Tag: autoimmune disease

Are Vaccines Only Tested for 4 or 5 Days?

Where do some folks get the idea that vaccines are only tested for 4.5 days?

Anti-vax protestors often carry signs that say vaccines are only tested for 4.5 days. Don't believe them. — Anti-vax protestors often carry signs that say vaccines are only tested for 4.5 days. Don’t believe them.

The usual suspects…

Are Vaccines Only Tested for 4 or 5 Days?

But who gave them the idea to put it on their sign?

Again, the usual suspects…

Did the idea that vaccines are only tested for 4.5 days come from JB Handley, Children’s Health Defense Director and Co-Founder of Generation Rescue?

Before we actually look to see if the original clinical trials for the hepatitis B vaccines only “solicited adverse reactions” for four or five days after vaccination, lets see what the safety studies have shown since these vaccines were approved in the 1980s.

Lack of association between hepatitis B birth immunization and neonatal death: a population-based study from the vaccine safety datalink project – found no significant difference in the proportion of HBV-vaccinated (31%) and unvaccinated (35%) neonates dying of unexpected causes
Adverse events after hepatitis A B combination vaccine – a detailed medical and epidemiological review of VAERS reports did not suggest a clear pattern of evidence supporting a causal relationship with the vaccine
Safety of neonatal hepatitis B vaccine administration – found no evidence that newborn hepatitis B vaccination is associated with an increase in the number of febrile episodes, sepsis evaluations or allergic or neurologic events
Hepatitis B vaccination and first central nervous system demyelinating events: reanalysis of a case-control study using the self-controlled case series method – found no strong association between HB vaccination and a first episode of CNS demyelinating disease, or between HB vaccination and definite or probable MS, within 2 months or 1 year of vaccination.
Hepatitis B vaccine and risk of autoimmune thyroid disease: a Vaccine Safety Datalink study – did not observe an increased risk of Graves’ disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, following ever receiving a hepatitis B vaccine

These and other studies have shown that the hepatitis B vaccines are safe.

What about the idea that we only know what happens in the first four or five days after the vaccine is given?

Hepatitis B Vaccine Safety Testing

That’s not true. There are plenty of long term studies and safety studies typically collect safety information for weeks and months after a child is vaccinated.

“Open-ended diaries were provided to the parent(s) or guardian of the child before the vaccination program began in which to record any health problems that occurred 1 month before and 1 month following each of the 3 doses of vaccine, whether or not a health professional was consulted.”
De Serres et al on Importance of attributable risk in monitoring adverse events after immunization: hepatitis B vaccination in children.

Still, it is important to note that the further you get from a vaccination, the less likely that an adverse event is actually going to be caused by the vaccine though.

Consider the study by De Serres, Importance of attributable risk in monitoring adverse events after immunization: hepatitis B vaccination in children, in which they looked at the reports of adverse events both before and after vaccination and concluded that “postimmunization incidence systematically overestimates the risk of adverse events.”

Vaccines are tested very carefully, starting with small phase I and phase II trials, before moving to larger and longer lasting phase III trials.

It is also very important to note that like other vaccines, the hepatitis B vaccine was well tested before it was approved.

Although this was an efficacy trial, it included a double blind, placebo control and the researchers did notice any side effects.

And many of the studies did include a placebo group.

A lot of folks in the placebo group for the hepatitis B vaccine trials got hepatitis B.

Unfortunately, a lot of the folks in the placebo groups ended up getting hepatitis B.

In one study, Hepatitis B vaccine: efficacy in high-risk settings, a two-year study, which included an unvaccinated control group – “The control group was comprised of 31 patients and 24 staff members who had not been in contact with HBV until they entered the units and who did not wish to be vaccinated.”

What happens when you do a vaccinated vs unvaccinated study?

Importantly, this study found “no local or general reaction to the immunization. A monthly biological and clinical survey of the vaccinated subjects showed no evidence of complication due to vaccination, especially no sign of autoimmunity.”

So why do we still hear the myth that vaccines are only tested for 4.5 days?

Anti-vax folks need to convince their followers that vaccines aren’t safe.

A careful look at all that went into the development of the hepatitis B vaccines shows that they are.

It also shows that vaccines are very necessary.

A California Pediatrician Who is Not a Hysterical Anti-Vaxxer Wrote a Letter to the Governor…

Did you think it was over, now that SB 276 has been passed and Governor Newsom said that he would sign it, as long as a companion bill with a few added amendments also gets passed?

I'm glad Elisa Song vaccinates some of her kids, but I wonder how many exemptions she has written since SB 277 passed... — I’m glad Elisa Song vaccinates some of her kids, but I wonder how many exemptions she has written since SB 277 passed…

Of course, it’s not…

Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

While many of us wanted Governor Newsom to sign SB 276 in its original form, as he had promised, without the added amendments that weaken the law, most see it it as an acceptable compromise.

And then there are the anti-vaccine folks who want Newsom to veto SB 276 so that kids can continue to get inappropriate medical exemptions and remain unprotected and at risk against vaccine preventable diseases.

“I am a pediatrician trying to do the best I can for the children in my practice. And the best is not simply repeating that vaccines are “safe and effective.” Because they’re not 100% safe. Because they’re not 100% effective. Because parents are asking questions. Because parents are afraid and want to do the best for their children. And because we, as primary care physicians, need to be able to practice the art and science of medicine to the best of our abilities, for the child sitting in front of us, without bureaucratic handcuffs and fear of retribution.”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

No one says vaccines are 100% safe and effective, but they are very effective with few risks.

Parents are afraid because of the anti-vaccine rhetoric and misinformation they see and read on the Internet and sometimes from holistic type doctors who pander to their fears.

“SB 276 continues to place the decision regarding an individual child’s vaccine risk/benefit assessment and whether or not that child qualifies for a vaccine medical exemption in the hands of the government.”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

This is not true.

SB 276 simply says that you can’t make up your own reasons for why kids can’t get vaccinated and protected.

“SB 276 continues to too narrowly limit the criteria for “appropriate” vaccine exemptions to those contraindications detailed by the CDC, AAP and ACIP. These criteria do not take into account the emerging field of vaccinomics pioneered by the Mayo Clinic and the latest research on increased risk for various chronic illnesses including autoimmunity after vaccination in certain vulnerable populations. Epigenetics is making it increasingly clear that the one-size-fits-all CDC schedule will not work. “
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

As other states have done, SB 276 and SB 714, set rules on what counts as a medical exemption.

“SB276 continues to essentially eliminate all medical exemptions, even those consistent with the CDC, ACIP or AAP guidelines. By arbitrarily limiting the number of medical exemptions a physician may write to 4 in any calendar year before triggering investigation, SB 276 will deter physicians from writing ANY exemptions for fear of irreparable damage to their professional reputation, financial security, and emotional trauma, even if ultimately found innocent. How will a physician decide which 4 children are “deserving” of medical exemptions each year, in order to prevent an automatic investigation once they write that 5th exemption?”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

Since few children should actually need a true medical exemption, the limits in SB 276 are hardly arbitrary. And since what counts as a true medical exemptions is rarely arbitrary either, doctors who write five or more true medical exemptions in a year will have nothing to fear when those exemptions are reviewed.

“A Harvard study has found that 2.6% of people vaccinated will have a vaccine injury. California’s current medical exemption rate of 0.7% falls far below this number, implying that there are many children whose vaccine injuries could have been avoided if an appropriate medical exemption were written by their physician.”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Inc. report did not find “that 2.6% of people vaccinated will have a vaccine injury.”

It actually found possible reactions in 2.6% of vaccinations. And I hope that everyone is aware that a possible reaction is not the same as a vaccine injury…

Also, in addition to the fact that current rate of medical exemptions in California is far higher than 0.7%, it is the clusters of medical exemptions in many schools that are the problem.

“Until such time when vaccine risks and benefits can be clearly defined in broader terms that take into account personal and family history and epigenetics, this risk needs to be taken on by each parent and each child. And where there is risk, there must be choice. And where there is uncertainty, the BEST person to help that parent navigate vaccines is the person who knows that child’s medical and family history best – THEIR PHYSICIAN.”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

Elisa Song talks a lot about the risks of vaccines, or at least what she thinks puts kids at risk, including family history and epigenetics.

“I believe in public health, yet I care for individual children and families who sit across from me everyday, trusting that I am giving them valid, scientific, evidence-based information that will keep their individual baby safe and healthy, and believing that I am providing them with true informed consent.”
Elisa Song’s Letter to Governor Newsom

It would be great if she truly were giving her patient’s “valid, scientific, evidence-based information” and “true informed consent.”

She’s not…

“I learned how to integrate conventional pediatrics with functional medicine, holistic nutrition, homeopathy, acupuncture, herbal medicine and essential oils – and it changed my life!”
Elisa Song

Notice anything missing?

$267 for a home remedy kit filled with homeopathic treatments???

She never talks about the risks of getting a vaccine-preventable disease.

And she overstates the risks of vaccines.

“While the media and common public opinion are quick to say that the link between vaccines and autism has been absolutely disproved, they have not done their due diligence research.”
Measles: Know the Facts by Dr. Elisa Song, M.D.

It is hard to make a truly informed decision when your doc downplays the risks of natural disease, makes you afraid to get vaccinated, and tries to sell you natural therapies that we know won’t prevent infections and won’t actually boost your immune system.

About Those Anti-Vaccine Signs Some Folks Are Making

Sadly, even as some of us are working to fight measles outbreaks, others are actually protesting against getting kids vaccinated and protected. And they have gotten someone to finance the making of hundreds of anti-vaccine signs.

Signs that list the typical anti-vaccine talking points that we have been refuted a thousand times…

About Those Anti-Vaccine Signs Some Folks Are Making

Not surprisingly, there is nothing new about these signs.

It will be nearly impossible to eradicate measles with all of these folks scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids!

Remember, every anti-vaccine argument is essentially a PRATT, a point refuted a thousand times.

72 vaccines??? Kids routinely get 14 different vaccines to protect them against 16 different vaccine-preventable diseases.

Whether it is in a book, on Facebook or Twitter, or on a sign, don’t let this type of anti-vaccine misinformation keep you from vaccinating and protecting your kids.

Childhood Vaccines 24 in 1988 72 in 2019 – inflating the vaccine dose count is simply a propaganda technique
Vaccine Makers Are Exempt From Liability – this is not true
Live Virus Vaccines Shed and Spread – while some live vaccines can shed, shedding is not the problem that these folks make it out to be, often going so far as describing a shedding season among other things
Vaccines Can Cause Injury and Death – although possible, it is extremely rare for vaccines to cause serious, life-threatening injuries
Vaccine Mandates Violate Bodily Autonomy – since vaccine mandates don’t actually force anyone to get vaccinated, they don’t violate anyone’s bodily autonomy…
Vaccines Known to Cause Seizures Encephalitis Autoimmunity – you only believe this if you misread the package insert…
Vaccines Are Not Placebo Safety Tested – except for all of those times when they are, including saline placebos…
Vaccines Are Made With Aborted Fetal Cells – a cell line whose descendant cells has been copied over and over for over 50 years and are removed before the final vaccine is produced.
US Law Classifies Vaccines As Unavoidably Unsafe – but that legal term doesn’t in any way mean that vaccines are dangerous or extra risky!
Impossible to Eradicate Measles With Live Virus Vaccine – this is mischaracterizing something that Gregory Poland said about the difficulty of eradicating measles

Vaccines are safe, with few risks, and are obviously necessary.

“One is morally free to use the vaccine regardless of its historical association with abortion. The reason is that the risk to public health, if one chooses not to vaccinate, outweighs the legitimate concern about the origins of the vaccine. This is especially important for parents, who have a moral obligation to protect the life and health of their children and those around them.”
National Catholic Bioethics Center FAQ on the Use of Vaccines

“A moral obligation” to vaccinate your kids…

Maybe we should put that on a sign!

Can Vaccines Cause Arthritis?

Many people think that vaccines can cause arthritis.

Vaccines and Arthritis

That’s not surprising, as there are many case reports associating vaccines and arthritis.

Arthritis is even listed as an adverse reaction in the package insert for the MMR vaccine.

While rubella vaccines can cause arthritis, so can a rubella infection.

And chronic arthritis is also listed as a table injury for vaccines containing the rubella virus.

Can Vaccines Cause Arthritis?

So that means that vaccines cause arthritis, right?

Actually, no, it doesn’t. At least not the type of arthritis that most people associate with the term arthritis.

Wait, what does that mean?

Vaccines do not cause juvenile arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, for example.

“Rubella-containing vaccines (e.g. MMR) can cause mild, acute, transient arthralgia or arthritis, rarely in children but very commonly in certain adult women (between 10-25% of adult female vaccinees without preexisting rubella immunity), usually beginning 1-3 weeks after vaccination and then persisting up to 3 weeks. Other vaccines currently routinely recommended to the general population in the U.S. have not been shown to cause chronic arthralgia or arthritis.”
Do Vaccines Cause Arthralgia or Arthritis?

While rubella-containing vaccines can cause arthritis, it is a mild type of arthritis that is usually temporary, lasting about two days.

“Postpubertal females should be informed of the frequent occurrence of generally self-limited arthralgia and/or arthritis beginning 2 to 4 weeks after vaccination.”
MMR-II Package Insert

It is also rare in children.

And it also occurs after a natural rubella infection. In fact, up to 70% of adult women with rubella develop arthralgia or arthritis.

Of course, arthritis isn’t the rubella complication that we worry about…

During the rubella epidemic in the United States just before the rubella vaccine was developed, there were 2,000 cases of encephalitis, 11,250 therapeutic or spontaneous abortions, 2,100 neonatal deaths, and 20,000 babies born with congenital rubella syndrome.

Vaccines for Arthritis

Except for temporary arthritis after the rubella vaccine, not only do vaccines not cause arthritis, it is recommended that people with chronic arthritis get vaccinated.

“Keeping up with your vaccinations is always a smart move, but getting immunized is especially important when you have an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Both RA and the medicines you take to treat it can increase your risk for infections.”
RA & Vaccinations

And one day, we might even have therapeutic vaccines for arthritis!

Rheumavax completed a phase I clinical trial in Australia a few years ago. That led to the development of a new drug, DEN-181, that is now in phase 1 trials.

What to Know About Vaccines Causing Arthritis

Rubella containing vaccines can cause mild, temporary arthritis, but mostly in postpubertal females and less commonly than after a natural rubella infection.

VAXOPEDIA

Are Vaccines Only Tested for 4 or 5 Days?