Tag: seizures

Did the AAP Say That Vaccines Cause Severe Brain Injury?

Bob Sears is telling folks that the American Academy of Pediatrics says severe brain injuries are caused by vaccines.

Bob Sears doesn't mention that measles is much more likely to cause severe brain injury and death, or more recent studies that counter his post.
Bob Sears doesn’t mention that measles is much more likely to cause severe brain injury and death, or more recent studies that counter his post.

Did the AAP say that?

“A causal relationship they say.”

Bob Sears

No, they didn’t.

The researchers in Pediatrics didn’t even say that…

Did the AAP Say That Vaccines Cause Severe Brain Injury?

What did they say?

“This clustering suggests that a causal relationship between measles vaccine and encephalopathy may exist as a rare complication of measles immunization.”

Weibel et al on Acute Encephalopathy Followed by Permanent Brain Injury or Death Associated With Further Attenuated Measles Vaccines: A Review of Claims Submitted to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

The study was about reports to VAERS…

Over 23 years, the researchers (in 1998) found reports of 48 cases of acute encephalopathy among about 75,000,000 children who were vaccinated, some clustered in the second week after they received a measles containing vaccine.

Does that mean that those measles containing vaccines caused the encephalopathy?

“In the absence of a specific test to determine vaccine causation, these 48 cases may include some nonvaccine cases representing background rates.”

Weibel et al on Acute Encephalopathy Followed by Permanent Brain Injury or Death Associated With Further Attenuated Measles Vaccines: A Review of Claims Submitted to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program

No, it doesn’t.

It was a signal that got some attention though.

And as it has been further investigated, there has been no evidence that measles containing vaccines cause encephalitis, at least not above 1 in a million background rates.

What does cause encephalitis?

“About 1 child out of every 1,000 who get measles will develop encephalitis (swelling of the brain) that can lead to convulsions and can leave the child deaf or with intellectual disability.”

Complications of Measles

Measles.

Measles, a life-threatening vaccine-preventable disease, causes encephalitis.

Are your kids vaccinated and protected with two doses of MMR?

More on Vaccines and Severe Brain Injury

More Anti-Vaccine Protest Signs

Anti-vaccine folks think that they have come up with a winning tactic, especially as they get kicked off of more and more social media platforms.

They are taking it to the street, literally, to protest their kids needing vaccines to protect them from life-threatening vaccine-preventable diseases and attend school.

More Anti-Vaccine Protest Signs

Fortunately, like their signs, this is a very black and white issue.

Just like other anti-vaccine signs we have seen, these signs are made up of classic anti-vaccine talking points and misinformation that we have refuted a thousand times.

First things first though.

Why are these protestors dressed up like they are about to head to a 50’s sock hop?

That’s easy.

They still think kids only got 3 to 5 shots in the 1950s and 1960s.

5 in 1962? Have you looked at an immunization schedule from the 1960s?

Although kids did get many more vaccine doses than they imagine back then, most of these folks likely long for days when kids still got measles, pneumococcal meningitis, epiglottitis, mumps, and all of the other now vaccine-preventable diseases.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that these other signs are just as easy to explain and debunk…

  • 4 Billion Paid by Us Government for Vaccine Injuries and Deaths – yes, $4,060,857,713.42 has been paid by the Vaccine Court for 6,355 compensated claims for vaccine injuries since 1989, during which time billions of doses of vaccines have been given
  • Vaccine Ingredients Animal Blood Pig Gelatin Monkey and Dog Kidney Rabbit Brain Insect Cells Human DNA + More – scary stuff until you learn what’s really in our vaccines
  • Keep the Road to Informed Consent and Medical Freedom Open – these signs are a perversion of the idea of informed consent, as they not only misinformed people about vaccines, but they also leave out all of the risks of not getting vaccinated and protected
  • Understand the Risks Allergies Seizures Brain Damage Paralysis Autoimmunity ‘Classic’ Vaccine Reactions – folks should understand both the real risks of vaccines and the risks of delaying or skipping vaccines and getting a vaccine preventable disease, which can be life-threatening
  • The Same Industry That Has Half The Nation Addicted To Opioids Wants To Mandate Vaccines – it shouldn’t be surprising that many of these signs simply reflect ideas about Big Pharma conspiracy theories
  • The CDC Vaccine Schedule Is Turbo Charged. Do Your Research. – turbocharged to protect us from 16 vaccine preventable diseases that used to kill our kids?
  • Pharma Profits Should Not Outweigh Individual Rights – more Big Pharma
  • No Shots No School Not True. Get an Exemption. – yes, all states allow medical exemptions for vaccines and some allow non-medical exemptions, but that leaves your kids unvaccinated and unprotected
  • Vaccine Makes Are Exempt From Liability – this is not true
  • Vaccine Science Is Not Settled. It’s Corrupt. – more Big Pharma
  • Parents in the Driver’s Seat on Vaccines. Not the Government. – since there are no forced vaccinations, parents always make the ultimate choice on whether or not to vaccinate their kids
  • Sounding the Alarm on Vaccine Science. Science is Never Settled. – sure, let’s replace vaccines science with anti-vaccine pseudoscience
  • Vaccines Can Cause Injury and Death – although possible, it is extremely rare for vaccines to cause serious, life-threatening injuries
  • Get Charged Up About Protecting Medical Freedom. Forced Vaccines Are Not American. – since vaccine mandates don’t actually force anyone to get vaccinated, this sign doesn’t really make sense
  • Ready… Set… Know… Vaccines Are Not Placebo Safety Tested. – except for all of those times when they are, including saline placebos…
  • Vaccines Reactions Are Not Rare. They are Rarely Reported. – while mild vaccine reactions may not be rare and may be under-reported, serious vaccine reactions are very rare.
  • Put the Brakes on Vaccine Mandates. – if these folks weren’t out scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids, we wouldn’t need new vaccine laws and mandates!
  • Aluminum. Good for Cars. Not for Vaccines. – aluminum salts in vaccines work as an adjuvant so that we can use fewer antigens and still get a good immune response.

If you see any of these signs, now you will know what they really mean.

Put the brakes on misinformation about vaccines.

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

More on Anti-Vaccine Protest Signs

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!
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
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.

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!

More on Anti-Vaccine Signs

Does the MMR Vaccine Cause More Seizures Than Measles?

Why do some parents think that the MMR vaccine causes more seizures than measles?

That's a lot of misinformation about measles in one post...
That’s a lot of misinformation about measles in one post…

Because that’s the latest propaganda that they are seeing in anti-vaccine groups on Facebook…

Does the MMR Vaccine Cause More Seizures Than Measles?

The MMR vaccine doesn’t cause seizures in 1 in 640 children…

Posts like this about seizures and the MMR vaccine are why folks are reporting anti-vaccine Facebook groups for Fake News?
Posts like this about seizures and the MMR vaccine are why folks are reporting anti-vaccine Facebook groups for Fake News?

The MMR vaccine doesn’t even cause seizures!

“The MMR vaccine has been associated with a very small risk of febrile seizure as a side effect. Two recent studies indicate that for every 10,000 children who get the MMR and varicella vaccines for their first vaccinations when they are 12–23 months old, about 4 will have a febrile seizure during the 5–12 days following vaccination.”

Understanding the Risk of Febrile Seizures After the First Vaccination at Ages 12–47 Months

It can cause febrile seizures, but even then, it is only at about a rate of 1 in 2500 children after the first dose (0.04%).

Is that “five times the rate from the actual measles infection?”

As I’m sure you are guessing, the answer is obviously no.

Overall, seizures occur in about 0.6% to 0.7% of measles cases!

In addition, actual measles infections can cause non-febrile seizures, which are much more serious than febrile seizures.

Also, measles can cause encephalitis, a life-threatening complication that is often accompanied by seizures.

This is in contrast to simple febrile seizures, which again, are typically considered to be harmless.

More On Seizures from MMR Vs Measles