kim Posted May 29, 2006 Report Posted May 29, 2006 I have read several times where the incidence of a disease was falling prior to the introduction of a vax, and that many numbers were projections or estimates, not actual cases, and that they were overblown. I didn't give that a lot of thought since I couldn't really verify it. When I got to tetanus in the article below, the years reported and the number given, it made me really shake my head. Seems there IS something to the the articles I had read in that regard. I wonder why they didn't report the number from 1947 like the vax. insert stated? Could it have ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE REDUCTION IN THE NUMBER? http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:yALm7...k&cd=1&ie=UTF-8 I know I said I wasn't going to do this anymore, couldn't help it.
kim Posted May 30, 2006 Report Posted May 30, 2006 http://www.healthliesexposed.com/articles/...9_30_0515.shtml Be Careful Before You Sign A State Vaccination Exemption Form
kim Posted May 30, 2006 Report Posted May 30, 2006 http://www.washingtontimes.com/upi/20060215-055834-5445r.htm Full series of articles found here http://theageofautism.com./ http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:yW1O2...-8%20pro%20quad
kim Posted June 11, 2006 Report Posted June 11, 2006 http://www.mothering.com/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=47 Momtezuma Tuatara is an awesome resource on this forum and she has just had a book published.
kim Posted June 13, 2006 Report Posted June 13, 2006 Advocacy Groups Urge CDC Advisory Committee To Remove Mercury from Vaccines Children's health advocates again ask government officials to make good on repeated promises of mercury-free vaccines Atlanta, GA -- A prominent ad in today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution sponsored by parents and friends of children injured by mercury in vaccines demands that a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee require complete removal of mercury from vaccines. The ad's sponsors note that according to Environmental Protection Agency guidelines, a person must weigh over 500 pounds to safely absorb the amount of mercury contained in a single flu vaccine and that special hazardous waste sites are required for flu shot disposal. To develop national vaccine guidelines, the CDC follows the advice of the 15-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) (www.cdc.gov/nip/ACIP/members.htm). To date, ACIP has refused to fulfill promises made by the government, physician organizations, and President Bush to remove thimerosal from all vaccines. "Mercury should never have been in vaccines in the first place. The fact that it remains in vaccines seven years after explicit promises were made to take it out amounts to government footdragging that puts children at serious risk of injury," according to Vicky Debold, PhD, public health nurse and mother of a vaccine-injured child. A growing number of scientists are finding that the type of low-dose mercury in vaccines kills and injures brain and immune cells. "Considering that so many children now suffer from learning disabilities and a host of immune-mediated illnesses such as asthma and diabetes, the practice of injecting mercury into our nation's most vulnerable is barbaric," said Dr. Debold. The ad also points out that most flu shots and some other vaccines contain 50,000 parts per billion mercury, despite requirements that landfill waste contain less than 200 parts per billion. "Directly injecting humans with a powerful neurotoxin flies in the face of common sense. With growing research from leading universities further confirming the neurotoxic effects of mercury exposure from vaccines, the ACIP must consider the best interests of our children and put an end to this dangerous and unnecessary exposure," commented Dr.. Debold. The public is urged to contact Julie Gerberding, MD, Director of the CDC (404-639-3311) and Mike Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services (202-619-0257) to request that they direct the ACIP to recommend removal of all remaining mercury in vaccines. To view the ad, go to http://www.nationalautismassociation.org/images/acipad.jpg *********************************************************** The Age of Autism: But is Wakefield right? By DAN OLMSTED UPI Senior Editor WASHINGTON, June 12 (UPI) -- Dr. Andrew Wakefield, the British gastroenterologist who first raised the prospect of a link between the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism, is being pursued by British medical authorities. According to the BBC: "The Independent newspaper reports that the General Medical Council will accuse Mr. Andrew Wakefield of carrying out 'inadequately founded' research. Vaccination rates fell sharply after Dr Wakefield questioned the safety of MMR, raising fears of a measles epidemic. His initial Lancet paper has since been disowned by the journal." Let's put aside the issues surrounding the Lancet paper and concerns about a measles epidemic and go straight to the heart of the matter: Does the MMR cause autism? In other words, is Wakefield right? After looking into the topic for more than a year, I'm very concerned that he may be -- that, especially in children whose immune systems have been rendered susceptible by any number of possible exposures, the combined live-virus vaccine has its fingerprints all over numerous cases of regressive autism. Until researching the seven-part Age of Autism series in Olympia, Wash., that concluded last month, I would not have said that. But when you encounter case after case of perfectly children regressing after live-virus vaccinations -- in this case, the MMR in close proximity to the chickenpox shot -- you have to keep your options open. The families in Olympia noticed a common thread: They had unusual histories of chickenpox and other herpesviruses in their families; their child got the chickenpox and MMR shots in close temporal proximity, often at the same 12-month office visit when both are first recommended; and the child subsequently was diagnosed with regressive autism. Despite the sweeping assurances that there's no link between the MMR and autism, no one seems to have looked at whether such a family history of susceptibility to viruses used in vaccines might raise a risk factor. Call me hypervigilant, but I would have expected that to be rigorously reviewed a long time ago. Two of the Olympia children, in fact, were in small trials at age 12 months of chickenpox and MMR vaccines. One of the vaccines, called ProQuad, combines the MMR and chickenpox, kicking in 10 times the standard amount of chickenpox vaccine to overcome the "immune interference" that can occur when live viruses interact. Such interference is at the heart of Wakefield's concern about the combined MMR vaccine -- that the viruses suppress the immune system in such a way that weakened-but-live measles viruses can set up house and trigger a delayed neurological infection: autism. And measles is not benign -- that's why there's such a push to vaccinate against it. In a small percentage of cases, the wild, or naturally occurring, infection can lead to delayed brain damage and death. It's a neurotoxic virus, in short. Wakefield's question and concern is whether in some cases the live-virus vaccine is neurotoxic, too. Not such a wild idea, really, and listening to him talk makes you hope to God the vaccine manufacturers and regulators are a lot smarter than he makes them sound: "What alarms me about the cavalier approach of the industry and everybody else, the regulators, to these viruses is they presume the wild infection to be nasty and the vaccines to be innocuous -- that they can manipulate something that is biologically highly intelligent and exploit it to their advantage. "And they can't. The viruses don't behave like that and they never will. They merely come back to haunt you as something different." Multiple epidemiological studies have allegedly ruled out this chilling scenario as a factor in autism -- the Institute of Medicine calls it "theoretical only." But epidemiology is only as good as its data and its practitioners, and well-known for its potential pitfalls and flaws. What concerns me is, if the epidemiology is wrong, preventable cases of autism are going to keep happening till the cows come home. Recall, also, that Wakefield never suggested banning the measles, mumps or rubella immunizations. He suggested separating them and giving them a year apart. Especially concerning are the stories that parent after parent tells about physical illness after the shots, followed by autistic regression. It's kind of freaky, really, the way they keep popping up. After finishing the Pox series, I attended the Autism One convention in Chicago and happened to be interviewed by a Web-based documentary filmmaker. During a break, I asked how he got involved. He told me his daughter got the MMR, came down immediately with a 103-degree fever and regressed forthwith into autism. "It's like someone took out her good brain and replaced it with a bad brain," he said. It was that immediate. I had another conversation with the mother of fraternal twins who told me this story: Both sons were scheduled to get two shots -- the MMR and another vaccination -- on the same day at the same office visit. But -- oops -- the healthcare worker gave the first child two MMR shots, not the MMR and the second vaccine. That child soon developed autism; the second one didn't. And I spoke recently with a Texas man whose son got the MMR in 1993; the injection site swelled up to the size of his father's fist; he had seizures at the dinner table that night, and within days was spinning, flapping, chewing wood and not talking ever again. You get the picture. "Anecdotal evidence." But you have to wonder how many of these stories -- one is tempted to say, bodies -- must pile up before the medical authorities go back and take a fresh look at the issue. This blithe disregard for case histories -- for what parents, the supposed bedrock of our "family-friendly" society, say -- is one of the most appalling features of the current climate surrounding autism research. In fact, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-N.Y., has talked publicly of forcing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which sets the childhood immunization schedule and stoutly rejects a link with autism, to actually go out and interview some of these parents. One person who is making things awkward for the authorities is Dr. Peter Fletcher, another British ne'er-do-well -- or, to use his official title, the former chief scientific officer at Britain's Department of Health. As I noted in a column earlier this year, the Daily Mail reported: "A former British government medical officer responsible for deciding whether medicines are safe has accused the government of 'utterly inexplicable complacency' over the MMR triple vaccine for children." The official, Dr. Peter Fletcher, became an expert witness for parents' lawyers, which of course creates a competing interest that needs to be factored in. But Fletcher said his new role gave him access to documents that deeply concerned him. "There are very powerful people in positions of great authority in Britain and elsewhere who have staked their reputations and careers on the safety of MMR and they are willing to do almost anything to protect themselves," he said. Gosh, this is starting to get interesting, and not just for Andrew Wakefield. Doctor behind MMR scare to face four charges of misconduct over research Sarah Boseley, health editor Monday June 12, 2006 The Guardian http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/news/0,,1795596,00.html Andrew Wakefield, the doctor behind the scare over a potential link between the MMR jab and autism in children, is to face four charges relating to unprofessional conduct at the General Medical Council, it is reported today. Mr Wakefield, a surgeon who became a gut specialist, could be struck off the medical register and debarred from practising in the UK if the GMC finds him guilty of serious professional misconduct. Following the publication of a research paper in the Lancet by Mr Wakefield and colleagues in February 1998 - which suggested a tentative link between the immunisation at the age of 18 months, a bowel disorder called Crohn's disease, and autism - many parents became anxious over the safety of the measles, mumps and rubella, or MMR, vaccine. At the press conference to launch the paper, Mr Wakefield had parted company with his colleagues to say that, in his opinion, single jabs might be safer than the three-in-one MMR combination. The take-up of MMR slumped and is still low in some parts, especially areas of London. Public health experts have warned that measles outbreaks are possible, in which some children may be damaged and even die. The numbers of cases of mumps has risen. A top-level inquiry commissioned by the Medical Research Council examined Mr Wakefield's findings, and epidemiological studies were commissioned which found that children given the MMR vaccine were no more likely to become autistic than those who were not. The message from the medical establishment consistently said that there was no evidence of a problem with MMR. In 2001 Mr Wakefield left the Royal Free hospital in north London, where he was a consultant, to work in the United States. In 2004 it was alleged that Mr Wakefield had had an undeclared conflict of interest at the time he wrote the Lancet paper: having been paid £55,000 by the Legal Aid Board to assess whether some of the children who featured in his research paper might have a case to sue for vaccine damage. The Lancet retracted part of the article, and the GMC began an investigation. According to the Independent newspaper today, the preliminary charges against Mr Wakefield will be that he published inadequately founded research, failed to obtain ethical committee approval for the work, obtained funding for it improperly, and subjected children to "unnecessary and invasive investigations". It was reported that GMC lawyers are preparing more detailed charges for publication later this year, and that there will be a public hearing next year. * The material in this post is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.For more information go to: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html http://oregon.uoregon.edu/~csundt/documents.htm If you wish to use copyrighted material from this email for purposes that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/antenna/mmr/cip2/128.asp Only time will tell 'If we find vaccine strain measles it could be significant. But only if more than one lab finds it. At the moment only O'Leary's group has done so but that's not good enough because it might be contamination.' Philip Minor, virus expert, National Institute of Biological Standards and Control ******************************************************************************* http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml? xml=/news/2006/05/28/wmmr28.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/28/ixnews.html US scientists back autism link to MMR By Beezy Marsh and Sally Beck (Filed: 28/05/2006) The measles virus has been found in the guts of children with a form of autism, renewing fears over the safety of the MMR jab. American researchers have revealed that 85 per cent of samples taken from autistic children with bowel disorders contain the virus. The strain is the same as the one used in the measles, mumps and rubella triple vaccine. The findings will spark fresh concern about MMR, because they back theories of a causal link between the jab, autism and painful gut disorders suffered by a number of autistic children. The study replicates findings made by the gastroenterologist Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998 and Prof John O'Leary, a pathologist, in 2002. Parents say their children were developing normally until they had the MMR jab, given when a child is between 12- and 18-months-old. The children now suffer from regressive autism. One theory is that the virus passes through the gut, causing damage, and into the bloodstream, from where it is able to attack the brain. More than 2,000 families claim that their children have suffered damage but the Department of Health reiterated last night that MMR is safe, a stance supported by the British Medical Association and all the Royal Colleges. Last year Government scientists failed to reproduce research results by Dr Wakefield. Research to be presented this week in Montreal, Canada, provides fresh evidence that the measles virus is present in the guts of autistic children. Dr Stephen Walker, of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, North Carolina, studied children with regressive autism and bowel disease. "Of the handful of results we have in so far, all are vaccine strain," he said. __________________________________________________ From Monsters and Critics.com Consumer Health The Age of Autism: Gardasil vs. Hep B By Dan Olmsted Jun 9, 2006, 19:00 GMT WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- This week the Food and Drug Administration approved a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in women. In an odd way, the announcement highlights what may be wrong with government policy on another vaccination, the very first one children receive. The FDA`s approval of Gardasil is intended to block human papillomavirus, or HPV, the most common sexually transmitted disease and one that causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. The agency approved the vaccine for girls beginning at age 9 to protect them before they become sexually active. Some cultural conservatives oppose making the shots mandatory for public-school attendance because of what they fear is an implicit endorsement of pre-marital sex. That`s an issue an advisory committee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -- and ultimately, each of the 50 states -- will have to grapple with. Regardless, the decision to wait till the cusp of adolescence to give the shot seems sensible -- and drives home the contrary approach that the CDC has taken with the hepatitis B vaccination mandated for every newborn child. To listen to some public-health officials, you`d think the nation was in the grip of an incipient Hep B epidemic lurking in the nation`s hygienically challenged daycare centers -- an epidemic contained solely by vaccination on the day of birth. In fact, hepatitis B is overwhelmingly a disease of sexual contact and intravenous, illegal drug use. Except in cases where the mother tests positive for Hep B, the risk to children vs. the risk of such an early vaccination seems questionable in the eyes of many critics of CDC immunization policy. Over the course of the past year, as I`ve reported on concerns that vaccines may be linked to a huge increase in autism diagnoses beginning in the 1990s, the hepatitis B vaccination at birth stood out; the vaccination was first recommended in 1991. At least two doctors tell me their faith in the government`s entire childhood immunization schedule was shattered by the CDC`s insistence that every newborn needs a Hep B shot as an urgent matter of public health. \'It is universally accepted that such mandate was forced upon our children only because they were `available,` while efforts to vaccinate high-risk adults had repeatedly failed,\' Dr. F. Edward Yazbak testified in 2001 before the Massachusetts House of Representatives. \'The continued mandate of this vaccine with all its problems may result in parents losing faith in vaccine programs in general, and opposing all vaccinations, many of which we know are necessary and effective,\' he said. The National Vaccine Information Center, which supports parental choice and awareness of immunization hazards, raises similar issues. \'Unlike other infectious diseases for which vaccines have been developed and mandated in the U.S., hepatitis B is not common in childhood and is not highly contagious,\' the NVIC says. \'Hepatitis B is primarily an adult disease transmitted through infected body fluids, most frequently infected blood, and is prevalent in high risk populations such as needle using drug addicts; sexually promiscuous heterosexual and homosexual adults; residents and staff of custodial institutions such as prisons; health care workers exposed to blood; persons who require repeated blood transfusions and babies born to infected mothers.\' Dr. Mayer Eisenstein, medical director of the family-practice Homefirst Medical Services in Chicago, told the Illinois Legislature in 1997 that mandating Hep B for newborns was absurd. \'The idea of giving this vaccine to a one-day old baby, a newborn, is preposterous. There is no scientific evidence for this. In fact, I called up the manufacturer and I had (a representative) come to St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital, where I am Chairman of the Department of Medicine, and I asked him: `Show me your evidence on one-day old infants as to side effects (from the hepatitis B vaccine)` -- we have none. Our studies were done on 5 and 10 year olds. \'As a father, grandfather, a physician, as a lawyer, I want the option of not giving it to my children unless I believe the scientific evidence is there.\' Yet waiting until genuine risk looms -- via sexual activity, intravenous drug use or a healthcare job -- has been rejected out of hand. That view was confirmed earlier this year by both the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics, whose members administer the vaccines. \'The Academy has endorsed CDC recommendation for hepatitis B vaccine, `A Comprehensive Immunization Strategy to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus Infection in the United States,`\' the AAP said in a news release. \'The CDC recommends that all newborns receive a birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine before leaving the hospital unless a physician provides a written order to defer the birth dose.\' Compare that to waiting till age 9 for the new Gardasil vaccine. While the reasonable concerns of some parents are yet to be resolved, this already stands in stark contrast to the public health establishment`s hepatitis B hammerlock on the nation`s newborns. True, the mercury-based preservative thimerosal that some believe is behind the rise in autism has been removed from Hep B and other routine childhood vaccines. But the issue of whether children are getting an unnecessarily early and heavy load of vaccines -- and whether that could explain the rise in autism or chronic illnesses like asthma -- remains squarely on the table, at least to this observer. In years to come, I suspect, the Hep B shot at birth may be regarded as a case study in doctors gone wild.
kim Posted June 28, 2006 Report Posted June 28, 2006 Revealed, most compelling evidence yet of MMR danger Sunday Express 6 October 2002 Exclusive by Lucy Johnston, Health Editor A 13-year-old boy brain damaged after the controversial MMR jab still has remains of the vaccine in the injured area of his brain. The alarming news is being seen as the most compelling evidence yet of a link between the triple measles, mumps and rubella jab and autism. The boy's case will form a central plank of a forthcoming legal action by 600 autistic and brain-damaged children against vaccine manufacturerers. Jackie Fletcher of support group Jabs, which highlights the risks of MMR, said: ''This is devastating news. What on earth is the vaccine doing in the brain? It should not be there.'' Mrs Fletcher, whose own son, Robert, 10, developed autism from the vaccine, added: ''This is the strongest evidence yet showing it causes brain damage.'' The 13-year-old, who has not been named, was developing normally until being given the MMR jab at 15 months. Days later a rash broke out, his development stopped and he began to have violent seizures. These became more frequent - sometimes every few minutes. In one month his mother, Verity, 46, from Sussex, counted 135. When he was nine, he was admitted to Southampton General Hospital's intensive care unit where doctors twice tried to break the cycle of convulsions with an anaesthetic. But each time they brought him round the fits started again. Eventually he was transferred to London's Great Ormand Street Children's Hospital for brain surgery. Verity arranged for the brain sample to be analysed and the results - seen by the Sunday Express - showed the sample contained traces of the measles virus ''consistent'' with the vaccine rather than the ''wild'' strain. Tissue from the boy's intestine also showed the vaccine. The boy is now making progress and goes to a special school. But he shows symptoms of autism, memory loss and still has fits. Verity said: ''The Department of Health has written off children like my son by refusing to acknowledge any link between brain damage and MMR. ''Because of this they are not being given appropriate treatment. They should be under the care of specialists.'' Experts say the boy's case is a minor victory for those fighting to get more recognition of the risks of MMR. Robert Sawyer, chief executive of the charity Visceral, which funds research by MMR opponent Dr Andrew Wakefield, said: ''The world must pay immediate attention to this evidence, especially when the Government is not taking the issue seriously.'' And Paul Shattock, head of the Autism Research Unit at the University of Sunderland, said: ''This is powerful. I don't know how the Government will talk its way out of it.'' An unpublished study strongly supports the new findings. Pathologists from Utah State University, US, and Trinity College, Dublin, have discovered the vaccine strain of the measles virus in the spinal fluid of 40 autistic children. The link between MMR, autism was first proposed by Dr Wakefield in 1998. He discovered many children with late onset autism also had intestinal damage. He believes the vaccine leaks through the gut wall into the central nervous system and into the brain, causing damage. The Department of Health said it could not comment on an individual case pending legal proceedings. But it stressed that tests to identify vaccine strains in gut samples were unreliable. Sunday Express Comment Act on MMR evidence Today this newspaper publishes a shocking report that every parent and grandparent must read. We present the most compelling evidence yet of the link between late onset autism and the measles, mumps and rubella injections. We believe that the Government can no longer insist that the jab is safe. To do so is to wilfully put the lives of our children at risk. The Government has consistently said that the triple jab is safe. It wants to believe this is so because it seems to be the most effective way of stopping these life-threatening disease in their tracks. During the waiting time between separate jabs children can contract one of the conditions and some might not receive all three injections. But the Government has not conducted a through examination of children whose parents believe they were sticken by the MMR jab. This must be done now. Without proper research we cannot know how many children's lives have been blighted. Neither will we know how to identify and exclude children who could be affected or exactly how to treat them. Moreover, the way is barred to those who deserve compensation. Children must not be sacrificed for the sake of dubious herd immunity SUNDAY EXPRESS 18 June 2006 by Lucy Johnston HEALTH EDITOR Can we ever trust MMR? 'The Government has not looked at the whole picture' Four years ago, the Sunday Express revealed that at least 26 child deaths have been linked with the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. In many cases, the Government - or leading medical officials - accepted the connection. Parents were awarded vaccine damage payments of up to £100,000 and, in other cases, experts drew up post-mortem reports blaming the MMR jab as the most likely cause of death. Now, as we report today, two more parents have come forward claiming their babies died as a result of the jab. And, last month, Vietnamese health authorities withdrew the MMR jab after the death of one child and hospitalisation of five others. The World Health Organisation is now investigating this scare. Since its launch in 1988, thousands of parents have reported unwanted reactions to the triple jab, from moderate – rash, headache, temperature – to severe, including brain damage, autism and convulsions. In 1992, the Department of Health conceded it got the pre-licence trials wrong when the chief medical officer announced the withdrawal of two of the three brands of MMR because they were found to be causing meningitis. All drugs, including vaccines can have side effects.The Government accepts this – why else would it make vaccine damage pay-outs of up to £100,000? But, publicly, it claims no deaths have been associated with MMR. How can it do this when its own officials and post-mortem reports state otherwise? Vaccine manufacturers accept there can be serious side effects, and have informed the Government of this. So why does the Government's publicity machine continue to insist that the triple jab is entirely safe? Instead of being open and investigating potential dangers in what appears to be a minority of children, the Government polarises the debate by implying there are no risks.The Whitehall propaganda machine really kicked in eight years ago when the press reported findings of Dr Andrew Wakefield's explosive paper linking the MMR jab with autism. At the time, his work was accepted as credible by experts in the field. But, instead of making stocks of single vaccines available, as Wakefield advised, policy chiefs made it difficult for parents to obtain them. MMR uptake continued to fall. With an outbreak of disease on the horizon, publich health officials panicked. The Department of Health launched a campaign to rubbish Wakefield's research. He was ostracised by his peers and forced to resign his post at the Royal Free. The Government risked losing face if it changed its stance and accepted MMR might cause problems in some children, but it also stood to lose millions in compensation claims. Action had also been taken against the drug companies, which is still ongoing. Dr Wakefield has become the scapegoat for the frenzy over MMR but he is not, as the Government likes to portray him, a lone maverick. Many other doctors have concerns, and other scientists have found evidence to support his findings. But the Department of Health insists that research proves the jab is safe. However, the Government has not looked at the whole picture. Instead of looking at the affected children themselves, the studies it cites are based on patterns of disease taken from medical records of large populations, which are unable to detect adverse reactions in small numbers of children. When Dr Wakefield alerted the Government and vaccine chiefs to his research before publication, it promised an independent forum into his findings. This has never happened. Instead, it has called for an investigation into Dr Wakefield. The General Medical Council is considering whether to charge him with serious professional misconduct. Figures released by the Health Protection Agency last week reveal the number of potentially deadly measles cases seen by doctors since January is five times higher than during all last year, prompting fears of an epidemic. As Richard Halvorsen, vaccine expert and central London GP said: "With the threat of a measles epidemic, the only way many parents will protect their children is with the single vaccine. By refusing to allow this, the Government is contributing to the epidemic it seeks to prevent." One has to ask the question: where does the Department of Health's interests lie? Is it to protect the nation's health, or to protect officials, and the pharmaceutical industries' lucrative patents for new combination jabs? ************************************************************************************ E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTER Vienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org "Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982." for immediate release June 27, 2006 MERCK'S GARDASIL VACCINE NOT PROVEN SAFE FOR LITTLE GIRLS National Vaccine Information Center Criticizes FDA for Fast Tracking Licensure Washington, D.C. - The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) is calling on the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to just say "no" on June 29 to recommending "universal use" of Merck's Gardasil vaccine in all pre-adolescent girls. NVIC maintains that Merck's clinical trials did not prove the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine designed to prevent cervical cancer and genital warts is safe to give to young girls. "Merck and the FDA have not been completely honest with the people about the pre-licensure clinical trials," said NVIC president Barbara Loe Fisher. "Merck's pre and post-licensure marketing strategy has positioned mass use of this vaccine by pre-teens as a morality play in order to avoid talking about the flawed science they used to get it licensed. This is not just about teenagers having sex, it is also about whether Gardasil has been proven safe and effective for little girls." The FDA allowed Merck to use a potentially reactive aluminum containing placebo as a control for most trial participants, rather than a non-reactive saline solution placebo. A reactive placebo can artificially increase the appearance of safety of an experimental drug or vaccine in a clinical trial. Gardasil contains 225 mcg of aluminum and, although aluminum adjuvants have been used in vaccines for decades, they were never tested for safety in clinical trials. Merck and the FDA did not disclose how much aluminum was in the placebo. Animal and human studies have shown that aluminum adjuvants can cause brain cell death and that vaccine aluminum adjuvants can allow aluminum to enter the brain, as well as cause inflammation at the injection site leading to chronic joint and muscle pain and fatigue. Nearly 90 percent of all Gardasil recipients and 85 percent of aluminum placebo recipients reported one or more adverse events within 15 days of vaccination, particularly at the injection site. Pain and swelling at injection site and fever occurred in approximately 83 percent of Gardasil and 73 percent of aluminum placebo recipients. About 60 percent of those who got Gardasil or the aluminum placebo had systemic adverse events including headache, fever, nausea, dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea, myalgia. Gardasil recipients had more serious adverse events such as headache, gastroenteritis, appendicitis, pelvic inflammatory disease, asthma, bronchospasm and arthritis. "Merck and the FDA do not reveal in public documents exactly how many 9 to 15 year old girls were in the clinical trials, how many of them received hepatitis B vaccine and Gardasil simultaneously, and how many of them had serious adverse events after being injected with Gardasil or the aluminum placebo. For example, if there were fewer than 1,000 little girls actually injected with three doses of Gardasil, it is important to know how many had serious adverse events and how long they were followed for chronic health problems, such as juvenile arthritis." According to the Merck product manufacturer insert, there was 1 case of juvenile arthritis, 2 cases of rheumatoid arthritis, 5 cases of arthritis, and 1 case of reactive arthritis in 11,813 Gardasil recipients plus 1 case of lupus and 2 cases of arthritis out of 9,701 participants primarily receiving an aluminum containing placebo. Clinical trial investigators dismissed most of the 102 Gardasil and placebo associated serious adverse events, including 17 deaths, that occurred in the clinical trials as unrelated. "There is too little long term safety and efficacy data, especially in young girls, and too little labeling information on contraindications for the CDC to recommend Gardasil for universal use, which is a signal for states to mandate it," said Fisher. "Nobody at Merck, the CDC or FDA know if the injection of Gardasil into all pre-teen girls - especially simultaneously with hepatitis B vaccine - will make some of them more likely to develop arthritis or other inflammatory autoimmune and brain disorders as teenagers and adults. With cervical cancer causing about one percent of all cancer deaths in American women due to routine pap screening, it was inappropriate for the FDA to fast track Gardasil. It is way too early to direct all young girls to get three doses of a vaccine that has not been proven safe or effective in their age group." The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), founded in 1982 by parents of vaccine injured children, has been a leading critic of one-size-fits-all mass vaccination policies and the lack of basic science research into biological mechanisms and high risk factors for vaccine-induced brain and immune system dysfunction. As a member of the FDA Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), Barbara Loe Fisher urged trials include adequate safety data on pre-adolescent children and warned against fast tracking Gardasil at the November 28-29, 2001 VRBPAC meeting http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/cber01...latedBiological For references and more information, go to www.nvic.org.
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