Gardasil Meets Measles: A Coincidence?

NVIC Vaccine E-Newsletter August 25, 2008


Gardasil Meets Measles: A Coincidence?
by Barbara Loe Fisher
www.vaccineawakening.blogspot.com
www.NVIC.org
www.StandUpBeCounted.org
The bad news about GARDASIL vaccine keeps getting worse and it was only a matter of time before government health officials promoted an "epidemic" to deflect attention from GARDASIL risks and create an excuse to point accusing fingers at parents who decline to give their children one or more of the 16 federally promoted vaccines. They did the same thing in 1985, when publicity about DPT vaccine reactions prompted officials at the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics to allege there were whooping cough epidemics in eight states due to parents rejecting DPT. Then as now, the cases of disease were divided between vaccinated and unvaccinated children and adults, which is hardly big news.

The government's dire warnings came late last week after newspaper articles examined the muscle that Merck used to get GARDASIL fast tracked and licensed, followed by an aggressive multi-media advertising and lobbying campaign targeting teenage girls which has already netted the big pharmaceutical company more than $1.5 billion in sales worldwide. The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial discussed in the Wall Street Journal asking good questions about the evidence for long term protection and cost effectiveness of mass use of GARDASIL vaccine, questions that NVIC first raised in 2007.
And new concerns are being voiced about whether the vaccine is safe to give to adolescent girls, whose bodies are undergoing hormonal changes, as no studies have been published to evaluate whether there are increased risks for vaccine reactions depending upon when the vaccine is administered during a girl's monthly hormonal cycle.

Last week, a CDC apparently weary of all the bad publicity about GARDASIL got its taxpayer-funded PR machine in gear and issued a media advisory warning that 131 cases of measles have been reported in the U.S. this year and that half of those cases involved unvaccinated children whose parents homeschooled their children or held religious or philosophical beliefs opposing use of one or more vaccines. National news stories and local news coverage examined the measles outbreaks and allegations of growing parental vaccine refusal.

The New York Times published an editorial and repeated unsubstantiated claims made by the CDC about the numbers of children, who were injured and died from measles in the past, stating that there were 400-500 deaths; 48,000 hospitalizations and 1,000 cases of brain injury out of 3-4 million measles cases every year prior to mass use of measles vaccine. A quick look at MMWR historical charts reveals that the highest number of reported cases of measles in the U.S. since 1945 (and before the measles vaccine was licensed in 1963) was 763,094 cases in 1958. Why don't CDC officials publicly release the documented cases of hospitalization, injury and death due to measles in that year - or ANY year - instead of demanding blind faith in their version of the facts? (For decades, parents have been waiting for the CDC to document the widely published allegation that there are "36,000 deaths" due to influenza every year in the U.S., a statistic that is promoted to justify new directives that every baby and child through age 18 get annual flu shots.)

The publicizing of 131 cases of measles out of a population of 300 million people in the U.S. and blaming the "outbreak" on 63 cases that occurred in unvaccinated children, whose parents hold religious or conscientious objections to vaccination or homeschool, is a transparent attempt by federal employees to persecute fellow citizens holding religious beliefs, moral convictions, intellectual positions and wellness lifestyles different from their own. Adopting a strategy that "the best defense is a good offense," CDC officials are whipping up fear of those who do not vaccinate in order to cover up a three decade refusal to scientifically investigate reports of children regressing into autism and other kinds of chronic illness after administration of MMR and other vaccines. They know the truth about vaccine risks is becoming more widely known and are lobbying hard for removal vaccine exemptions they do not control so all Americans will be forced without exception to get every vaccine marketed by industry and mandated by government officials.

The premature licensure and universal use recommendation of GARDASIL is just the latest example of what is wrong with the mass vaccination system. If there is a crisis of confidence in the safety of vaccines, which prompts parents to ask pediatricians more questions and seek alternative health care options for keeping their children well, that crisis of confidence can be laid squarely at the feet of those operating the mass vaccination system for failing to do their job. As Generation Rescue founder J.B. Handley recently commented, "Most parents I know will take measles over autism.

There is a 92 to 100 percent uptake of MMR vaccine and many other federally recommended childhood vaccines among children entering kindergarten in every state. This is one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, especially in such a large population. If the MMR vaccine is so unreliable that a few hundred cases or even a few thousand cases of measles among 300 million people is a cause for panic, then the benefits of MMR vaccine weighed against its risks are far less than industry, government and medical organizations have admitted.

In the 1960's, when the live virus measles vaccine was licensed, parents were told it would give their babies the same lifelong immunity that having the natural disease confers. By the late 1980's, it was clear that was not true becausemeasles was occurring in both vaccinated and unvaccinated children. Government officials eventually recommended another dose of measles vaccine (usually given as MMR) for all children even though there were outstanding questions about the multiplication of different genetic strains of measles and how this may affect the vaccine's ability to prevent measles on an individual and population basis long term.

Today's young mothers do not have qualitatively superior measles antibodies to transfer to their newborns to protect them in the first year of life as past generations of mothers did because most young mothers giving birth today have been vaccinated and never had measles as children, which confers lifelong immunity. So babies born today are vulnerable to measles from birth instead of from ages 15 months to six years, which is when most children in the past experienced measles by age six and severe complications were rare. For several decades, vaccinologists have been attempting to create a "high titer" EZ measles vaccine that can be given to infants under one year that will override any existing natural maternal antibodies and replace them with vaccine induced antibodies but there have been long-standing questions about EZ measles vaccine safety.

Vaccination does not mimic the natural disease process and offers only temporary immunity, which is why vaccine boosters are frequently given. Every vaccine carries a reaction risk that can be greater for some than others. Measles vaccine, which is part of the combination live virus MMR (measles-mumps- rubella) vaccine can cause brain inflammation and permanent brain damage. There have been more than 46,000 reports of health problems associated with MMR vaccination made to the federal Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS) . However, there is gross underreporting of vaccine- related health problems to VAERS and it is estimated that, for example, fewer than 4 percent of all cases of thrombocytopenia (potentially fatal blood disorder) following MMR vaccination are ever reported to VAERS.

The CDC's one-size-fits-all, no-exceptions MMR vaccine policies allow almost no contraindications to MMR vaccine use. According to the CDC, a child can be sick at the time of vaccination or recovering from an illness; have a fever; be taking antibiotics; have a history of allergies; or have experienced a seizure or regression after a previous MMR shot and still be eligible for more MMR vaccine. This kind of cavalier disregard for minimizing vaccine risks is one reason why more parents are questioning government vaccine policies.

Parents, whether they do or do not vaccinate their children, should become informed and clearly understand the symptoms and complications of every infectious disease, including measles. Parents who choose to vaccinate should have a 99 to 100 percent guarantee that the vaccine will, indeed protect their child. They should have a similar guarantee that the vaccine will not injure or kill their child.

Like all pharmaceutical products, vaccines should be subject to the law of supply and demand. When people are captive and unable to make informed, voluntary decisions about vaccines that have been rushed to market on greased skids by federal health agencies, where every vaccine reaction is unscientifically labeled a "coincidence," the first casualty is freedom and the second is the health of innocent children.

Public health officials and pediatricians should explain why 20 percent of America's highly vaccinated child population suffers with chronic illness and disability rather than blaming parents who refuse to salute smartly and take the risk of watching the child they love become one more victim of vaccine damage.

To report a vaccine reaction to NVIC's Vaccine Reaction Registry, go to http://www.nvic.org/Report/reaction.htm.

To view vaccine reaction reports, go to the Vaccine VictimMemorial at http://vaccinememo rial.org/


__________________________________________



"Ms. Kim and Harvard colleague Sue Goldie concluded that it cost about $43,600 per "quality- adjusted life year" gained, when HPV vaccine is administered to 12-year-old girls. This falls below the $50,000 per quality-adjusted life year threshold that some researchers use as a maximum for cost- effectiveness. Other researchers use a higher maximum benchmark of $100,000 per QALY to gauge cost-effectiveness..... At least one of the factors in the primary Harvard calculations may be a relatively optimistic assumption -- that vaccination would produce lifelong immunity. Because the vaccine was only studied for five years and has been on the market for two years, no one knows for certain if its protection is lifelong, or if it wanes over time. The Harvard researchers concluded that the cost per QALY would rise if the vaccine's effect wanes after 10 years. Merck says the vaccine will offer protection well beyond five years, Dr. Haupt said. The Merck economic model that arrived at the cost per QALY below $50,000 assumed lifelong immunity, he said. Still, the study is likely to fuel skepticism about Gardasil, which has already faced questions surrounding its safety and effectiveness (Merck and the CDC maintain it is safe and effective, with the most common side effect being soreness at site of injection.)" - Peter Loftus, Wall Street Journal (August 21, 2008) http://online.wsj.com/article/S B121928503311259059.html? mod=googlenews_wsj

"Why has there not been any mention of the potentially adverse effects of Merck's cervical cancer vaccination, Gardasil® in relationship to the timing of the vaccination and where a young woman is in her menstrual cycle? This information is especially critical considering the vaccination is recommended for adolescent girls from the age of nine to young women up to 26-years. Why is it that women are constantly forced into a male medical model which blatantly ignores their menstrual health and administers drugs, surgeries, and vaccinations without any regard to where women are in their hormone cycle?....As the female hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease during the premenstrual phase, the female body begins the process of releasing the uterine lining in the act of menstruation. The decrease in hormones actually affects a woman's energy levels and her emotions. The immune system becomes more compromised, and that translates to a lowered defense system to fight off invading, foreign toxins..... In her 1977 groundbreaking book, "The Premenstrual Syndrome", Katharina Dalton noted that drug reactions ".....are common during the premenstruum and may follow administration of antibiotics and inoculations. Confusion may occur as to the real origin of such reactions. In double-blind, clinical trials the placebo drugs are often reported to have side effects such as increased drowsiness, headache, nausea, or increased pain; which may be no more than the usual premenstrual symptoms which have not been meticulously observed and reported." - Leslie Carol Botha and H. Sandra Chevalier-Batik, Holy Hormones (August 21, 2008)
http://holyhormones.com/about-2/articles-by- leslie/now-hold-on-one-hormonal-minute%E2%80% A6/

"Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday. Worried doctors are troubled by the trend fueled by unfounded fears that vaccines may cause autism. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that's only for the first seven months of the year. There were only 42 cases for all of last year.....The CDC's review found that a number of cases involved home-schooled children not required to get the vaccines. Others can avoid vaccination by seeking exemptions, such as for religious reasons.....The vaccine is considered highly effective but not perfect; 11 of this year's cases had at least one dose of the vaccine. Of this year's total, 122 were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Some were unvaccinated because the children were under age 1 - too young to get their first measles shot. In 63 of those cases - almost all of them 19 or under - the patient or their parents refused the shots for philosophical or religious reasons, the CDC reported. In Washington state, an outbreak was traced to a church conference, including 16 school-aged children who were not vaccinated. Eleven of those kids were home schooled and not subject to vaccination rules in public schools. It's unclear why the parents rejected the vaccine. The Illinois outbreak - triggered by a teenager who had traveled to Italy - included 25 home-schooled children, according to the CDC report." - Mike Stobbe, Associated Press (August 21, 2008)
http://news.yahoo.co m/s/ap/20080821/ap_on_he_me/med_measles_outb reaks

"He was advanced for his age. He was talking when he was 11 months old," recalls Edward Delean. The father of 4 says everything changed after his now 9 year old son who has autism was vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella or MMR. It was like that was it. He never talked again, he still doesn't talk. He has about 10 words," he says, adding, "it really devastated our family. I just destroyed us." Testimonials like that have led some parents to shun vaccinations altogether. The Centers for Disease Control says measles cases have dramatically increased from 42 cases in all of last year to 131 in just the first seven months of this year because of parents who are rejecting the MMR vaccine for their kids. "It doesn't serve us well when we have government officials trying to create fear and anxiety" says Barbara Loe Fisher with the National Vaccine Information Center. She says some parents opt out of immunizations for religious or philosophical reasons. Others have said no because their kids have had adverse reactions to the vaccines that are usually given on a set schedule. "Right now we're seeing a one-size fits all approach to vaccination that doesn't really recognize that children are different, that children react differently to vaccinations," she says." - Nancy Yamada, WUSA9-TV (August 21, 2008)
http://www.wusa9.com/new s/health/story.aspx?storyid=75284&catid=28



Study Questions Cost-Effectiveness Of Gardasil Cervical-Cancer Vaccine
by Peter Loftus
Wall Street Journal
August 21, 2008

http://online.wsj.com/article/S B121928503311259059.html? mod=googlenews_wsj
A new study suggests that giving Merck & Co.'s cervical-cancer vaccine Gardasil to women through their mid-20s may not be worth the price, despite U.S. recommendations that this age group receive the costly shot.

The study, published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, comes as Merck already is having difficulty persuading college-age and older women to get the vaccine, which was introduced in 2006 and costs about $360 for a three-dose regimen. This has contributed to a slowdown in Gardasil sales, casting a cloud on Merck's financial outlook.

Questions surrounding Gardasil's cost- effectiveness also could make for tougher market conditions for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Cervarix, a cervical-cancer vaccine that is available outside the U.S. and is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Gardasil is designed to prevent infection by four strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV, which is transmitted through sexual activity. Two of the targeted HPV strains are believed to cause about 70% of all cervical-cancer cases, while the other targeted strains cause most cases of genital warts. HPV also can cause other, rare tumor types such as vaginal and anal cancers. Gardasil isn't guaranteed to prevent cervical cancer because it doesn't protect against certain cancer-causing HPV strains.

The FDA approved Gardasil for use in females ages 9 to 26. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine HPV vaccination for girls 11 and 12 years old, as well as a temporary "catchup" vaccination for girls and women ages 13 through 26 who were never immunized. The CDC says it's ideal to get vaccinated before becoming sexually active, but vaccination after becoming sexually active can still offer protection because girls and women may not become exposed to all four HPV strains for many years. The vaccine doesn't treat existing infections, however.

The study published by researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health suggests Gardasil's cost is justified in pre-adolescent girls, partly because they are less likely to have already been exposed to HPV. But among older females, the cost-effectiveness of Gardasil becomes less and less favorable, researchers concluded. "Under most scenarios, extending the catchup to 26 wasn't cost-effective," Jane Kim, an assistant Harvard professor, said in an interview.

Merck, Whitehouse Station, N.J., disputed the conclusions, saying its own health-economic models suggest the vaccine is worth the cost. "We believe there's important value in vaccinating all women who are in the indicated age groups," said Rick Haupt, Merck's head of clinical research for Gardasil. Ms. Kim and Harvard colleague Sue Goldie concluded that it cost about $43,600 per "quality-adjusted life year" gained, when HPV vaccine is administered to 12- year-old girls. This falls below the $50,000 per quality- adjusted life year threshold that some researchers use as a maximum for cost-effectiveness. Other researchers use a higher maximum benchmark of $100,000 per QALY to gauge cost-effectiveness. It would cost $97,300 per QALY, however, to vaccinate girls and women through age 18, $120,400 per QALY for girls and women up to age 21, and $152,700 for girls and women up to age 26. The cost-effectiveness becomes more attractive when protection against genital warts is factored in.

The researchers arrived at these numbers by projecting HPV infection rates in various age groups, gauging the effectiveness of the vaccine and estimating cervical-cancer screening rates. Screening via Pap smear is recommended for women who are sexually active, even with the availability of Gardasil.

The screenings can detect pre-cancerous lesions that can be removed; the availability of these tests has helped reduce the cervical-cancer death rate in the U.S. dramatically since the 1950s.

Merck's Dr. Haupt said the company's own models show that the cost per QALY is "well under $50,000" for women up to age 26. Among the differences between the models were that the Harvard researchers included patient time and travel costs, while Merck didn't, and the Harvard researchers didn't include genital warts in males, while Merck did, according to the CDC.

At least one of the factors in the primary Harvard calculations may be a relatively optimistic assumption -- that vaccination would produce lifelong immunity. Because the vaccine was only studied for five years and has been on the market for two years, no one knows for certain if its protection is lifelong, or if it wanes over time.

The Harvard researchers concluded that the cost per QALY would rise if the vaccine's effect wanes after 10 years.

Merck says the vaccine will offer protection well beyond five years, Dr. Haupt said. The Merck economic model that arrived at the cost per QALY below $50,000 assumed lifelong immunity, he said. Still, the study is likely to fuel skepticism about Gardasil, which has already faced questions surrounding its safety and effectiveness (Merck and the CDC maintain it is safe and effective, with the most common side effect being soreness at site of injection.)



Now hold on one hormonal minute....
by Leslie Carol Botha and H. Sandra Chevalier- Batik
Special report on vaccinating adolescent girls requested by NVIC
August 21, 2008

http://holyhormones.com/about-2/articles-by- leslie/now-hold-on-one-hormonal-minute/
Why has there not been any mention of the potentially adverse effects of Merck's cervical cancer vaccination, Gardasil® in relationship to the timing of the vaccination and where a young woman is in her menstrual cycle? This information is especially critical considering the vaccination is recommended for adolescent girls from the age of nine to young women up to 26-years.

Why is it that women are constantly forced into a male medical model which blatantly ignores their menstrual health and administers drugs, surgeries, and vaccinations without any regard to where women are in their hormone cycle?

This is outrageous. Even though women are asked to fill out the date of their last menstrual period (LMP) that information is used primarily to note that a woman is not pregnant. But it is much more valuable than that; the date of the LMP could actually be indicative of why that woman is in the doctor's office to begin with.

Every cycling woman, who is aware of the changes that her body goes through prior to menstruation, knows that she is more prone to infections, colds, fatigue, irritability and a general feeling of malaise at this time. All of these issues are a direct result of hormonal changes that are cycling through her entire body, from the brain right on down to the uterus. Why haven't the clinical researchers, FDA/CDC oversight committees, gynecologists, pediatricians or family practice physicians who have approved and administered Gardasil®, considered how the injection of this chemical cocktail might affect a still maturing female body that is least able to defend itself during the paramenstrum?*

As the female hormone levels of estrogen and progesterone decrease during the premenstrual phase, the female body begins the process of releasing the uterine lining in the act of menstruation. The decrease in hormones actually affects a woman's energy levels and her emotions. The immune system becomes more compromised, and that translates to a lowered defense system to fight off invading, foreign toxins.

Due to limited access to women's menstrual health education, many women are totally unaware of the systemic aspects of their feminine hormone cycle. The medical, pharmaceutical industrial complex continues to ignore the premenstrual phase of menstrual cycle as a factor in testing and administration of drugs and vaccines. The only question women have to ask themselves is, "Is that policy based in ignorance, arrogance or methodical design?"

In her 1977 groundbreaking book, "The Premenstrual Syndrome", Katharina Dalton noted that drug reactions "....are common during the premenstruum and may follow administration of antibiotics and inoculations. Confusion may occur as to the real origin of such reactions. In double-blind, clinical trials the placebo drugs are often reported to have side effects such as increased drowsiness, headache, nausea, or increased pain; which may be no more than the usual premenstrual symptoms which have not been meticulously observed and reported." 1.

Dalton's work is intriguing and her studies compelling. However, feminists dismissed the book and the author in the 1980's, because the premise was considered damning to women suffering from premenstrual syndrome. Dalton stated in the preface to her book, "....In those days we believed that the premenstrual syndrome was a rare condition, but we know now that it is the world's commonest, and probably oldest, disease." 2.

Classifying PMS as a disease provided the pharmaceutical and medical industry the leveraged justification that they skillfully exploited to extort billions of dollars from the systematic the medicalization of women's bodies.

Fortunately, there is a growing body of clinical researchers, health practitioners, university professors, media professionals, feminists, and lay people who are beginning to realize that the menstrual cycle is not an illness or disease. Menstruation is becoming recognized as a natural cycle, that when understood and experienced holistically, could add healthy years to women's lives.

Regrettably, Dalton's work concerning premenstrual syndrome as it related to common drug reactions during the premenstruum was ignored - the issue denied; and many women have suffered in the past 40-years. The pharmaceutical, medical industrial complex filled the void of our self-knowledge and lack of understanding with calculated marketing campaigns that methodically exploited every aspect of a woman's natural cycle.

Gardasil®, as well as other immunizations administered to adolescent women, are dispensed without regard to where a woman is within her menstrual cycle. During Gardasil®'s, clinical trial period, FDA approval, and during the two years it has been on the market, not one article has been written about how a young woman might tolerate the injection during premenstruum; nor is there any information in the Patient Product Information or the Prescribing Information on the Gardasil® web site, that cites any corollary to adverse reactions to the injection in relationship to the menstrual cycle.

Withholding this information is nothing less than a crime against women.

Jump in US measles cases linked to vaccine fears
by Mike Stobbe
Associated Press
August 21, 2008

http://news.yahoo.co m/s/ap/20080821/ap_on_he_me/med_measles_outb reaks
Measles cases in the U.S. are at the highest level in more than a decade, with nearly half of those involving children whose parents rejected vaccination, health officials reported Thursday.

Worried doctors are troubled by the trend fueled by unfounded fears that vaccines may cause autism. The number of cases is still small, just 131, but that's only for the first seven months of the year. There were only 42 cases for all of last year.

"We're seeing a lot more spread. That is concerning to us," said Dr. Jane Seward, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Pediatricians are frustrated, saying they are having to spend more time convincing parents the shot is safe. "This year, we certainly have had parents asking more questions," said Dr. Ari Brown, an Austin, Texas, physician who is a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The CDC's review found that a number of cases involved home-schooled children not required to get the vaccines. Others can avoid vaccination by seeking exemptions, such as for religious reasons.

Measles, best known for a red skin rash, is a potentially deadly, highly infectious virus that spreads through contact with a sneezing, coughing, infected person.

It is no longer endemic to the United States, but every year cases enter the country through foreign visitors or Americans returning from abroad. Measles epidemics have exploded in Israel, Switzerland and some other countries. But high U.S. childhood vaccination rates have prevented major outbreaks here.

In a typical year, only one outbreak occurs in the United States, infecting perhaps 10 to 20 people. So far this year through July 30 the country has seen seven outbreaks, including one in Illinois with 30 cases, said Seward, of the CDC's Division of Viral Diseases.

None of the 131 patients died, but 15 were hospitalized.

Childhood measles vaccination rates have stayed above 92 percent, according to 2006 data. However, the recent outbreaks suggest potential pockets of unvaccinated children are forming. Health officials worry that vaccination rates have begun to fall - something that won't show up in the data for a couple of years.

The vaccine is considered highly effective but not perfect; 11 of this year's cases had at least one dose of the vaccine.

Of this year's total, 122 were unvaccinated or had unknown vaccination status. Some were unvaccinated because the children were under age 1 - too young to get their first measles shot.

In 63 of those cases - almost all of them 19 or under - the patient or their parents refused the shots for philosophical or religious reasons, the CDC reported.

In Washington state, an outbreak was traced to a church conference, including 16 school-aged children who were not vaccinated. Eleven of those kids were home schooled and not subject to vaccination rules in public schools. It's unclear why the parents rejected the vaccine.

The Illinois outbreak - triggered by a teenager who had traveled to Italy - included 25 home- schooled children, according to the CDC report.

The nation once routinely saw hundreds of thousands of measles cases each year, and hundreds of deaths. But immunization campaigns were credited with dramatically reducing the numbers. The last time health officials saw this many cases was 1997, when 138 were reported.

The Academy of Pediatrics has made educating parents about the safety of vaccines one of its top priorities this year. That's partly because busy doctors have grown frustrated by the amount of time they're spending answering parents' questions about things they read on the Internet or heard from TV talk shows.

In June, the CDC interviewed 33 physicians in Austin, suburban Seattle and Hollywood, Fla., about childhood vaccinations. Several complained about patient backlogs caused by parents stirred up by information of dubious scientific merit, according to the CDC report.

Questions commonly center on autism and the fear that it can be caused by the measles shots or by a mercury-based preservative that used to be in most vaccines. Health officials say there is no good scientific proof either is a cause. Also, since 2001, the preservative has been removed from shots recommended for young children, and it was never in the measles-mumps-rubella combination vaccine. It can still be found in some flu shots.

Brown said she wrote a 16-page, single-spaced document for parents that explains childhood vaccinations and why doctors do not believe they cause autism. She began handing it out this spring, and thinks it's been a help to parents and a time-saver for her.

"People want that level of information," she said. At least one outbreak this year of another preventable disease was blamed on lack of immunizations. At least 17 children were sick with whooping cough at a private school in the San Francisco Bay area, and 13 were not vaccinated against the disease, which can be fatal to children.

Associated Press writer Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco contributed to this story.

On the Net: The CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/m mwr



Are Some Parents To Blame for Measles Outbreak?
by Nancy Yamada
WUSA9-TV (Washington, D.C.)
August 21, 2008

http://www.wusa9.com/new s/health/story.aspx?storyid=75284&catid=28
(WUSA) -- Measles cases in the U.S. are at their highest level in a decade. The Centers for Disease Control says nearly half of those cases involve children whose parents have made a conscious choice not to get them vaccinated.

But are they doing that for valid reasons? "He was advanced for his age. He was talking when he was 11 months old," recalls Edward Delean. The father of 4 says everything changed after his now 9 year old son who has autism was vaccinated against measles, mumps, and rubella or MMR. It was like that was it. He never talked again, he still doesn't talk. He has about 10 words," he says, adding, "it really devastated our family. I just destroyed us."

Testimonials like that have led some parents to shun vaccinations altogether. The Centers for Disease Control says measles cases have dramatically increased from 42 cases in all of last year to 131 in just the first seven months of this year because of parents who are rejecting the MMR vaccine for their kids.

"It doesn't serve us well when we have government officials trying to create fear and anxiety" says Barbara Loe Fisher with the National Vaccine Information Center. She says some parents opt out of immunizations for religious or philosophical reasons. Others have said no because their kids have had adverse reactions to the vaccines that are usually given on a set schedule. "Right now we're seeing a one-size fits all approach to vaccination that doesn't really recognize that children are different, that children react differently to vaccinations," she says.

That may be the case but the CC insists there's no link between vaccines and autism and not vaccinating puts people at risk. "If you don't immunize like we saw in Britain, there was a resurgence of measles, in many countries like China" says Rosemarie McLaren, the program manager for the DC immunization program.

But even with that warning, Delean says "I advise other people to be be very careful. Look at your child, don't look at the general population."

In Maryland, Virginia and the District, by law, children are not allowed to go to school unless they've been vaccinated or given an exemption. Some parents who have a problem with that opt to home school their children. But the numbers show a majority of parents have faith in vaccinations. The nationwide vaccination rate is 92 percent.

Written by Nancy Yamada
9NEWS NOW

National Vaccine Information Center

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