin, the most sensitive acute phase reactant protein for the rat, and also quantitated acute phase reactant proteins in the dog and monkey. She also conducted acute toxicology studies and both in vivo and in vitro immune assays, and has studied the immunotoxicologic properties of many compounds, including immunosuppressive and immunostimulatory drugs, in several animal species including mice, rats, nonhuman primates, and humans.

We continue on with my interview.

Q. 10. Will you please contrast a single dose vaccine versus multiple dose vaccines.

In the past, many vaccines were packaged in large vials so that multiple doses could be given from the same vial. These vials typically contained thimerosal to inhibit the growth of bacteria that might be introduced as a result of entering the vial multiple times. In contrast, a single dose vaccine is one that is packaged in a vial containing only one dose. Thus the vial is only entered a single time, and typically does not contain any anti-bacterial agents.

Q. 11. Can you talk about ‘hidden’ vaccine adjuvants that do not appear on package inserts, e.g., peanut oil in particular, and any impact that it may have had on so many children having peanut allergies now.

In the 1968 Hong Kong influenza pandemic, a new vaccine preparation was tested. In a publication in 1969, it is stated an influenza vaccine in adjuvant 65 (made with peanut oil) increased the antibody response to influenza virus even when the antigen was reduced 4-fold or more. In addition, the use of the adjuvant gives a considerable broadening of antibody response against diverse serotypes. At the time of publication, the authors state the vaccine in adjuvant 65 had been given to more than 16000 persons without untoward effect. In addition, no pyrogenic or other systemic reaction has been noted to follow vaccine in adjuvant 65, in contrast to the reaction which sometimes follows aqueous vaccine (Hilleman, 1969). Other investigators confirm the advantages of the use of adjuvant 65 in the influenza vaccine, with an increase in antibody titer and a broader response to both Influenza A and B antigens.

Subjective reactions each of 5 days following vaccination showed more pain was recor
ded by recipients of the oil adjuvant compared with those given an aqueous preparation, but local redness was more frequent after the aqueous vaccine, and systemic symptoms were recorded a little more often after aqueous than oil adjuvant vaccine (Smith et al., 1975). However, no mention was made of looking for reactions to other components of the vaccine, such as the peanut antigen. When a vaccine is given, an immune response follows. This response can be specific for any of the components of the vaccine, including the source of oil in the adjuvant. In this case, that would be the peanut. Therefore, a vaccine containing peanut oil could cause allergy to the peanut. The “inactive” components of the vaccine need not be listed on the ingredients list (Gregory, 2009). [CJF emphasis]

Q. 12. Please talk about how adjuvants are designed to over-stimulate immune response that, in turn, can attack brain microglia and astrocytes. What happens? Do adjuvants interfere with nerve pathway development? Do they incite glutamate and quinolenic acid? What are the resultant consequences?

The adjuvant and the antigen are two separate components of a vaccine. The antigen is the component that the vaccine is designed to protect against, such as influenza. The adjuvant is the added component that causes an enhancement of the immune response by slowing the release of the antigen into the body. The immune system responds to the presence of antigen and terminates the response once the antigen is eliminated. When the antigen is mixed with an insoluble adjuvant, a focus is formed, and the antigen within the focus slowly leaks into the body, giving a prolonged antigenic stimulus. (Tizard, 1988).

In the case of the immune system’s attack on brain microglia and astrocytes, there is a cross reaction of the antibody against the antigen and the brain cells. (The configuration of the brain cells or parts of them is similar to the antigen.) Therefore, the immune system attacks the brain cells. [Refer to HVR’s answer to question 1 in Part 1.]

The adjuvant, as stated above, causes the antigen to be released to the body very slowly, thus augmenting the immune response. Indirectly, the adjuvant could be responsible for the interference with the development of nerve pathways, but the direct reason is the cross-reaction of specificity of the immune system.

Besides eliciting an immune response that is specifically against the antigen, the vaccine elicits a number of cytokines or factors, which enhance or regulate the immune response. The cytokines caused by the vaccine cause the secretion of harmful chemicals including two excitotoxins, glutamate and quinolenic acid (Blaylock, 2008). These chemicals elicit an excitatory reaction in the neurons, and create cellular toxicity and inflammation if too much accumulates (Jepson, 2007; Reynolds, 2007).

Q. 13. Please talk about aluminum adjuvants, which come in four formulations. Is any one more harmful than the others? Aluminum hydroxide, aluminum hydroxyphosphate sulfate, aluminum phosphate, aluminum potassium sulfate.

The aluminum adjuvants are effective in increasing the immunogenicity of vaccines. The four adjuvants listed are currently used in childhood vaccines such as DTaP, Hep A, Hep B, HiB, human papillomavirus (HPV), DTaP, DTAP-HepB-IPV, Pneumococcal DT, Td, etc. These four adjuvants have different isoelectric points and properties, and they are not interchangeable. The efficacy of each salt as an adjuvant depends also on the characteristics of the antigens in the vaccine. Adverse reactions include sterile abscesses, erythema, subcutaneous nodules, granulomatous inflammation and contact hypersensitivity (Eickoff and Myers, 2002.) I have not found data on the relative toxicity of these four aluminum adjuvants. However, in the workshop summary on aluminum in vaccines, Eickhoff and Myers report that Aventis Pasteur, France has planned studies and is already working on examination of the evolution of aluminum adjuvant-associated histology. In addition, in vitro studies of human macrophages exposed to various aluminum salts are planned.

Aluminum-containing vaccines have more than a 75-year record of safety around the world, with serious adverse effects being rare. (National Network for Immunization Information, 2008). Despite this, many manifestations of the toxicity of aluminum are documented.
Aluminum is established as a neurotoxin, although the basis for its toxicity is unknown. Aluminum alters the function of the blood-brain barrier, which regulates exchanges between the central nervous system and peripheral circulation. Aluminum increases the rate of transmembrane diffusion and selectively changes saturable transport systems without disrupting the integrity of the membranes or altering central nervous system hemodynamics. Such alterations in the access to the brain of nutrients, hormones, toxins, and drugs could be the basis of central nervous system dysfunction. (See Banks and Kastin, 1989).

Aluminum in vaccines has a potential to induce serious immunological disorders in humans, particularly autoimmunity, long-term brain inflammation and associated neurological complications. (See Tomljenovic and Shaw, 2011).

Macrophagic myofascitis is a term used to describe microscopic findings in some muscle biopsies. The lesions are thought to be caused by tissue changes resulting from the normal immune response to the aluminum-absorbed vaccine (Verdier, 2005). In France, biopsy findings are described in adult patients who had muscle and joint aches and pains and fatigue. The physician who first described the biopsy findings proposed that aluminum-containing vaccines caused the symptoms (Gherardi, 1998).

In another report, aluminum hydroxide injections are tied to motor deficits and motor neuron degeneration (Shaw and Petrick, 2009).

Q. 14. Can you please discuss the interaction of mercury as found in Thimerosal (49.6% Hg) and aluminum together in a vaccine.

The addition of Thimerosal to a vaccine in an adjuvant containing aluminum can result in a synergistic toxicity. (See Haley, 2005). Haley reports that aluminum hydroxide alone showed no significant death of neuron cells in culture at six hours, and only slight toxicity over 24 hours. Similarly, Thimerosal caused only a slight increase in neuron death at 6 hours. When Thimerosal and aluminum hydroxide were added together, neuronal death increased to 60%. This is an example of a synergistic effect of two toxicants. [CJF emphasis]

Continued in Part 3

References listed at the end of Part 3.

Interview About Vaccines with Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD Part 1

2011-09-01T14:41:00.003-04:00

Catherine J. Frompovich, of Vaccine Truth, interviews the Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD, regarding vaccine safety.

Part 1 of 3: An Interview About Vaccines with Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD

By Catherine J. Frompovich | June 6th, 2011 | Category: Catherine Frompovich, Interviews, Top Stories

“The only safe vaccine is one that is never used.”

Dr. James R. Shannon, former Director, National Institute of Health [1955-68]

In today’s environment of mandatory vaccines with no safety studies performed on them by the U.S.FDA—at least according to Congressional Hearings on vaccines and autism held 1999-2004—since they would cost too much per FDA, health consumers are left in the dark as to why their children experience horrible health problems post-vaccination. That is not a rash statement. All one has to do is check out the thousands of vaccine adverse reaction reports filed with the CDC’s VAERS reporting system. See http://vaers.hhs.gov/index. Until September 2, 2010, almost $2Billion in claims was paid for vaccine-related damages. Here’s where to file a vaccine adverse reaction http://vaers.hhs.gov/resources/vaers_form.pdf.

Wanting to know more from a scientist’s point of view—especially one who worked in the field of immunology and toxicology, I thought that an interview with Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD, could shed some light on a few questions that I had. Dr. R was extremely gracious about the interview. She answered every question I put to her along with providing citations and documentation. She has more than 100 publications and presentations to her credit.

Since retirement, Helen V. Ratajczak, PhD, is focusing on research on Autism. Her most recent pre-retirement position was that of senior scientist at Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., where she performed safety testing on components of medicines. In addition, Dr. R measured biomarkers and other substances in the peripheral blood of different species of animals and conducted hypersensitivity tests.

Prior to that position, she worked at IIT Research Institute, and was the leader of the Immunology Group. Research there included designing and performing hypersensitivity testing, studying the chronobiology of immunologic endpoints in the mouse and directing the research of graduate students. Ratajczak also taught applied immunology to graduate students at IIT.
Former positions that Ratajczak occupied in her long career included working at medical schools where she studied a mouse model of breast cancer, immunology of the eye, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis in the rabbit model of farmers’ lung disease. Her PhD research was on respiratory syncytial virus in a golden Syrian hamster model. The research for her MS degree was on rheumatoid arthritis in the human. Her BS degree was in chemistry with a mathematics and physics minor.

Throughout Ratajczak’s illustrious career she focused on immunology and toxicology with an emphasis on hypersensitivity.

With such impeccable credentials, Dr. Ratajczak is more than qualified to discuss immunological and hypersensitivity issues currently surrounding mandatory vaccinations for infants, toddlers, and teens in the United States.

During our interview I asked questions pointed at specifics that seem to have become “untouchables” for the media—especially investigative journalists—that provide the foundation of Big Pharma’s vaccine ideology.

Globally, parents are prosecuted at law for harming their children when, in reality more often than realized, the damage to children is vaccine-related brain encephalopathy that medical personnel are quick to label as Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).

Q. 1. Shaken Baby Syndrome is now suspected as a vaccine adverse reaction when no real trauma is present on the body and/or head. How do vaccines cause intracranial swelling and /or bleeding?

Vaccines cause intracranial swelling and/or bleeding by their action as vaccines. In other words, a vaccine causes an immune response, which involves production of antibodies and sensitization of thymic-dependent lymphocytes that are specific for the antigen (bacterium or virus in the vaccine). In some cases there are cross-reactions of the antibodies specific for the vaccine antigen(s) with brain antigens. For example, measles IgG positive autistic sera were also positive for brain antigens: 90% were positive for anti-myelin basic protein and 73% for anti-neuron-axon filament protein. A cross-reaction was also present for human herpesvirus-6 antibody in autistic sera that was similarly positive for brain antigens. Eighty-four (84) % were positive for anti-myelin basic protein and 72% for anti-neuron-axon filament protein. (See Ratajczak, 2011; Singh et al., 1993, 1998, 2002.) In addition, in children with autism, neuron-specific antigens may cross-react with encephalitogenic proteins from milk, Chlamydia pneumoniae and Streptococcus group A. The antibodies may have been synthesized as a result of an alteration in the blood-brain barrier, allowing preexisting T-lymphocytes and central nervous system antigens access to immunocompetent cells, which may start a vicious cycle (Vojdani et al., 2002). The immune system would react against those targets for which specific reactions (antibody and cell-mediated immunity) were made, killing them.

When cells of the immune system are sensitized, the cells divide. Therefore, there is more cellular mass in the lymph nodes that drain the antigen presentation site. In addition, the cells make cytokines, which cause other cells to come into the area. Inflammation is a protective and restorative reaction of the body. However, when it is not controlled, and becomes chronic, there is continued presence of lymphocytes, polymorphonuclear leukocytes, monocytes, and plasma cells, antibodies and cytokines. Chronic inflammation may be caused by persistence of foreign material, such as a vaccine. The adjuvant in the vaccine causes its absorption by the body to be very long in duration so that adequate sensitization is achieved to provide protection against the antigen in the vaccine.

Q. 2. From 32 to 52 weeks of an infant’s life, there is accelerated brain growth with limited myelin protection. However, during that time infants receive about 21 vaccines. What impact is there upon infants’ CNS, physical brain, and immune system?

In the USA, in 2010, 50 doses of 14 vaccines are given by the age of six years with Hip B given at birth, and again at 2 months along with Rotavirus, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Pertussis (three vaccines in one injection), Homophiles influenza type b, pneumococcal, and inactivated poliovirus (CDC, 2010). Two months is the most vulnerable age immunologically. Most infant mortality occurs at 2 months because the protection from the mother’s immunity is waning, and the child’s immunity is still immature. At two months, the polymorphonuclear cells are less in number than the lymphocytes in the peripheral blood, opposite the normal situation with the polymorphonuclear cells being about twice the number of lymphocytes (Diem, 1962). In addition, the phagocytic cells and complement system of a newborn are decreased in function (Xanthou et al., 1975; Madden et al, 1989). Thus, the immune system is compromised at two months. A challenge by so many vaccines while the immune system is compromised might contribute to an onset of autism (Ratajczak, 2011). The inflammation caused by the vaccines would damage the central nervous system and brain.

The inflammation persists, resulting in increased head circumference, noted at one month of life and peaking at 6 months with a smaller difference at 12 months, compared to neurotypical controls (Fukumoto, 2008). When the brain is growing so rapidly (between 32 and 52 weeks of age), the infants receive over 21 vaccines (Buttram, 2008).

Q. 3. What can happen if an infant suffered an earlier brain hemorrhage (possibly undetected during birth, i.e., during vacuum extraction or from forceps) and then receives vaccines, e.g., Hep B at birth, then at 2, 4, 6 month schedules. Is there any probability of vaccine-induced lipid peroxidation? If yes, what happens to an infant’s brain?

The hemorrhage would deplete the body of blood cells, and the regeneration of those cells would take more time than in an older host. The infant would be even more vulnerable after a hemorrhage, and the insult of vaccines at birth and at 2, 4, and 6 months could cause death. It is best not to give vaccines to an immune-compromised individual. Vaccines do cause lipid peroxidation, which, along with antibody specific for the antigens in the vaccines cross-reacting with elements of the brain, cause cell death.

Q. 4. What role, if any, do vaccines play in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

Epidemiology links vaccines with the Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Cherry et al. (1988) suggested a link between the Japanese vaccination schedule and SIDS because after infant deaths occurred directly after vaccination between 1970 and 1974 in Japan, some doctors gave no vaccines to infants for two months, and then began vaccinations only to children 2 years old or older. Japan jumped from 17^th place in child mortality to the lowest child mortality in the world (Vaccine Awareness Network, 05 May, 2011). Similar results happened in other countries, such as the United Kingdom. The postneonatal mortality dropped in 1976 when there was publicity about the whooping cough vaccine causing brain damage, and the vaccination rate fell to only 10 – 30%, with a concomitant fall in infant mortality rate. Similar results were achieved in India.

Q. 5. Are you familiar with the Pourcyrous brain inflammation studies reported in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2007? If yes, any comments, please.

The Pourcyrous study (2007) was conducted to determine the incidence of cardiorespiratory events and abnormal C-reactive protein level associated with administration of a single vaccine or multiple separate vaccines simultaneously. The subjects were 239 preterm infants at >2 months of age in the neonatal intensive care unit. Each infant received either a single vaccine or multiple vaccines on one day. CRP levels and cardiorespiratory manifestations were monitored for 3 days following immunization. CRP levels were elevated in 85% of those given multiple vaccines and up to 70% of those given a single vaccine. Sixteen (16) percent had vaccine-associated cardiorespiratory events within 48 hours. Abnormal CRP values were associated with multiple vaccines and severe intraventricular hemorrhage. Cardiorespiratory events were associated marginally with receipt of multiple injections and significantly with gastroesophageal reflux. The study was the first of its kind, and presents a unified theory of adverse vaccine reactions (Buttram, 2010). The data provide evidence for a unified theory of adverse vaccine reactions: Brain inflammation, as indicated by elevations of CRP; brain swelling (edema), as one of the cardinal manifestations of inflammation; potentially lethal cardio-respiratory events (bradycardia and apnea); and intraventricular brain hemorrhages.

The brain hemorrhages in the study were intraventricular rather than subdural because the subjects were preterm infants, in whom intraventricular hemorrhages are characteristic. In preterm infants the skull is highly flaccid, providing little if any resistance to a swollen (edematous) brain. In contrast, in term infants, the inner surface of the skull is a relatively firm surface, and when brain inflammation and edema take place from vaccines, it requires very little brain swelling for the outer surface of the brain to impact against the inner surface of the skull, cutting off the passive outflow of blood in the subdural venous network. With cranial arterial blood coming in at much higher pressures, this would bring a precipitous rise in intracranial venous pressure, causing an extrusion of blood into the subdural spaces.

At this point I’d like to interject that Harold E. Buttram, MD, and I co-authored a comprehensive paper on brain encephalopathy using the Pourcyrous study as our “jumping off point” for what we call, “Vaccines and Brain Inflammation.” Our paper is being published in an online vaccine medical journal. I’d be interested in hearing your comments about it. To which Dr. Ratajczak replied, I am looking forward to reading it. Please give me a copy when it is available.

Q. 6. Formaldehyde is an EPA-declared carcinogen that is in many vaccines. Can you please talk about it and how it reacts in the body?

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2010) has addressed the issue of formaldehyde and concerns for safety. In cells grown in the laboratory, high concentrations of formaldehyde can damage DNA and cause cancerous changes. They state that formaldehyde does not appear to be a cause of cancer in man or in animals. Formaldehyde is essential in human metabolism and is required for the synthesis of DNA and amino acids. In all humans there are detectable quantities of natural formaldehyde. For a 2-month-old child, the total quantity of formaldehyde would be about 1.1 mg, at least five-fold greater than that to which an infant would be exposed by vaccines.

Q. 7. Polysorbate 80 causes infertility in lab rat studies, and it’s an ingredient in vaccines. What can you say about it?

Polysorbate 80 (also known as Alkest TW80, Tween 80, Polyoxyethylene (80) sorbitan monooleate, (x)-sorbitan mono-9-octadecenoate poly(oxy-1,2-ethanediyl), POE (80) sorbitan monooleate, and E433) is a nonionic surfactant and emulsifier derived from polyethoxylated sorbitan and oleic acid, and is often used in foods. Polysorbate 80 is an excipient used to stabilize aqueous formulations of medications for parenteral administration and in some influenza vaccines, and the culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. (See Wikipedia, 2011a.)
It is important to remember what Paracelsus said centuries ago: “What is there that is not poison? All things are poison and nothing [is] without poison. Solely the dose determines that a thing is not a poison.” (Eaton and Klassen, 1996.) With this is mind, the amount of any ingredient might be safe in a particular vaccine. However, when combined with other vaccines or when given repeatedly, other mechanisms can be brought into play. For example, vaccines typically contain adjuvants. Several vaccines containing adjuvants, either the same adjuvant or ones of different compositions, can add up to a toxic situation, either additively, or, worse, synergistically. [CJF emphasis added] In addition, the components of the adjuvants can themselves be antigenic, causing immune responses specific for their constituents.

Some toxic aspects of Polysorbate 80 follow: Polysorbate 80 has been identified as the causative agent for the anaphylactoid reaction of nonimmunologic origin in the human. Polysorbate specific IgE antibodies were not identified, confirming the nonimmunologic nature of the anaphylactoid reaction (Coors et al.,, 2005). In addition, delayed effects of neonatal exposure to Tween 80 on female reproductive organs in rats have been documented (Gajdova et al., 1993). Also in rats, a study in 1956 saw no effect of Polysorbate 80 on reproduction at up to 5% of their diet. But reproduction decreased at 20% of the diet. This study was performed when the rats were sexually mature (110 days old). (See Oser and Oser, 1956.) In contrast, a study on neonatal female rats injected with Polysorbate 80 on days 4-7 after birth showed that the Polysorbate 80 prolonged the estrus cycle, and induced persistent vaginal estrus. The relative weight of the uterus and ovaries was decreased relative to untreated controls. These two studies exemplify the critical windows of time during which individuals are more vulnerable (Dietert and Dietert, 2008; Ratajczak, 2011).

The data suggest Polysorbate 80 could cause reproductive problems in vaccine recipients. Therefore more safety tests are needed prior to use of products containing this product. [CJF emphasis added]

Q. 8. Many folks are turned off of vaccines because of aborted fetal cell mediums they are grown on. There’s speculation that diploid cells, as they are referred to, interact adversely within an infant’s brain, almost like turning against brain cells? What can you say about the diploid cell connection to Autism?

The theory about the harm caused by growth in human tissue of viruses to be used in vaccines is that human DNA will be in the resultant viruses. (When a virus grows, it must be inside a cell, and as the virus matures, it takes part of the cell – in this case, DNA – with it.) And that human DNA will be from a different individual that the recipient of the vaccine. When DNA from one human is introduced into another human, there is the possibility of homologous recombination (Wikipedia, 2011b), with the new DNA being incorporated into the recipient’s DNA. Now the recipient of the vaccine would have altered DNA (altered self) in his body. The immune system kills altered self or this altered DNA. This constitutes an autoimmune situation, which is ongoing throughout life. It is known that there are autoimmune components to autism. In recipients of vaccines containing human DNA, the autoimmunity could be caused by the DNA from the human tissue in which the virus was grown. Homologous recombination only occurs if the DNA is from the same species. So the use of viruses grown in tissue from other animals would not result in homologous recombination.

Q. 9. What do you have to say about foreign DNA from insects, monkeys, chicks, pigs, bovine calf, etc. in vaccines?

Foreign DNA from insects, chickens, or mammals other than humans would not be incorporated into the DNA of the recipient of the vaccine. However, there are sometimes other concerns about the use of these sources in which to grow the vaccine components.

Dr. Ratajczak, what are some of those other concerns? Can you please clue us in on that?

For example, viruses likely to be encountered in vaccine production using monkey kidney cells include B virus, miscellaneous simian viruses, “foamy agent”, “measles”-like agent, haemadsorption viruses, lymphocytic chorio-meningitis (LCM) virus and arbor viruses. The B virus, LCM, measles and the arbor viruses are definite human pathogens. (See Tobin, 1960).
There is a possibility that allergies to the tissue in which the vaccine components are grown will develop in recipients of the vaccines.

Continued in Part 2

References listed at the end of Part 3.

Link to original article here.

Vaccine-Autism Link Gets New Consideration

2011-07-21T08:47:00.002-04:00

You can't argue belief or disbelief in a connection between vaccines and autism on just one thing alone, such as thimerasol or the MMR vaccine. You have to look at the whole picture. Doing this would start with considering the sheer number of vaccines given to a child within the first months and years of it's life. During the time where the child's immune system and neurologic development are their most immature, they are recommended by the pharmaceutical industry to be injected with at least 30 vaccines (before age 5). After taking the number of vaccines into consideration, take a look at the ingredients. Excipients are included in the vaccine, or the preparation of the vaccine. Some examples of excipients include, aluminum, thimerasol, antibiotics, formaldehyde, egg protein, Monosodium glutamate (MSG) and 2-phenoxyethanol. Then consider this...there is human DNA (human tissue) contained in 23 of the childhood vaccines (see comments below from Helen Ratajczak, a scientist who formerly worked in the pharmaceutical industry).

While some of these ingredients may sound harmless, or be explained to you as having a good reason for being in the vaccine (such as preventing the growth of harmful bacteria), you have to ask yourself this question: What happens when these seemingly harmless ingredients are injected simultaneously with each other (and diseases) into a human baby with underdeveloped neurologic and immune systems? Then ask yourself this question: What if the risks of the vaccine are understated on the insert? Maybe adverse reactions are occuring in the baby's brain but won't be evident immediately.

Below is an excellent article by CBS's Sheryl Atkisson. If you haven't already read it, please do. Bold emphasis and questions in bold italics are mine.

Vaccines and autism: a new scientific review

For all those who've declared the autism-vaccine debate over - a new scientific review begs to differ. It considers a host of peer-reviewed, published theories that show possible connections between vaccines and autism.

The article in the Journal of Immunotoxicology is entitled "Theoretical aspects of autism: Causes--A review." The author is Helen Ratajczak, surprisingly herself a former senior scientist at a pharmaceutical firm. Ratajczak did what nobody else apparently has bothered to do: she reviewed the body of published science since autism was first described in 1943. Not just one theory suggested by research such as the role of MMR shots, or the mercury preservative thimerosal; but all of them.

Ratajczak's article states, in part, that "Documented causes of autism include genetic mutations and/or deletions, viral infections, and encephalitis [brain damage] following vaccination [emphasis added]. Therefore, autism is the result of genetic defects and/or inflammation of the brain."

The article goes on to discuss many potential vaccine-related culprits, including the increasing number of vaccines given in a short period of time. "What I have published is highly concentrated on hypersensitivity, Ratajczak told us in an interview, "the body's immune system being thrown out of balance."

University of Pennsylvania's Dr. Brian Strom, who has served on Institute of Medicine panels advising the government on vaccine safety says the prevailing medical opinion is that vaccines are scientifically linked to encephalopathy (brain damage), but not scientifically linked to autism. As for Ratajczak's review, he told us he doesn't find it remarkable. "This is a review of theories. Science is based on facts. To draw conclusions on effects of an exposure on people, you need data on people. The data on people do not support that there is a relationship. As such, any speculation about an explanation for a (non-existing) relationship is irrelevant."

What are the symptoms of encephalopathy (brain damage)? Could they be the same as the symptoms of autism? With regard to "regressive autism", where autistic symptoms weren't present in the child prior to vaccine(s), wouldn't this be classified as "brain damage?" The pharmaceutical industry uses the word "autism" against those concerned about vaccine safety. "Vaccines don't cause autism, just brain damage." Really? What's the difference? Why don't we drop the word "autism" and just start talking about vaccines and brain damage. Maybe then, and only then, will the denial stop.

Ratajczak also looks at a factor that hasn't been widely discussed: human DNA contained in vaccines. That's right, human DNA. Ratajczak reports that about the same time vaccine makers took most thimerosal out of most vaccines (with the exception of flu shots which still widely contain thimerosal), they began making some vaccines using human tissue. Ratajczak says human tissue is currently used in 23 vaccines. She discusses the increase in autism incidences corresponding with the introduction of human DNA to MMR vaccine, and suggests the two could be linked. Ratajczak also says an additional increased spike in autism occurred in 1995 when chicken pox vaccine was grown in human fetal tissue.

Why could human DNA potentially cause brain damage? The way Ratajczak explained it to me: "Because it's human DNA and recipients are humans, there's homologous recombinaltion tiniker. That DNA is incorporated into the host DNA. Now it's changed, altered self and body kills it. Where is this most expressed? The neurons of the brain. Now you have body killing the brain cells and it's an ongoing inflammation. It doesn't stop, it continues through the life of that individual."

Dr. Strom said he was unaware that human DNA was contained in vaccines but told us, "It does not matter...Even if human DNA were then found in vaccines, it does not mean that they cause autism." Ratajczak agrees that nobody has proven DNA causes autism; but argues nobody has shown the opposite, and scientifically, the case is still open.

He sits on the board of the IOM and advises the government on vaccine safety, but he doesn't even know what's in the vaccine(s)?

It doesn't matter? Really? If there is a possibility that something could be a cause of autism (or brain damage), doesn't it matter? I think it does.

A number of independent scientists have said they've been subjected to orchestrated campaigns to discredit them when their research exposed vaccine safety issues, especially if it veered into the topic of autism. We asked Ratajczak how she came to research the controversial topic. She told us that for years while working in the pharmaceutical industry, she was restricted as to what she was allowed to publish. "I'm retired now," she told CBS News. "I can write what I want."

We wanted to see if the CDC wished to challenge Ratajczak's review, since many government officials and scientists have implied that theories linking vaccines to autism have been disproven, and Ratajczak states that research shows otherwise. CDC officials told us that "comprehensive review by CDC...would take quite a bit of time."

In the meantime, CDC provided these links:

Interagency Autism Coordination Committee: http://iacc.hhs.gov

Overview of all CDC surveillance and epi work: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/research.html

CDC study on risk factors and causes: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/seed.html

Study Reveals 83 Individuals with Autism Quietly Compensated by Federal Vaccine Injury Court

2011-05-11T08:32:00.000-04:00

It appears that if your child receives a vaccine which causes brain damage, and this brain damage causes autistic symptoms and characteristics, the United States government will compensate you...as long as you don't call it "autism."

Article from Reuters...

NIXA, Mo., May 10, 2011

National Autism Association Calls for Immediate Congressional and Scientific Investigation Into Autism-Vaccine Link

NIXA, Mo., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Despite numerous studies cited repeatedly by federal officials as proof that vaccines do not cause autism, a new study released today in the Pace Environmental Law Review revealed that over the last two decades, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) has been quietly compensating dozens of vaccine injury cases involving a child with autism. The preliminary findings showed approximately 1300 cases of vaccine injury resulted in childhood brain injury, 83 of which had autism. The National Autism Association (NAA) says the study further underscores the need for Congressional hearings and independent scientific research into the autism-vaccine connection.

The only product liability-protection program of its kind, NVICP was established in the late 80s to act as a taxpayer-funded "no-fault" alternative in seeking medical care compensation for those with proven vaccine injuries. Since that time, the government has only publicly conceded to one vaccine-induced autism case involving nine-year-old Hannah Poling, but maintained Poling's case was "rare" and did not result in autism, but "autism-like symptoms." Based on the new report, however, the program has compensated far more cases involving a diagnosis of autism. "They've essentially taken the wordplay approach," states NAA President Wendy Fournier. "For an unavoidable vaccine-autism case like Hannah Poling's, the government chose to downplay the connection using semantics. In the 83 cases found in this investigation, the government maintains that vaccines caused 'encephalopathy' (brain damage) and/or 'residual seizure disorder' in these children with autism, but not the autism."

During a press conference held in Washington today, authors of the study called these preliminary findings "the tip of the iceberg." They feel hundreds of autism cases have been settled quietly by the government. Thousands more were never filed. There are currently over 5,000 vaccine court cases pending that claim autism as a result of vaccine injury. To date, with the exception of the concession of Hannah Poling's case, none of these claims have been successful. "The NVICP appears to favor cases without any reference to autism," Fournier added. "The message is clear, if you want to receive financial support for the long-term medical care of your loved one injured by vaccines, submit a claim for brain damage, or residual seizure disorder – but leave autism out of it."

NAA believes these findings call into serious question the continued assertion from federal health agencies that vaccines do not cause autism. "As this study shows, vaccines can and do cause brain damage and subsequent autism in certain children," said Fournier. "The government has been settling these cases for over twenty years, yet has failed to conduct research into why these children were susceptible to vaccine injury. This neglect will continue to needlessly and senselessly result in adverse reactions and autism in other children."

Recently, the federal government called autism—now affecting an estimated one in 110 individuals—a "national health emergency."

To learn more about autism, visit nationalautism.org.

Wendy Fournier (Portsmouth, RI) 401-835-5828
Lori McIlwain (Cary, NC) 919-741-1646
SOURCE National Autism Association

For original article click here.

Where is all that Fukushima radiation going, and why does it matter?

2011-05-03T08:34:00.000-04:00

Please watch this video from Fairewinds Associates...

Where is all that Fukushima radiation going, and why does it matter? from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo.

Obama long form birth certificate is a FRAUD

2011-04-29T23:06:00.001-04:00

When Obama's birth certificate document is opened up in Photoshop, the layers which are present show how this certificate is a forgery. No one knows why, but it is clearly a fake.

Feel free to leave comments on what YOU think...

Do you know where your milk comes from?

2011-04-27T08:57:00.000-04:00

There has been a lot of talk regarding radiation which could be making its way to the U.S. from the Japan nuclear catastrophe. Some people have suggested to stop drinking milk. With this in mind, I thought it would be helpful for us to be able to find out where our dairy products are coming from. Here is a handy tool which can do just that. All you have to do is locate the code printed on your milk, butter, yogurt, etc., punch it in, and you'll see the location from which it originated.

Below are two links. The first is to find the location for your dairy products. The second is for the radiation network site, so that you can see the radiation levels which have been recorded closest to the origins of your dairy products.

Where is my milk from?

Radiation Network

FDA System Approves Nonexistent Product from Nonexistent Company for Human Testing

2011-04-26T12:06:00.002-04:00

by Heidi Stevenson 10 January 2011 gaia-health

A sting nailed a company the HHS authorized to oversee human drug trials. The absurdities in the application are belly laugh funny, but in their rush to keep the money coming, they approved it.

The FDA farms out drug and medical device testing. It’s in the hands of the companies hoping to gain approval for their products, but they must first get approval before doing tests on humans. Even here, though, there’s a catch. The FDA doesn’t review the testing plans. That’s done by more for-profit companies, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). But it gets worse. The IRBs are paid by the companies hoping to gain FDA approval for their products. So, it’s a conflict of interest on top of a conflict of interest.

The First Sting

Congress became suspicious, so they got together with the General Accountability Office (GAO) to set up a sting. They sent out an application for testing of a nonexistent product, Adhesiabloc, by a nonexistent company, Device Med-Systems.

Subtlety is apparently not one of the GAO’s strong suits. Adhesiabloc was described as a gel that would be poured into a patient’s stomach after surgery to collect the bits and pieces left over from the operation. The instructions were to pour more than a liter into the wound.

Not one of the IRBs bothered to check the credentials of Device Med-Systems. Not one noted that the company’s headquarters was listed as a post office box in a shopping mall. The doctor who was supposed to have been leading development, Jonathan Q. Kruger, didn’t exist either. Not one checked to see if the product had ever been registered in development. Even so, two of the IRBs turned them down. Apparently, they actually read the testing protocol. The board member of one stated that it was the “riskiest thing I’ve ever seen on this board,” and an employee of the other simply called it “junk”.

Coast IRB LLC of Colorado Springs apparently didn’t see any value in reading the documentation. Their board members, several of whom were MDs, approved it unanimously, describing it as “probably very safe”.

The Second Sting

If that isn’t bad enough, the GAO did a second sting—and this one was on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the parent of the FDA.

You have to wonder how an IRB as sloppy as Coast was licensed in the first place. This sting shows us. They put together an application to set up an IRB and sent it to HHS. They named their sting Trooper, after a three-legged dog of a congressional staffer. (Some reports state that the company name or the CEO was Trooper, but that doesn’t fit the scheme, as you’ll see.)
The name of the fake company was Phake Medical Devices. The names of the principals were April Phuls,Timothy Witless, and Alan Ruse. The company’s location was listed as Chetesville, Arizona.

The application sailed through.

The Response

Daniel Dueber, Coast IRB’s CEO, was subpoenaed to testify to congress. That must have clued him in that something might be wrong. Apparently, he or someone else in his company went through their files to search for irregularities. Adhesiabloc popped out. Oops! This was five months after the approval. They went into action. They reported the fraud. They ordered the immediate termination of the nonexistent trial. And Dueber testified:

We are doing our level best to ensure protection for subjects of clinical trials under our review, an objective we share with the Food and Drug Administration. We are legally and morally obliged to report any unlawful conduct we find occurring in a clinical trial and, so, fulfilled that responsibility in this case.

Right.

Dueber went on the aggressive, saying that sting operations are illegal unless they’re approved by the courts. He went into high dudgeon, playing the poor innocent. He claimed that congressional investigators had “perpetrated an extensive fraud against my company.” Coast IRB further stated that they were “violating wire fraud, mail fraud, and state laws against fraud and false credentialling”.

Ummm…Exactly what was Coast doing? Wasn’t that fraud? And on a much grander scale—one that can result in the deaths of huge numbers, like Vioxx, and Avastin, and Hormone Replacement Therapy, and so many others.

Finally, he told the congressional committee, “We got hoodwinked.” Representative Bart Stupak of Michigan responded, “You didn’t get hoodwinked. You took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.”

The FDA never moved against Coast. However, the good news is that the company didn’t survive. Their business dried up.

Regarding the sting again HHS, Congressman Greg Walden of Oregon was displeased, and on the day of the inquiry, stated, “Nobody picked up on names like Phake Medical Devices, April Phuls, Timothy Witless and Alan Ruse—in the town of Chetesville, Arizona?” Representative Joe Barton of Texas exclaimed to an HHS official, “Do you have any sense of outrage?”

The saddest part of this tale is that none of this is news. This happened nearly two years ago. Nothing has been done to resolve an obviously corrupt system. The stings revealed an obvious and utter lack of concern for the quality, safety, and efficacy of drugs and medical products by the agencies tasked with overseeing them.

Not a single step has been taken to safeguard the public. Not even lip service has been paid.
In fact, the opposite has happened. Instead of pulling power away from HHS, the FDA, and companies they’ve authorized, they’ve been given even more power. And they’ve used that power recklessly against innocents and healthy products, such as raw milk producers and their customers, health food products and stores, and other healthy products, like walnuts. They’re doing this while allowing more and more truly dangerous and useless products to continue to be produced and sold by those who hold the real power over them: Big Pharma and Big Medicine.
The FDA supports the profits of Big Pharma and Big Medicine over the rights and health of the people.

HHS supports the profits of Big Pharma and Big Medicine over the rights and health of the people.

Other than a little showboating, Congress supports the profits of Big Pharma and Big Medicine over the rights and health of the people.

Commentary from Health Freedom Alliance:

The FDA describes themselves as being in place to protect the American public. Most people these days know better, especially when reports like the following display to citizens the sort of malicious folly carried out on the daily by the agency. In stings set up by Congress with the General Accountability Office (GAO), the FDA displayed its lack of attention to obvious dangers and fraud by approving medical testing for a ridiculous device and approving a company with laughingly phony names as one of its Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) which are the for-profit companies that really do the testing of products.

The medical device that was approved by one of these established IRBs of the FDA? Adhesiabloc was presented by a nonexistent company, Device Med-Systems, and described as a gel that would be poured into a patient’s stomach after surgery to collect the bits and pieces left over from the operation; the instructions were to pour more than a liter into the wound. Even though there was no record of the company and the doctor who was supposed to be leading development was fake, the item was approved to be tested on humans.

Yikes, and now the FDA is poised to gain more money and power with legislation passed by the current administration. Where is the line drawn when it comes to gross neglect of duties? Why is the administration, instead of going through an intensive review process, allowed even more jurisdiction over the health of the American people when they have already been clearly neglecting their proposed responsibilities?

~Health Freedoms

Original article can be found at Coto Report.

Radiation Expert: "Sr-90 and Uranium and Particulates Will Be Building Up in the USA and Europe ... For Now I Think It Prudent To Stop Drinking Milk"

2011-04-26T08:13:00.001-04:00

Preface: I take very seriously any warning about consuming a product which is important for the local economy. But when a respected radiation expert issues this type of warning, I have to pass it on.

I wrote to radiation expert Dr. Chris Busby to ask him if he thought people living outside of Japan should take any actions to try to reduce their radiation exposure:

Epidemiologist Dr. Wing thinks people outside of Japan shouldn't do anything to attempt to reduce radiation exposure: Leading Epidemiologist: Instead of Trying to Avoid Japanese Radiation, Put Your Energy Into Demanding a Saner Energy Policy

But the French anti-nuclear NGO CRIIAD says that pregnant women and infants should take steps to reduce exposure: French Nuclear Group Warns that Children and Pregnant Mothers Should Protect Themselves from Radiation

I've also researched the scientific literature, and found that antioxidants can help a little: Can Vitamins or Herbs Help Protect Us from Radiation?

What's your advice for people outside of Japan?

Professor Busby replied:

I attach my "don't panic" paper. However, since then I have re-thought this advice as the thing is still fissioning and releasing 10 to the fourteen becquerels a day. This will mean that Sr-90 [strontium 90] and Uranium and particulates will be building up in the USA and Europe. I will assess this later but for now I think it prudent to stop drinking milk. I also attach the particulates note.

Busby - Fukuparticles2
Busby - Dont Panic

Link to original article: Washington's Blog.

Disclaimer: I am not a health professional or radiation expert.

Dept of Justice snared in fraud over Pfizer prosecution: ‘Too big to nail!

2011-04-26T08:07:00.000-04:00

By Rady Ananda

Last September, we reported “Pfizer slapped with $2.3 billion fine for illegally dealing drugs.” No one went to jail and Pfizer paid a tiny portion of its profits from illegally dealing Bextra from 2001 thru 2005. In 2005 alone, Pfizer made $1.7 billion on that drug. Now, CNN has revealed that the Department of Justice allowed Pfizer to set up a dummy corporation to take the rap, so that Pfizer could maintain its Medicare and Medicaid contracts.

On April 2nd, CNN reported, “when it came to prosecuting Pfizer for its fraudulent marketing, the pharmaceutical giant had a trump card: Just as the giant banks on Wall Street were deemed too big to fail, Pfizer was considered too big to nail.

“Why? Because any company convicted of a major health care fraud is automatically excluded from Medicare and Medicaid. Convicting Pfizer on Bextra would prevent the company from billing federal health programs for any of its products. It would be a corporate death sentence.”

Money trumps law, public safety

“Prosecutors said that excluding Pfizer would most likely lead to Pfizer’s collapse, with collateral consequences: disrupting the flow of Pfizer products to Medicare and Medicaid recipients, causing the loss of jobs including those of Pfizer employees who were not involved in the fraud, and causing significant losses for Pfizer shareholders.”

No wonder Shakespeare said, “First, let’s kill all the lawyers.” When did federal prosecutors gain the legal right to take monetary consideration into mind when laws have been broken? ‘Too big to nail’ is as bogus as is ‘too big to fail.’

MORE PFIZER FRAUD REVEALED IN ITS GENETICALLY ENGINEERED AIDS-LIKE VIRUS PROGRAM

In another stunning legal matter, Pfizer recently lost an employment claim when scientists became infected with a genetically-engineered AIDS-like virus, reports Raw Story. Pfizer supervisors threatened to falsify an employee’s reviews if she didn’t keep quiet about safety violations, eventually firing her.

“Becky McClain, [an award-winning] molecular biologist from Deep River, Connecticut, filed a lawsuit against Pfizer in 2007, claiming she had been wrongly terminated for complaining about faulty safety equipment that allowed a ‘dangerous lentivirus’ to infect her and some of her colleagues.”

In one instance, reports Steve Zeltzer, the virus was left “on a counter outside the lab where workers ate and drank.”

“If a worker in a plant as sophisticated as Pfizer is becoming infected with a genetically engineered virus, then I think the potential is everywhere,” said Jeremy Gruber, president of the Council for Responsible Genetics,” reports Hartford Courant.

McClain was awarded a paltry $1.37 million, plus punitive damages yet to be announced.

Honest citizens have to wonder about any corporation with this propensity for fraud being allowed anywhere near our health care system. We have yet another example that the US federal government is run by criminal interests.

Link to original article here.

Allen West: Obama "A Low Level Socialist Agitator"

2011-04-23T17:25:00.002-04:00

Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) states that Obama is a "low level socialist agitator", who has never even "ran a lemonade stand." All I can say is wow. I love this guy. I love people who aren't worried about political correctness and 'popularity'. Speak the truth and say what is in your heart. If someone's feelings get hurt in the process, then tough. Where's my Allen West 2012 t-shirt? I need to find one.

The low down on rotavirus in the United States

2011-04-05T14:50:00.009-04:00

The following article provides some interesting insight into the statistics for the rotavirus illness in children. It also goes into detail about the vaccines which have been developed for this illness. It is a very interesting read, especially if you have children who fall in the age range for the childhood immunization schedule.

Rotavirus: Death by Diarrhea?

February 4, 2008 by generic
Filed under: Vaccine/Disease Analysis

Rotavirus is reported to be the leading cause of diarrhea among children, causing upwards of 55,000 hospitalizations per year in the US. Symptoms consist of vomiting and diarrhea, usually lasting between 3-8 days. Subsequent bouts of rotavirus are usually milder.

When this vaccine made its debute in 1998, I’ll admit to some skepticism. I laughed and said,“Really? Now it’s death by diarrhea!” When the first Rotavirus vaccine (RotaShield) was recalled in 1999, for causing intussusception, I felt justified in my stance. Especially when I found out that intussusception caused by this vaccine is a “compensable injury” and is paid for out of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. (1) (Intussusception is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that occurs when the intestine gets blocked or twisted. One portion of the intestine telescopes into a nearby portion, causing the intestinal obstruction. The most common site is where the small intestine joins the large intestine.)

In 2006, a new rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq) was approved by the FDA. My family doctor and most of those around me were all strongly recommending the new vaccine, so I turned my attention towards some research.

First, the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths. The epidemiology of rotavirus diarrhea in the United States: surveillance and estimates of disease burden (2) was published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in 1996 and the statistics look similar to the CDC’s. 55,000 children per year hospitalized due to Rotavirus. Alas, if you look a little closer you’ll notice some details you might otherwise have missed.

According to said article:

“From 1968 to 1985, diarrhea-related deaths among US children <5 years old declined from 1100 to 300/year. This decline was associated with the disappearance of winter peaks for diarrhea-related deaths previously associated with rotavirus infection among children 4-23 months old. From 1979 to 1992, however, hospitalizations for diarrhea averaged 186,000/year and retained their winter peaks, which have been linked to rotavirus infections. Each year an estimated 54,000-55,000 US children are hospitalized for diarrhea, but <40 die with rotavirus.”

So, deaths went down but hospitalizations went up. Less than 40 deaths a year didn’t seem “vaccine-worthy” either. Strange. Still, this didn’t give me an ACTUAL number for hospitalizations or deaths. There are averages, estimations, and less than. I needed more. There must be more, right? Additionally, what did the numbers look like between 1992-1998 when the first rotavirus vaccine was released?

I couldn’t seem to pin the numbers down!

I found Global Illness and Deaths Caused by Rotavirus Disease in Children (3) on the CDC website, but its description of the method of estimation left me with even more questions. Here’s an excerpt:

“Rotavirus-Associated Deaths

To estimate the total number of child deaths from diarrhea, we plotted (for each country with available data) the fraction of deaths of children <5 years of age attributable to diarrhea against per capita gross national product (GNP). Countries were classified on the basis of GNP per capita into World Bank Income Groups (low[<U.S. $756], low-middle [U.S. $756-$2,295], high-middle [U.S. $2,2996-$9,265], high [>U.S. $9,265]) (9). For each income group, we calculated the median proportion of deaths of children <5 years of age attributable to diarrhea. We then multiplied the median proportion for each income group by the total number of deaths of children <5 years of age for each country in that income group to yield country-specific estimates of the mortality rate from diarrhea. These country-specific estimates were added to calculate the global mortality rate from diarrhea.

To estimate the fraction of diarrhea deaths attributable to rotavirus, we plotted the proportion of rotavirus infection detected in children hospitalized for diarrhea that was, by virtue of the need for hospitalization, presumed to be severe. These figures were again plotted against per capita GNP for each country to yield median rotavirus detection rates for countries in the four World Bank income groups. Previously estimated diarrhea mortality rates for each country in an income group was multiplied by the median rotavirus detection rate for that income group to yield the estimated number of rotavirus deaths by country. These figures were added to yield the number of global deaths from rotavirus diarrhea. For each income strata and overall, the risk of death from rotavirus diarrhea by 5 years of age was calculated by dividing the total number of live births by the total number of deaths from rotavirus.”

Estimations based on presumptions and more estimations. Yet, still no death statistics for the US. Why couldn’t I find any definite answers?

I abandoned my search to pinpoint exact numbers. Instead, I turned my attention to the question: Why create a vaccine for a population in which lightening strikes (<62 per year) are a more likely cause of death than rotavirus (<40 per year)?

The Journal of Pediatrics from February 2004 (Volume 144 Issue 2) article, Safety, efficacy, and immunogenicity of a live, quadrivalent human-bovine reassortant rotavirus vaccine in healthy infants, (4) served up more than I’d expected. Down at the very bottom of the page I found:

Drs H. Fred Clark, David I. Bernstein, Penelope H. Dennehy, Paul Offit, Michael Pichichero, John Treanor, and Richard L. Ward received funding for research or for clinical investigation from Merck & Co, Inc. Drs Clark and Offit are coholders of the patent on the human reassortant rotavirus vaccine. Dr Dennehy also is a member of Merck’s Speakers Bureau. Drs David L. Krah, Alan Shaw, Michael J. Dallas, Karen M. Kaplan, and Penny Heaton are current employees and Drs Joseph J. Eiden and Nathalie Ivanoff are former employees of Merck & Co, Inc.

What’s so important about this name? Dr. Paul Offit was a member of the CDC’s Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices. This means his job was to recommend or reject vaccines for use in the routine immunization program. I understand Dr. Offit stood down from the official vote on this vaccine, however, here we see an example of him holding a patent for RotaTeq, participating in the study (paid for by Merck) demonstrating that RotaTeq is safe and it works AND amazingly it is recommended for use through the CDC. Conflict of interest? Maybe? What other reasons could I find for the rotavirus vaccine’s recommended use?

I found my answer in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Cost-effectiveness Analysis of a Rotavirus Immunization Program for the United States (5) was published in 1998 discussing the merits of implementing the rotavirus vaccine into the current immunization program.

“Context.— Rotavirus is the most common cause of severe diarrhea in children, and a live, oral vaccine may soon be licensed for prevention.

Results.— A routine, universal rotavirus immunization program would prevent 1.08 million cases of diarrhea, avoiding 34000 hospitalizations, 95000 emergency department visits, and 227000 physician visits in the first 5 years of life. At $20 per dose, the program would cost $289 million and realize a net loss of $107 million to the health care system—$103 per case prevented. The program would provide a net savings of $296 million to society. Threshold analysis identified a break-even price per dose of $9 for the health care system and $51 for the societal perspective. Greater disease burden and greater vaccine efficacy and lower vaccine price increased cost-effectiveness.”

This study was written to demonstrate how much money this vaccine will save our economy. Also from this study, I was served up a little nugget of heaven. At last, I’d found a cumulative incidence of deaths due to rotavirus among children.

Finally, about 20 deaths occur each year due to rotavirus diarrhea among children younger than 5 years,1, 6 for a cumulative incidence by age 5 years of 0.000005 (1 in 195000 children).

Armed with the knowledge that only about 20 children die per year due to rotavirus, I was off to investigate the vaccine itself.

What most people don’t know is that the rotavirus vaccine contains live viral cells. These cells can ‘shed’ from the body for days (even weeks) after vaccination, and consequently give people rotavirus disease. Rotavirus in particular is well known for shedding, specifically in fecal matter. It is imperative that the utmost attention be paid to hygiene during the shedding period so that cross-contamination/infection does not occur.

Another interesting tidbit was found in the study titled Serum antibody as a marker of protection against natural rotavirus infection and disease (6) which was published in the Journal of Infectious Disease in 2000. Apparently, children are gaining natural immunity from rotavirus after 2 consecutive infections whether or not they demonstrated symptoms.

“Protective antibody titers were achieved after 2 consecutive symptomatic or asymptomatic rotavirus infections. These findings indicate that serum anti-rotavirus antibody, especially IgA, was a marker of protection against rotavirus infection and moderate-to-severe diarrhea.”

This is supported by documents at the CDC showing that 95% of children have had rotavirus by age 5 and that after just one natural infection, 87% of children are protected against severe diarrhea. (7) Additionally, complications from severe rotavirus infection and rotavirus vaccination are compared. Allow me to share:

Rotavirus complications:

severe diarrhea
dehydration
electrolyte imbalance
metabolic acidosis
Immunodeficient children may have more severe or persistent disease

Vaccine complications:

Vomiting
Diarrhea
Nasopharyngitis
fever

As for treatment, even the the CDC believes that acute gastroenteritis can be properly cared for at home (8):

Home Management of Acute Diarrhea

Treatment with ORS is simple and enables management of uncomplicated cases of diarrhea at home, regardless of etiologic agent. As long as caregivers are instructed properly regarding signs of dehydration or are able to determine when children appear markedly ill or appear not to be responding to treatment, therapy should begin at home. Early intervention can reduce such complications as dehydration and malnutrition. Early administration of ORS leads to fewer office, clinic, and emergency department (ED) visits (37) and to potentially fewer hospitalizations and deaths.

*ORS being oral rehydration solutions such as pedialyte. Breastfed infants should continue nursing on demand.

To summarize, less than 20 children per year die from rotavirus. Rotavirus is manageable with at-home care. We gain natural immunity from repeated exposure to infection, whether or not we show symptoms, and the side effects caused by the vaccine are remarkably similar to actual rotavirus infection.

Why are we vaccinating for this, again? Death by diarrhea indeed.

Original article can be found here.

1)Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage Under VICP
2)Epidemiology of Rotavirus in the US
3)Global Illness and Deaths caused by Rotavirus Disease in Children
4)The Journal of Pediatrics, Volume 144, Issue 2, February 2004, Pages 184-190
5)Cost Effectiveness Analysis
6)Serum antibody as a marker of protection against natural rotavirus infection and disease
7)CDC’s Rotavirus Pinkbook, Page 1-2
8.) Managing Acute Gastroenteritis Among Children

Vaccine Nation

2011-04-01T16:00:00.005-04:00

Vaccine Nation - Full Length Movie
Free documentary
2008

Documentation of the death of a child, which was quite possibly vaccine related, even though no official would admit it.

More reported side effects regarding the H1N1 vaccine

2011-04-01T13:39:00.003-04:00

The Link Between an H1N1 Vaccine and Narcolepsy

An interesting article from healthland.time.com...

By Meredith Melnick

Vaccines have been associated with any number of bizarre side effects — but putting people to sleep? That's a new one.

Last week, a preliminary Finnish study found that the H1N1 flu vaccine may have contributed to a spike in narcolepsy cases in that country Among 4-to-19-year-olds. In 20o9-10, health officials said, 60 children and adolescents in that age group had developed narcolepsy, and 52 of them had received the flu vaccine Pandemrix.

Based on the early data, Finnish officials said, people who received the injection had a nine-fold increased risk of narcolepsy over those in the same age group who had not been vaccinated.

Use of the vaccine was halted in

Finland

in August 2010, after concerns about it first arose; it's not clear how many youngsters and teens were vaccinated with Pandemrix, but about half of

Finland

's 5.3 million population received the shot during the winter of 2009-10, according to the AP.

On Tuesday, a World Health Organization panel said that genetic factors may have played a role in

Finland

's Pandemrix-narcolepsy cases. WHO tested 22 narcolepsy patients and found that all had a gene commonly associated with narcolepsy. About 30% of people in

Finland

have that particular gene, compared with 15% in the rest of Europe, according to Patrick Zuber, WHO's top vaccine safety official.

To date, 12 of the 47 countries that used the vaccine, including

Sweden

and

Iceland

, have reported upticks in narcolepsy cases after vaccination. The AP reports.

WHO's Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety said in a statement Tuesday that it agreed with Finnish authorities that there was a "strong association" between the vaccination, the genetic makeup of the patients, and the narcolepsy cases.But since a coincidental correlation cannot be ruled out, and as narcolepsy after swine flu vaccination has been reported in only a few countries so far, the panel recommended that Pandemrix continue to be administered to children.

Narcolepsy is a rare and chronic neurological disorder that causes extreme fatigue and unexpected episodes of sleep. But the cases reported in

Finland

lasted only a few months following vaccination and were not permanent. According to WHO, this is the first time the condition has been associated with a vaccine:

An increased risk of narcolepsy has not been observed in association with the use of any vaccines whether against influenza or other diseases in the past. Even at this stage, it does not appear that narcolepsy following vaccination against pandemic influenza is a general worldwide phenomenon.

Pandemrix is not available in the

United States

because it contains an adjuvant — a compound that boosts immune system response, reducing the needed dose of the vaccine. The FDA has not approved flu vaccines that contain adjuvants for use in the

U.S.