Age of Autism Awards 2008 Couple of the Year: Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carrey
Deborah Kotz of US News on AAP and Dr. Paul Offit

Dr. Bob Sears: Smart Vaccine Decisions for Families with Autism

DrRobSears064 By Dr. Bob Sears

(Excerpted from Dr. Bob Sears’ upcoming work, The Autism Book: Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, and Prevention coming in April 2010 from Little, Brown.)

With the alarming rise in autism over the last 15 years, parents and doctors continue to search for causes and contributing factors.  Is it genetics?  Environment?  Toxic exposures?  Infectious agents?  Prenatal factors?  A mix of various causes?  At (or near) the top of the list of suspects in the minds of many parents are vaccines.  Mainstream science and research continue to show there is probably no connection.  Yet, some vaccine research in the world of alternative medicine (but not accepted as legitimate by the mainstream medical community) shows some possible connections to autism.  So who are parents to believe?  What are parents supposed to do when the CDC, AAP and virtually every doctor and academic medical institution in the country says, “You have nothing to worry about – continue to vaccinate according to the regular schedule,” but a friend, neighbor, or alternatively-minded doctor says “Wait – my child (or patient) regressed into autism 3 weeks after the one-year shots – don’t do it!” What do you do when you hear that story over and over and over again? 

As a pediatrician and DAN! doctor, I’ve wrestled with this decision in my practice.  Much of my day is spent as a general pediatrician, doing checkups, seeing sick kids, and, yes, giving vaccinations.  Part-time I treat kids with autism using the DAN! protocol.  So I see all kinds of families with many different views on vaccines.

Sears_theVACCINEbook I’ve had several patients develop autism without ever having any vaccines at all, but of course most of my patients with autism were vaccinated.  I do believe vaccines are important, some more than others.  The diseases do pose a risk, and in my opinion vaccines do help prevent these diseases.  I know that’s a bold statement to make on an autism website.  Many anti-vaccine advocates feel that vaccines are dangerous and don’t even work.  But that hasn’t been my experience, nor is it my understanding based on all available research. However, vaccines do have side effects, and there is a small chance of serious, even life-threatening, reactions.  Such events are well documented. But most kids seem to handle vaccine very well.  Overall, the medical community feels that the disease protection benefit, both for the individual and for society as a whole, outweighs the risk of side effects. 

But here is where families already affected by autism come into play.  Does a child with autism have a greater risk of suffering a vaccine reaction (or as some parents would say, another vaccine reaction) if he continues to get more vaccines? And what about any younger siblings that come along?  Should the parents vaccinate their next baby(ies)?  That’s the bigger question.  Is there a point where, for certain families, the risk of vaccines could outweigh the benefits of disease protection for that particular family?  It would be nice if we could screen newborns for genetic and metabolic susceptibilities to severe vaccine reactions.  We could then vaccinate such babies more carefully and find ways to avoid these reactions.  But we don’t have that technology yet.  So what is a family with autism to do?  If they don’t vaccinate their subsequent children, does that put their child, and society as a whole, at risk? 

I believe that for a child already affected by autism, the risk of continuing to vaccinate isn’t worth the disease protection gained.  For any mainstream pro-vaccine person reading this, you are probably not happy to hear me make that statement.  But I feel that the chemicals and immune-modulating properties of vaccines may cause further neurological, inflammatory, or autoimmune changes within that child (who already is dealing with such issues) and possibly make the autism worse.  Now, do I have any science to back up my statement?  Not directly, no.  To my knowledge, no one has ever taken a group of a few hundred children with autism, given them their 4 to 6 year vaccines and yearly flu shots, and studied what happens to them compared to a group of kids with autism who don’t continue to vaccinate.  Until that study is done, or some mainstream research comes out that demonstrates a possible link between autism and vaccines in the first place, we can’t answer this question with certainty.  But we can take a logical and theoretical guess.  In my opinion it’s possible that a child with autism would be genetically, immunologically, and neurologically more susceptible to vaccine side effects.  Therefore I feel it is a perfectly legitimate choice for a family to decide not to continue to vaccinate their child with autism at this time until we know more. 

I will say, however, that a family who decides not to continue vaccinations should have a very clear understanding of the disease risks they are taking.  Although the risk of catching a severe case of what should be a vaccine-preventable disease is low for a child past two years of age, there is a risk nonetheless.  Parents should educate themselves about that risk, and the risk to society if too many people make the same decision not to vaccinate.  What is the risk to society by not vaccinating?  Studies have shown that we need between 90 to 95% vaccine coverage in our society to be able to keep diseases under manageable control and prevent widespread outbreaks.  Small outbreaks will occur, both in vaccinated and unvaccinated people (mostly in unvaccinated though, in my opinion), but as long as most of the surrounding population is vaccinated, these outbreaks can be contained.  Since autism affects about 1 in 150 kids, if all of those families stopped vaccinating their affected child, as well as their subsequent children, this would only increase the unvaccinated population by about 1 to 2%.  I don’t think that’s enough to tip the scales to allow widespread disease.  Yes, it increases disease risks for those individuals, but not society as a whole to a significant extent.  As long as the rest of society continues to vaccinate, that is. 

Let’s take a look at the disease risk a child with autism would be taking if he didn’t get his 5-year booster shots or his yearly flu shot:

DTaP vaccine:

• Diphtheria (a severe respiratory infection) doesn’t exist in the U.S., except for the occasional case (or five) each year.  This can be a risk with international travel, however, but not really with vacation travel – you’d have to be mingling with the local population to catch it.

• Tetanus occurs from deep, dirty wounds. Fortunately it is very rare in children (partly due to vaccine coverage and partly because children just aren’t as susceptible to having tetanus grow in their wounds). Despite all the tens of thousands of unvaccinated kids running around out there, we only see about 5 cases of tetanus in kids under 12 each year.

• Pertussis is a coughing illness that tragically kills about 20 infants each year.  We don’t see fatalities beyond 6 months of age, so for an older child at five years, the shot isn’t important for him as an individual. The main reason to vaccinate an older child is to prevent spread of the disease through him to an infant sibling. 

Polio vaccine: Polio doesn’t exist in the U.S., or the entire western hemisphere. So going unvaccinated in this country doesn’t pose any risk to that individual. Of course, it’s an important shot for most people overall so we can keep polio out.

MMR vaccine:

• Measles causes several days of fever, aches, rash, and coughing, and most kids will work through the illness without any trouble.  However, there can be complications such as pneumonia (occurring in about 1 in 100 cases), or the more severe encephalitis (infection within the brain), which occurs in about 1 in 1000 cases. The fatality rate from measles is about 1 in 2000 cases.  For the past 15 years we’ve managed to keep measles to a minimum level in the U.S. – about 50 to 100 cases per year.  This year (2008) we are looking at a slight increase to about 150 cases occurring in about a dozen cities.  A five year old with autism would already have received one dose of the MMR vaccine at age 1; most of those kids will still have this immunity from measles, mumps and rubella until the teenage years, and therefore wouldn’t necessarily need a booster at 5 (this can be checked with a blood test). Those that have lost their immunity, but don’t get a booster, would have a risk of being caught up in a measles outbreak in their community and being responsible for spreading the disease if they caught it, but this risk is fairly small at this time. This could change if measles becomes more common.

• Mumps causes swollen tonsils and facial glands, fever, and rash, and most kids get through it without any trouble.  Fatalities are virtually unheard of.  We only see about 250 to 500 cases of mumps in the U.S. each year (except for an outbreak of about 5000 cases in 2006). So the chances that an unvaccinated child would catch mumps is fairly rare, but if he did catch it, virtually all childhood cases are harmless. In teens and adults, mumps can causes sterility.

• Rubella is harmless to any child or adult who catches it (mild fever, rash and body aches), but if a pregnant mom catches rubella it can cause birth defects. Because of vaccination, rubella is extremely rare – only about 10 cases are identified each year in the U.S.  So, it would be safe for an older child to go without a rubella booster, since the disease would be harmless to him (keeping in mind, the very small risk to any pregnant parents or teachers around him).

Chickenpox vaccine:

This is given at age one, and most kids will retain that immunity throughout childhood (this can be verified with a blood test). Some will lose immunity, however, so a booster is offered at 5.  Kids who don’t get a booster could be susceptible to the disease, although they’d likely catch a milder case because of their vaccine protection.  The fatality rate from this disease is very low – about 1 in 65,000 cases.  We do tragically see about 5 deaths each year in the U.S.

Flu vaccine is now recommended for every child up through age 18 at the start of every flu season (November).  The flu tragically kills about 100 children every year.  Fortunately, the vast majority of kids who catch the flu get through without any lasting harm.  Getting a flu shot doesn’t prevent a child from catching the flu 100%, but it can help lower the chances.  The main reason not to get a flu shot for a child with autism is that most brands contain mercury.  Companies do make a small supply of mercury-free flu shots every year, so if a family was to choose to have their child get a flu shot, at least make sure it’s mercury-free.  I know that most mainstream science has failed to show a link between vaccine mercury and autism, but for a child already with autism I believe that avoiding mercury is a good precaution anyway.

So, as you can see, the risk of skipping the 5-year shots for a child with autism is fairly low.  Yes, it does leave a child open to some diseases, but the complication and fatality rates of anything he’d be likely to catch is fairly low.  Skipping vaccines does pose some public health risk, however.  An unvaccinated child can be the start of, or help spread, an outbreak of a disease.  But considering the overall risk versus benefit of vaccines for a child with autism (and the neurological, auto-immune and inflammatory problems that may go along with autism), I don’t blame any parent for skipping the 5-year shots and the yearly flu shot.

In 20 states, vaccines are optional.  Parents can waive them without providing a reason. But in 30 states, parents either have to have a religious reason or a medical waiver.  Most DAN! doctors would likely provide a medical exception for any child with autism.  But some parents without a DAN! doctor might find themselves in a bind.  You could try getting religious really quick, but that wouldn’t be honest.  You could also try to fight the system.  I would think that many schools would be lenient on you, since you and your child already have so much to deal with.  If you are forced into vaccinating anyway, you could first get a blood test to check the immunity levels from the infant vaccines.  If your child still has immunity, most states will accept that in place of a booster shot.  If you ultimately don’t have any choice and have to do the 5-year booster shots, I would suggest at least getting only one shot at a time and spreading it all out over a year or two. 

VACCINATING SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN

What should parents do with the next baby that comes along?  We do know that siblings have a higher risk of autism than the general population, but we really don’t know whether or not vaccines would increase that risk.  I understand that many such families will take any and all possible precautions to prevent autism in their next children, including early diet restrictions, supplementation with probiotics, fish oil, and vitamins, limiting (or avoiding completely) antibiotics, and early intervention for any developmental delays.  But what about vaccines?  There is no clear answer.  Some parents feel very strongly that vaccines played a role in their child’s autism, and would never vaccinate another baby.  Some parents don’t feel the same way.  I’m not going to say what the right decision is, because I don’t know.  Yes, vaccines are important for disease prevention, but I can totally understand that any family that believes vaccines harmed their first child would view the vaccine risks as greater than the disease risks for their next baby.  As you consider what the disease risks would be for a subsequent baby or babies, it becomes clear that some vaccines are more important than others, and parents who do decide to vaccinate their subsequent baby could pick and choose only certain vaccines.  Here are some basic ideas about the various vaccines:

Hep B vaccine: I will be right up front and say that this is a really stupid vaccine for newborns (unless mom or dad is a Hep B carrier).  There’s no realistic way for a baby or young child to catch this disease. So, this is a no-brainer – your baby doesn’t need this shot (at least in the first few years).

DTaP vaccine: Although U.S. babies don’t need tetanus or diphtheria protection, pertussis is a risk for babies in the first 6 months of life – we see about 20 babies die each year from it. 

Pc vaccine:  This vaccine protects against infant and toddler meningitis, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia.  There are approximately 1000 such cases each year in the U.S., although the exact number of actual fatalities isn’t known.

HIB vaccine: This protects against a very rare form of infant and toddler meningitis. There used to be about 20,000 cases each year in the U.S. during the 1980s and before – now we see only about 25 (due, in my opinion, to the vaccine).

Rotavirus vaccine:  This oral liquid vaccine protects against this vomiting and diarrhea intestinal illness. This infection kills about 50 babies each year, and hospitalizes about 50,000. It is very common.

Hep A: This food poisoning illness usually gets transmitted at restaurants.  It’s a very mild disease in children.  Teens and adults will suffer the worst stomach flu of their lives for a week or two.  This is not a fatal disease, however, and it doesn’t cause long-term complications.

HPV vaccine:  This is a 3-dose teenage vaccine (for girls only) to prevent the virus that causes genital warts and cervical cancer.  Parents would need to determine if their older daughter is at risk.

Meningococcal vaccine: This teenage meningitis vaccine (one-dose only) protects against the type of meningitis that goes around high schools and colleges.  There are about 3000 yearly cases with about 300 fatalities. 

Polio, MMR, Chickenpox, Flu – see above. 

This was a very basic look at each disease and vaccine.  Parents should fully educate themselves as they decide what to do.


HOW TO CAREFULLY VACCINATE

In The Vaccine Book, I detail how parents who choose to vaccinate can do so in the safest manner possible by following these suggestions:

• Limit the number of vaccines to 2 per visit (instead of as many as 6 that are offered at each baby checkup).
• Delay certain vaccines that are designed to protect against a disease that a baby has no risk of catching in the U.S.
• Begin with the most important vaccines first, to protect a baby from the riskiest diseases.
• Understand about the various chemicals that are in vaccines and don’t overlap too many chemicals all at once.
• Avoid vaccines during times of illness, intestinal problems, and severe allergic conditions.
• Watch carefully for vaccine reactions and consider not repeating a vaccine that a baby has a moderate to severe reaction to.


The decision on whether or not to vaccinate is a difficult one for parents to make when autism runs in the family.  For parents who decide to fully vaccinate their babies, my Alternative Vaccine Schedule (see The Vaccine Book for details) offers a way to vaccinate that avoids overloading with too many vaccines at a time and spreads them out over more years.  For parents who want to be more selective in what vaccines they give their baby, and want to only provide the most important vaccines for the most serious diseases at an age when the diseases pose the most risk, I would suggest considering my Selective Vaccine Schedule:

2 months – DTaP, Rotavirus
3 months – Pc, HIB
4 months – DTaP, Rotavirus
5 months – Pc, HIB
6 months – DTaP, Rotavirus
7 months – Pc, HIB
15 months – Pc, HIB
7 years – Tetanus booster

I prefer the ActHIB brand of HIB, the Daptacel or Tripedia brand of DTaP, and any brand of Rota and Pc.  This limits some of the chemicals that are in vaccines.

Parents can also choose to delay vaccines, although this leaves an infant open to some diseases.  Once your child is 3 or 4 years of age and past the time when regressive autism would likely develop, you could then consider some vaccines.  Which ones you would then choose isn’t an easy decision.  You would take a look at each disease and decide if you feel that vaccine would be important for your child or for society around you.

Parents who decide not to vaccinate their infants should commit to prolonged breastfeeding (if possible), avoid group childcare, keep the baby out of church or health-club nurseries for the first two years of life, and promptly seek medical care if the baby develops a high fever, unusual rash, or bad cough.  You don’t have to keep your baby quarantined. You can go about town, stores, and schools – as long as you aren’t leaving the baby in anyone else’s care with other infants around.

In conclusion, I would advise parents not to give a child with autism any further vaccines, as long as you feel comfortable with the disease risk.  For subsequent babies, the decision is less clear. Parents have a choice to not vaccinate, restrict their vaccines to the Selective list in the first two years, or fully vaccinate.  For sibling infants, I would recommend against the regular full vaccine schedule that groups as many as 6 vaccines together at each infant checkup.  I think that overloads these susceptible babies with too many, too soon. 

For more complete information on vaccines, visit www.TheVaccineBook.com

Robert W. Sears, MD, FAAP, is a board-certified pediatrician, DAN! doctor, and author in the Sears Parenting Library.  He is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Comments

Jeannette Bishop
Erlinda

Hello idk know if this is where I would get any advice. I have a 12 year old son that is going to be entering the 7th grade the new law in California is to have every child vaccinated. I'm supposed to get my son 15 shots prior to hit entering the 7th grade. I need help to find out what I could do so that he doesn't have to get the shots at the age of 12 that could affect his body.

Caro

After Offit's scathing review of Dr. Sear's kid friendly Vaccine book, I thought that this would be an appropriate place to post Dr. Poling's reply. And it is a very good one (How can anyone not love this man?)

"Dear AAP Pediatricians,

As a physician, scientist, and father of a vaccine-injured child, I have many issues with Offit and Moser’s critique of Dr. Sears vaccine book, particularly its authoritarian tone and content. Offit is certainly entitled to his opinion, but it must be recognized as that. We must stick to the science and recognize the open questions with regards to vaccine safety.

Excerpt from Offit and Moser article: {Sears has a poor grasp of the scientific method. "Some studies have been published in recent years that have failed to show statistical proof of a relationship between vaccines and autism," he writes. "However, by the same token, it is also difficult to prove that there is not a connection." Using the scientific method, investigators form the null hypothesis. Good epidemiological studies are powered to reject or not to reject the null hypothesis. However, the scientific method does not allow investigators to accept the null hypothesis. Said another way, scientists can never prove never. The most that scientists can show is that 2 events are not associated statistically; scientists cannot prove that the events can never be associated statistically. In stating that it is "difficult to prove that there is not a connection," Sears is suggesting the impossible.} End Excerpt

In their assault on Dr. Sears, Offit and Moser confuse scientific methodology. Even more dangerous than not having an understanding of science, is the presumption that one does “grasp the scientific method.” Actually, in designing an epidemiological study, one must have a good estimate of the effect size, in order to determine the power of a study. Offit misuses the statistical term ‘power’ to suggest that this allows one to “reject or not to reject the null hypothesis.” This is incorrect.

If one mistakenly rejects the null hypothesis (usually assigned <5% probability related to the alpha probability), than one has committed a Type I error. On the other hand, if one mistakenly does not reject the null hypothesis, this is called a Type II error—the probability of a Type II error, 1-beta, is described as the ‘power’ of a study.

“Said another way, scientists can never prove never,” according to Moser and Offit. In truth, science does not “prove” negative or positive; it can only determine, in statistical terminology, the strength of conclusions derived from the data. Actually, if one has powered a study appropriately, then a negative result can be stated with a low probability of Type II error. Due to the complexities in effect size and power determination, generally negative and neutral studies do not warrant publication, particularly in high quality journals. This has not been the case in the peer reviewed neutral studies in relation to vaccination and autism, leading many to speculate that these studies are proof against causation.

Regarding the epidemiological studies that have not shown a link between vaccines and autism, one must take a step back. What is the probability that by saying “vaccines don’t cause autism,” you have committed a Type II error. Offit and others frequently cite 15 well positioned studies in the literature as proving that the vaccine-autism connection is a myth. Unfortunately, one cannot derive from these studies any estimate of effect size or power, so the probability of Type II error is completely unknown.

The Institute of Medicine’s final 2004 report on vaccines and autism recognized this major shortfall, and clearly stated that without biological markers of autism subpopulations at risk, further epidemiology would not be helpful. In other words, they did not say that vaccines don’t cause autism—-since without knowing what autism is, science cannot determine what it is not. Etiological determination is greatly encumbered by behavioral rather than medical characterization the disorder. It is highly probably that there are multiple autism(s) with multiple genetic and environmental triggers (Depakote being recently added to the list). This simple truth about autism greatly reduces the stastical power of even the largest epidemiological studies.

As a Neurologist that saw his normally developing daughter regress into autism before turning 2 years old, co-incident with immunization, I obviously have an inherently different bias than Offit, the wealthy vaccine inventor and patent holder. One in my situation must ask—What is post-vaccination encephalopathy? What are the mechanisms? Is there any treatment? Can it look like “autism?” There are many unknowns here, as no concerted effort has been made to understand the scope of post- vaccination encephalopathy. This leads to the next logical conclusion which is, since science does not understand post-vaccination encephalopathy, then we don’t know what factors could increase or decrease its incidence (thimerosal, aluminum, live virus combinations, diet/metabolic factors, multiplicity of vaccines). We can now perform genetic screening to determine who may react poorly to smallpox vaccine—this strategy might also benefit children with genetic susceptibilities similar to my child, thus preventing injuries like hers in the future.

Autism studies aside, there are several recent studies linking vaccination practices to autoimmune disorders-- like the recent Manitoba study demonstrating that a short delay in DTP administration reduces the rate of asthma by 50% and the AAN Neurology publication showing that one brand of HepB vaccine increases the risk of childhood MS by almost 3 times.

As physicians we took an oath to ‘first do no harm’ to our individual patients. Dr. Sears offers a pro-vaccine individualized approach to childhood immunization that acknowledges the risks, benefits, and uncertainties of this medical intervention. Dr. Sears should be applauded for his efforts to provide safe vaccination alternatives to his patients, given the void of randomized controlled trials to support continued growth of the current CDC/AAP schedule.

Rather than personal attacks, let’s turn to science to provide the answers. The enormous public benefit of vaccination cannot be used to stifle open discourse on critical vaccine safety issues. One size does not fit all.

Sincerely,

Jon S. Poling MD/PhD


Conflict of Interest:
Dr. Poling is a practicing neurologist also holding a PhD in biophysics with focus on neuroscience. He is the father of a vaccine-injured child."

Aster

Thank you Dr. Sears, for giving parents an alternative schedule.
However, after researching vaccines for over two years after my third child had a bad reaction (I filed with VAERS) it led me to realize vaccines caused my two older children to have Autism, seizures and a host of other problems.
I will not be vaccinating any future children, especially after seeing how healthy my third has been after stopping and doing some detox therapy.
I believe there is a genetic predisposition to Autism and vaccine reactions in my family history. Vaccines should not be a one size fits all.
We have adapted a healthy lifestyle free of as many toxins in the food and environment as possible.
Any future children will be breast fed and not exposed to others, especially sick children, for the first few years of life.
I do worry about the diseases and illness vaccines can prevent but for us, the risk of vaccine damage outweighs the benefit.

HTRTC(Handthatrocksthecradele)

OOOUUUCCCHHH, Kathy Blanco!!

That post made me want to stand up and cheer, BTW!

If I may, I'd like to add one more thing. When the vaccine for HIV was developed, it worked just grand with primates, but failed miserably in trials using humans. The vitamin D receptors (VDR) is very sigificant in the regulation of the innate immune system (TH1). What was learned from the HIV vax disaster was that there is a significant difference in the VDR mechanism between humans and primates. What this means is that the safety and efficacy of vaccines can not be established using primate subjects!!!!! Vaccines may very well be contaminated with slow acting, stealth, cell wall bacteria that can block the VDR, setting the stage for immune dysregulation, and eventually, microgliosis and excitoxin damage. Add into the mix the adjuvants, metals, pesticides, excess glutamates like MSG, casein and gluten, viral particles, and the GLUFOSINATE IN THE GMOS WHICH ARE STRUCTURALLY SIMILAR TO GLUTAMIC ACID, and you have the perfect recipe for "autism" or one of the other neurodegeneraive diseases. Not scary enough? The outcome of what the doctor is advocating, a less aggressive vax schedule, will only result in a decrease in the 1:150 ratio, nothing more. Surely, even "THEY" have come to realize the madness of disabling that many children per generation, aware that at such a high rate, society has got to collapse eventually. Dr. Sears is not on our "side", as he states. Simply put, his suggestions just seem to be helping the other side(AAP/Pharma et al) put on the breaks a bit with his "Can't we all just get along?" stance.

Kathy Blanco

Dr Sears
I am sorry if I came off harsh in my posting, so as you are viewing this, may I recommend that you at least ask pertinent questions and up to date science, beyond what you have written in your book, that would widely contraindicate vaccines in total?

Number one, do not ask the parents to NOT give their kids tylenol if they vaccinate...seek this web paqe at www.rollingdigital.com/autism please read the entire theory.

Two, ask the parents if ther are any familial autoimmune conditions, but beyond that, ASK THE MOTHERS what was the recent evaluation of her thyroid function? Why I ask? Because, even THREE DAYS of transient malfunction of the thyroid can damage the brain in utero. This brain, or that child, is already assaulted, don't vaccinate

Number three, have you tested the FAMILY, yes the FAMILY, for C4B anulle? This complement deficiency is necessary to BIND MEASLES VIRUSES. If you have the deficiency, you can't deal with vaccine measles.

Four, Have you tested the ENTIRE family for LYME DISEASE or MYCOPLASMA (even outside of so called endemic areas because now it is endemic in our population-only test IGENEX www.igenex.com not CDC STANDARDS?) This is the precurosr bacteria that causes reduction of glutahione and high oxidative stress, damaaged blood brain barrier function, and even gut problems. NO VACCINES in such families.

FIVE, ask the mother, how did your siblings do with vaccines. GIANT CLUE. My brothers did horrible with measles monavalent vaccines...did I know this? NO. Previous reations of swelling or fever, NO VACCINES EVER AGAIN.

SIX, have you tested the family for HLA-DR4? HLA-DR4 are susceptible populations who can't handle vaccines, PERIOD. (based on Lymerix trials). HLA DR4 people have neurological complications from vaccines.

SEVEN, does the family have other autoimune problems, such as LUPUS, MS, DIABETES, ALZ, PARKINSONS, SEIZURES, DOWNS, SPINA BIFIDA, MYELOMA/LYMPHOMA, KAWASAKI, ARTHRITIS, CFS/FIBRO, NIGHT BLINDNESS, CELIAC (even if given a false negative, but have symptoms), THYROID DISEASES, PSORIASIS/EXCEMA, VITILIGO, Rhumatic Fevers, ongoing infections? These are giant clues, don't vaccinate....ask any parent of an autistic child, wher they fit in that scenario, answer, one hundred percent of them....!!!

EIGHT, is the child sick, on antibiotics, has CVID, PANDAS, Not developing well, WAS C SECTIONED, IMMEDIATE CORD CLAMPLED? Answer, most parenst don't know these are preconditions of autism.

NINE, ARE THEY ALREADY MERCURY TOXIC, take a look at mothers mouths...one amalgam, not bad, more than that, she is a toxic wasteland. Baby has chelated her, now the baby is a toxic dump.

TEN, Test both parents for SV-40 and immune panels including CD57, which indicates they have lyme, a marker of LOW NK cell function. LOW ANTI MSH antibodies? BAD NERVE HEALTH ALREADY. LABCORP.

ELEVEN, WHERE DO THEY LIVE? If in the inner city, do they know the levls of contaminants in their body already? BY THE FARM? Levels of pollution and pesticides, etc? THIS MAKES A difference with cell mediated immunity. So your saying, we all have clean slates? NOT.

TWELVE, are the parents or have the parents done cigarette smoking, alcoholism and drug use, and or did chemo? This makes mutations on genes big time...no vaccinating...

THIRTEEN, Do they live near coal plants, crematoria? If close to one, NO VACCINES

Fourteen, have YOU examined if mycoplasma, bacterial contaminations ARE NOT in the VIAL? Tell me how you can guarantee it is not contaminated?

FIFTEEN, do you know for a FACT, that this child is free of mitochondrial problems? OXPHOS, CITRATE SYNTHASE? HIGH IN LACTATE AND PYRUVATE? NO VACCINES.

Are they exposing their children to municiple waters such as FLUORIDE? Aluminum? Flurodie already damages the BBB, weak and leaky. Big time contraindication.

What about levels of toxins such as PCB's? Again, no vaccines if high.

Did they test their child's cord blood for Hyper IgE (see my study at www.voicesofsafety.com ) go to health section. This indicates improper immune syswtem function

Do the parents have HIGH CRP, Sed Rate, Thrombaphilia? NO VACCINES, (clue, family has grandparents with heart attacks).

What infection is NOW present in that child-extensive studies of bacteria, fungi, stool samples, and the like MUST be performed. IF positive for ANYTHING, klebsieall, candida, NO VACCINES.

SO, you see, we have now whiped out, pretty much the whole autism community, if not a chunk of the neurotypicals. They will be totally contraindicated from the current vaccine program, or any vaccines.

Safe vaccines? Monovalents are known to cause risky encephalitis.

Green vaccines? How do you green the toxic soup, and all of the ingredients are in their to stop contaminations? Do we propose we can make vaccines safe at any level, answer, it can't be done.

Slower schedule, myelin is not formed compleately until puberty. NOT GOOD.

Your book has and will continue the autism epidemic sir. And until you get the entire scenic damage, your recommendations will recommend autism in another family.

Bottom line, learn more of the science. LEarn more what is wrong with FAMILIAL patterns, and genetic underpinnings, and you wil come with the giant aha moment...we are not meant to have thes vaccines, our immune sytem is capable.

Oh, and to press it more..most of us have undiagnosed GLUTEN problems...causes immune malfunction....giant giant precursor for autism, and vaccine damage..

Now you see why I HATE vaccinations, because they represent a giant experiement on the masses. The one size fits all, it incredulously stupid, and unscientific.

To suggest you can alter that pattern in suscpetible populations, is almost silly.

Sorry for my candor, but gotta say it

MOM OF TWO with AUTISM, TWO other NT
GRANDCHIDREN, ALL BOYS, NO AUTISM, NOT VACCINATED...yeah right, autism is genetic...

Twyla

Dr. Sears -
As MinorityView said, "I really appreciate Dr. Sears sticking his neck out over vaccines. He is really going out on a limb." He went on to disagree with some of what you said. And I disagree with some of it, too. For example, I have never ever known anyone in the U.S. to have a serious problem with rotavirus. I am aware that such problems do occur, but to me (as a layperson) the risks of the vaccine (based on adverse reactions reported) seems worse than the risks of the virus. To add this vaccine onto the already crowded schedule seems to me to be a mistake.

However, like some of the other posters (e.g. Jill), I really really appreciate your willingness to go out on a limb and provide information about vaccines. Whatever you say, you are going to get grief -- from the doctors who want you just to defend the vaccine program as is, and from the parents of vaccine-injured children who believe that you don't go far enough in your criticisms. Thank you so much for continuing to address and discuss this topic in spite of all the mud flung at you from various directions.

I recommend your book to new parents. And your article about aluminum in Mothering magazine was excellent.

Dr. Bob Sears

Thanks everyone for contributing your comments. Whenever I write vaccine information on any website, I find that people either hate me or love me. Of course, on a website devoted to autism education and support, I'll get more negative than positive feedback.
I would ask, however, that everyone look at the overall message of my article. YOU DON'T HAVE TO VACCINATE IF YOU DON'T FEEL VACCINES ARE SAFE. And for families already affected by autism, your subsequent infants may be at a higher risk of being negatively affected by vaccines, so don't just automatically vaccinate like your pediatrician will probably tell you to. Stop and think about it.
So, I'm not sure why some of you would take issue with that advice. As a physician, I have to listen to both mainstream science and anecdotal reports, and take into account my own experience. If there was any mainstream peer reviewed science that clearly showed a link between autism and vaccines (something other than Andy's original Lancet paper, since the mainstream medical community has thrown that out), you can bet I would be the first one to change my recommendation to a very strong "Don't vaccinate your next babies." Yes, there is a ton of science that shows a possible link between vaccines and autism - but that science isn't published in mainstream journals. If there is one or two that I've missed, please show them to me.
As a doctor, do I consider such research? Yes, of course I do. I read it and evaluate it. And I completely agree that there are thousands of reports from parents about vaccine reactions and regressive autism.
I know there are conflicts of interest among researchers and some medical journals, and any good research that shows a problem with vaccines would have a hard time getting published in such journals, but at the same time I also have to abide by accepted scientific methods and what is considered mainstream science by the medical community. It's not an ideal situation to be in.
So, bottom line, I'm not here to say vaccines are good or bad. In fact, you may notice that MOST DAN! doctors that speak at DAN! conferences speak very carefully about vaccines - most say something like, "I'm not saying vaccines are bad - there is a place for them, and they can help. I just want them to be safer." Very few DAN! doctors openly speak out against vaccines at conferences (at least, that's been my experience). Some, however, do speak out very openly against them. But the DAN! organization does NOT have an anti-vaccine policy. So if DAN! won't even speak out against vaccines, why are you angry at me for not doing so?
Back to the bottom line. Right now, it's all about choice - I'm offering parents education and choice. I'm on your side. I'm trying to influence vaccine policy in our country, and it isn't easy. If you are anti-vaccine, I understand that. And I just don't 'tolerate' it. Ask anyone who is a patient of mine - I welcome such decisions with open arms. That's a parent's choice.
As for specific vaccine recommendations, re-read the article - I don't actually recommend anyone do anything in particular at all. I'm just laying out the choices. If you choose to shoot the messenger that's trying to spread the "good news," that's your loss. I look forward to ongoing interaction with all of you.

Twyla

To see Dr. Offit's review of Dr. Sears' book, Dr. Sears' response, and best of all a letter from Dr. Jon S. Poling, go to http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/eletters/123/1/e164#39891

Dr. Poling's excellent letter is about two thirds of the way down.

Kathy Blanco

Bottom line? My grandchildren are not vaccinated, and have no signs of autism, whatsoever (in fact, they are super smart, communicative and way above schedule on developmental milestones)...and this, from a family with multiplex autism (boy and girl, very unusual). My NT girls had enough of autism...and my preach ran over and over in their brains forever, never vaccinate, or you will have my life. Thank GOD they listened, stuck to a great diet, detoxed, and worked on any viruses in them, bore them without immediate cord clamping...etc etc

Go put your vaccines, DR SEARS, where they need to be stuck, in the very phsyicians/companies that promote them as safe, or safer at any schedule, or able to be greened. IMHO, all vaccines are worthless pieces of crap. So far, no takers on the bid to take dose and weight of childhood vaccines in any of these officials...what? 80 K is not enough?

I would LOVE to take back time, and get the measles in my kids, and all the things that excercise their immune system and purge out toxins (this is the purpose of childhood diseases).

I would have LOVED to see my kids go to "regular classes", have friends, birthday parties, drivers liscences (I think?), dating, college, and marriage, and yes, even have children of their own...but that was robbed from me, because I trusted that "vaccines are safe", and or, that "vaccines can be safer", and or, that "vaccines can be greened"...

Tell that to the people who saw mycoplasma contaminations, viruses mimick brain tissues, mercury that diminishes brain neurons, MSG that shortens the life of neurons and makes them glutamate rich and excitotoxic, etc etc etc...point being, there is no safe schedule, safe vaccine, less toxic vaccines. Any autism organization that says or voices "we are not anti vaccine" are on my bad list, and are obviously taking money from some people who want to hold vaccines back from the light of day.

I would not try to WORK WITH THE DEVILS, that make them, and the philosophy of vaccines, is one of warning in our own bible, do not mix animal blood with human blood.

And of religion, my religion says, to not harm innocent children (especially my own), and my heart and my philosophy says the same. That's good enough for me...

So Dr Sears, seems as though you are more subject to the rulers of pharmacopia, than you are to the children, who suffer at the hands of physicians, who think vaccines are important, vital, and safe. They are not, and have been proven to be dangerous, even in children with no predispositions. Imagine a child with predispositions? A child with congenital lyme disease, a child with an unknown mitochondrial disorder that physicians never test for, a child who had disordered metabolic problems, lack of thyroid T3, or incubated in a soup of toxins and viruses and bacteria in utero, without knowledge by mom, were sick or battling a cold or virus at time of vaccination, and or was provided anti fever meds before vaccines which prolong the virus, sometimes forever in the body? What of familial autoimmune histories, are the pediatricians asking that one? GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

I think it high time, that the entire autism community not stand on this fence anymore...vaccines, are not safe, or can be made safer, by taking out one or two ingredients. In so doing, you are only opening up MORE contaminations, which, may have MORE deliterious results.

Ask anyone in the BIZ of vaccinating....especially loved the recording of a parent who called a vaccine manufacturer, who asked point blank of the answer customer service person HAVE YOU HAD THEIR ADULT VACCINES...the answer was "that's none of your business"....well, there you go....

Theresa

On HiB... Even if the 20,000 cases per year figure is accurate, let's put that into context: there are roughly 40,000 DEATHS per year from automobile accidents. Does it make sense to vaccinate all children against HiB (considering all of the shot's health risks and expenses) to prevent 20,000 cases of HiB (only a fraction of which would lead to fatalities) when we don't forbid people to get into cars (even though doing so would prevent 40,000 deaths per year)? People have an irrational desire to completely eliminate disease, even when the costs of doing so are greater than the costs of the disease itself. (Citation for the car accidents: http://www.car-accidents.com/pages/fatal-accident-statistics.html)

htbenz

Feel free to add comments to this site too...

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=6531763&page=1

Pamela Felice

Religious Waivers

While I greatly appreciate Dr. Sear's open mindedness and his courage for breaking with the AAP on their rigid "every one must comply" attitude, I must strongly disagree with his comment that using a religious waiver after developing a concern regarding vaccination is dishonest.

In most states the religious waiver refers to ones personal beliefs and does not require affiliation with a specific religion. I can very honestly say that I have developed a strong religious conviction after watching my two year old regress into autism after her flu vaccines and then tracking her medical records with regard to timing of infant vaccines and medical conditions she developed before the regression.

Personally, my husband and I have always believed that God has placed our children in our care and that he holds us responsible for advocating for them and doing what is right for them as individuals. Having the concerns that we now have about vaccine ingredients and the schedule along with potential genetic susceptibility, we truly believe that we would be breaking our covenant with God by continuing to do that which we know caused our first child harm. We are fortunate enough to have a pediatrician who shares much of Dr. Sear’s philosophy and has provided a medical waiver for both our children but if we need to claim a religious waiver I can very honestly say the conviction is extremely sincere.

Sorsha

funny that Dr. Sears still says the Dtap can help prevent transmission of pertussis to young infants when the vaccine insert clearly states it has no idea if vaccination prevents transmission - the vaccine isn't really for pertussis, but the toxin produced by the bacteria therefore, anyone can still carry the bug and pass it on without experiencing serious side effects themselves. And HiB? How about mentioning that an infant breastfed for 3 months has almost zero chance of ever developing this bug. Check out the Swedish stuides on breastfeeding and HiB Dr. Sears and get up to date on some of this stuff.

Rachel Ford

Harris L. Coulter, Ph.D., co-author of DPT Shot in the Dark with Barbara Loe Fisher said:

..."no biological phenomenon is either all or nothing. Vaccination cannot be considered to either leave a child perfectly normal or have a very severe impact on a child. There’s got to be a range of effects-how about the children in the middle? How about those who are slightly affected by the vaccine? Anybody who knows anything about the biology of medicine knows that this has to be because it would be impossible to stress a large group of people, like two million babies a year in the United States and not have the reactions go along a whole range of effects….Some of the side effects or long term affects make themselves felt not the next week or two weeks later but five or ten years later when the parent realizes that their child is not acting or behaving like other children act and tries to figure out what the reason for that is….”

“This is, at first glance, a startling omission,” says Coulter. When the neurologic (as opposed to psychological) nature of autism was finally revealed, “mental health professionals should have immediately appreciated the tie with encephalitis. Furthermore, it had long been known that a variety of encephalitis was caused by vaccination. But this is precisely why physicians shied away from the topic! Since no one wanted to impugn the [vaccination] programs, encephalitis was never discussed openly and fully."

Of course, now we know autism is not just neurologic but involves many body systems.
Its way past time for all physicians to start taking part in this discussion.

Rene


I am very grateful for the attachment parenting model advocated Dr. William and Martha Sears (Dr. Bob Sears' parents). Based on their work, my husband and I felt secure about allowing our babies to share our bed, letting them breastfeed as long as they wanted to, and responding to their needs intuitively and without worrying about "spoiling" them. A lot of the things we did ran counter to our extended family's parenting methods, and though we're not iconoclasts by nature this way of parenting felt very right for us and allowed us to buck tradition.

Several years on, we have a 6 year old son with severe autism, and like a lot of other parents I often find myself playing endless variations of the toxic "what if" game. What if my somewhat unorthodox parenting methods had extended to questioning the wisdom and safety of vaccinations? What if The Vaccination Book had been part of the Sears Parenting Library back when I was devouring everything the Sears family had to say? Sadly, I don't think reading this book would have made any difference at all for my son.


Deborah

The doctor wrote:
"HIB vaccine: This protects against a very rare form of infant and toddler meningitis. There used to be about 20,000 cases each year in the U.S. during the 1980s and before – now we see only about 25 (due, in my opinion, to the vaccine)."

The little hitch is...that Hib was not reportable until after the vaccine was approved. The 20,000 cases is a guesstimate.

This article explores another problem with the Hib vaccine. It does prevent Hib from hanging out in vaccinated children (the bug only occasionally causes illness, for most children it is just part of the bacterial neighborhood) but, as nature abhores a vacuum, other bugs move in and occasionally cause illness, and then another vaccines is needed--well, read the article.
http://insidevaccines.com/wordpress/vaccine-efficacy-how-often-do-vaccines-work/other-stuff/the-interspecies-competition-library/

Jo

"Small outbreaks will occur, both in vaccinated and unvaccinated people..."

There you have it - vaccines don't work.

"There used to be about 20,000 cases each year in the U.S. during the 1980s and before – now we see only about 25 (due, in my opinion, to the vaccine)."

'Nuff said.

HTRTC(Handthatrocksthecradle)

Dr. Sears Mo'Bucks seems like a panderer to me. He is pandering to the average parents' deep seated, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" vaccine blues. I'll admit his AAP rap is more palatable, but it is still a diluted, attenuated version of the same old toxic sales pitch of a faulty product and fear mongering. Caveat emptor!!We are to believe that in comes the benevolent Dr. Sears, riding in on his white horse so that the average parent does not have to be placed in the heart wrenching position of having to choose between the risk of disabling neurological condition like autism and the risk of a life threating contagious disease, right? WRONG. Before you hold down your screaming, trusting infant so the white coats can play neurological Russian roulette, consider door #3. Interestingly enough, the good doc does not mention door # 3 - no vaccines, homeopathics, excellent nutrition, unprocessed, GMO free, organic foods, and most importantly, keeping them away from "well child" visits. The doctor fails to mention that all vaccines actually suppress the immune system, that they are grown on cancer cell lines, fetal and animal tissue, that the filtering process does not always filter out cell wall deficient bacteria/mycoplasmas and that they contain dangerous adjuvants. Adjuvants give it that extra special boost and are quite toxic. (Squalene and Gulf War Syndrome, anyone?) He fails to mention that vaccine safety testing does not include testing for synergistic effects but no worries, he has just the solution. Please!
He seems like another capitalist profiteer wanting to be first in line to cash in on the anti-vaccine fears yet treading softly with his AMA cronies. Transparent. Contemptible.

Hmm..., it might just work.

gin

this is wonderfully reassuring. and which peer-reviewed journal may i find the empirical research that indicates that our children will not be harmed by this revised schedule?

Kristin

"Most kids seem to handle vaccines very well" and he is a practicing pedi??? So I guess all the kids with problems go to another doc in town. In talking about the "safety" of vaccines he doesn't mention the toxins that are in them. I also think it's strange how he infers that unvaccinated children can be responsible for an outbreak. The outbreaks I have heard reported on tv and in the paper have stated the majority of the kids were vaccinated. I was also shocked that he thinks six vaccines at once is too much for susceptible children-insinuating that most kids would be okay with this? I am really disappointed in this article because if he is treating children with autism, he knows better.

Ant Bethany

This is such poor advice.

I am in shock that as a DAN! doctor, Dr. Sears still shrugs his shoulders about vaccinating siblings.. I though this would be a no-brainer.

What a disservice to his patients. I would be alarmed if thiswas my Dan! or Ped's stance on vaccines.

My micropreemie with cerebral palsy is astounding her doctors with her excellent health and progress... I cannot imagine the child I would have in place of her had I allowed the NICU to poison her at 2 pounds.. in the name of staying on the schedule...

These 'vaccine' ingredients have no place in our childreb...

Dr. Sears has disappointed me yet again with his flaccid advice to parents who need (deserve) his support 100% and those parents who afraid and searching for solid, logical advice.

rileysmom

I agree that if doctors were held accountable for the children that have been harmed by the vaccines that they have personally prescribed...there would be less of them saying "vaccines and autism have no link". While I appreciate Dr Sears' views on "some" vaccines are not needed and "some" children can be harmed by said vaccines, he's still a fence humper.
After my son received 11 virues in one day without my true understanding or knowledge (it was not explain to me that prevnar 7 was actually 7 viruses in one vaccine)I have a problem trusting or believing anything the medical community has to say. Unfortunately for me and my child, I was taught to believe what my doctor says, that they are the most knowledgeable about such things. Come to find out I know more than my doctor knows about vaccines just by doing a small amount of reading. What's stopping these doctors from reading? I will say that we have contacted a lawyer about my son's Ped and he says we have a case. There are other circumstances that go with our case but I think if more doctors are sued for the negligence and stop saying "we just didn't know" then there would be less fence humpers. There would also be a REAL quick push for proper research because it is my understanding that most doctors don't like anything that is going to "harm" their back pocket.

Anne B

I'm not sure my prior comments got saved, so I am repeating them here. Apologies if this is a duplicate.

My son was born at home. He was not vaccinated until 6 weeks old. Prior to 6 weeks of age, he was already showing symptoms of autism, to wit: he arched away from me when he cried; he cried to be put down; he had extreme body rigidity; and he preferred to be carried facing outwards, rather than with his stomach against me (contrary to the preferences of neurotypical children).

How many babies are screened for these symptoms? Mine sure wasn't.

Actually, I did not notice any difference from vaccinations, but I can see where a child who has a tendency toward autism anyway might be provoked into an autistic withdrawal by the PAIN of vaccinations. Kids with autistic spectrum disorders are hypersensitive to some sensory inputs.

That girl in Texas who went into autistic withdrawal after vaccination had FIVE shots in one day. That's really inhuman for a small child.

I have a friend who was profoundly autistic as a child. She could not speak intelligibly until age 11. She could not reliably produce complete sentences until high school. She could not speak fluently, without rehearsing her words, until she was 48.

She is unusual in that she can remember her own autistic withdrawal. She was on a bus and she heard some men talking about their "dresses." Since she knew that men did not wear dresses, she decided that people were not worth listening to. Only later, as an adult, did she realize that the men were talking about their "addresses;" but, obviously, a child who has made a decision not to listen is not going to develop speech. This is a decision that only a child with an autistic spectrum disorder could make -- since a neurotypical child would keep trying to understand, due to his or her desire to fit in socially.

If such a minor incident could provoke an autistic withdrawal in a child so predisposed -- imagine how much worse it would be to get FIVE shots in one day under the supervision of one's mother! That would clearly be enough to provoke an autistic withdrawal.

This year for the first time, I got a flu shot without thimerisol, as an adult. I was surprised that I had no arm soreness afterwards. I imagine that the arm soreness that typically follows vaccination may be due to the thimerisol, rather than the killed viruses in the vaccine. That soreness would add insult to injury for the child with an ASD.

I would suggest that, if children were better screeend for symptoms of autism within the first few days of birth, more profound autistic withdrawal might be avoided in some cases by not giving vaccinations. Also, vaccinations by nasal droplets rather than by shots would be a lot more human for all children -- and should be investigated more.

Elizabeth Hensley

Concerning the "honesty of religious exemptions:Anyone can get a religious exemption based on it is against your beliefs to do something that has a great chance of harming your child.

If you are a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim it comes under, "Do unto others as you would have them do onto you." If you are a Buddhist it comes under "right behavior." If you are a Wiccan it comes under, "Do what you want as long as it harms no one." (Vaccinations have a huge chance of harming your child). If you are an Agnostic or an Atheist the only kind of immortality you do believe in is passing your genes on and your chances of doing that are greatly decreased by doing something that might harm your genetic replacement.

DAN_doctors_dont_lie?

''and in my opinion vaccines do help prevent these diseases.''

Hey comon, since you are looking for it, this is BS. I don't even want to read all the bla bla of this long article. Yeah, a book coming out in 2 years ? Go hide somewhere in the meantime because your crap will be exposed as false anyway. You are actually endorsing many vaccines which can't be trusted. When there is absolutely no short, mid or long term studies done on health risks, how can we trust anything about it being truly scientific? You are asking people to trust Pharma companies... or some vaccines. How are they manufactured ? Is there foreign DNA stuff in the vial ? Just a little corruption of your immune system can't be bad right ? Well, shoot yourself if you feel safe but you wouldn't touch any person I know.

Why don't peds talk about the other natural or alternative ways of dealing with disease when it manifest ?? Why are vaccines made by eugenicists and funded by banksters ever promoted as the next best thing in life ? It is an insult to creation to suggest our bodies can't be ok in life if we don't get that profitable and disease creating shit into our bodies... Time to have some real change to prevent yet another MD to come out with a book defending vaccines one way or the other.

Rachel Ford

Millie said, "when i visit a pediatrician i would like to be paying for an individual assessment of my child and an individual set of recommendations based on that assessment. i don't want to hear or have my pediatrician be thinking about anyone else outside that room."

I agree 100%. Hippocratic Oath--"First do no harm". I assume this means to your patient--not, "society as a whole"!

I would like to pose a question to Dr. Sears regarding his recommendation favoring Tripedia DTaP. What about the fact that autism is actually listed as a possible adverse reaction right on the package insert for Tripedia? Dr. Sears, can you please respond to my question on this?

I do appreciate that you are moving in the right direction, I just feel it is not enough. My son tested positive for mercury in his blood seven months after his 15 mos. shots in 2003 when the mercury was supposed to be out of the shots--he also got a "half-dose" flu shot that day as I assumed it would be mercury free--otherwise I would never have gotten it. (He had never eaten fish nor did I consume ANY fish while pregnant and we also ruled out household contamination). My story can be read on this website under Parent Warriors--"Our Journey with Matthew". I think autism is caused by both the toxins, especially mercury (and it doesn't have to be much mercury to cause major damage), AND the overload to the immune system of multiple shots. The combination of these two factors is horrendous. And its not just autism we are talking about--what about ADHD/ADD, allergies, and asthma?

steve

VACCINATING SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN
"But what about vaccines? There is no clear answer. "

Are you smoking crack Dr. Sears?

jill r

thanks dr. sears. i love your book. i am using your alternative schedule for my daughter. well i modified it a little with my doctors recomendation, to wait for the mmr and chicken pox until age 3 or 4. i think that your book gives clear answers and explanations. your book was easy to read and helped me find a great doctor for my kids who listened to my concerns and agreed with me! thanks!

MinorityView

I really appreciate Dr. Sears sticking his neck out over vaccines. He is really going out on a limb. Unfortunately, some of his information isn't really top quality.

He said above:
"Polio vaccine: Polio doesn’t exist in the U.S., or the entire western hemisphere. So going unvaccinated in this country doesn’t pose any risk to that individual. Of course, it’s an important shot for most people overall so we can keep polio out."

But the CDC Pink Book says: ( http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/polio-508.pdf page 106) "IPV is highly effective in producing immunity to poliovirus and protection from paralytic poliomyelitis. Ninety percent or more of vaccine recipients develop protective antibody to all three poliovirus types after two doses, and at least 99% are immune following three doses. Protection against paralytic disease correlates with the presence of antibody. IPV appears to produce less local gastrointestinal immunity than does OPV, so persons who receive IPV are more readily infected with wild poliovirus than OPV recipients."

which seems to indicate that the injected polio vaccine protects the individual but cannot be depended upon to prevent transmission of the virus. Asking children to have a vaccine for the sake of herd immunity which doesn't provide herd immunity is silly, frankly.

Oh well.

Mom to an overvaccinated, autistic toddler

This guy is a DAN! doctor? Wow. Didn't know that. How does one graduate the DAN training (lol) and not think vaccines contribute to the autism epidemic. Glad he's not my doc.

I just love how he says "most children seem to handle vaccines very well." Um, what? 1 in 94 boys regressing into autism is "handling" vaccines very well? Get a grip. Tens of thousands of autistic kids is not okay, Dr. Sears.

Also, "...But some parents without a DAN! doctor might find themselves in a bind. You could try getting religious really quick, but that wouldn’t be honest." Are you kidding???? I have one of those relgious exemptions, and don't lose a wink of sleep over it, buddy.

nhokkanen

Dr. Sears' book is a great starting point for opening more minds to the dreaded reality of vaccine injuries in our children.

Realistically we parents can't expect rigidly zealous overvaccinators to make a 180-degree turnaround overnight. They certainly haven't yet, when their victims have confronted them with physical evidence. This dark news is still anathema coming from a peer professional.

Still, I can certainly understand how an autism parent would reject Sears' book as too moderate. With this devastating disorder, it's "once burned, forever shy."

Patti

Sadly, this looks to me like yet another doctor who is using what happened to our children to make money selling books.

I would have found it easier to swallow if the doctor got off the fence and quit trying to make everyone happy. As it is, this book appears to be quite a letdown.

kathleen

Okay, so I don't agree with everything stated in the piece...but I agree with more than I do with most pediatrician's LOL.
Thanks for taking a step toward careful vaccination. This is a beginning, and I am thrilled to see it. Very few stand against the mainstream without getting burned and Dr. Sears seems to be making an effort to change the one dimentional thinking of mainstream pediatrician's. THANK YOU Dr Sears. I hope that you are successful with this delicate balancing act you are beginning:) If for no other reason than that you are trying. I've never expected too much out of our ped, but I do expect for him to try and meet me halfway. Our concerns do not make us the "crazy" parents of vaccine-injured children. Our concerns deserve recognition. We also deserve to have an opportunity to have a safer schedule without the so-called "proof" (that I personally believe exists to the standards of re-calling many other meds)that the pro vaccine side calls for. My parents did not live in fear of my dying in childhood....AT ALL!!! I am a 60's baby, and a healthy adult. My concerns as a parent after watching my son react IMMEDIATELY to his shot, is more of a "why am I not being believed" concern. Why is it that as parents, we are asked to describe every detail of what is going on with our child's illness at a regular visit for an infection or something....the Dr. listens to everything we say....usually adds that a mom" knows" and should go on her instincts...blah blah blah, BUT when it comes to a question about a vaccine induced injury...moms somehow lose all ability to have an instinctive "feeling" and from that point on...mom is considered nuts (maybe dad, too)and we become the wacky folk at the ped's office.
I am all for a start to healthy children. I suppose to be honest, this beginning does have a long way to go. But it is a beginning.
Dr King wrote a recent article describing where exactly the measles outbreaks we've had recently came from.
(I may have already posted this...)


http://mercury-freedrugs.org/docs/081128_PGKdrftRespns_Vaccines_SeparatingFactsFromFiction_clr.pdf

Surprising that he also adds an opinion as to why the much larger outbreak of mumps has not been so forced in the media. The majority of those mumps cases were vaccinated children. ANd the majority of the measles cases were imported.

Okay, I'm rambling...sorry...

Thanks Dr. Sears, hopefully there will be many more who take your lead.

garnet10

I think it is a shame that despite the fact that Dr. Sears is one of the few well-known pediatricians who has publicly acknowledged that vaccines are not without risk, and that parents should have the opportunity to decide how and when and if their children are immunized, he is still criticized because he is not completely opposed to vaccination.

I am grateful there are pediatricians like Dr. Bob Sears out there, and applaud his integrity, allowing himself to be subject to scrutiny from all sides.


AutismDad

Dr. Bob,

Thank-you for breaking from the AAP party line. Despite the criticisms leveled at you by others here, I believe that you have taken a brave step in the right direction toward embracing vaccine safety over PrOffit.

I'm sure it's not easy being a pioneer pediatrician trying to "green our vaccines." More pediatricians should stand behind you in your efforts to reduce vaccine injury by modifying the AAP/CDC schedule.

Angela Warner

When I first started reading I thought, this might be good. Based on this excerpt alone, I won't waste my time reading the book.

I think the thing I find the most irritating and irresponsible about this is that there is absolutely no mention nor consideration given to the time of year that the child may be born. This alone has a huge impact on which diseases and illness a child could be more susceptible to getting. There is no focus on the individual child. Only on a set selective vaccine schedule.

The other issue I have with what Dr. Sears has to say is the recommendation for the rotavirus vaccine. After reading the VAERS reports on this vaccine and associated deaths, I'll steer clear of this one for sure. The vast majority of babies who died after receiving this vaccine were two months old. Nothing anyone says can convince me that it wasn't the vaccines and I'll tell you why. Two of the babies that died were twins. Perfectly healthy twins, got vaccinated, and died at the same time a short time after being vaccinated.

Nope, I won't be buying, nor reading Dr. Sears new book.

Theresa

I agree with Lisa S. that Dr. Sears's advice on Hep B is incomplete. While Hep B is not limited exclusively to prostitutes and drug addicts, it's irresponsible for a parent to assume that Hep B and HPV vaccinations will protect a child against all the consequences of promiscuous sexual activity. I'm not looking forward to my little girl getting old enough for "the talk," but I know I'm going to be brave enough to talk to her about all the risks of sexual activity, including AIDS and pregnancy. Not having premarital sex, or using real protection like condoms--these are the solutions that parents should be providing to their teens, not the false protection of a couple of vaccinations.

Dr. Sears also ignores the societal risk of eliminating some diseases. The NY Times recently covered the emergence of serotype 19a of pneumonia, which is far more lethal than the serotypes contained in the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Scientists believe that serotype 19a has become more prevalent *because* of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. It appears that the other strains (the ones in the vaccine) were keeping 19a at bay, and now 19a has broken out.

We have our natural immune systems and hygienic techniques like hand-washing and condoms to prevent the spread of disease. We should think very seriously before recommending any vaccine--I think the stance of any doctor should be "why do you need this shot?" rather than "why do you *not* need this shot?"

Rachel

Wishy-washy. Time to take a real stand, Doc. He seems to know what parents know arleady; these cause harm. But Heaven forbid we offend anyone by coming out and stating the truth.

What was that again?

"It would be nice if we could screen newborns for genetic and metabolic susceptibilities to severe vaccine reactions. We could then vaccinate such babies more carefully and find ways to avoid these reactions. But we don’t have that technology yet."

Actually there IS a test for newborn screening, I am unsure how many pediatricians are aware of it. Given these times it would be nice to run this simple test on kids before we decide to stick them with heavy metals and mito depleting vaccines on the day of their birth. It costs about a $100. A measly amount compared to the cost of autism.

I am unsure however if running this test will be enough to keep a child away from autism. I don't see anything about sulphur metabolism on there (http://members.cruzio.com/~cease/Michael_Langx.html).

http://www.perkinelmergenetics.com/NewBornScreening.htm

I am also somewhat dismayed by the fact that you are wanting to screen newborns AFTER a vaccine reaction. What in the world happened to preventive care?

Andrea

Thank you Dr. Sears for this no nonsense analysis of the real risks and the real benefits of vaccine/diseases they are meant to prevent.

If more doctors took this approach- I believe more children would be getting more vaccines.

Parents are scared and woefully misinformed. All or nothing isn't working.

Your patients are so fortunate to have you as their doctor.

Meg N

I'm not crazy about this advice, but I think for parents who have not yet experienced the horror of witnessing a vaccine reaction this may be easier to swallow than most articles...

Shannon C.

While the author has put a lot of careful thought into his recommended schedule, two vaccines a month is too many and starting at two months of age is too soon. In my opinion, he needs to do some research. Consider the 1980's schedule please. I'm glad he is not my child's Dan doctor.

ruth

it's always interesting to see a glimpse of the internal process of doctors recognizing that they could be a part of damaging a generation of children through the vaccine program. some doctors can only survive by turning off their brains and living in passionate denial, yelling at and kicking out their non-vaxing patients. some drop out of the vaccine game and some become dan! doctors. many times the latter categories are reserved for doctors who have observed the vaccine-triggered descent into autism in their own children. here it sounds like we have someone in transition without a vaccine-injured child. you identify yourself as an independent thinker which has led you to not mechanically recommend the full schedule and you take the next step of developing your own revised schedule. but yet, you still hold on to the doctored research that says there is no link between mercury and autism? and you're treating vaccine-injured children without fully recognizing it? what's the point of having a revised schedule then? is this revised schedule based on what's less likely to trigger autism, or which diseases you're the most afraid of. it's in the same category as decreasing the mercury in vaccines but pretending trace amounts means zero, but not recalling all the mercury vaccines because we're never going to admit it's actually a destructive neurotoxin & that we've injured kids. i can only imagine how many fewer pediatricians would be stuck sitting on this fence if they were personally liable for every child they injured with a vaccine. maybe then there could be some research on how to treat these childhood diseases instead of just developing more & more vaccines.

millie

i can't seem to come around to the idea that pediatrician vaccine recommendations are starting from a cognitive framework of what they've decided is good for society & then making minor concessions for the autism/vaccine injured population. why can't this voice for society be represented by public health officials? when i visit a pediatrician i would like to be paying for an individual assessment of my child and an individual set of recommendations based on that assessment. i don't want to hear or have my pediatrician be thinking about anyone else outside that room. or i guess i should be pleased that i would not be "blamed" for skipping boosters for my vaccine-injured child by some pediatricians. even if you only acknowledge a small portion of autism cases are related to vaccines (as the dept of health & human services has already acknowledged 1), the risks of developing "autism" far exceed the risks of the diseases vaccines are trying to prevent. & what do you know, we're back at protecting society for decreasing the numbers of adults with autism that will need a lifetime of care. a fact that has not escaped most of us living with autism.

lisa s.

I'm sorry, but I skimmed down to see what he said about the Hep B vaccine, and he said it wasn't necessary for newborn babies, or for children in the first few years.

This vaccine is not necessary for any child at ANY age unless he or she becomes a prostitute or a drug addict. It is the stupidest, most dangerous, and most wasteful use of resources in modern pediatrics. Anyone who even so much as hints that this vaccine might, could, should be routinely administered to children AT ANY AGE is quite simply way too addicted to pharmaceuticals for my taste.

Stop reading. End of story.

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