Tag: SIDS

Fact Checking What Kids Receive When They Are Vaccinated

A new post is being shared in anti-vax groups that includes two trays of syringes and a long list of scary sounding chemicals, implying that they are all ingredients in vaccines. And that an infant would get them all at a single well child visit.

If you have seen the post and it has you wondering whether or not you should vaccinate your kids, open your eyes! This is classic anti-vaccine propaganda.

Fact Checking What Kids Receive When They Are Vaccinated

How do we know it’s propaganda?

Let’s begin with the fact that these vaccines have been drawn up for more than one child.

We know that because there is no situation in which a child would get 10 separate injections at one time. Even if a toddler was completely unvaccinated and was looking to get started and caught up on his missed vaccines all at once, he wouldn’t get 10 separate injections.

In fact, most of the time, thanks to combination vaccines, infants only get two or three injections at a time.

This post is also easy to recognize as anti-vaccine propaganda because of the way they describe ingredients of vaccines.

  • 2-phenoxyethanol – works as a stabilizer or preservative
  • aluminum – (neurotoxin) –
  • fetal bovine serum – (aborted cow blood) – used as a growth media to provide nutrients to viruses and is removed from the final vaccine
  • formaldehyde – (carcinogen, embalming agent) – formaldehyde in vaccines is not carcinogenic because “carcinogens do not cause cancer at all times, under all circumstances”
  • gelatin – (ground up animal carcuses) – a stabilizer that is formed from the connective tissue of certain animals, usually pigs
  • albumin – (human blood) – most vaccines are now made with recombinant albumin, anyway it is just albumin, a protein, that is in the vaccine, not “human blood”
  • monosodium L-glutamate – (causes obesity & diabetis) – another stabilizer
  • MRC-5 cells – (aborted human babies) – descent cells that have a “distant association with abortion” are mostly removed from final vaccines
  • neomycin –  (antibiotic) – used to prevent bacteria from growing while the vaccine is being developed and is removed from the final vaccine
  • polymyxin B – (antibiotic)
  • polysorbate 80 – (carcinogen) – an emulsifier that “helps ingredients mix together and keep them from separating.”
  • potassium chloride – (used in lethal injection)
  • potassium phosphate – (liquid fertilizer agent)
  • sodium bicarbonate – (baking soda)
  • sodium borate – (Borax, used for cockroach control)
  • sodium chloride – (table salt)
  • sodium citrate – (food additive)
  • sodium hydroxide – (Danger! Corrosive)
  • sodium phosphate – (toxic to any organism) –
  • sodium phosphate monobasic monohydrate – (toxic to any organism)
  • sorbitol – (Not to be injected)
  • streptomycin – (antibiotic)
  • sucrose – (cane sugar)
  • yeast protein – (fungus) – used as a growth medium and removed from the final vaccine
  • urea – (metabolic waste from human urine) – helps to improve temperature stability of some vaccines, but does not come from human urine!
  • other chemical residuals

Although they went out of their way to make them sound scary, it is important to understand that these ingredients are not toxins, at least they aren’t in the doses used in the vaccines.

And while chemicals like potassium phosphate and sodium hydroxide might indeed sound scary to some people, it is also important to remember that we routinely and safely use chemicals every day. As they listed, sodium chloride is table salt!

What about their list of “studies” that followed their list of ingredients? They are easily refuted too – just think cherry picking, VAERS, case reports, and more VAERS.

Basically, the whole post is a collection of PRATTs – anti-vaccine points refuted a thousand times!

Don’t fall for this kind of propaganda anymore.

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

More on Anti-Vaccine Propaganda

Do One Out of 39 Vaccinated Children Suffer Serious Injuries?

Why do some folks think that one out of 39 vaccinated children suffer serious injuries?

Serious injuries are not common after vaccines.
In addition to myths about serious injuries, these folks are getting hit with a lot of conspiracy theories about vaccines.

Because that’s what they are told in anti-vax Facebook groups…

Do One Out of 39 Vaccinated Children Suffer Serious Injuries?

If they actually took the time to read the report cited in the post, the pilot study conducted by the Federal Agency for Health Care Research (AHCR) via the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) back in 2010, they would actually see that it doesn’t actually say anything about serious vaccine injuries.

The study actually looked at all possible reactions, not just "serious injuries."
They don’t mention this, but the study actually looked at all possible reactions, not just “serious injuries.”

The study, which look at VAERS reports, was actually talking about ALL possible reactions after a child was vaccinated, so would include more mild reactions, like fever, pain, and redness at the injection site.

“The same study found that typical clinicians see 1.3 vaccine injuries per month.”

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman, Children’s Health Defense

In case you haven’t recognized it yet, they are talking about the infamous “Harvard study.”

Well, infamous in anti-vax circles…

They use it to scare parents into thinking that vaccine injuries are more common than they really are and that they are rarely reported.

Don’t let this kind of vaccine misinformation get in the way of your vaccinating and protecting your kids.

Vaccines are safe, with few risks.

More on Serious Vaccine Injuries

Healthy Kids Can Just Die

No one likes to think about it, but yes, healthy kids can just die.

Tragically, misunderstanding this fact can lead some parents who have lost a child to blame vaccines.

Healthy kids can just die and they are often attacked by anti-vaccine groups who push them to blame vaccines.
The 8 year-old child they are talking about died of SUDEP or Sudden Unexplained Death of Epilepsy.

It certainly doesn’t help that anti-vaccine folks are targeting families who have recently lost a child, pushing them to blame vaccines…

Healthy Kids Can Just Die

Speaking of vaccines, that leads us to one group of healthy kids who can die suddenly – those who die with a vaccine-preventable disease.

All of those kids who die with the flu each year? Many are healthy. And many are unvaccinated.

Infants who die with pertussis.

Teens who die with meningococcemia.

They were all typically healthy – at least they were before they got sick.

And then some of them died.

Of course, vaccine-preventable diseases are not a common way for children to die in developed countries anymore – thanks to vaccines.

Healthy Kids Dying is Not a Vaccine Injury

Again, although no one likes to think about it, healthy kids can just die.

Surprisingly, about 10% of deaths in children over age 12 months are classified as sudden death, including many in healthy kids with no explanations for how they died.

These types of sudden, unexplained deaths are actually the 5th leading cause of death in children between the ages of 1 and 4 years. That adds up to about 400 deaths a year in the United States alone!

Were some of these kids recently vaccinated?

Of course.

Just like some infants who die of SIDS were recently vaccinated.

That doesn’t mean that the vaccines caused the deaths though.

“Dealing with the sudden, unexpected death of a baby to any cause is devastating – but in the case of a death for which no specific cause can be found, the lack of answers about why your baby has died can be overwhelming.”

Surviving the Sudden Death of a Baby

So why do some people blame vaccines?

“The parents’ need to understand why their baby died came across very strongly in most interviews despite parents not being asked specifically about this.”

Garstang et al on Parental understanding and self-blame following sudden infant death: a mixed-methods study of bereaved parents’ and professionals’ experiences

Few people like the idea that there isn’t a known reason for why a child died.

“Our results suggest that most parents really want to know why their baby died; not knowing why their baby died may cause further distress to parents, whether this is due to long waits for the results of postmortem examinations or because deaths remain unexplained. An unexplained death by its nature is an unpredictable event rendering the parents powerless to prevent future tragedies, thus increasing the anxiety and grief; having as much information as possible should help parents to emotionally accept and make sense of the death to themselves.”

Garstang et al on Parental understanding and self-blame following sudden infant death: a mixed-methods study of bereaved parents’ and professionals’ experiences

Saying it was vaccines gives people an answer.

“The aggregated theme, We Feel Like We’re to Blame, was composed of three categories: (a) Not where s/he was supposed to sleep, (b) Naming the cause of death increases my guilt, and (c) It was our fault. Mothers often felt that they were being told that the baby’s death was their fault.”

Stiffler et al on When Baby Stops Breathing: Analysis of Mothers’ Interviews

And in the case of SIDS, especially if the baby was in an unsafe sleeping environment, it is easy to see that blaming vaccines might help those who were made to feel that the death had been their fault, even though bedsharing is widely pushed as a safe alternative to roomsharing in many parenting circles.

It isn’t.

“The mothers talked about how difficult it was trying to move on after an unexpected infant death. They expressed that they are not only dealing with the grief of losing a child, but they are dealing with the feelings of guilt, despair, and regret. In this aggregated theme, there were three categories: (a) I can’t talk about it, (b) One step forward, and (c) Support helps me get through.”

Stiffler et al on When Baby Stops Breathing: Analysis of Mothers’ Interviews

One thing should be clear.

Seeking support in anti-vaccine Facebook groups is not healthy and will not help parents deal with their feelings of guilt, despair, or regret.

Shaming was described from the mothers’ perspective “ . . . it sounds so blaming and makes me feel like they think we killed our baby.” Parents were dealing with the grief of losing children, but they were also exhibiting feelings of guilt and responsibility for the deaths. The mothers did find support and eventually moved forward emotionally. In the end, as one mother succinctly expressed, “I am pregnant now . . . we are happy, but are scared, too.”

Stiffler et al on When Baby Stops Breathing: Analysis of Mothers’ Interviews

These parents instead need support and doctors, nurses, first responders, child protective service workers, and medical examiners that don’t worsen their grief and guilt.

If you need to blame vaccines, then go ahead and do so, but please also get some extra help from the resources below.

And lets work to figure out why these healthy kids are dying, so we can get better at saving them and preventing these deaths.

More on Healthy Kids Can Just Die

How the Anti-Vax Movement Takes Advantage of SIDS and SUDC Families

Unfortunately, we have gotten used to the modern anti-vaccine movement doing some horrible things. What’s one of the very worst? Taking advantage of the parents of children who have recently died of SIDS or SUDC.

We commonly see anti-vaccine folks seek out parents whose children have very recently died to make them think that vaccines were the cause.
We commonly see anti-vaccine folks seek out parents whose children have very recently died to make them think that vaccines were the cause.

Making parents think that their baby died because of vaccines.

How the Anti-Vax Movement Takes Advantage of SIDS and SUDC Families

Although we have seen folks like Larry Cook do this time and again, it isn’t what is best for these families.

“When a child dies unexpectedly, a family may feel a flood of emotions, including guilt, anger and lack of control. The clinician’s role is to offer stable support, information and compassionate care. In order to provide the most appropriate care for families in these situations, it is necessary to understand the complexities of the grief and trauma response and to recognize that the families’ needs will change over time.”

Caring for the SUDC Family: Medical and Bereavement Information for the Clinicians’ Consideration

What do anti-vax folks offer to these grieving families?

“During an open investigation, do not speculate on the cause of death with the family. Although this may feel supportive, it often undermines the relationship with the Medical Examiner/Coroner who is legally charged with determining cause of death and adds stress for the family when clinicians and the investigating authorities disagree. It is optimal that clinicians and Medical Examiners/Coroners communicate directly for the best interests of the family. “

Caring for the SUDC Family: Medical and Bereavement Information for the Clinicians’ Consideration

They offer an answer…

“Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC) is a category of death in children between the ages of 1 and 18 that remains unexplained after a thorough investigation, including an autopsy.”

Facts About Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood

Often when answers haven’t been available.

“Dealing with the sudden, unexpected death of a baby to any cause is devastating – but in the case of a death for which no specific cause can be found, the lack of answers about why your baby has died can be overwhelming.”

Surviving the Sudden Death of a Baby

And whether it is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID), or SUDC, invariably, the “answer” that they offer is that they should blame vaccines.

Of course, they shouldn’t.

Vaccines are safe, with few risks.

Vaccines are not associated with SIDS.

Vaccines are not associated with SUID.

Vaccines are not associated with SUDC.

Shame on these folks for making grieving parents think that they are.

These families would get much better help from organizations like the SUDC Foundation and first candle.

More on Caring for SIDS and SUDC Families