Tag: vaccine deaths

That Time Del Bigtree Admitted He Manipulates Folks and Their Fears of Vaccines

If you work to correct the misinformation about vaccines that is out there, at some point, you wonder if the very vocal anti-vaccine folks who are pushing anti-vaccine talking points really believe any of this stuff.

Del Bigtree admits to misusing VAERS reports.

I mean, do they really believe that vaccines don’t work or that pediatricians get million dollar vaccine bonuses?

That Time Del Bigtree Admitted He Manipulates Folks and Their Fears of Vaccines

It seems that we got an answer this week with a new edition of Fault Lines, The Viral Threat: Measles and Misinformation.

In this interview with John Rushing, Del Bigtree admits that he understands that reports to VAERS do not imply causation.

He knows that when he talks about 400 reported vaccine deaths on his show, it doesn’t really mean that 400 people died from vaccine injuries. He knows that they aren’t confirmed vaccine deaths, even though he never says that on his show.

John Rushing: The numbers the way you’re using them though, it implicitly warns against using them that way.

Del Bigtree: Yeah. Yes.

John Rushing: You’re saying that there are 412 deaths last year.

Del Bigtree: I – no. What I’m saying is there’s 412 reported deaths. I never said there were 412 confirmed deaths reported.

John Rushing: So, so some of those causes of death on VAERS

Del Bigtree: Yeah.

John Rushing: one was a drowning.

Del Bigtree: Sure.

John Rushing: One was from co-sleeping. One was from a pre-existing heart condition. There’s no – because a death is reported in VAERS – there’s no way to show causation to the vaccine.

Del Bigtree: Okay.

John Rushing: But in watching your speech and watching your show – man, you would come away thinking 400 people died from vaccines last year.

Del Bigtree: Okay.

John Rushing: And then I can start to see

Del Bigtree: Okay.

John Rushing: where they get the number. And then I go to the source and the source says “don’t use the number that way.”

The Viral Threat: Measles and Misinformation

Do you believe that there really were 400 vaccine deaths last year?

Now you know why…

More on That Time Del Bigtree Admitted He Manipulates Folks and Their Fears of Vaccines

The Tragedy in Samoa Was Not Caused by the MMR Vaccine

Remember the two young children who died in Samoa in early July 2018, shortly after getting an MMR vaccine?

In addition to the tragic deaths of those two children, it led to the suspension of all vaccinations in the country.

The Tragedy in Samoa Was Not Caused by the MMR Vaccine

Fortunately, that suspension was eventually reversed, but they did continue to hold MMR vaccinations.

How long did they suspend MMR vaccinations?

They actually don’t restart until April 15.

And while the trial for the two nurses involved in the tragedy is delayed until June, the Director General of Health, Leausa Take Naseri, has said that their deaths were a mistake caused by human error.

And that the MMR vaccine is safe.

With measles outbreaks in many nearby countries, health experts and parents are eager to get vaccinations restarted and to get kids caught up.

Local officials say that Taylor Winterstein, the face of the VAXXED tour in Australia, is taking advantage of what happened at the Safotu District Hospital

Hopefully, they get vaccinated before anti-vaccine folks head to Samoa to try and scare folks away from getting vaccinated.

More on The Vaccine Tragedy in Samoa

Bob Sears on Hiding in the Herd

How do some intentionally unvaccinated kids get away without getting sick?

Mandatory vaccination laws still don't mean forced vaccination.
Mandatory vaccination laws still don’t mean forced vaccination.

How does a pediatrician get away without seeing kids harmed by vaccine-preventable diseases?

Bob Sears on Hiding in the Herd

Most folks know the answer…

“And in my 20 years of pediatric practice, I have never once seen a child seriously harmed by a vaccine-targeted infection. Oh sure, I’ve seen kids get sick. And they all get better. And this is in a practice where most of my patients don’t vaccinate (or don’t anymore after one child suffers). So if anyone should be seeing kids get harmed from infections, it should be me, right? But not even one. “

Bob Sears

There are a few simple reasons that all of Dr. Bob’s intentionally unvaccinated kids all get better when they get sick.

In addition to respiratory problems (think iron lungs), polio causes muscle atrophy.
In addition to respiratory problems (think iron lungs), polio causes muscle atrophy. (CC BY-NC 4.0)

For one thing, vaccine-preventable diseases don’t kill every single person that gets them! Even in the pre-vaccine era, most kids did recover. Tragically though, not all did. And not all did without complications.

That’s why we say that you have to earn your natural immunity.

Even more importantly though, since most other parents vaccinate their kids, his intentionally unvaccinated kids are simply at less risk to get a vaccine-preventable disease.

They are hiding in the herd – free-riding and benefiting from the herd immunity that’s provided by those of us who do vaccinate and protect our kids.

Mostly though, Dr. Bob has been lucky.

185 kids, mostly unvaccinated, died with the flu last year.
185 kids, mostly unvaccinated, died with the flu last year.

And so have his patients.

They are especially lucky that more folks don’t listen to him and instead understand that vaccines are safe, with few risks.

“Here’s the thing…it doesn’t matter if vaccines played a role in reducing the incidence of certain diseases in industrialized nations 60 years ago. Yep, I said it. ***Decades have passed and we’re STILL vaccinating like we are in a developing country and it’s the year 1900.***”

Melissa Floyd

Remember, it wasn’t that long ago that kids were dying from Hib meningititis, Hib epiglotittis, pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, hepatitis B, and rotavirus. You don’t have to go back 60 years or all of the way to 1900!

“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

And that so many people do get vaccinated is the only thing keeping these diseases from coming back at even higher numbers.

Even Dr. Bob used to know that…

More on Bob Sears on Hiding in the Herd

More About Measles Deaths in the United States

Anti-vaccine folks like to talk about death and measles, as long as they can talk about vaccine deaths, something they seem to think happens commonly.

“Over the past ten years in the U.S., there has been one reported death from the measles, and it is unclear based on the medical history of the patient whether and how measles played a role in their death. During the same time period (based on Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) reports), there have been 105 reported deaths associated with the MMR or MMRV vaccinations.”

Measles Madness: Dr. Brian Hooker’s Statement to WA Legislators

There are two big problems with this statement, that is so often repeated that it is clearly a PRATT – a point refuted a thousand times.

The reports in VAERS about deaths after MMR are not proof of a cause-and-effect relationship.

“Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.”

Guide to Interpreting VAERS Data

In fact, studies have shown that most of the reports of deaths submitted to VAERS are coincidental and not causally associated with a vaccine.

But what about deaths following a natural measles infection?

There are plenty of those that anti-vaccine folks love to ignore.

Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research = WONDER
Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research = WONDER

Where are they?

There were actually 5 SSPE deaths and 2 measles deaths in 1999, but I started the list from 2000, as that was when the endemic spread of measles was eliminated in the United States.
There were actually 5 SSPE deaths and 2 measles deaths in 1999, but I started the list from 2000, as that was when the endemic spread of measles was eliminated in the United States.

These deaths are all in the CDC Wonder database.

Before the death of the woman in Washington in 2015, the CDC caused a lot of confusion by stating that “the last verifiable death in the United States from acute measles infection occurred in 2003 when there were 2 reported deaths.”

Does that mean that the measles deaths in 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2012 didn’t happen?

Of course not!

The information in the CDC Wonder database comes from death certificates that are sent in from all over the United States to the National Vital Statistics System. The system isn’t like VAERS though, where just anyone can send in a report. Still, they are unverified, which is why the CDC doesn’t mention them all.

Still, if anti-vaccine folks are going to push VAERS reports that we know are likely coincidental, then they shouldn’t ignore these measles deaths.

More About Measles Deaths in the United States

Did 79.4% of the Reported Child Deaths to VAERS Get a Vaccine on the Day They Died?

We know that reports to VAERS are unverified.

“When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.”

Guide to Interpreting VAERS Data

They can’t be used to prove causality or definitively say that an adverse reaction or side effect was caused by a vaccine.

Did 79.4% of the Reported Child Deaths to VAERS Get a Vaccine on the Day They Died?

Still, it might be surprising to learn that in the majority of reports to VAERS about deaths in children, most had been vaccinated on the day they died.

Did 79.4% of the Reported Child Deaths to VAERS Get a Vaccine on the Day They Died?
The study is easy to find…

Is that true?

It’s actually not.

The idea for the statistic comes from a report, Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, United States, 1997–2013, that was published in the 2015 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

“No concerning pattern was noted among death reports submitted to VAERS during 1997–2013.”

Moro et al on Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

Wait.

How do we get to “no concerning pattern was noted” to 79.4% of the kids were vaccinated on the day they died?

“For child death reports, 79.4% received >1 vaccine on the same day.”

Moro et al on Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

All the report is saying is that for kids who were vaccinated, 79.4% of them received more than one vaccine on the same day. It wasn’t the day they died though.

That kids would get more than one vaccine on the same day isn’t surprising. Few parents skip or delay vaccines so much that they just get one shot at a time.

“In our VAERS review, we did not detect any concerning patterns that would suggest causal relationships between vaccination and deaths.”

Moro et al on Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

If anything, this report confirms that vaccines are safe and with few risks.

“The number of death reports in children exceeded those in adults in all years, and in both groups the number of reports has decreased in recent years.”

Moro et al on Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

It is surprising that anti-vaccine folks would use it to try and scare folks away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.

More on Deaths Reported to VAERS

Are Infants More Likely to Die from Vaccines Than the Natural Diseases They Prevent?

Someone made a chart about vaccine deaths, saying it came from the CDC, and is using it to compare to an infant’s risk of natural death from vaccine-preventable disease.

Need help fact checking this image about vaccine deaths that anti-vaccine folks like to post?
Need help fact checking this image that anti-vaccine folks like to post?

Do you see any problems?

Are Infants More Likely to Die from Vaccines Than the Natural Diseases They Prevent?

Yes, that’s right.

They are misusing VAERS reports and claiming that they are vaccine deaths.

“When evaluating data from VAERS, it is important to note that for any reported event, no cause-and-effect relationship has been established. Reports of all possible associations between vaccines and adverse events (possible side effects) are filed in VAERS. Therefore, VAERS collects data on any adverse event following vaccination, be it coincidental or truly caused by a vaccine. The report of an adverse event to VAERS is not documentation that a vaccine caused the event.”

Guide to Interpreting VAERS Data

They are also leaving out the fact that deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases are low because most people are vaccinated and protected. Remember, one of the benefits of vaccines is that they got us out of the pre-vaccine era, when a lot of people died of these diseases. And most of us don’t want to go back!

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

If they scare enough people with this type of propaganda though and more people skip or delay their vaccines, then the diseases will come back and the risk of death increases.

“In a review of reports of death following vaccination submitted to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) from the early 1990s, the Institute of Medicine concluded that most were coincidental, not causally associated.”

Moro et al on Deaths Reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, United States, 1997–2013

That’s not even all that’s wrong with their little chart though.

They clearly say that they are talking about infants, but their chart says that it includes data for vaccines from birth to 18 years.

That should be evident when you realize that infants get neither hepatitis A nor MenB vaccines and there weren’t even any VAERS reports of deaths for infants for the hepatitis A vaccine in 2014. In fact, there has never been a report of a MenB vaccine death in VAERS for an infant.

So basically, these folks used inflated reports of deaths from VAERS that are likely coincidental and not associated with getting a vaccine and compared them to deaths that were reduced by the fact most folks are vaccinated and protected.

Don’t believe them. Vaccines are safe and necessary, with few serious side effects.

More on Misusing VAERS Reports

What Do Anti-Vaccine Folks Actually Know About Vaccines?

Anti-vaccine folks are spreading another quiz around…

It’s not the questions that automatically makes you think the quiz is anti-vaccine though. It’s how you just know anti-vaccine answers will be very different from someone who actually does know something about vaccines.

What Do Anti-Vaccine Folks Actually Know About Vaccines?

If you are anti-vaccine, you likely believe that vaccines are dangerous, full of toxins, and that they don’t even work. That gives other folks a giant hint as to how you would answer these 32 questions…

1. Can you name 5 vaccine ingredients?
Yes. I can also name what’s not in vaccines, including heavy metals, hidden ingredients, toxins, antifreeze, lead, glyphosate, vaginal spermicides, etc.
AV answer – all vaccines contain toxic ingredients!
2/3. What is MRC-5/WI-38?
These are immortalized cell lines that are used to make some vaccines. These cell lines are derived (they can replicate infinitely) from fetal embryo fibroblast cells from two electively terminated pregnancies (abortions) in the 1960s. The cells used today are descendants of the original cells.
AV answer – there are aborted baby parts in our vaccines!
4. What is vaccine court?
The Vaccine Court is part of the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) and decides if the claims should be compensated or dismissed, etc.
AV answer – vaccine court proves that vaccine injuries are real.
5. What is the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program?
The National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) was created as “a no-fault alternative to the traditional legal system for resolving vaccine injury petitions.”
AV answer – the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) proves that vaccine injuries are real.
6. What is the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act?
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 established the VICP, the Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund, the National Vaccine Program Office, VAERS, and required that health care providers give a Vaccine Information Statement to anyone getting a vaccine.
AV answer – the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act should be repealed because it removed all liability from vaccine manufacturers.
7. How has the CDC schedule changed since 1986?
The immunization schedule has changed to include vaccines to protect kids against meningitis, pneumonia, blood infections, severe dehydration, epiglottitis, and cancer from Hib, pneumococcal disease, rotavirus, hepatitis B, hepatitis A, chicken pox, HPV, and meningococcal disease.
AV answer – it has ballooned and exploded with 300 more vaccines in the pipeline!
8. How much money has been paid out by vaccine injury court?
Since the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program began, in 1988, almost $3.5 billion dollars have been paid out for 4,899 compensated awards, the majority of which were settled, and during which time over 2.5 billion doses of vaccines were given.
AV answer – $3.5 billion dollars, which proves that vaccine injuries are real!
9. How many doses of vaccines are in the CDC schedule between birth and age 18?
By age 18 years, today’s kids get 54 doses of 13 vaccines that protect them against 16 vaccine-preventable diseases, with a third of those doses coming from yearly flu vaccines.
AV answer – 72 doses!
10. Do vaccines contain DNA from aborted fetal cell lines? If so, which vaccines?
Residual, highly fragmented DNA is sometimes found in vaccines that are made using the MRC-5/WI-38 cell lines.
AV answer – vaccines contain aborted fetal tissue.
11. Do any vaccines contain dog, monkey, pig, or human DNA?
Residual DNA, if found in vaccines, is not a cause for concern. It is typically a function of growing vaccine viruses in mammalian cell lines.
AV answer – dog, monkey, pig, and human DNA contaminate vaccines and will turn us all into mutant dog-monkey-pig-human hybrids.
12. What is an adjuvant?
An adjuvant in a vaccine can increase the body’s immune response to an antigen, allowing you to use a smaller amount of antigen, which is important, as it is the antigens that typically cause side effects.
AV answer – Adjuvants in vaccines have never been tested and they trigger vaccine injuries and disease.
13. What is an antigen?
An antigen is a substance, often part of a virus or bacteria, that can stimulate an immune response and the production of antibodies. Surprisingly, even though kids get more vaccines than they used to, those vaccines contain far fewer antigens than older vaccines.
AV answer – we don’t care about antigens anymore, because all of the other vaccine ingredients are toxic.
14. Which arms of the immune system do vaccines stimulate?
It actually depends on the vaccine, but this is about the differences between innate (nonspecific and without memory) and adaptive immunity, which typically interact with each other, whether it is to create natural or vaccine induced immunity.
AV answer – I don’t care which arm you try to give it to them, my kids aren’t getting vaccinated!
15. Which arms of the immune system do natural diseases stimulate?
As with vaccines, it depends on the disease.
AV answer – Even if you offer to give the shot in their legs, my kids aren’t getting vaccinated!
16. What is transverse myelitis?
Transverse myelitis is a type of inflammation of the spinal cord, causing weakness and paralysis, and typically triggered by infections, immune system, inflammatory, and vascular disorders.
AV answer – transverse myelitis is a vaccine injury.
17. What is encephalopathy?
Almost anything can cause encephalopathy, leading to diffuse brain disease and dysfunction.
AV answer – encephalopathy is a vaccine injury.
18. What is the rate of autism in 2018? What was it in 2000? What was it in 1980?
The reported rate of autism has increased since 1980 because of better recognition, diagnostic substitution, broadening of the diagnostic criteria, and social influences. Vaccines are not associated with autism.
AV answer – vaccines cause autism. If it isn’t the MMR vaccine, then it is thimerosal, or maybe aluminum. Or it could be glyphosate. It is definitely vaccines though.
19. What is glyphosate? Is it in vaccines?
Glyphosate, a weed killer (Roundup) made by Monsanto is not in any vaccines.
AV answer – because glyphosate is everywhere, including in vaccines, half of all children will be autistic by 2025.
20. If your child is injured who will take physical, emotional and financial responsibility?
If a child has a true vaccine injury, compensation from the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) will hopefully help with your financial responsibilities.
AV answer – you can not sue vaccine manufacturers, so they have no liability if your child is injured by a vaccine.
21. What was the Supreme Courts statement on vaccines in 2011?
In 2011, the Supreme Court decided Bruesewitz v. Wyeth, in which they used the infamous unavoidably unsafe terminology, which has been misunderstood by anti-vaccine folks ever since.
AV answer – the Supreme Court said that vaccines can never be safe.
22. Can you find a study showing vaccinated vs unvaccinated health outcomes?
Yes, yes I can. A large study, “Vaccination Status and Health in Children and Adolescents Findings of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS),” found that unvaccinated kids weren’t healthier, they just had more measles, mumps, rubella, and pertussis.
AV answer – the Mawson study (published in a pay-to-publish journal after being retracted two other times) proves that unvaccinated (homeschooled) kids are healthier than vaccinated (homeschooled) kids.
23. Can you find a safety study proving it is safe to inject multiple vaccines?
Yes, yes I can. There are many studies that prove that it is safe to give multiple vaccines at the same time.
AV answer – vaccines have never been tested together.
24. Do vaccines shed?
A few vaccines do shed, including the rotavirus vaccines (in stool, so wash your hands when changing diapers) and oral polio vaccines, which haven’t been used in the United States since 2000. Although FluMist can shed, since the vaccine contains attenuated viral strains of the flu that are temperature-sensitive, it isn’t a problem, except maybe for someone who is severely immunocompromised.
AV answer – our unvaccinated kids are at risk during shedding season!
25. Which vaccines can shed for up to 6 weeks?
The oral polio vaccine, which hasn’t been used in the United States since 2000, can likely shed for up to 6 weeks. This type of shedding is one of the reasons this weakened live virus vaccine is preferred over the inactivated polio vaccine when polio is still common in an area. In areas with poor hygiene and sanitation, the shedding (in stool) can lead to a type of passive immunization and improved herd immunity!
AV answer – shedding season is coming!
26. Which vaccines are live virus vaccines?
Attenuated, live virus vaccines which contain a weakened version of a virus include MMR, Varivax (chicken pox), the rotavirus vaccines, FluMist, the yellow fever vaccines, the oral polio vaccine, and vaccines against typhoid, cholera, adenovirus, and smallpox.
AV answer – unvaccinated children are at risk from shedding if they are around kids who have gotten a live virus vaccine, especially during shedding season.
27. What is the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP)?
This is the same thing as the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) in question 5…
AV answer – we need to repeal both the NVICP and the VICP!
28. What is SV40?
Simian virus 40 was found to contaminate polio vaccines from 1955 through 1963. Fortunately, it has not been found to cause any disease in the folks who got those vaccines.
AV answer – vaccines are contaminated with monkey viruses and cause cancer.
29. What is MTHFR and how does it affect the body’s response to vaccines?
True MTHFR gene mutations rarely cause homocystinuria. Folks are more likely to hear about MTHFR polymorphisms, which are typically normal and have no affect on vaccines or anything else.
AV answer – no one should not get vaccinated if they have MTHFR mutations or signs of MTHFR.
30. What is an acceptable amount of aluminum to be ingested per day versus the aluminum content in the Hep B shot given at birth, 2 months, and then again at 4 months?
Although there are limits on aluminum that premature neonates and infants getting daily intravenous fluids and IV feeding solutions over prolonged periods of time, that doesn’t mean that aluminum in vaccines that infants get every few months isn’t safe. It is. And they are.
AV answer – infants are getting toxic amounts of aluminum in their vaccines!
31. Can someone who was vaccinated for pertussis still spread pertussis after being exposed to it? If so, for how long?
Maybe. A study in baboons said it is possible. More importantly though, you are much more likely to get pertussis if you are unvaccinated, will have more severe symptoms, and will likely get more people sick.
AV answer – vaccinated people are the ones starting pertussis outbreaks.
32. What is the death rate from measles in the past 10 years in the U.S. compared to the death rate from the MMR vaccine in the past 10 years?
Deaths from measles are now rare in the United States because most people are vaccinated and protected. And unless you are looking at VAERS reports, the deaths from the MMR vaccine are also very rare. We will have more and more measles outbreaks if folks don’t get vaccinated though, increasing the risk of another measles death.
AV answer – measles is a mild disease that was on the Brady Bunch, and MMR is an unnecessary vaccine kills tons of people.

How did you answer the questions?

What Do Anti-Vaccine Folks Actually Know About Vaccines?