Tag: MMR vaccine

The Fatal Flaw in the Anti-Vaccine Movement

There are a ton of flaws in the “logic” of the anti-vaccine movement.

Just consider how many theories they have for why vaccines are associated with autism…

  1. It’s the MMR vaccine – the Andrew Wakefield theory
  2. It’s thimerosal – but MMR never contained thimerosal…
  3. It’s glyphosate – the Stephanie Seneff theory
  4. It’s the vaccines you get while you are pregnant
  5. It’s the vaccines you get as an infant – but you don’t get MMR until you are 12 months old
  6. It’s the vaccines you get as a toddler – but what about the kids who get diagnosed as infants?
  7. It’s just something about vaccines – but what about the autistic kids who are unvaccinated and whose parents weren’t recently vaccinated?

It’s fairly easy to see that these folks just want to blame vaccines…

The Fatal Flaw in the Anti-Vaccine Movement

That’s not necessarily the fatal flaw in the anti-vaccine movement though.

Is it that all of their ideas and theories are so easy to refute?

There are hundreds of these types of arguments that anti-vaccine folks use to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.

Of course, none are true.

That it only takes a few minutes of research to prove that they aren’t true isn’t the fatal flaw in the anti-vaccine movement though.

As more people are vaccinated and diseases disappear, they forget how bad those diseases are, skip or delay getting their vaccines, and trigger outbreaks.
As more people are vaccinated and diseases disappear, they forget how bad those diseases are, skip or delay getting their vaccines, and trigger outbreaks. Photo by WHO

The fatal flaw is that when enough folks listen to them and immunization rates drop, we get outbreaks.

“I also warn them not to share their fears with their neighbors, because if too many people avoid the MMR, we’ll likely see the diseases increase significantly.”

Dr. Bob Sears in The Vaccine Book

Ironically, Dr. Bob obviously knew this would happen, warning folks not to tell anyone – in his book that likely increased fears about vaccines!

Although Wakefield and others were factors, remember that Dr. Bob‘s book about vaccines was published in 2007…

And what happens once we start to see a lot more outbreaks?

In addition to a lot of unvaccinated kids getting sick, folks line up to get their kids vaccinated and protected.

Even Dr. Jay is advocating for older (I’m going to assume he means 6 months) unvaccinated children to get an MMR to help stop the outbreaks.

This is a cycle that experts have talked about for some time.

It’s the reason that the anti-vaccine movement, which has been around for hundreds of years, can never really win. They will never take us back to the pre-vaccine era.

Yes, a woman died when she got caught up in a 2015 measles outbreak in Washington.
Yes, a woman died when she got caught up in a 2015 measles outbreak in Washington.

Anytime their ideas take hold a little too much, nature fights back. Diseases, especially measles which is extremely contagious, come back. And we have to work to control the outbreaks.

But that more kids eventually get vaccinated in outbreaks isn’t the only fatal flaw in the anti-vaccine movement.

Tragically, the other fatal flaw in the anti-vaccine movement is that since these are life-threatening diseases, people end up dying from vaccine-preventable diseases. And the risk of that happening goes way up during a large outbreak.

Vaccines aren’t perfect, but they are safe, with few risks. They are also very necessary.

It shouldn’t take an outbreak to convince you to vaccinate your kids.

More on The Fatal Flaw in the Anti-Vaccine Movement

Everything You Need to Know About the Measles Vaccine

The measles vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines we have.

It is also one of the safest, having very few serious side effects.

Everything You Need to Know About the Measles Vaccine

So why are some parents still afraid to allow their kids to get vaccinated and protected, putting them at risk to get measles, a life-threatening disease?

“Existing evidence on the safety and effectiveness of MMR vaccine supports current policies of mass immunisation aimed at global measles eradication and in order to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with mumps and rubella.”

Cochrane Systematic Review on Vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in children

Let’s see if you still are after we get all of your questions about the measles vaccine answered…

Schools in California were closed for at least two weeks in 1917 because of measles epidemics.
Schools in California were closed for at least two weeks in 1917 because of measles epidemics.
  1. How long has the measles vaccine been around? The very first measles vaccine was licensed by John Enders in 1963. An improved measles vaccine was developed by Maurice Hilleman and licensed in 1968, and that is the measles vaccine that we still use today, at least in the United States. It was combined into the MMR vaccine in 1971.
  2. How effective is the measles vaccine? A single dose of the measles vaccine is about 93% effective at preventing a measles infection. Two doses (the second dose was added to the routine immunization schedule in 1994) are up to 97% effective. That’s why almost all of the people who get measles in an outbreak are unvaccinated.
  3. How long does immunity from the measles vaccine last? Immunity from the measles vaccine is thought to be life-long. It is important to understand that the second dose isn’t a booster dose, but is instead for those few folks who don’t respond to the first dose.
  4. Who should get the measles vaccine? Everyone without a true medical contraindication should get the measles vaccine (MMR), with the first dose at 12-15 months and a second dose at 4-6 years.
  5. Can my kids get their measles vaccine early? An advanced immunization schedule is available for kids in an outbreak or if they will be traveling out of the country. The first dose can be given as early as age 6-months, but is repeated when the child is 12 months because of concerns of interference with maternal antibodies. The official second dose can be given early too, as early as 4 weeks after the first dose, as long as the child is at least 12 months old.
  6. Do I need a booster dose of the measles vaccine? People who are fully immunized do not need a booster dose of the MMR vaccine, but it is important to understand whether or not you are really fully immunized to see if you need a second dose. Some adults who are not high risk are considered fully vaccinated with only one dose, while others should have two doses. Are you at high risk to get measles? Do you travel, live in an area where there are measles outbreaks, go to college, or work as a health care professional?
  7. Should I check my measles titers? In general, it is not necessary to check your titers for measles. If you haven’t had two doses of the MMR vaccine, then get a second dose. If you have had two doses of the MMR vaccine, then you are considered protected. Keep in mind that there is no recommendation to get a third dose of MMR for measles protection, although it is sometimes recommended for mumps protection during a mumps outbreak.
  8. If my child gets a rash after getting his MMR, does that mean that he has measles? No. This is a common, very mild vaccine reaction and not a sign of measles.
  9. Can the measles vaccine cause seizures? The MMR vaccine can cause febrile seizures. It is important to remember that without other risk factors, kids who develop febrile seizures after a vaccine are at the same small risk for developing epilepsy as other kids. And know that vaccines aren’t the only cause of febrile seizures. Vaccine-preventable diseases can cause both febrile seizures and more serious non-febrile seizures.
  10. Why do people think that that the measles vaccine is associated with autism? It is well known that this idea originated with Andrew Wakefield, but the real question should be why do some people still think that vaccines are associated with autism after so much evidence has said that they aren’t?
  11. What are the risks of the measles vaccine? Like other vaccines, the MMR vaccine has mild risks or side effects, including fever, rash, and soreness at the injection site. Some more moderate reactions that can rarely occur include febrile seizures, joint pain, and a temporary low platelet count. More serious reactions are even rarer, but can include deafness, long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness, brain damage, and life-threatening allergic reactions.
  12. Why are there so many reports of measles vaccine deaths? There are extremely few deaths after vaccines. The reports of measles vaccine deaths you see on the Internet are just reports to VAERS and are not actually reports that have been proven to be caused by a vaccine. As with other vaccines, the risks from having a vaccine-preventable disease are much greater than the risks of the vaccine. The only reason that it might not seem like that now is because far fewer people get measles now than they did in the pre-vaccine era, when about 500 people died with measles each year.
  13. When did they take mercury out of the measles vaccine? Measles vaccines, including the MMR, have never, ever contained mercury or thimerosal.
  14. Why do we still have outbreaks if we have had a measles vaccine since 1963? In the United States, although the endemic spread of measles was declared eliminated in 2000, many cases are still imported from other countries. As measles cases increase around the world, that is translating to an increase in outbreaks here. Even though overall vaccination rates are good, because there are many pockets of susceptible people in areas that don’t vaccinate their kids, they get hit with outbreaks.
  15. Can we eradicate measles? Because measles is so contagious, the vaccine does have failures, and some folks still don’t get vaccinated, there is some doubt that we can eradicate measles without a better vaccine. That doesn’t mean that the current measles vaccines can’t prevent outbreaks though…

Are you ready to get your kids their MMR vaccine so that they are vaccinated and protected against measles, mumps, and rubella?

If not, what other questions do you have?

While you are thinking, here is a question for you – Do know why they used to call measles a harmless killer?

More on the Everything You Need to Know About the Measles Vaccine

Did the Measles Vaccine Have Only a Meager Effect on Deaths?

Anti-vaccine folks seem to think that they found another big bombshell report!

As you will see, the “meager effect” of the measles vaccine prevented over 500 measles deaths in the United States each year!

They are talking about an article from 2001, The Role of Public Health Improvements in Health Advances: The 20th Century United States, by David Cutler, which found that “clean water was responsible for nearly half of the total mortality reduction in major cities, three-quarters of the infant mortality reduction, and nearly two-thirds of the child mortality reduction.”

The article even included mortality graphs for anti-vaccine folks to misuse!

Did the Measles Vaccine Have Only a Meager Effect on Deaths?

What are they missing?

“In the early 20th Century, mortality in the United States declined dramatically. Mortality rates fell by 40% from 1900 to 1940, an average decline of about 1% per year”

Cutler on The Role of Public Health Improvements in Health Advances: The 20th Century United States

Most of the decline the article talks about came at the beginning of the 20th Century, before these vaccines were developed.

What about the vaccines for whooping cough, diphtheria, and tetanus, which were developed in the earlier part of the 20th Century? They weren’t routinely used until much later. Remember, the individual diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccines didn’t even become combined into a single DTP vaccine until 1948.

Clean water and sanitation only had so much effect on mortality rates and much of it was in the early part of the 20th Century. Vaccines and other medical interventions took us the rest of the way!

But, all of these diseases that are now vaccine preventable were still very deadly in the 1940s and 1950s, even with clean water and sanitation.

Sure, mortality rates had declined already by this time, just like they had for most other things, but the effects of clean water eventually plateaued and a lot of people were still getting measles and a lot of people were still dying.

Why so many deaths in 1950 if they had been eliminated by clean water and sanitation?

At least they were until the measles vaccine was discovered and more and more people started getting vaccinated and protected.

You can even ask the author of the article in question…

“Dear Lord.  The fact that vaccines aren’t the only reason why mortality declines in no way means that vaccines are not an important reason why mortality declines.”

David M Cutler, Harvard College Professor, Otto Eckstein Professor of Applied Economics

The idea that the measles vaccine had only a relatively meager effect on deaths due to measles infections is silly. It’s also dangerous if you believe it and leave your kids unvaccinated and at risk to get measles, which is clearly a deadly disease.

More on Anti-Vaccine Mortality Graphs

News on the Latest Measles Outbreaks of 2019

Breaking News – 1 new cases in Washington (see below).

2019 has just started, but we already have reports of measles cases and exposures in at least 152 people in 9 states, including Colorado (1), Connecticut (3), Georgia (3), Hawaii (2), Kentucky (1), Illinois (4), New York (65), Oregon (5), Texas (7), and Washington (63).

And large, ongoing outbreaks in New York (Brooklyn and Rockland County) and the Pacific Northwest.

Measles is still spreading in New York.

There are also many reports of measles outbreaks in Europe.

2019 Measles Outbreaks

Since there were so many ongoing measles outbreaks in 2018, it shouldn’t be surprising that we are getting off to a quick start in 2019.

Recent cases and exposures include:

  • someone in Oregon who exposed other people in Portland (Jan 2), The Dalles (Dec 29 and 31, 2018), and Hood River (Dec 30, 2018)
  • an unvaccinated toddler in Monroe County, New York who had recently traveled to Ukraine
  • 9 new cases in Rockland County, New York (105 total)
  • 3 new cases in the Borough Park and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn (55 total)
  • 3 new cases in Rockland County, New York (108 total)
  • a new outbreak in Clark County, Washington involving two unvaccinated children who exposed others on Jan 6 and 7 and an additional 11 suspected cases
  • 6 new cases in Rockland County, New York (114 total)
  • as expected, 12 more cases in Clark County, Washington (14 total) – all children, all unvaccinated (one unverified), with multiple exposures in Vancouver, including 5 different schools, 2 churches, and 6 health care facilities
  • 3 new cases in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn (58 total)
  • an adult in Denver, Colorado who became sick while traveling internationally and exposed others in Denver from Jan 10-14
  • 2 more cases in Clark County, Washington (16 total), with 5 more suspected cases remaining and exposures in Battle Ground (Jan 8 and 14) and Vancouver (Jan 14 and 15)
  • 2 kids from the Washington outbreak had traveled to Hawaii while contagious (January 4 to 13)
  • 2 residents of the metro Atlanta area, with exposures between Jan 7 to 14, although there is some speculation that these cases were also travelers from the Washington outbreak
Are these cases part of the Washington outbreak?
After 19 cases and an exposure at the Portland Trail Blazers game, Clark County has declared the measles outbreak to be a public health emergency.
After 19 cases and an exposure at the Portland Trail Blazers game, Clark County has declared the measles outbreak to be a public health emergency.
  • 3 more cases in Clark County, Washington (19 total), with 7 more suspected cases remaining and exposures in Camas (Jan 10- 15), Portland (Jan 11 and 14), and Vancouver (Jan 11 to 16), leading the Clark County Council Chair Eileen Quiring to declare a public health emergency.
  • 2 new cases in Clark County, Washington (21 total), with 4 more suspected cases remaining and exposures in Vancouver (Jan 7 to 11)
  • 4 new cases in the Borough Park and Williamsburg sections of Brooklyn (62 total)
  • 2 new cases in Rockland County, New York (118 total)
  • 2 new cases in Clark County, Washington (23 total), with 2 more suspected cases remaining and exposures in Vancouver (Jan 15 and 19) and Portland (Jan 15-16), including at the Portland International Airport (where did they go?)
  • 4 new cases in Rockland County, New York (122 total)
  • a case in the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District in Illinois with multiple exposures (Jan 12 to 19) including the University of Illinois in Urbana and Champaign
  • 2 new cases in Clark County, Washington (25 total), with 12 more suspected cases!
  • a case in King County, Washington that is linked to the outbreak in Clark County
  • 5 new cases in Clark County, Washington (30 total), with 9 more suspected cases!
  • a case in Multnomah County, Oregon that is linked to the outbreak in Clark County and with exposures (Jan 20 to 23) in Gresham, Wood Village, and Troutdale
Hopefully, no kids with immune system problems were exposed to these kids with measles.
Hopefully, no kids with immune system problems were exposed to these kids with measles.
Almost all of the measles cases in Rockland County are unvaccinated.

What kind of measles year will 2019 turn out to be? Unfortunately, we already have the potential for another record year…

These outbreaks are a great reminder to review the special vaccine travel requirements, including that adults who “plan to travel internationally should receive 2 doses of MMR at least 28 days apart,” that infants traveling abroad can get their first dose of MMR as early as age 6 to 11 months, with a repeat dose at age 12 months, and that “children aged who are greater than or equal to 12 months need 2 doses of MMR vaccine before traveling overseas,” even if they aren’t four to six years old yet.

For More Information On Measles Outbreaks:

Updated on February 18, 2019

How Many People Get Measles Each Year?

It used to be that measles was very common and almost everyone got measles.

A measles epidemic hit New York City in 1951, as this front page NYTimes article reports.
A measles epidemic hit New York City in 1951, as this front page NYTimes article reports.

While it was a so-called rite of passage and a part of growing up, it wasn’t something you looked forward to, as some kids didn’t survive having measles.

How Many People Get Measles Each Year?

Fortunately, measles case counts have dropped in the post-vaccine era.

How much did they drop?

Let’s see..

YearCases
1920469,924
1941894,134
over 400 measles deaths each year
1962503,282
196925,826
197047,351
197826,871
197913,597
19831,497
19866,282
198918,193
199027,786
19919,643
19922,200
1993312
last record high number of measles cases
1994963
1995281
1996508
1997138
1998100
1999100
200086
2001116
200244
200355
record low number of measles cases
200437
200566
200655
200743
2008140
200971
201061
2011220
201255
2013187
worst year for measles since 1994, with the largest single outbreak (377 cases in Ohio) since the endemic spread of measles was eliminated
2014667
2015188
201686
2017120
2018372

Can you guess when the first measles vaccines were introduced?

Can you guess when we started to give kids a second dose of the MMR vaccine?

Can you guess when Wakefield became popular and Dr. Bob’s vaccine book was released?

Do you know how much it costs to contain these outbreaks?

Do you understand the consequences of a natural measles infection?

Can you explain why we will almost certainly have the second highest number of measles cases in one year since 1994, even though we see the devastation that high rates of measles is causing in Europe and other parts of the world?

How many people will get measles in the United States this year?

A lot has changed since we got reassurance from the CDC that we were seeing an expected range of measles cases, although there were plenty of warning signs then that this was going to be one for the record books.
A lot has changed since we got reassurance from the CDC that we were seeing an expected range of measles cases, although there were plenty of warning signs then that this was going to be one for the record books.

Although no one is reporting on this, with several large ongoing outbreaks still not under control – it will be another record year for measles in the United States.

The Rockland County measles outbreak already exceeds the total yearly case count for 11 of the past 19 years!
The Rockland County measles outbreak already exceeds the total yearly case count for 11 of the past 19 years!

And with several large outbreaks continuing overseas, next year doesn’t look like it will be much better, especially with reports of a measles resurgence in many regions of the world.

More on Measles and Measles Cases

Updated on January 6, 2019

Alleged Fraud in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceedings

Have you heard about the alleged fraud in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings?

Alleged by who?

Guess?

Alleged Fraud in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceedings

Yup. The usual suspects.

The usual suspects are alleging fraud during the in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings.

Most folks remember that the Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceedings were a series of cases that were used to test theories that vaccines could contribute to or cause autism.

The conclusion?

Vaccines are not associated with autism.

So what’s the problem?

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chairman of Children’s Health Defense (CHD), and Rolf Hazlehurst, parent of a vaccine-injured child, petitioned the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Senate and House Judiciary Committees today to investigate actions taken by federal personnel during the “Vaccine Court” Omnibus Autism Proceedings (OAP).”

Kennedy and Hazlehurst claim to have evidence of “obstruction of justice and appallingly consequential fraud by two DOJ lawyers who represented the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2007.”

What evidence?

Kennedy and Hazlehurst claim that “that the leading HHS expert, whose written report was used to deny compensation to over 5,000 petitioners in the OAP, provided clarification to the DOJ lawyers that vaccines could, in fact, cause autism in children with underlying and otherwise benign mitochondrial disorders.”

Who is this expert?

It is Andrew Zimmerman, MD, a pediatric neurologist.

There is also a claim that Dr. Zimmerman, along with Dr. Richard Kelley, who was also an expert witness in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Autism Proceedings, served as expert witnesses in a medical malpractice case against a pediatrician who vaccinated a child, supposedly causing him to become autistic.

Which child?

Yates Hazlehurst, who was the second test case in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings.

Confused?

Dr. Zimmerman settles any fraud issue when he answers this clear question in his deposition in a malpractice against Yates Hazlehurt's pediatrician.
Dr. Zimmerman settles any fraud issue when he answers this clear question in his deposition in a malpractice against Yates Hazlehurt’s pediatrician.

Dr. Zimmerman admits that there is no evidence that vaccines cause autism, but also believes that there are some exceptions, and that vaccines can cause regressive autism in some kids with mitochondrial disorders.

Dr. Zimmerman also clarified that it is not just immunizations, but infections, fever, and other inflammatory responses that can lead to regressive autism.

Dr. Zimmerman clarified that infections can lead to regressive autism too - not just vaccines.
Dr. Zimmerman clarified that infections can lead to regressive autism too – not just vaccines.

And Dr. Zimmerman would have testified to it in the Cedillo case (the first test case in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings), if he had been allowed to.

Except that upon review of the Cedillo case, Dr. Zimmerman had concluded that “there is no evidence of an association between autism and the alleged reaction to MMR and Hg, and it is more likely than not, that there is a genetic basis for autism in this child.”

Apparently, he had changed his mind later, even though he continues to say that all evidence points to the fact that vaccines don’t cause autism.

“Dr. Zimmerman subsequently submitted a second expert opinion on behalf of Hannah Poling, which in effect states that she suffers autism as a result of a vaccine injury. The same government officials, who submitted and relied upon Dr. Zimmerman’s first expert opinion as evidence in the O.A.P., secretly conceded the case of Hannah Poling and placed it under seal so that the evidence in the case could not be used in the O.A.P. or known by the public.”

Memorandum Regarding Misconduct By The United States Department Of Justice And The United States Department Of Health And Human Services During The Omnibus Autism Proceeding As To The Expert Opinions Of Dr. Andrew Zimmerman

But what about the “second expert opinion” from Dr. Zimmerman?

Zimmerman deposition on Hannah Poling.

According to Poling’s mother, “Dr. Zimmerman was not an expert nor was he asked to be an expert on Poling’s case. The government conceded her case before ANY opinion was rendered or given.”

What about Dr. Richard Kelley?

“As noted above, an important consideration for treatment of AMD is that “normal” inflammation can impair mitochondrial function. Although most infections cannot be avoided, certain measures can limit the risk of injury during infection or other causes of inflammation… We believe it is much better to immunize with DTaP than risk infection with highly inflammatory and potentially damaging community-acquired pertussis.”

Dr. Richard Kelley on Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Autism and Mitochondrial Disease

While he seems to believe that vaccines can trigger regressive autism in some kids with mitochondrial disease, he admits that other kinds of inflammation can do it too, including vaccine-preventable diseases.

“We believe it is much better to immunize with DTaP than risk infection with highly inflammatory and potentially damaging community-acquired pertussis.”

Andrew Zimmerman

And again, so does Dr. Zimmerman, to the point that in many cases, he thinks that even kids with mitochondrial disorders should be vaccinated.

“…the MMR vaccine has been temporally associated, if rarely, with regressions — with regression in AMD and other mitochondrial disease when given in the second year. Doubtless some of these regressions are coincidental, since the usual age for giving the MMR falls within the typical window of vulnerability for AMD regression.”

Andrew Zimmerman

If rarely associated…

Coincidental…

That doesn’t sound very convincing.

Although a lot of Dr. Zimmerman’s deposition makes it into J.B. Handley’s new autism book, what’s missing is that there were many other experts that testified against the idea that vaccines could be associated with autism during the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings and that their testimony and their reports were relied upon more than Zimmerman’s.

“The undersigned has reviewed and considered the filed reports from these experts and finds that the opinions of the experts lend support to the conclusions reached in this decision. In reaching the conclusions set forth in this decision, however, the undersigned relies more heavily on the testimony and reports of the experts who were observed and heard during the hearings.”

Hazlehurst v. Secretary of HHS

So where is the fraud in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings?

Is it that the Poling case files have been kept under seal and hidden from public view?

“Finally, and perhaps for purposes of Rolf’s request that Poling’s records be released to the public, Jon and I have not allowed the release of Hxxxx’s records nor will we ever willingly allow third parties to tear apart her medical history which includes other close family members as well as things that should have never been in the record to begin with.”

Terry Poling

While we should all care about fraud in our court system, we should all also care about folks who push misinformation about vaccines and try to scare parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids, especially when they use autistic kids to do it.

Don’t believe them.

It is telling that Dr. Zimmerman, the hero in this story, discredits the other heroes of the anti-vaccine movement, from the Geiers to Andrew Wakefield.

“I do think that — that there was much information — misinformation brought about by Dr. Wakefield and it’s — this has set the field back. I think that — that we — we have worked very hard to try to reassure the public  and I agree with doing that because I am very supportive of vaccinations, immunizations in general.”

Andrew Zimmerman

While Dr. Zimmerman truly believes that future research might find a way to identify a very small subset of kids with mitochondrial disorders that worsen after they get their vaccines (or infections or other types of inflammation), this doesn’t apply to the great majority of autistic kids or even the great majority of kids with regressive autism.

Different answers to a very similar question? They are from different lawyers in the Zimmerman deposition...
Different answers to a very similar question? They are from different lawyers in the Zimmerman deposition…

Even Dr. Zimmerman only seems to speak of an “uncommon relationship” that “is not evident in studies that have been done to date.”

And none of the researchers he mentions, including Richard Frye, Shannon Rose, Joe (Jill?) James, or Dmitriy Niyazov seem to have actually studied vaccines, only possible relationships between autism and mitochondrial conditions.

“The claims by RFK Jr. and Handley draw on something that was not, in fact, a fraud, that is misrepresented as having a dramatic impact on the Omnibus Autism Proceedings when it had little to no effect.”

Plus ça change – anti-vaccine activists revive the Hannah Poling case

So there is nothing really new here.

And while it might be news to folks like Bob Sears, vaccines are safe and necessary and still don’t cause autism.

More on the Alleged Fraud in the Vaccine Court Omnibus Proceedings

Vaccination Tragedies are Rare

Vaccines work to prevent at least 2 to 3 million deaths each year worldwide.

Tragically, either because of errors or contamination, vaccines can sometimes actually cause people to get sick.

This can happen when health workers:

  • use a reconstituted vaccine after six hours – live vaccines can quickly become contaminated if they are kept and used for too long a time
  • mixup diluents – in addition to using the wrong diluent vaccination tragedies can occur when a dangerous medication is used instead of a vaccine’s standard diluent
  • improperly handle vaccines – breaking the cold chain
  • a vaccine is given to someone with a true medical contraindication

Fortunately, these situations are rare.

History of Vaccination Tragedies

With billions of doses of vaccines being given each year, it is likely not surprising that we see some problems. But when many of those vaccines are being given to kids, even one mishap, especially if it leads to life-threatening complications, is too many.

That’s why many safe guards have been put in place in the manufacturer and distribution of modern vaccines, so that we don’t see these types of vaccine tragedies:

  • the Cutter Incident, when, in 1955, at least 56 people developed polio and 5 children died after being vaccinated with inactivated polio vaccine that was poorly manufactured by Cutter Laboratories and still contained live polio virus
  • hepatitis-contaminated yellow fever vaccines – some lots of yellow fever vaccines used in the military in 1942 were unintentionally contaminated with the hepatitis B virus
  • the Lubeck Disaster – 75 children died and others got tuberculosis in 1929 Germany after there was a mixup between the BCG vaccine and the strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis that causes tuberculosis. The BCG vaccine was supposed to be made with a weakened strain of Mycobacterium bovis bacteria instead.
  • the Bundaberg incident – 12 children died in Australia in 1928 after being given contaminated diphtheria vaccine from a multidose vial without preservative
  • tetanus contaminated smallpox vaccine in the 1890s and early 20th century

Although vaccines are much safer now, some rare incidents still occur.

Fifteen infants died and 75 children got sick in Syria in 2014 after they received a neuromuscular blocking agent, atracurium, instead of the measles vaccine they were supposed to get. How? The measles vaccine that was being used is mixed with a diluent, but instead of using the proper diluent, the health worker unintentionally used a bottle of atracurium instead.

In 2015, at least two kids died and 29 got sick in Chiapas, Mexico, among 52 children who were vaccinated. The children were reportedly given a BCG vaccine, the rotavirus vaccine, and/or a hepatitis B vaccine that day. However, the only vaccine that all of the sick children received in common was the hepatitis B vaccine. Since 130,000 doses from the same batch of vaccines had been given in the area, it was not thought to be a manufacturing problem or widespread issue. It was instead bacterial contamination of hepatitis B vaccine vials at that one clinic.

Fifteen children died in 2017 in a village in South Sudan after a poorly trained team that wasn’t adhering to WHO immunization safety standards used the same syringe to reconstitute measles vaccines over a four day period. They also didn’t keep the vaccine vials refrigerated.

“A single reconstitution syringe was used for multiple vaccine vials for the entire four days of the campaign instead of being discarded after single use. The reuse of the reconstitution syringe causes it to become contaminated which in turn contaminates the measles vaccine vials and infects the vaccinated children.”

Statement regarding findings of joint investigation of 15 deaths of children in Nachodokopele village, Kapoeta East County in South Sudan

As you can imagine, the conditions that led to these tragedies aren’t present when most kids get vaccinated.

Even in developing countries, most children get vaccinated by people adhering to WHO immunization safety standards. Why did they happened then? Both Syria and South Sudan have been rocked by war for years, leading to a breakdown in the ability to provide routine health care, even as basic as getting kids vaccinated. And Comunidad La Pimienta, Simojovel, Chiapas is a very poor part of southern Mexico.

These kinds of tragedies aren’t going to happen at your pediatrician’s office, as they don’t even have drugs like atracurium.

What Happened in Samoa?

Two toddlers died after being vaccinated at Safotu Hospital in Samoa.
Two toddlers died after being vaccinated at Safotu Hospital in Samoa.

In Samoa, four years after the deaths of the children in Syria, we are once again hearing about reports of deaths after kids were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine.

Two children in Samoa, both one-year-olds, died within minutes  of being vaccinated on the same day in the same hospital on the island of Savai’i.

Not surprisingly, as health officials investigate the cause, use of the MMR vaccine had been suspended in Samoa.

So what happened?

“Until the investigations have been completed and reported on we cannot say what did happen.

However, given the batch of vaccine involved had been in use in that country since August last year, and given the same batch of vaccine has been used in South American countries and the Caribbean island nations without incident, it seems unlikely that there was anything wrong with the vaccine.

The reports from the parents of the children affected on Friday indicate the reactions occurred within minutes after vaccination. This would preclude a response to the vaccine viruses as this takes at least a week. While anaphylaxis occurs within minutes and can be fatal when not treated the odds of seeing this twice in a day at the same place, given a chance of 1 in a million doses, is literally astronomical.”

Dr. Helen Petousis Harrison on What happened in Samoa?

Since it happened so quickly, it sounds like it could have been a mix-up with the diluent, as happened in Syria. A five dose vial of MMR is used in Samoa, which means that unlike premixed vaccines, it does have to be mixed with a diluent.

What about contamination? It is known that vaccine vials can be contaminated with Staphylococcus bacteria if they are mishandled. Although Staphylococcus bacteria can directly cause infections, they can also release a toxin that can cause toxic shock syndrome (TSS).

Considering how quickly these children got died though (within minutes), it isn’t likely that the vaccines became contaminated with Staphylococcus toxins. There have been reports of TSS following vaccination in the past, usually with vaccines that don’t use preservatives, but symptoms typically develop over four to 24 hours.

“This particular vaccine batch lot arrived to Samoa in August 2017 and has been in use since then. The same vaccine batch lot used in Samoa is also in use in a number of South American and Caribbean countries (Belize, Ecuador, St. Vincent, Trinidad Tobago, Chile, Aruba, Dutch Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis and Cuba) with no reports of adverse events from those countries.”

Government of Samoa – Ministry of Health Press Statement

Could this be related to what happened to two other children in Samoa who had died after getting their MMR vaccines?

Almost certainly not. Those children, siblings, died years earlier, one in 2015 and the other in 2017. Neither died immediately after being vaccinated and there are reports that they may have had some kind of an immunodeficiency syndrome that contributed to their deaths.

“A number of media outlets are already covering these tragic events, speculating on the cause of death before the investigation is completed, and the stories have been picked up by the anti-vaccination movement.”

Government of Samoa – Ministry of Health Press Statement

That some folks would use these rare tragedies to scare parents from vaccinating and protecting their kids is shameful. But that’s the modern anti-vaccine movement…

What to Know About Vaccination Tragedies

Kids shouldn’t get sick or die after getting vaccinated. Fortunately, they rarely do, except in extreme circumstances that can make it more likely for errors to occur.

More on Vaccination Tragedies