Vaccines and Autism: Debate Over?

Vaccines and autism: for years, there have been talk that the MMR immunization caused autism in otherwise healthy children. Many in the health field, however, dismissed the link. Last February, it was shown that the doctor who first made the link had faked the results. And now the medical journal The Lancet retracted the article in which those results were published, an unusual move on the part of the British publication. But will the debate rage on? Do parents like Jenny MCarthy still insist that the MMR vaccine caused their children's disorder? Daphne Brogdon of Cool Mom asks, "Vaccines and autism: debate over?"

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YoureBeingIgnor...
4 months ago

it's peanut butter, probably, causing autism and obesity. Jenny McCarthy hates peanut butter. That theory is just as likely as anything else. Oh wait, wait I know - more people are going to college, thus college causes autism in later generations. Yeah, thats it. Oh I have a better idea, lets link autism to obesity. That would be really sexy for everyone to talk about. None of you are scientists or clinicians. you post blogs and pretend to know about pseudoscience. scarily, youve all had children that will succumb to your paranoid conspiracy theories.

christina1
2 yearss ago

Vaccinations asside I do belive that the parameters of what is considered autistic disorder have also changed. My son is definitley not ''neruotypical". He does have odd behavior, he does have his tantrums at 9 years old, and he is the most hilarious, gorgeous, loving little boy and I can''t imagine him any different than who he is. Sure there are things I would change to make his life easier, sure there are things I would change to have him be more succesful. But he is who he is, and we have accepted him for that. online degree

payday loans
2 yearss ago

We can't control everything! payday loans

havilahjoy
2 yearss ago

First off, I want to recognize that we are all doing what we feel is best for our children. How awesome is it that we live somewhere where we are allowed to make these decisions for our families? I know these debates can get pretty heated so I just wanted to give a shout out to all of us for just trying to do the right thing. I spoke with my daughter's pediatrician early on and basically said - "give me a reason to vaccinate" She, although she was very pro-vaccine, couldn't do it. Most of the diseases we are vaccinating for are so rare now that you're much more likely to get hit by that SUV Mindy was talking about. There were two reasons my doctor told me she couldn't give me a good reason to vaccinate. a) these diseases are so rare that it is INCREDIBLY unlikely for your child to get them and b) even though it is so rare she had actually had a child die who HAD been vaccinated. Why are we ok with putting aluminum and formaldehyde and a host of other things (these are KNOWN carcinogens) in our children's bodies on the off chance they "could" get sick. They "could" get sick anyway. We can't control everything. I completely agree that we need good, quality studies done that are not funded by the pharmaceutical companies or anyone who benefits from vaccines. (doctors!) One important point about vaccines though, is that, even if we get a "good" study, it may not really tell us what we need to know. Case studies measure the antibodies created in the bloodstream, NOT immunity to the disease. There is a difference. When we are vaccinated, the culture goes directly into our bloodstream and bypasses the other defense mechanisms our body has (skin and lymph system) and completely cuts out their protections. Our culture is so enamored with scientific data that we completely disregard any sort of anecdotal evidence. This is so frustrating to me - these people are not all crazy! There is something going on and these mothers feel it but, in this instance, and this instance only our culture tells us to ignore our gut. We are told in every other aspect of life to just trust our instincts, our heart, our true self, but, when it comes to something like this, we are just told to shut up and trust the doctors, the experts. Unfortunately, the way our medical system is set up, they aren't the experts, the drug companies are. Our doctors get information on drug safety from the drug companies so....it all makes sense I guess.

SilverXeno
2 yearss ago

Then you talked to the wrong doctor. These diseases we're vaccinating against are rare HERE. In smalltown-hometown America. Why? Because we've been vaccinated! They are NOT rare in Mexico, South America, the islands closest to our country...Africa, Asia...even large parts of Europe still have them! And since when is your kid in a bubble that will *never* be exposed to people, food, clothing, objects, etc from these places? When you put your child on a school bus...do you know where her bus driver has been? Maybe her bus driver is Ethiopian. And he went home for a quick visit, or his family joined him here recently. They could easily be carrying small pox. You child brushes past him as she takes her seat...and 12 days later she's dead b/c no one in the American hospital near your suburb could recognize it. Cuz they've never seen it. Cuz we've basically erradicated it here. Except...Bus Driver Berihun wasn't in your "rare" equation. It's actually very common now to be surrounded by people & objects (biological or otherwise) from non-American soil. I don't want to get all xenophobic here...cuz I have no issue with non-American born folks...and only a few issues with items not produced in the U.S. What if your daughter decides to take off to another country when she grows up? Ya know if she joins the military, they will vaccinate her...ALL AT ONCE. Which, I'm sure you will agree would be her own life choice to make...but what if she marries someone in the military...and ends up traveling to other parts of the world. Sometimes depending on how you will be entering a country, there is no vaccine requirement...so she gets there and she gets infected. And I don't think that is a rare exception at all. I get that willingly putting carcinogens in our kids seems like the dumbest thing ever to CHOOSE to do to them. But what's our other option? Keep them clean & healthy...then release them to the world and they die of Scarlet Fever?

havilahjoy
2 yearss ago

Actually, that bus driver IS a part of my scenario. When I said they are very rare - I'm saying that they are, statistically, scientifically, very, very rare. Ethiopian bus drivers included. And, like I said, they could die from Scarlet Fever anyway. If we were a family that traveled frequently to undeveloped countries, I may have made a different decision...Like I said before, we don't have good studies so, at this point, like many things, it's all about managing risk.

SilverXeno
2 yearss ago

Measles infects 23 million people a year (in the US & abroad). I bet they didn't think it was all that rare...it killed about 350,000 people...of which, more than 300,000 were children. The ratio of illness to death doesn't seem that bad...but I bet every one of those 23 million wondered if they'd end up in that fraction that died. Whooping cough is at it's highest rates in decades. B/c it became "rare" and then people stopped vaccinating against it. Granted, I don't think whooping cough kills...I'd rather have my kid sound awful than be dead...but some of the tragic situations that have come out of vaccine issues is kids that have some underlying (and UNKNOWN/undiagnosed) health issue being horribly injured or killed after getting the vaccine which exacerbated the problem or turned it into something else entirely. But I think that's where you have to look at it and go, do I take the chance that my kid is okay...or do I keep this from them? I do feel grateful and blessed that my kids seem to be healthy & when the doctor asks about family history and goes down the list of cancers & disorders...I can answer "no" to 98% of them. There are 2 cases of cancer...that are 3 & 4 generations removed from my daughters. There is also some elderly dementia on one side...so it seems like I can say vaccines have been good for us...b/c those unknown, underlying problems don't exist for us. My oldest child won't need any additional vaccines until she is 10 or 11, I think. That's 4 or 5 years off. My youngest won't need anymore shots until it's time to start school...in 3 years. That's a lot of time for us to learn. But in the end, unless the vaccine is no longer mandatory for state health requirements, we'll have to get them anyway. Being a military family means we couldn't join my husband if he were stationed overseas. If we fail to vaccinate they say, "Fine...but you're staying stateside. Daddy will go away for the next 3 years, good luck with that." And that's the lifestyle we've chosen to live. Graciously, our family is still healthy in spite of it. :)

ladyofnomads
2 yearss ago

I find it really odd that both of your tragic death scenarios involved diseases we don't vaccinate for. But you are right that those diseases are rare, almost unheard of here. Same for tuberculosis. These things have all but vanished, and public health experts have no problem acknowledging that this is probably because of better sanitation, nutrition, overall health care, and possibly the cyclical nature of most diseases, but if I try to apply the same logic to diseases we vaccinate for, most people in the medical industry will swear up and down that responsibility and credit for a decrease in incidence and/or death from these diseases lays squarely on the shoulders of vaccines, the great boon of modern medicine. Hallelujah. You don't have to be a doctor or a scientist to question the logic of that belief. If you look at the hard data and find that belief has a solid foundation in science, then fine. And if you ever find that data, let me know, because I have been really looking for it for a long time. Ultimately, my kids will do their own research on vaccines if/when they reach an age that they might have concerns with exposure to disease, if they decide to travel to a country where polio is still circulating, for example. I will support whatever decision they make. I trust that they will be just as capable of reason when they reach adulthood as I am.

martha sue
2 yearss ago

I just joined as a result of following Heather's blog. Interesting site and rather eye-opening. I see lots of opinions which is great, everyone is entitled to have them. What I do find interesting is what is missing from the comments. Lots of opinions used as if they are facts but not hard references. I wonder how many people offering their opinions have actually done the research on both sides before arriving at their conclusion (other than Ladyofnomads)? I'm in support of safe vaccines and maintaining my right to make an informed decision. I'd like to see a good vaccinated vs. unvaccinated study - wouldn't the rest of you? It has never been done - wonder why? I'd like to know why our Congress exempted vaccine makers from any legal liability? I'd like to see studies done on the synergy of giving more than one vaccine at a time - what does it do to a body to give it live virus MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) at the same time - rarely does an inidividual get all three diseases at the same time yet we think nothing of doing it on purpose to small children. We're more cautious about adding new foods into their diets as babies than we are about what we inject them with. I'd like to know why the medical community is just now finding out using Tylenol depletes the body of glutathione which is necessary for the body to detox toxins. Google Tylenol & vaccines, you'll see a study came out last fall showing that using Tylenol has reduced the effectiveness of vaccines. I'd like to know why in the '80's autism was 1 in 10,000 and now it is 1 in 100? Frankly, I'd like to know why our government tells us time and time again they don't why BUT it isn't the vaccines - sounds rather contradictory. Also, regarding the Wakefield situation it isn't clear from the comments but this was a case study on ONE live virus vaccine. Only one out of the entire schedule. His case study found measles virus in the guts of autisic kids and it shouldn't have been there. He suggested further research. I fail to understand how the Lancet's retraction can be taken as the gospel truth that no vaccines contribute/cause autism. The case study never said that in the first place! For those that would choose autism over death that is your choice. I'm just wondering, though, if you'd trade places with my friend? At 14 her son is still in diapers, noverbal and severly self-mutalating. For her, and thousands of others, they've seen a correlation to vaccines. How do we know they are wrong - our government won't fund the studies to prove either way. The original study that was done, and paid for by the taxpayers, is now being held overseas in a pharma co. vault where US laws have not effect. Wonder why? My biggest fear is that we are so caught up in judging each other's decisions that we are loosing sight of the big problem.... this is the sickest generation of kids ever in the US. The first generation of kids who are not expected to have a life expectancy longer than their parents. The US also has the most agressive vaccine schedule in the world. We also prescribe more ADD meds than anyone else. I don't think we should be focused only on autism. I fear autisim is the tip of the iceberg - don't forget the huge increases in ADD, allergies, eczema, learning disabilities, sensory issues, etc. Go to fourteenstudies.com to see the reviews of the old studies that supposedly prove no link and go from there. We have to move past judging and blaming each other and become a united front. As parents we should be demanding solid science, done by someone other that the pharma co.

SilverXeno
2 yearss ago

Umm...It's unethical to test on children. So...THAT is why there is no comparison of vaccinated versus unvaccinated, b/c there's no way to control the test groups without compromising ethics. Sure, we could test on rabbits or rats or something, but it's not going to have the same results. Who would want to trade places with your friend?? That situation sounds like a living nightmare. But her son could also have been born with congenital issues that could cause him to be that way anyway! A "correlation" to vaccines doesn't mean "we never should have vaccinated". I may not have done as much research as one of the above commentors, but I still did as much research as I felt was relevent to my sitaution. So many of the issues you mentioned are also hard to diagnose in general. Did you know the peanut allergy test has a high false positive?? Wouldn't that mean it was possible other allergy tests can be faulty? ADD is a subjective disease that allows people to tick off a list of behaviors and make a determination...For instance, my observation of one behavior may lean on the conservative side, and someone else may see it as extreme, based on their own *opinion*. Hmm...is this jacket more Navy blue or Midnight blue? The air hangs with more pollutants than ever...and you think it's unusual that there's a higher incidence of eczema? SLS is a skin irritant used to make soaps lather. Containing fairly harmless elements, but compounded in a way that could irritate you. Learning & sensory issues is another subjective one, but also something that may be easier to diagnose with new tools & technology. Maybe "issues" are the new normal? Or were always normal, but it's easier to set them apart from other things b/c they can be more easily categorized. In addition to aggressive vaccine schedules, the past couple of decades have added more & more processed and refined foods to our diets. Diets rich in preservatives & chemicals. People being medicated simply to appease them, rather than let nature take it's course. Men & women putting these things into their bodies, having no understanding of how they may effect reproduction. And maybe it doesn't effect the first generation, or the second, but as these foreign invaders build up in our systems, our bodies are no longer able to function they way they were intended.

Vaccines and Autism: Debate Over?

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