Parents have Good Reason to Distrust Childhood Vaccines by Josh Mazer
Parents have good reason to distrust childhood vaccines by Josh Mazer
Read the original lettter in The Baltimore Sun
Steven L. Salzberg's response to Margaret Dunkle's vaccination op-ed is itself a study in fear-mongering and ignorance ("Sun prints dangerous anti-vaccination op-ed," July 14). It is precisely because of the condescending and uninformed views of Dr. Salzberg that parents are losing confidence in the CDC mandated vaccination program.
Salzberg is "deeply concerned" that the op-ed piece will lead to decreased uptake of vaccination and increased morbidity due to vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. Fair enough, but how about a comment from him on the following points:
The co-author of the 2002 epidemiological study from the Journal of Pediatrics cited by Dr. Salzberg is currently under federal indictment for stealing money from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His credibility is in doubt, as is that of the entire study.
Further, how does Dr. Salzberg justify the use of epidemiology to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a medical intervention given to millions of children? This amounts to nothing less than human experimentation.
Further, how does Dr. Salzberg justify the use of epidemiology to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a medical intervention given to millions of children? This amounts to nothing less than human experimentation.
Most vaccine safety studies are funded by vaccine manufacturers. The CDC, National Institutes of Health and the vaccine manufacturers maintain a revolving-door relationship.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, while head of NIH, approved three doses of Merck's Rotateq for the immunization schedule; one year after leaving NIH (the statutory minimum) she was hired to head Merck's vaccine division.
Dr. Salzberg's claim that "hundreds of studies" have disproven a link between vaccines and autism is false. He needs to get in touch with his colleague at Hopkins, Dr. Andrew Zimmerman. Dr. Zimmerman testified in the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program hearing Poling v.HHS.
Hannah Poling's father, Dr. Jon Poling, was a neurologist on staff at Hopkins when his daughter descended into irreversible brain damage and autism after receiving multiple shots in one doctor visit. The decision says that the vaccines "resulted in but did not cause" Hannah's autism.
Dr. Salzberg also should address why the U.S. Supreme Court, in a recent 5-4 decision, held that vaccine manufacturers are completely exempt from any liability for damage caused by the shots, and that, in the words of the court, vaccines are "unavoidably unsafe."
Vaccines are a multi-billion dollar gravy train for big pharma, and they are the only area of medicine invulnerable to the plaintiff's bar.
Dr. Salzberg does not disclose his own personal conflicts of interest, if any. Before I consider his opinion on vaccine safety, I would like to know how much money he has received, directly or indirectly, from vaccine manufacturers.
He should consider the position of parents who are presented with the option of giving their child shots that are known to cause acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, or not giving the kids the shots, and risking infectious diseases.
That's a tough choice for a parent to have to make. Dr. Salzberg does not advance the issue by regurgitating CDC talking points without an ounce of critical analysis on his part to understand why some parents are frightened of the current 60-plus shot schedule.
Josh Mazer, Annapolis
I recently went to a gynecological appointment with my 21 year old daughter. The doctor pushed the Gardasil vaccine very strongly. I started to defend my position on vaccines by telling him that there have been 13 reported deaths from the vaccine. He proceeded to tell me that medical literature has shown that most of those cases were proven untrue and that I as a nurse should know the importance of HPV and preventing cervical cancer. I politely told him we are not interested. He became visibly upset. The literature is put out by pharmaceutical companies. Pharmaceutical companies have the government convinced of the safety of vaccinations, and the government controls the medical community when it comes to vaccination. It is a viscious cycle which cannot be broken.
Posted by: Bev | July 25, 2011 at 09:35 PM
With the intense and dramatic efforts to maintain or increase vaccination rates and the number of shots given at the same time during the first months/years of a child's life, you'd think that the overall benefit would be a steady improvement in our country's infant mortality rate. Sadly, this is NOT the case.
The current study by Miller and Goldman, "Infant Mortality Rates Regressed Against Number of Vaccine Doses Routinely Given: Is There a Biochemical or Synergistic Toxicity?" found a high statistically significant correlation between increasing number of vaccine doses and increasing infant mortality rates. That's right.. more shots leads to more cases or instances of infant mortality. This raises an important question: Would fewer vaccines administered to infants reduce the number of infant deaths?
The US is slipping from a leading position in rankings of fewer infant mortality incidents to a much poorer rank. How can the good outweigh the bad if this is indeed the outcome of this highly profitable experiment by Pharma?
Posted by: David Shoenfeld | July 23, 2011 at 04:33 PM
Australia
@ Bob Moffitt- "benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks"
If these "so-called" experts say it long enough and hard enough then it becomes the truth!
We know otherwise!
Click link below and all I can say-'Here we go again'-'Flu shots!'
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/ballarat-residents-encouraged-to-get-flu-jab/2233405.aspx
Elizabeth-AussieMum
Posted by: AussieMum | July 21, 2011 at 05:39 AM
When safety studies are funded by vaccine manufacturers,why
would they be interested to discover any safety issues?
Dr.John Poling was quickly paid off because it is nearly impossible to deal with a neurologist who probably had excellent understanding of all the issues.
VAERS is dysfunctional as only 4-10% of the adverse effects are reported. Systemic failure exist as adverse effects reporting automatically would involve doctors and paeds
(shared liability with vaccine manufacturers)who promoted and injected the "safe and effective" vaccines.
When there are adverse reactions,nobody wants to take responsibility,they point fingers every-where to the parents,to the patient and they will minimize side-effects,
blame the parents,blame the mother,
or tell patients it is psychosomatic(it is in your head)
Bowel disorders were completely ignored,they do not listen to the parents,they go by their own head.They have failed
our children,they have failed the parents.They set up a system that only serves their best interest.It is time to smarten up and have honest communication and and fix up this dysfunctional system.It is too late for us but for
the future, if there is one changes need to be made to protect the children.
Posted by: oneVoice | July 20, 2011 at 11:39 PM
Bob Moffitt - It is not a rant but a very good point.
Why isn't there a data base of pediatricians that have reported vaccine reactions.
And if their name is not on it after vaccinating a whole community they should be punished for neglect. A good punishment would be to have their medical liscense revoked and run them out of the country.
But of course it is just the opposite. I guess we are thinking in a utopia world.
Posted by: Benedetta | July 20, 2011 at 03:48 PM
For the most part I believe they were caught off guard , blindsided, the same as the rest of us. Human nature makes us deny our part in harming others, "I didn't do it" may be our first phrase around the age of two. Now, however, when it's time to step up, admit the damage and participate in the healing, those docs that continue to have the back of pharms aren't anything more or less than evil.
Posted by: barbaraj | July 20, 2011 at 09:02 AM
Can someone please explain to me how pediatricians .. such as Dr. Salzberg .. continue to insist the "benefits of vaccines far outweigh the risks" .. when no one knows for certain what those "risks" may be. Indeed, whose fault is it that no one knows the "risks" .. most often it is those very pediatricians and doctors. Consider ...
The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System site politely requests the following of all pediatricians and doctors:
"Please report all significant adverse events that occur after vaccination of adults and children, even if you are not sure whether the vaccine caused the adverse event."
It is generally accepted that less than 10% of doctors and pediatricians comply with the VAERS request .. and .. it is more than likely that most do not report "suspected adverse events" because .. acting in their own self-interests .. it is far more convenient to simply dismiss all such events as "coincidental" to vaccinations.
If pediatiricans and doctors routinely refuse to comply as requested by the agency tasked with monitoring vaccine adverse events .. how can anyone know what the real "risks" associated with vaccines are?
I cannot help but wonder why VAERS doesn't establish a data base of pediatricians and doctors .. identifying those that have complied as requested .. and .. those that don't.
I mean .. how likely would it be for a doctor or pediatrician to administer 200 vaccines a week, 10,000 a year .. year after year .. and .. NEVER find cause or reason to suspect their patient may have suffered an adverse event?
Sorry for the rant .. but ..
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | July 20, 2011 at 06:38 AM