Tag: aluminum

Who Is Romain Gherardi?

Have you noticed that anti-vaccine folks like to elevate the status of anyone who says things that they agree with?

So a scientist or researcher who suggests that vaccines are dangerous is all of a sudden a leader in their field or the very best in the world.

In the real world, it doesn’t work like that…

You have to earn your reputation.

Who Is Romain Gherardi?

Well, I guess that works both ways.

Most of the researchers that anti-vaccine folks praise have indeed earned a reputation, just not the kind they would like.

So who is Romain Gherardi?

Gherardi thinks that aluminum adjuvants in vaccines may be associated with autism.

He is basically a French researcher who thinks that the aluminum in vaccines is bad and scares folks with his poorly done studies and his book, Toxic story: Two or three embarrassing truths about the vaccine adjuvants.

“Gherardi is a fierce advocate for the existence of a causal relationship between containing aluminum adjuvants and a clinical condition which he first called ‘Macrophagic Myofasciitis (MMF)'”

Gherardi : a media story (2 or 3 embarrassing truths about his research)

But what about Macrophagic Myofasciitis (MMF), isn’t that a real disease?

“There is no evidence to suggest that MMF is a specific illness.”

WHO on Questions and Answers about macrophagic myofasciitis (MMF)

Nope.

That’s not to say that some people do not get some inflammatory changes at vaccine injection sites that could be caused by the aluminum in a vaccine.

But these are local reactions. They are not part of a disease.

As far as his research, consider the critique of one of his recent papers that he co-authored with Christopher Shaw, Non-linear dose-response of aluminium hydroxide adjuvant particles: selective low dose neurotoxicity.

“The article states that it was supported by grants from CMSRI. What is not stated is that CMSRI (Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute) is funded by the vaccine-critical Dwoskin Family Foundation. It is also worth noting that three of the authors of this manuscript, Exley, Shaw and Gherardi, sit on the Scientific Advisory Board for CMSRI, with Shaw as the Chair and Gherardi as the Vice-Chair. Whilst it is unknown if any of these authors receive financial compensation for their role at CMSRI it is clear that these competing interests should have been disclosed.”

David Hawkes et al on Questions about methodological and ethical quality of a vaccine adjuvant critical paper

In addition to the funding issue, they found problems with the methods of the study and ethical problems.

Gherardi's letter was retracted.

Amazingly, the response to Hawkes’ letter had to be retracted by the journal!

At least one of Gherardi's papers was peer reviewed and edited by the same person.

It is not hard to find other criticism and complaints about his research either.

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How Many Vaccines Did Kids Get in the 1950s?

I recently posted an immunization schedule from the 1960s to bust the myth that kids didn’t get many vaccines before the 1970 and 80s, even though they actually got multiple doses of DTP, polio, and smallpox vaccines.

But how about if we go back even earlier than that?

My uncle got polio around the time this vaccine schedule was released in 1951, but before the first polio vaccines were being routinely used.
My uncle got polio around the time this vaccine schedule was released in 1951, but before the first polio vaccines were being routinely used.

In 1951, infants got multiple doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines and the smallpox vaccine by the time they were 6 months old, with boosters through age 10 years.

Multiple doses with aluminum. And thimerosal. And far more antigens than kids are exposed to today, even though they now get many more vaccines.

“Tetanus toxoid recall injections should be continued every 3 years throughout life in dosage of 0.1cc to 0.2cc.”

AAP Report of the Committee on the Control of Infectious Diseases 1951

Oh, they also got revaccinated with the smallpox vaccine “every five years.”

And yes, most of the vaccines contained aluminum.

“The Committee recommends that all infants be immunized actively against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus with a course of injections of combined alum or aluminum phosphate precipitated, or aluminum hydroxide adsorbed diphtheria and tetanus toxoids containing H. pertussis vaccine. These products are considered preferable to fluid mixtures for the following reasons: (1) more prolonged antitoxic immunity produced by precipitated or adsorbed mixtures, (2) greater effectiveness as immunizers against pertussis in early infancy, and (3) less likelihood of producing systemic reactions because of lower protein content and slower absorption.”

AAP Report of the Committee on the Control of Infectious Diseases 1951

Other vaccines were also available for special situations, including rabies, typhoid, parathyphoid, and the BCG vaccine.

“Acetylsalicylic acid, 65 mg per year of age, should be given within an hour or two of injections and repeated 4 hours thereafter.”

AAP Report of the Committee on the Control of Infectious Diseases 1951

While it is likely a very big surprise to anti-vaccine folks that kids got multiple doses of DPT, tetanus, and smallpox vaccines back then, unfortunately, it means that they were susceptible to many diseases that are now vaccine-preventable.

Diseases that our kids don’t have to get, because they can be vaccinated and protected with vaccines that are safe, with few risks, and still necessary.

How Many Vaccines Did Kids Get in the 1950s?

Can You Prove That Jamie McGuire Books Don’t Make Teens Do Drugs?

Apparently, Jamie McGuire is a best-selling author.

According to Yahoo Lifestyle, she is the “author of 20 books in the New Adult genre (for ages 18-30), including Walking Disaster — which debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists — as well as the apocalyptic thriller Red Hill.”

And she wants everyone to know that she does not consent!

Can You Prove That Jamie McGuire Books Don’t Make Teens Do Drugs?

What does Jamie McGuire not consent to?

Since her whole post is about proving this and that about vaccines, which she seems to think are bad, I am guessing that she does not consent to getting vaccinated or to vaccinating her kids.

The thing is though, no one is trying to force her to vaccinate her kids.

You can just say that you don’t want to vaccinate your kids, coming out as another anti-vaccine pseudo-celebrity, without hijacking “I do not consent” messaging.

Anyway, her concerns about vaccines have been addressed. Indeed, they have been talked about a million times. If she were truly aware, she would stop being misled by anti-vaccine arguments that scare parents away from thinking that vaccines are safe, with few risks, and necessary.

Do we have proof? We have evidence!

And as the title says, can you prove that her books don’t make teens do drugs?

More on Jame McGuire and Consent

Del Bigtree vs Stanley Plotkin

Del Bigtree talks about Stanley Plotkin a lot on his “show.”

In addition to developing the rubella vaccine, Stanley Plotkin literally wrote the book on vaccines.
In addition to developing the rubella vaccine, Stanley Plotkin literally wrote the book on vaccines.

He even seems to have come up with a regular feature, Plotkin on Vaccines.

Del Bigtree vs Stanley Plotkin

I’ll let Del explain why you should listen to Dr. Plotkin if you want to keep you kids safe and healthy:

“For those of you who are tuning in for the first time, and who don’t know who Stanley Plotkin is, this is Plotkin’s Vaccines. This is the biggest textbook on vaccines. He wrote it. Good for him. I think Paul Offit had something to do with it. I think actually Frank DeStefano and Walter Orenstein – a lot of people involved in this. But it’s called Plotkin’s Vaccines.

So Stanley Plotkin has made more vaccines in the history of the world. “

Del Bigtree on The United States of Pharma

Yes, Stanley Plotkin literally wrote the book on vaccines.

Del just uses misinformation to try to take him down each week…

What’s the latest complaint?

That Dr. Plotkin should have published a letter that was critical of a vaccine safety paper, Principal Controversies in Vaccine Safety in the United States. The letter was by Romain K Gherardi, a researcher that is known to use “cherry-picked data to suggest that aluminum in vaccines accumulates in the brain and nervous system, causing ‘toxic effects.'”

The thing is, not publishing the letter is not censorship.

It’s actually false balance to publish it.

While anti-vaccine folks typically elevate anyone and everyone who supports their ideas as the best and greatest in their field, they generally aren’t. They are typically doing junk science that is quickly torn apart by real scientists.

If you watch this week’s Plotkin on Vaccines, despite Del saying the video wasn’t edited, you will miss some stuff from the transcript of Plotkin’s deposition.

“So my comments are, one, that my estimate was pretty much correct. Second, that, unfortunately, Dr. Shaw has been associated with the party that I mentioned before, Tomljenovic, who, in my view, is completely untrustworthy as far as scientific data are concerned. So I’m concerned about Dr. Shaw being influenced by that individual.

And I’m not aware that there is evidence that aluminum disrupts the developmental processes in susceptible children.”

Stanley Plotkin

And Plotkin never says that he considers the French group or Romain K Gherardi a respected researcher, as Del claims. At one point, he does say that he considers the Journal of Neuroscience a respectable journal, but they weren’t talking about Gherardi’s study or aluminum.

“And it’s just your kids, it’s just your kids caught in between this group of lies, damn lies, and statistics. It’s only the health of your children hanging in the balance.”

Del Bigtree on The United States of Pharma

Well, it’s my kids too who are at risk if you decide to listen to the lies of these folks and don’t vaccinate your kids. Stop listening to them. Stop spreading their propaganda.

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