Vaccinations: Myths vs. Facts

1
Vaccinations Myths vs. Facts

• Cathy Harkins Logan
• Tinsley Harrison Research Society
• Discussant Dr. Carolyn Ashworth

2
Then

• Years ago, thousands of children and adults
  contracted infectious diseases, including
  measles, poliomyelitis, and diphtheria.
• At that time, most were much more fearful of the
  diseases than of the adverse effects (AEs) of the
  vaccinations.

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Now

• Today the situation is reversed.
• In the era of effective vaccines, many parents
  are becoming more concerned about the possible
  AEs.
• Many parents of today have never experienced the
  consequences of these diseases and do not fully
  understand the dangers they impose.

4
The Problem

• Part of the shift in beliefs in vaccination is
  due to the lack of experience and therefore the
  lack of fear of these diseases.
• Also, it is largely due to the vast amount of
  misinformation available regarding vaccinations.
• It is much easier to find the false information
  than to locate information from reputable
  sources, including the CDC, NIH, etc.

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Belief 1Vaccines Are Unsafe
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Vaccines Are Unsafe

• There is an emerging emphasis on the morbidity
  and mortality, or the serious AEs of
  vaccinations.
• Often statistics and numbers are manipulated to
  suggest that vaccinations are the cause for
  disability and death, and that they are more
  harmful than the actual diseases they intend to
  prevent.

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Vaccines are unsafe

• VAERS receives 11,000 reports of serious AEs
  annually, 1 are deaths
• Studies have shown vaccination to be a cause of
  SIDS.
• Tip of the icebergdeaths may be well over
  1,000.

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Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System

• National AE reporting system operated by the CDC
  and the FDA
• Established in 1990 to record and track adverse
  events that occur after a vaccine is given
• Passive voluntary reports from anyone
• Used to detect early warnings about possible
  unrecognized AEs

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VAERS

• Strengths
• National surveillance
• Has the ability to detect rare events
• Ex. Intussusception due to Rotashield
• Weaknesses
• It is not a complete database!
• Susceptible to misclassification
• Ex. Injection siteserious reaction and vice
  versa

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Vaccine Safety Datalink

• Created in 1990 by CDC in conjunction with 8
  large HMOs to continually monitor vaccine safety
• HMOs in Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado,
  Minnesota
• Includes information such as vaccine, date, other
  vaccinations, manufacturer, lot number, injection
  site, etc
• Data used to study SIDS deaths and found risk was
  the same in vaccinated and unvaccinated children

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VSD

• Strengths
• More complete Almost all significant medical
  encounters are documented
• Is not passive It does not rely on a physician
  or patient to report the encounter
• More accurate classification of the event
• Weaknesses
• Population not completely representative of the
  US
• Vaccine coverage rates high few controls
• Not large enough to examine very rare events

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Back to the myth

• No vaccine is 100 effective and 100 safe! As
  with any drug, vaccines have risks and side
  effects.
• Adverse Event something that occurred close to
  the time a vaccine was given
• All AEs that are reported are NOT caused by the
  vaccines administered!

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Cause or Coincidence?

• Correlation does NOT equal causation!
• Many vaccines are given during times when other
  problems and developmental concerns are being
  recognized.
• Each year, 10 million vaccinations given to
  children less than 1 year of age. By coincidence
  alone, some will experience events shortly
  after a vaccine is given.

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Cause or Coincidence?

• VAERS reports include both coincidental events as
  well as true reactions.
• VAERS reports are NOT verified cases of vaccine
  deaths
• Events may be due to underlying diseases,
  concomitant medications, or simply by chance
  alone.
• All reported AEs are NOT due to vaccines!

15
Target Audience

• Many patients and families are unfamiliar with
  controlled studies, good studies versus bad, and
  even simple statistics.
• Misinformation comes from friends and family,
  church members, and co-workers.
• Everyone knows someone who knows someone who
• Beliefs can be deeply rooted in misinformation
  and mistrust.

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Belief 2Decline in disease is not a result
of immunizations
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Disease decline

• A major belief is that the diseases which
  vaccines aim to prevent actually declined prior
  to the introduction of vaccinations.
• Not only did vaccines have no influence over the
  decrease of the diseases, the contrary is true,
  they slowed down the downward trend of all
  diseases. -Anita Petek-Dimmer

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Declined Prior to Vaccines?

• With diseases other than smallpox we have shown
  that 90 of the decline in mortality occured
  before vaccines were introduced. www.vaclib.org
• If you view graphs of the mortality associated
  with infectious diseases for the United States
  and Western Europe for the period 1800 to 1950,
  it will become obvious that 90 to 95 percent of
  the mortality decrease occured before the
  introduction of vaccines. So it is
  non-controversial to state that during this
  period that the number of lives saved by vaccine
  was ZERO. www.vaclib.org

19
Declined Prior to Vaccines?

• All diseases declined by as much as 95 before
  the introduction of vaccines or antibiotics.
  Improved personal and public hygiene can account
  for a considerable drop in deaths from disease.
  Diseases will decline without intervention.
  www.know-vaccines.org
• According to the British Association for the
  Advancement of Science, childhood diseases
  decreased 90 between 1850 and 1940, paralleling
  improved sanitation and hygienic practices, well
  before mandatory vaccination programs.
  www.mercola.com

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Decline in Haemophilus Influenza
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Decline in Polio
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Decline in Measles
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Decline in Mumps
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Decline in Rubella
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The truth

• Polio declined dramatically in the 1950s.
  Measles did not decline until 10 years later.
• If due to sanitation and nutrition, shouldnt
  they decrease at roughly the same time?
• Both had slight decreases during the trial phases
  of the vaccines and showed dramatic decreases
  after licensing of the vaccines.

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Belief 3Vaccines are not effective.
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Vaccine Failure

• The medical literature has a surprising number
  of studies documenting vaccine failure. Measles,
  mumps, small pox, pertussis, polio and Hib
  outbreaks have all occurred in vaccinated
  populations
• A more recent study found that measles
  vaccination "produces immune suppression which
  contributes to an increased susceptibility to
  other infections."
• "Evidence suggests that vaccination is an
  unreliable means of preventing disease.
  -www.mercola.com

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Others Say

• Six New England states reported increases in
  polio one year after the Salk vaccine was
  introduced, ranging from more than doubling in
  Vermont to Massachusetts' astounding increase of
  642 other states reported increases as well.
• Dr. Bernard Greenberg, head of the Dept. of
  Biostatistics for the University of North
  Carolina School of Public Health, testified that
  not only did the cases of polio increase
  substantially after mandatory vaccinationsbut
  that the statistics were deliberately manipulated
  by the Public Health Service to give the opposite
  impression.
• "The polio vaccine temporarily reversed disease
  declines that were underway before the vaccine
  was introduced this fact was deliberately
  covered up by health authorities.
  -www.mercola.com

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Who is REALLY at risk?

• Exemptors were 22.2 times (95 confidence
  interval CI, 15.9-31.1) more likely to acquire
  measles and 5.9 times (95 CI, 4.2-8.2) more
  likely to acquire pertussis than vaccinated
  children. Feikin. JAMA. 2000. 284(24)3145-50.
  
  
• Measles Outbreak 1989-1991- number of cases in
  unvaccinated Hispanic and AA populations was 4-7
  times higher than among non-hispanic
  whites.-www.cdc.gov
• Since 1993, the largest outbreaks of measles
  have occurred in populations that refuse
  vaccination, including communities in Utah and
  Nevada, and in Christian Scientist schools in
  Missouri and Illinois. www.cdc.gov

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Belief 4Infectious diseases are benign and
self-limiting.
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Benign Childhood Diseases

• Most childhood infectious diseases have few
  serious consequences in today's modern world.
• The vast majority of the time, childhood
  infectious diseases are benign and
  self-limiting.
• Not only are most infectious diseases rarely
  dangerous, they can actually play a vital role in
  the developing a strong, healthy immune system.
• "Dangers of childhood diseases are greatly
  exaggerated in order to scare parents into
  compliance with a questionable but highly
  profitable procedure." -www.mercola.com

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The Truth Polio

• Polio virus causes acute paralysis that can lead
  to permanent physical disability and death.
  Before a vaccine was available, 13,000 to 20,000
  cases of paralytic polio were reported each year
  in the United States.
• One in 200 infections leads to irreversible
  paralysis (usually in the legs).

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Polio
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The Truth Haemophilus Influenza

• Before the Hib vaccine, H. flu was the most
  common cause of bacterial meningitis in U.S.
  infants and children.
• Prior to the vaccine 20,000 invasive Hib cases
  annually2/3 meningitis, 1/3 other invasive Hib
  diseases (bacteremia, pneumonia, or epiglottitis)
• Hib meningitis once killed 600 children each year
  and left many survivors with deafness, seizures,
  or mental retardation. -www.cdc.gov

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The Truth Measles

• Before the vaccine was available, nearly everyone
  in the U.S. acquired measles.
• Approximately 450 deaths associated with measles
  were reported each year between 1953 and 1963.
• Complications
• ear infections
• Pneumonia-approx 6 of deaths
• encephalitis-while rare, can result in brain
  damage
• diarrhea

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Measles
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The Truth Pertussis

• Pertussis can be a severe illness, resulting in
  prolonged coughing spells, and the illness can
  last for many weeks.
• These spells can make it difficult for a child to
  eat, drink, and breathe.
• Because vomiting often occurs after a coughing
  spell, infants may lose weight and become
  dehydrated.
• In infants, it can also cause pneumonia and lead
  to brain damage, seizures, and mental retardation.

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Pertussis
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The Truth Rubella

• Usually mild in children and adults
• Up to 90 percent of infants born to mothers
  infected with rubella during the first trimester
  of pregnancy will develop congenital rubella
  syndrome (CRS)
• heart defects, cataracts, mental retardation, and
  deafness.
• In 1964-1965, before rubella immunization was
  used routinely in the U.S., there was an epidemic
  of rubella that resulted in an estimated 20,000
  infants born with CRS
• 2,100 neonatal deaths and 11,250 miscarriages.
• Of the 20,000 infants born with CRS, 11,600 were
  deaf, 3,580 were blind, and 1,800 were mentally
  retarded.

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Rubella
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The Truth Tetanus

• Tetanus is a severe, often fatal disease.
  Bacteria that cause tetanus are distributed in
  soil and street dust, are found in animal waste,
  and are very resistant to heat and germ-killing
  cleaners.
• People who get tetanus suffer from stiffness and
  spasms of the muscles.
• The larynx can close causing respiratory distress
  and eating difficulties, and muscles spasms can
  cause spine and long bone fractures.
• Approximately 20 percent of reported cases end in
  death.

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Tetanus
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The Truth Hepatitis B

• More than 2 billion persons worldwide have been
  infected with the hepatitis B virus, 350 million
  are life-long carriers of the disease and can
  transmit the virus, and one million of these
  people die each year from liver disease and liver
  cancer.
• Approximately 25 percent of children who become
  infected with life-long hepatitis B virus would
  be expected to die of related liver disease as
  adults.

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Belief 5 MMR vaccine causes Autism.
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Increase in Autism?

• Today, one out of every 150 children are
  affected by autism, according to the National
  Vaccine Information Center. In the early 1940's,
  prior to the introduction of most vaccines in
  current use, it was considered a rare condition
  that few doctors would ever encounter in their
  practice.
• California's autism rate has mushroomed 1000
  over the past 20 years, with dramatic increases
  following the introduction of the MMR vaccine in
  the early 1980's. -www.mercola.com

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Increase in Autism?

• Data from California (Department. of
  Developmental Services, 1999)-used to illustrate
  an increase in cases of autism since the
  introduction of the vaccine.
• Do not account for population growth and changes
  in the composition of the population
• Do not account for changes in diagnostic
  definitions-PDD in 80, Rett, Asperger, CDD in
  94
• Children are diagnosed earlier, causing an
  increase in reported cases. Fombonne.
  Pediatrics. 2001 Vol. 107

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Autism Theory

• The MMR-autism theory came to the forefront when,
  in 1998, Wakefield and colleagues reviewed
  reports of children with bowel disease and
  regressive developmental disorders.
• The researchers suggested that MMR vaccination
  led to intestinal abnormalities, resulting in
  impaired intestinal function and developmental
  regression within 24 hours to a few weeks of
  vaccination.
• This hypothesis was based on 12 children. In 9 of
  the cases, the child's parents or pediatrician
  speculated that the MMR vaccine had contributed
  to the behavioral problems of the children in the
  study. -www.cdc.gov

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Autism Theory

• Only 12 children were included in the study.
• No healthy control children for comparison
• The study did not identify the time period during
  which the cases were identified.
• In at least 4 of the 12 cases, behavioral
  problems appeared before the onset of symptoms of
  bowel disease that is, the effect preceded the
  proposed cause.
• It is unlikely, therefore, that bowel disease or
  the MMR vaccine triggered the autism.
  -www.cdc.gov

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Autism Theory

• In 2004, 10 of the 13 authors of the study
  retracted the paper's interpretation, stating
  that the data were insufficient to establish a
  causal link between MMR vaccine and autism (Murch
  et al., 2004)

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Autism Theory

• A 2001 study (Dales et al.) used the autism case
  numbers provided by the California Department of
  Developmental Services and compared them with MMR
  immunization level estimates for California
  children.
• Born 1980 through 1987 there was no major change
  in MMR immunization levels
• Cases of autism increased markedly, from 44 cases
  per 100,000 live births in 1980 to 208 cases per
  100,000 live births in 1994.
• Even if there were a true increase in autism
  despite factors mentioned before, one would
  expect to see an increase in the MMR levels to
  make the conclusion that MMR causes autism.
  -www.cdc.gov

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The Truth

• Epidemiologic studies have shown no relationship
  between MMR vaccination in children and
  development of autism.
• Several studies listed on the CDC website

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Thimerosal

• Studies performed by the CDC do not support that
  neurodevelopmental disabilities such as autism
  are caused by vaccines containing thimerosal.
• Today, none of the vaccines used routinely in the
  U.S. to protect preschool children against 12
  infectious diseases actually contain thimerosal
  as a preservative.
• In addition, the MMR, polio, PCV, and varicella
  vaccines never contained thimerosal. -www.cdc.gov

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Conclusion

• Vaccines, like all drugs and medical procedures,
  have risks associated with them. By having a
  relatively disease-free society in the U.S., it
  is difficult for many to fairly assess the
  risk-benefit ratio involved.
• All reported adverse events are NOT caused by
  vaccines.
• Data is misrepresented and inaccurately reported
  leading to false information that is readily
  available on many websites and in many other
  publications.

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Conclusion

• A sharp decline in infectious diseases correlates
  with the licensing of an effective vaccine for
  many diseases. Sanitation and nutrition cannot
  account solely for these declines.
• The infectious diseases that are targeted by
  vaccines have significant morbidity and
  mortality, that is largely forgotten and
  underappreciated today.
• The MMR has not been statistically proven to be a
  cause of autism.

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Other Beliefs

• Vaccination has been a disaster on the immune
  system. It actually causes a lot of illness. We
  are changing our genetic code through
  vaccination. Guylaine Lanctot, M.D.
• Mandatory vaccine programs are 'A violation of
  the Nuremberg Code ... .' Jane Orient, M.D.
• Provocation polio. That is the truth about those
  outbreaks of polio. And I offer a well considered
  personal opinion that polio is a man made
  disease. -Viera Scheibner, Ph.D.

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Other Beliefs

• Some vaccine mediums used in the production of
  vaccines contain human diploid cells originating
  from human aborted fetal tissue.
• Bart Classen, MD, PhD, founder of Classen
  Immunotherapies and developer of vaccine
  technologies, conducted epidemiological studies
  around the world and found vaccines to be the
  cause of 79 of insulin type I diabetes in
  children under 10. -www.mercola.com

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Other Beliefs

• When vaccinating, there is the chance of getting
  the disease PLUS the chance of vaccine damage.
• "through the introduction of junk food the body
  and the mind's powerhas been dulled, made docile
  and dependent. To this we can add the
  vaccination, fluoridation, chlorification and
  chemtrails programs, as well as subliminal
  manipulations with the help of TV, Radio and
  other mind control tools.-Stepping stones
  towards the acceptance of the implantable chip!

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References

• www.immunizationinfo.org Immunization Issues
  Common Questions About
• www.cdc.gov National Immunization Program
• www.who.int/vaccine_safety
• www.immunize.org Immunization Action Coalition
• www.relfe.com/vaccine.html
• www.mercola.com
• www.vaclib.org
• www.vaccinetruth.org
• MMWR. 1994 Vol 42, 53
• MMWR. 2003 Vol50, 53
• Feikin. Individual and community risks of measles
  and pertussis associated with personal exemptions
  to immunization. JAMA. 2000. 284(24)3145-50.
• Hoffman, H.J. Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis
  immunization and sudden infant death results of
  the National Institute of Child Health and Human
  Development Cooperative Epidemiological Study of
  Sudden Infant Death Syndrome risk
  factors.Pediatrics. 1987 Apr79(4)598-611.
• Salmon. Health consequences of religious and
  philosophical exemptions from immunization laws
  individual and societal risk of measles.JAMA.
  1999 Jul 7282(1)47-53.

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Liam McFarlane