Why do some parents think that the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 caused the immunization schedule to triple?
The usual suspects…
Did the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 Cause the Immunization Schedule to Triple?
It is not just folks holding anti-vax propaganda signs though.
“In 1986, Congress—awash in Pharma money (the pharmaceutical industry is No. 1 for both political contributions and lobbying spending over the past 20 years)—enacted a law granting vaccine makers blanket immunity from liability for injuries caused by vaccines. If vaccines were as safe as many claim, would we need to give pharmaceutical companies immunity for the injuries they cause? The subsequent gold rush by pharmaceutical companies boosted the number of recommended inoculations from 12 shots of five vaccines in 1986 to 54 shots of 13 vaccines today. A billion-dollar sideline grew into the $50 billion vaccine industry behemoth.”
Robert F Kennedy, Jr on The Harlem vaccine forum
It is a common anti-vax talking point that the immunization schedule ballooned in 1986, with passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.
It didn’t.
In fact, it is very easy to see that most new vaccines weren’t added to the immunization schedule until the late 1990s and after.
- hepatitis B – 1981
- Hib – 1985
- hepatitis B vaccine (improved) – 1986
- Hib (improved) – 1988
- Varivax – 1995
- DTaP – 1996 (replaces DTP)
- hepatitis A vaccine – 1996
- RotaShield – 1998 (quickly withdrawn)
- LYMErix – 1998 (later withdrawn)
- Prevnar – 2000
- FluMist – 2004
- Menactra – 2005 (replaces the Menomune vaccine approved in 1981)
- Tdap – 2006
- RotaTeq – 2006
- Gardasil – 2006
- Trumenba – 2014
And the immunization schedule did not change very much at all after passage of the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act.
What about Bobby Kennedy‘s other point? Why did we need the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act if vaccines are safe?
Protection from frivolous lawsuits.
What we need now is protection from this kind of misinformation that continues to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids!
More on the Immunization Schedule
- Answers To Frequently Asked Questions About Immunizations
- What Are the Pro and Con Arguments for Vaccines?
- Ask 8 Questions Before You Skip a Vaccine
- More Questions to Help You Become a Vaccine Skeptic
- Decoding Anti-Vaccine Protests
- More Anti-Vaccine Protest Signs
- 100 Myths About Vaccines
- Bruesewitz vs. Wyeth Case Resolved
- National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program facts
- Price v HHS – statute of limitations, tolling, vaccines and autism
Have you ever blown up a balloon? You start with 1 breath, then you take another, and another. No one is saying that in 1986 the vaccine schedule tripled. But you are brainless if you can’t add up the number of vaccines on the schedule today and then do some math to find the difference from 1986. Who’s spreading lies? You are. Show us a list from 1983 along side the list from 2019.