DR. JON POLING IN THE ATLANTA JOURNAL CONSTITUTION

Dr. Jon Poling has an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal Constitution today.  You can read it HERE.

Autism in the U.S. has reached epidemic levels, at 1 in 150 children. Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has recently upgraded autism to "an urgent health threat." The most contentious issue of the autism debate is the link to routine childhood vaccines. My daughter's case, Hannah Poling v. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, has changed this debate forever. Hannah has pointed us in a new and promising direction —- the mitochondria.

Dr. Poling ends his piece with this paragraph.

Reform of the vaccine schedule will be an important part of the solution, whether vaccines play a major or minor role in autism. Our public health agencies and programs need a reconstruction plan. Day one of the reconstruction hopefully starts at the Vaccine Safety Advisory Committee's Working Group, to be held at HHS headquarters today in Washington.

Comments

[getitright]

.
. . . the question about whether 'herd immunity' is even a valid concept brings up the latest news about mumps. The failure of the mumps vaccine is all over the news just lately.

The L.A. Times story, written by Susan Brink, is entitled, "2006 mumps outbreak occurred despite high vaccination rate." (There are other outlets reporting on the same article, which was in JAMA.)

The story begins this way:

"In a study reported in last week's New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and several Midwestern state health departments examined the 6,584 cases in the Midwestern outbreak.

"They found that the incidence was four times higher among people 18 to 24 years old than in all other age groups combined.

"This was despite the fact that 84% of the mumps patients in that age group (and 63% of the patients overall) had received the recommended two doses of mumps vaccine."

. . . So. I guess that tells us how much good 'herd immunity' does. Apparently it can fail at any moment.

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[Sorsha Anderson]

I'm so thankful to Mr. Poling and his continued informed presence...but I am a little dismayed at the measles/polio reference. Was measles really the devastating disease most seem to make it out to be? This is from the Larry King Live transcript from April 2 -

"KARP: ... If you get Measles, the chance of getting encephalitis, the chance of getting pneumonia, the chance of getting a severe reaction to the Measles is about 1,000 times more than getting that reaction from vaccine.

GORDON: Those are old data. They are not good data. They were never good data."

So whose right? Considering that so many children have declined after the MMR (mine included) - can the measles vaccine really be worth it at this point? I'm with Jenny. I'd take my chances with the measles any day over the vaccine reaction.

[Teresa Conrick]

Dr. Poling,

I have continual, immense gratitude to you and your wife. Your comments here are superlative and so appropriate! There should be no debate but instead a "reconstruction plan". Your eloquence, respect for science, and concern for children everywhere is the recipe for this reconstruction campaign. Thank You!!

[Heather]

That begs the question, why has NVAC Vaccine Safety Working Group panel appointed an individual with such disconnect to vaccine safety?

Here’s a few statements (some not exact quotes):

Prolonging research into the connection between vaccines and autism is harmful. All of the science is complete.

Encourage working group to consider the ramifications of their decisions to herd immunity

If they want their kids to enjoy the benefits of herd immunity, they have to step up

My children have the right to Modern medicine, including the herd immunity from other children

"The most dangerous vaccine is the one that does not get used"

A big public concern of the NVAC meeting was with autism and mitochondrial disorder. This disconnected individual recently published these statements:

“This is such an important distinction, and one that can’t be effectively addressed as long as the parents and their representatives are the only ones allowed to speak on the case. From what I can tell, Hannah Poling is not really autistic now, which adds doubt to the contention that she was ever really autistic to start with, “autistic symptoms” or no.”

“Actually, the case at issue concerns a mitochondrial disorder — one which, according to the head of the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, has never been shown to be environmentally acquired. The autistic features that the child developed were among a complex set of symptoms.”

[Sandy Gottstein]

Here are those two links:

Scandals: On cheating "the other guy" (http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/2008/Feb_18_08/Scandal86.htm )

Scandals: Forced Vaccinations - Musings on what the road to Hell is paved with (http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/2007/Nov_21_07/Scandal83.htm )

[Anahalia]

"Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has recently upgraded autism to "an urgent health threat.""

A little bit HAS changed over the past few weeks.

1. The CDC vaccine has now become "recommended" rather than "mandatory." You are supposed to "discuss with your doc" nevermind the doc has no idea exactly what needs to be discussed. As an aside, does this mean that the days of court-enforced vaccinations are over?

2. Our name has changed from a strident "mercury milita" to a tamer "vaccine skeptic" as per the latest Gardiner Harris NYT masterpiece. Did not spot a comments page this time!

Thank you Dr. Poling for speaking your mind.

[Sandy Gottstein]

I have said it before and will say it again, a sacred cow will not protect the herd. ("Scandals: Warning: Vaccine Sacred Cows May Endanger Your Health" at http://www.vaccinationnews.net/Scandals/2004/Oct_31/Scandal74.htm )

And what of the notion of herd immunity, anyway? Is it even a valid theory? Here's what I once wrote: "Is the theory of 'herd immunity' flawed?" (http://www.vaccinationnews.com/Scandals/July_5_02/Scandal23.htm )

The most insidious part of the push for herd immunity, of course, is the fact that it creates a putative rationale for requiring vaccination. If you're interested, go to Vaccination News and look for "On cheating 'the other guy' and "Forced vaccinations: musings on what the road to hell is paved with", in the past scandals section. (I have reached my limit, I think, on the number of links that can be included in a post; otherwise I would include them here...)

All the best, Sandy

[Craig Willoughby]

"As a neurologist, I have cared for those afflicted with SSPE (a rare but dreaded neurological complication of measles), paralytic polio and tetanus. If these serious vaccine-preventable diseases again become commonplace, the fault will rest solely on the shoulders of public health leaders and policymakers who have failed to heed the writing on the wall (scribbled by my 9-year old daughter)."

That gave me chills. My wife and I are over here reading this and cheering. I would love to meet this wonderful man and shake his hand!

[nhokkanen]

I hope this article helps public health administrators and vaccine promoters stop stubbornly viewing vaccine-induced autism as an either/or argument.

At today's NVAC panel meeting in Washington, one participant shrilly stressed her single-minded demand that every citizen contribute to herd immunity. But just how does herd immunity work when part of the herd gets injured by the shots? That closed-minded mentality boggles the mind....

[Todd Dea]

Could that have been written any better ?

Absolutely loved it. I love the part about the Gov. organizations having no one but themselves to blame if a rise in vaccine preventable diseases occurs. This is the argument the vaccine zealots use when parents question the current schedule, "Do you want an outbreak to occur ? ", "Do you want Polio or Measles to return ?". Of course not, but that doesn't mean we have to accept the current vaccination schedule as the only alternative. A large number of parents are questioning vaccines and in many cases holding off temporarily or even permanently giving them to their children. Dr. Poling is so right. If the Gov. organizations refuse to listen to parents and make changes to how vaccines are administered, they will have no one but themselves to blame for any unfortunate consequences.

[Tim Booton]

Bravo, Dr. Poling. Calm, sound and rational arguments as opposed to the histrionics of our Public Health officials about the immenent dangers of infectious diseases. "A Polio epidemic is just a plane ride away". Well, how about the lifelong disability of severe autism? The plane seems to have arrived at least a decade and a half ago on that one.

Yes, the tide is turning finally, but I still think CDC, NIH and the IOM are going to drag their feet as long as they can because they are so tied to their infetious disease erradication dogma.