Tag: vaccine injury stories

A Guide to Evaluating Vaccine Information for Legislators

As new vaccine bills are proposed, our state legislators, few who are doctors, are often put in a unique position of making decisions that could affect whether or not our kids are at risk to get a vaccine preventable disease.

Does House Majority Leader Lee Qualm have any idea why we ever started to have school vaccination requirements?

Yes at risk, since outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases could certainly increase as some of these vaccine bills actually weaken existing vaccine laws.

A Guide to Evaluating Vaccine Information for Legislators

It is easy to see why some Legislators are looking to strengthen their state’s vaccine laws, as they had likely been seeing a rise in vaccine hesitancy, with a corresponding rise in outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases.

But why would a Legislator want to make it easier for unvaccinated kids to go to school?

“I’m not opposed to vaccines, but I believe it should be up to the parents.”
South Dakota House Majority Leader Lee Qualm

When you hear them talk, it is easy to see that they have often been misled by the same misinformation and propaganda about vaccines that leads some vaccine hesitant parents to skip or delay their child’s vaccines.

If we see a COVID-19 pandemic, most of us will welcome a new vaccine to protect our families.

This includes the ideas that:

~~vaccine mandates take away a parent’s choice~~ – mandates do not force kids to get vaccinated.
~~vaccine preventable diseases aren’t that serious~~ – many are life-threatening and a few cause cancer!
~~natural immunity is better for you than getting a vaccine~~ – but only if you survive the disease without any complications.
~~vaccines are dangerous~~ – vaccines are safe, with few risks, and rarely cause serious reactions.
~~vaccines don’t work~~ – they aren’t perfect, but most vaccines work very well.
~~kids get too many vaccines~~ – of course, without these vaccines, the alternative is that more kids die from more diseases that are now vaccine preventable.
~~vaccines are against many religions~~ – really, which ones?
~~no one is at risk if a child is unvaccinated~~ – no one except those too young to be vaccinated, too young to be fully vaccinated, those with medical conditions and immune system problems who can’t be vaccinated, and anyone who’s vaccine didn’t work.

Of course, none of these things we crossed out are true, but they are all ideas pushed by folks who lobby these politicians. These folks also push misinformation about mutant measles, herd immunity, untested vaccines, unavoidably unsafe vaccines, and that vaccines have never been tested for carcinogenic or mutagenic potential.

Who is educating your state legislators about vaccines?

Unfortunately, a very vocal minority of parents who want to send their intentionally unvaccinated kids to school are getting extra attention in state houses because the great majority of parents who do vaccinate their kids don’t show up to advocate for vaccines.

Why not?

For many, it’s simply hard to believe that there are actually people out there fighting against vaccines!

It is easy to see why some Legislators might be tricked by slick anti-vaccine talking points in these meetings.

As difficult as it might be, our Legislators need to be prepared when these folks come with their talking points against vaccines.

What about the rights of children who can’t be vaccinated and have true medical exemptions?

Otherwise we will end up with more bad vaccine bills that will put our kids at risk.

Pennachio and Testa want to opt out of the federal Vaccine Count and NVICP and recreate it on the state level???

What’s wrong with these types of vaccine bills?

For one thing, they do nothing to make kids safer and they simply put extra steps in the way of getting kid vaccinated and protected.

Arizona state Sen. Paul Boyer told CNN he co-sponsored three of the bills after hearing from parents who said their children were hurt by vaccines. He felt the state was “not engaging in fully informed consent.”
Even with measles outbreaks across the US, at least 20 states have proposed anti-vaccination bills

Again, many simply echo talking points against vaccines about vaccine inserts (no one is hiding them…), liability, VAERS (information on reporting vaccine reactions is on every vaccine information sheet parents get), informed consent, and vaccine injury stories.

Lawrence Palevsky has been described as "an antivaccine pediatrician who’s an endless font of misinformation." Is this who your legislators are listening to? — Lawrence Palevsky has been described as “an antivaccine pediatrician who’s an endless font of misinformation.” Is this who your legislators are listening to?

And that’s not surprising, considering who gives these Legislators (mis)information about vaccines. Folks like Bobby Kennedy, Larry Palevsky, Ginger Taylor, Rita Palma, and the NVIC, etc., who also help to derail good vaccine bills.

“You don’t have to be a scientist or part of an organization to spread the word about the importance of immunizations. You can make an impact on vaccine-preventable diseases in your own community.”
Vaccinate Your Family – Make a Local Impact

We don’t have to let these folks them shape vaccine bills and policy though.

“A decision not to vaccinate is not just an individual decision. Because these diseases are spread from person to person, the decision to leave a child unvaccinated not only leaves that child susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases, but permits the spread of those diseases to the surrounding community, including infants too young to be immunized and those suffering from immunodeficiency conditions.”
An Open Letter to Congress On Immunization Policy

Let your legislators know that you want strong vaccine laws that keep all of us protected from vaccine preventable diseases.

Is It Rational to Be Anti-Vaccine?

Why do some people think that they are making a rational decision when they skip or delay their children’s vaccines?

Are parents making a rational decision when they skip or delay their children's vaccines? — Are parents really making a rational decision when they skip or delay their children’s vaccines?

Is it because they “know” that they are right?

Or because others reinforce their beliefs?

Is It Rational to Be Anti-Vaccine?

Whatever the reason, we should be clear that skipping or delaying vaccines, leaving your child at risk to get a vaccine-preventable disease and putting others at risk, is really not a rational decision.

“It is not the case, of course, that people make decisions about vaccination based solely on rational, evidenced-based, scientific perspectives.”
Timothy Caulfield et al on Injecting doubt: responding to the naturopathic anti-vaccination rhetoric

Instead, people often seem to skip or delay vaccines after fear helps a number of cognitive biases, heuristics, and logical fallacies take hold and change their perception of risk into something that is much different from reality. That fear is stoked by misinformation and propaganda they see on the Internet or hear from friends and family.

Or they become influenced by the idea that their child has been damaged or injured by a vaccine, even though in the great majority of cases, it has been shown that vaccines do not cause those problems.

“Well, if you’re going to inform yourself about vaccines, I think anybody who’s truly informed will realize that getting a vaccine is much better than not getting one. If you’re choosing not to vaccinate your child, it’s because you’re getting, frankly, bad information about vaccines.”
Paul Offit, MD

So call it what you want, but no, in general, it is not rational to be anti-vaccine, especially considering that:

to deny that vaccines are safe, effective, with few risks, and are necessary essentially means buying into a long list of conspiracy theories, from the idea that Big Pharma has convinced doctors around the world to intentionally poison everyone, to believing that vaccines don’t work and that vaccine-preventable diseases are mild or even good for you
the overwhelming majority of experts have made statements advocating for vaccines
the overwhelming majority of parents vaccinate their kids and themselves
skipping or delaying vaccines offers no benefits for your kids, just the added risk that they might get sick and might get others sick too until you get them caught up

Do you know what the biggest clue that it isn’t a rational decision in most cases?

Changing Your Mind About Vaccines

When a rational person is given new evidence or information that not only challenges their worldview, but blows it out of the water, what do they do?

They change their mind.

“It is irrational to hold any view so tightly that you aren’t willing to admit the possibility that you might be wrong.”
What would it take to convince you that you were wrong?

When do anti-vax folks change their minds?

“I don’t feel I’m putting my child at risk. There’s nothing that’s going to change my mind on this on that specific vaccination.”

More often than not, it is after one of their kids gets sick or there is a disease outbreak nearby.

Instead of changing their minds in the midst of disease outbreaks and immunization mandates, some parents decide to break the law…

If you are not vaccinating and protecting your kids, what would it take to get you to change your mind about vaccines?

Do you need to see double blind placebo controlled studies, studies with saline placebos, studies with vaccines tested together, or long term safety studies?

Do you need to remind yourself what the pre-vaccine era was like? Or understand what will happen if too many people stop vaccinating their kids?

Don't wait until it's too late to vaccinate your child. — Don’t wait until it’s too late to vaccinate your child.

Whatever it takes, hopefully you don’t wait too long and regret your decision.

Of course, no one wants to intentionally harm their children. But you can’t do what’s right and make a rational decision if you are relying on bad information and advice.

Jenna Jameson Helps Explain the Modern Anti-Vax Movement

Jenna Jameson is the latest “celebrity” to be talking about vaccines.

And it helps explain what is going on in the modern anti-vaccine movement.

Jenna Jameson Helps Explain the Modern Anti-Vax Movement

So why is Jenna Jameson talking about vaccines?

Is it because she is vegan?

Maybe, but many vegans vaccinate themselves and their kids…

Is she just against vaccine mandates?

One of the best reasons to question vaccines is because the government is mandating them?

Sure, it is possible she just has a problem with the government telling her what to do.

Not encephalitis, but a motor vehicle accident can lead to a brain injury or even chronic traumatic encephalopathy though.

But that became a less likely reason as she kept tweeting…

Jenna Jameson thinks that vaccines cause peanut allergies.

That vaccines can cause peanut allergies is a common anti-vax talking point. They think that it has something to do with peanut oil adjuvants, even though these peanut oil adjuvants were never actually used in any routine vaccines.

It eventually came out though.

Jenna Jameson is questioning vaccines because she feels that her child nearly died after her vaccines – from a febrile seizure.

A febrile seizure after a vaccine has Jenna Jameson questioning vaccines.

And of course, it is bullying to try and explain that febrile seizures are not a life-threatening reaction.

So what’s the problem?

Jenna Jameson made a lot of misinformed statements about vaccines.

It’s not Jenna Jameson questioning vaccines or even whether or not she vaccinates her kids.

It’s her using her celebrity status to scare other parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids.

Jenna Jameson is happy that she is scaring parents away from vaccinating and protecting their kids?

Want to question something?

A febrile seizure is a vaccine injury now?

Question why parents listen to celebrities like Jenna Jameson when they try and make them think that vaccines are dangerous and cause things like peanut allergies, asthma, diabetes, and autism.

Or that febrile seizures are a dangerous reaction, a vaccine injury, that should keep them from continuing to get vaccinated.

“Fevers can be caused by common childhood illnesses like colds, the flu, an ear infection, or roseola. Vaccines can sometimes cause fevers, but febrile seizures are uncommon after vaccination.”
What is a febrile seizure?

Would you skip or delay your child’s vaccines, putting them at risk to get a life-threatening disease and putting others at risk, because Jenna Jameson, Rob Schneider, Kat Von D, Bill Maher, Kristin Cavallari, Lisa Bonet, or Cindy Crawford told you to?

Can Vaccines Cause Herpes Infections?

It’s very easy to understand why some folks believe that vaccine injuries are so common.

Vaccines don't cause eczema and they certainly don't cause herpes. — Vaccines don’t cause eczema and they certainly don’t cause herpes.

It’s because they think that vaccines are poison and everything is a vaccine injury, even an infant’s herpes infection!

Can Vaccines Cause Herpes Infections?

Wait, could someone actually get herpes from a vaccine?

Do we even have a herpes vaccine?

Chickenpox, shingles, and herpes are all members of the herpesviridae family of viruses, but they are not all herpes.

As most people understand, we do have a herpes zoster vaccine, but that is for shingles – and it has nothing to do with the actual herpes virus. Remember, shingles got the name herpes zoster before it was known that it was actually caused by the chicken pox virus (varicella zoster).

And while there is a very large herpesviridae family of viruses, which includes the herpes simplex virus that causes cold sores (HSV1) and genital ulcers (HSV2) and the chickenpox virus, it also includes viruses that cause mono (EBV) and roseola (HHV6 and 7).

Still, only HSV actually causes herpes.

So no, none of the viruses we get could actually cause herpes.

It is thought that nearly 48% of people have HSV1 though and that you can be contagious, shedding the herpes virus even if you don’t have an active cold sore.

Where is the evidence for vaccines being contaminated with herpes viruses?

So what’s more likely, an infant was exposed to someone with HSV1 and got infected or they received a vaccine that was contaminated with HSV1, something that has never been documented?

What are some other “possibilities?”

Could it be eczema vaccinatum?

While eczema vaccinatum is a thing, it is a thing that occurs when someone with eczema gets or is exposed to someone who has recently had the smallpox vaccine.

Eczema vaccinatum has to do with the smallpox vaccine... — Eczema vaccinatum has to do with the smallpox vaccine…

It is why the AAP once considered eczema a contraindication to getting vaccinated.

It is unlikely that the infant pictured above was exposed to someone who recently had the smallpox vaccine though and he doesn’t have eczema vaccinatum anyway…

Colloidal silver or CBD oil on eczema???

And no matter how confident these folks are in their advice to treat and diagnose this baby, they are wrong.

It's truly mind numbing when these folks try to blame everything on vaccines. — It’s truly mind numbing when these folks try to blame everything on vaccines.

Everything isn’t a vaccine injury.

It is always the vaccines... — It is always the vaccines…

What happens if parents actually start to believe anti-vaccine folks who are claiming that HSV1 infections are caused by vaccines?

In addition to skipping or delaying vaccines, putting their kids at risk to get pertussis, measles, Hib, and other vaccine-preventable diseases, they might not take precautions to actually keep them from getting herpes!

Fortunately, most kids with herpes do well if they are outside the neonatal period - after they are about a month old. — Fortunately, most kids with herpes do well if they are outside the neonatal period – after they are about a month old. Hopefully this mom posts an update to the anti-vax group too.

And we will see more kids ending up in the hospital or dying with herpes infections.

VAXOPEDIA