where Northeastern Wisconsin moms meet

Appleton, Fond du Lac, Oshkosh, Sheboygan, Green Bay & Manitowoc | Change location »

Healthy Kids & Family
a national group 

What is this?

This is a nationwide community, allowing for participation from moms all across the MomsLikeMe.com network.

Misplaced Fear: Resolving the Fear Around Vaccines and Autism
ImmunizeCOKids

Posted by ImmunizeCOKids on Nov 04, 2009 at 11:18 AM

     

  “Thimerosal and the MMR vaccine do not cause autism.” Telling it like it is, Lydia McCoy, Executive Director of the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition, begins with a bang in her informative post for the Autism Science Foundation.  

That’s right. You read correctly. An autism foundation supports the fact that vaccines do not cause autism. In fact, go to ASF’s website and you will not only find 
links to information which discredits the autism/vaccine myth but powerful statements such as, “We still don’t know what causes autism, but we have learned what doesn’t cause it.  Numerous studies have failed to show a link between autism and vaccines.” 

Lydia McCoy’s post, “Misplaced Fear: Resolving the Fear Around Vaccines and Autism,” amplifies ASF’s above statement; speaking especially to parents. McCoy eloquently empathizes with parents’ concerns and reasons for fearing vaccinations while explaining the history of the autism/vaccine myth, the MMR vaccine ingredient thimerosal, and why parents need to vaccinate. 

Share your comments and 
read the entire post on the Autism Science Foundation’s blog.

To find out more information about the Autism Science Foundation, a not for profit organization founded by parents and scientists in April 2009, visit 
http://www.autismsciencefoundation.org/

To find out more information on Lydia McCoy and the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition visit
http://www.childrensimmunization.org



Dawn Crawford

Colorado Children's Immunization Coalition

www.childrensimmunization.org

Replies
154
Victoria!

by 
Victoria!

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 09:46 PM

  

  

Note that her article claims "AN autisim foundation"... "AN" refers to singular, as in ONE. If the statement is so true then why aren't all of the autisim researchers and organizations lining up to proclaim this as truth?

 

With regards to the Alluminum now being added...it is just as toxic to the children. There have been numerous studies on Alzheimers patients, dementia patients, breast cancer patients etc prooving this. Why on earth would they choose to subsitute one dangerous additive for another? It is CHEAP and the vaccine then has a much longer shelf life. With the old fashioned live virus vaccine, the product would spoil much faster, causing maunfacturers to loose money. With a live vaccine, sure there was a chance your child would get the disease, but even then it was rare that they would die from it. Now with genetically engineered vaccines, the cell nuceus is unstable, thus requiring a preservative. Dollars and cents, thats all it works out to. With govt mandates to vaccinate your children, RX companies are making a mint, especially now they have eliminated waste.

 

 

 

 


~Victoria (A.K.A.... "A Whales Vagina)

MLM Super Smartass Club, 1100 posts and going strong....

"Well behaved women rarely make history!"

 

Live your life in such a way, that when your feet hit the floor in the morning Satan shudders and says, "SHIT, Shes awake!!!"

  

Scrappy143

by 
Scrappy143

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 09:53 PM

  

  

 Wow... thanks for your opinion, I am still on the fence as it has not been 100% proven to be the cause or not... I think for mom's with kids that have autism you need to be fair.  

 



~Cary~

 Happy to be the mommy to three!

  

adrianasmama

by 
adrianasmama

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 10:12 PM

  

  

What about the millions of vaccinated children who aren't autistic?

  

ldeva

by 
ldeva

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 10:24 PM

  

  

Dawn, while we're helping people research the topic, let's at least be balanced about it. Here is a link to 18 peer-reviewed studies concerning autism, vaccines and other disorders related to vaccine additives:

http://www.generationrescue.org/autism/

Here is a good summary  (also from the GR website) of what is proven and not proven on this issue:

The Devil is in the Details
It’s important for parents to look below the rhetoric of public health officials to understand what is actually true and not true and what has and has not been proven. (Please note that considerably more detail on the controversy surrounding vaccines and autism is available through our sister website, Put Children First.) Specifically:
1. In the case of autism, it has been proven that we are indeed experiencing a real rise in the number of cases, which means that some external factor must be involved in the case load.
Commentary:
The Department of Developmental Services in California is considered to have the best data on the number of autism cases. Their 2002 report slammed the door on the theory that the rise in autism cases is the result of better diagnosis. Excerpt:
"There is no evidence that a loosening in the diagnostic criteria has contributed to increased number of autism clients...we conclude that some, if not all, of the observed increase represents a true increase in cases of autism in California...a purely genetic basis for autism does not fully explain the increasing autism prevalence. Other theories that attempt to better explain the observed increase in autism cases include environmental exposures to substances such as mercury; viral exposures; autoimmune disorders; and childhood vaccinations."
2. It has NEVER been shown that the tripling of mercury in the U.S. vaccine schedule and the rise in autism cases in the U.S. are unrelated.
Commentary:
There has only been one study ever done analyzing U.S. children and the U.S. vaccine schedule (a schedule far more aggressive than any other country’s). The study was done by the CDC and the results were published in Pediatrics. The conclusion of the study was NEUTRAL. Neutral means that they could neither prove nor disprove the theory that the mercury in vaccines was causing a rise in the cases of autism. Soon after the release of the study, the press began reporting that the study "disproved" the mercury-autism theory. This caused the author of the study to write Pediatrics and explain the results of the study:
Further, in 2006 the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, at the request of Senator Joseph Lieberman, issued this report which effectively conceded that both the VSD study from Pediatrics and the "Danish Studies" were of poor study design and not reliable in determining whether or not Thimerosal causes autism. As this article from UPI reporter Dan Olmsted noted following the report’s release: "For three years, the CDC has used a study conducted on its own Vaccine Safety Datalink to reassure parents that mercury in vaccines does not cause autism. Now a panel of government-appointed experts says there are "serious problems" with exactly the approach the CDC took." Olmsted interviewed the Chairperson of the NIEHS Committee who was quoted as saying:
"It's an 'open question' whether anything about vaccines -- timing, dose, preservative -- is related to the rise in diagnoses [of autism]. Some studies are stronger than others. The Verstraeten [Pediatrics] study was an improvement on other studies including the two in Denmark, both of which had serious weaknesses in their designs that limit what we can learn from them.
Where does that leave us?
- The study most often cited "disproving" the Thimerosal-autism connection did no such thing, it had a neutral outcome
- That study and the "Danish Studies" have both had their credibility and usefulness recently questioned by the branch of our government in the best position to render a judgment, the NIEHS.
3. Mercury has NEVER been removed from the National Immunization schedule.
Commentary:
Just as the level of mercury in vaccines for children was starting to decline, the CDC added the flu vaccine to its schedule as a mandatory annual shot. Worse, they recommend the shot for pregnant women and children as young as six months old. Because more than 90% of the flu vaccine supply contains Thimerosal and because the flu shot is now a mandatory vaccine on the schedule given every year, a child born today and following the CDC’s schedule could receive 50% or more of the mercury from vaccines that children received at the mid-1990s peak, as UPI chronicles in this recent story, Mercury Creeps Back in.
Unfortunately, reporters continually write stories assuring parents that mercury has been removed from childhood vaccines. It has not been removed, the source of mercury has simply moved. For a fascinating survey that demonstrates Americans do not realize mercury is still in vaccines, check out PutChildrenFirst’s flu shot survey.
4. Mercury in vaccines is the only component of vaccines ever studied (See #2 above). No studies whatsoever have ever been done to consider if the growth in total vaccines given to children from 10 in the mid-1980s to 36 today is responsible for the rise in NDs. To say that the "vaccine-autism" theory has been disproven has no basis in fact.
Commentary:
Thimerosal has always seemed an obvious culprit for causing NDs because it is made from mercury, a well-known neurotoxin. However, vaccines have many potent ingredients that could harm children neurologically including aluminum, formaldehyde, MSG, and live viruses, to name a few. To ONLY consider thimerosal from vaccines in causing NDs is like only considering sugar from a cupcake in causing weight gain without considering transfats or other sources of calories. Consider the following:
Before vaccines are added to the CDC’s schedule, they are tested individually and children are typically tracked for 6 weeks. Using this methodology, conditions like autism, ADHD, or autism, which are typically delayed onset, would never be captured.
Worse, vaccines are never tested in combination, which means the practice of giving six vaccines at once has never been tested for safety.
Because the number of vaccines on the schedule grew simultaneously with the amount of mercury in vaccines, saying "a mercury-free vaccine is safe" is not a proven truth, we simply do not know.
5. Because mercury is still in vaccines for children and because children today receive 260% more vaccines (36 vs. 10) than children in the mid-1980s (when rates of NDs were far lower), the only reasonable way to prove whether or not vaccines are a primary driver of ND growth is to compare the rates of NDs between vaccinated and unvaccinated children.
Commentary:
This has never been done, don’t ask us why. Until now. The results of our recent survey comparing rates of NDs between vaccinated and unvaccinated children is available here.
Biology versus Epidemiology
Published science is confusing. Epidemiology is a fancy word meaning statistical analysis of population level data. Biological science is the study of the body and what’s in the body. Biological science to date overwhelmingly supports the position that NDs are caused by toxins and the environment.
Consider this recently published letter by Michael Wagnitz, a scientist and father of an autistic child:
Research supports mercury-autism link
By Michael Wagnitz
It was reported repeatedly in 2006 that the link between mercury-containing vaccines and autism has been disproven. Yet if one looks at the most recent research coming from some of our major universities, one may draw the opposite conclusion.
What we have learned in the last couple of years is that the underlying medical condition of autism is neuroinflammatory disease. In a study conducted at John Hopkins University, brain tissue from deceased autistic patients was examined. The tissue showed an active neuroinflammatory process and marked activation of microglia cells. Neuroinflammatory disease is synonymous with an activation of microglia cells.
A study done at the University of Washington showed that baby primates exposed to injected thimerosal (50 percent mercury), at a rate equal to the 1990s childhood vaccine schedule, retained twice as much inorganic mercury in their brains as primates exposed to equal amounts of ingested methylmercury. We know from autometallographic determination that inorganic mercury present in the brain, following the dealkylation of organic mercury, is the toxic agent responsible for changes in the microglial population and leads to neuroinflammation.
Recently it was shown that in more than 250 examined patients, atypical urinary porphyrins were almost three times higher in autistic patients than controls. Porphyrins are precursors to heme, the oxygen-carrying component of blood. Mercury inhibits the conversion of porphyrins to heme. When the patients were treated to remove mercury, urinary porphyrins returned to normal levels.
In a study done at the University of Arkansas, autistic children were found to have significantly lower levels of the antioxidant glutathione. Glutathione is the major antioxidant needed for the elimination of mercury at the cellular level. This may explain why some children are more severely affected by thimerosal in vaccines than others.
While all the government-conducted epidemiological (statistical) studies show no link between thimerosal and autism, the clinical studies examining brain tissue, blood, urine and human cells show a completely different picture.
Michael Wagnitz is a Madison resident with more than 20 years of experience as a chemist working with trace metal analysis.

 

  

adrianasmama

by 
adrianasmama

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 10:35 PM

  

  

Truth is, we don't know yet.  None of you know. No one else knows. Why get so worked up when none of you have the ability to know for sure? You know what you think is true, but it hasn't been proven or disproved.

  

melvis

by 
melvis

 on Nov 04, 2009 at 10:53 PM

  

  

 Excellent post, Ideva! Thanks!

A few things I'd like to address:

 

1. Japan question?

 CuriousGinger-Here's the answer to your question: the MMR was no longer given in a combo shot but it was replaced with single measles and single rubella shots. The study did not take this into account. It also did not factor in the fact that vaccines overall were increased in the population (shear numbers of the population getting vaccinated that hadn't in the past) by 150%.

 

Here's the 2 sources I looked at:

 

http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/06/03/japvaxautism/#Autism_Rose_Fell_With_Vaccinations

 

http://www.piqniq.jp/node/4346

 

2. Thimerosal-  there are hundreds of studies that show the toxic effects of thimerosal. Seriously, do you think the CDC/FDA would have removed thimerosal in 1997 if it was so safe? It boggles my mind that they are allowed to put it vaccines period in any capacity. In 1997, with the passing of the FDA Modernization Act, all products containing mercury were to be tested for adverse effects to people and environment. Soon thereafter the FDA ordered Thimerosal removed from over-the-counter products. "Once the amount of Thimerosal in vaccines was finally measured in 1999, the FDA discovered that children were receiving more than 100 times the EPA's safe limit for mercury by 18 months of age and yet officials allowed the preservative to remain in vaccines. To this very day flu vaccines given to pregnant women and 6 month old babies contain a full dose of Thimerosal." - Evelyn Pringle

 

 

 

3. No one I know believes vaccines are the sole cause of autism. There are kids that are born with it and kids that have what is termed "regressive autism" where the autism is believed to be triggered by vaccines. This accounts for about 1/3 of kids with autism. I was just at a Medical Autism Conference on Tuesday and a couple of the docs mentioned that regressive autism is the largest group of kids with autism they are now seeing. While vaccines are not the triggers for some kids- it is for others. Thousands of families have seen their child regress into autism following vaccines. The MMR is the vaccine that gets the most attention as it is the vaccine that seems to show the most adverse reactions- but many families think that other vaccines were the culprits in their cases. 

 

That's all for now! Peace!


 

 

  

Dalesmom

by 
Dalesmom

 on Nov 05, 2009 at 02:30 AM

  

  

1 out of every 150 people in the world is being labeled with Autism. No one knows why, what is the proper treatment, or cure... It has been almost two years since my son got diagnosed & the majority of the medical community I've had to deal with made me feel like it was "not their problem" as in "he is breathing & not having seizures" so they just treat it as if its a behavior issue. I fully believe in the DAN! biomedical approach. As long as they don't have an actual medical test to prove or disprove an Autism case (diagnosis is still just based on observations) I don't think they can say something does or doesn't contribute to Autism risk with any certainty. 
  

Julesmomma

by 
Julesmomma

 on Nov 05, 2009 at 04:21 AM

  

  


originally posted by ldeva

 


originally posted by FrugalGail

 


originally posted by ldeva

 If a vial of vaccine was dropped in the doctor's office and broke, it would be considered hazardous waste and require a very strict protocol to clean it up - it could not just be wiped up by a nurse or worker because of the toxicity and danger to those near it...



That is completely false.  Another internet myth.  Broken glass vials containing vaccines are "medical waste" not "toxic waste."

 

-Gail



MomsLikeMe.com discussion leader / Moderator of the Frugal Moms Group

Saving money on the things I need, so I can afford the things I want.  $$$$

 



I didn't call it 'toxic waste'. I called it 'hazardous waste'. Which is what it is.

 

And my pediatrician and other MD and RN friends have affirmed this repeatedly for me.

 



Well this RN can assure you that there is no 'hazardous material' classification for our vaccines, and if they break, they get cleaned up like any other broken piece of glass.



Loraine

  

Julesmomma

by 
Julesmomma

 on Nov 05, 2009 at 04:28 AM

  

  


originally posted by makeminecaffeinated

Vaccines may not "cause" autism in a child that is not already genetically at risk, but vaccines certainly do seem to accelerate and amplify the symptoms of a child who is at risk.  Toxins plus genetics create the perfect storm and pull the autistic tendancies to the forefront.  I truly believe that my daughter who has asthma had her sever asthma triggered by a chicken pox vaccine.  I truly belive in the 4-A epidemic, and having a child on the PDD spectrum and one with asthma, I've done the research to truly believe that anyone who thinks injecting environmental toxins is safe should have their head checked.  Research before any shots is essential - ask to read syringe packaging, record batch number, do your diligence before injecting your child.  I say this as a person who made the mistake of not being diligent before it was too late.

 

p.s.  Using Autism as a broad terms drives me nuts, it's Pervasive Developmental Disorders as a whole.  The PDD spectrum is far broader than just autism.



If this were the case then there would still be a higher amount of autism among those vaxed, because those kids had received the "trigger" for autism, and there's not. It's  a nice theory but it hasn't stood up to scientific testing.

I would love to see all the scientific evidence people say they have that autism is caused by vaxes. Because every time I look I see a plethora of evidence from well respected institutions saying it absolutely doesn't. And I'll follow that advice before some blogger.



Loraine

  

Julesmomma

by 
Julesmomma

 on Nov 05, 2009 at 04:30 AM

  

  


originally posted by Breanne1010

Gail, guess what?  When you inject a vaccine, it ENDS UP IN YOUR BLOOD STREAM, AND YOUR ORGANS, AND YOUR TISSUES, ok?  Or at least, that's what every doctor alive says.......

Since the debate of "mercury=autism" continues, I'm going to repost another posters link:

http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=11242852

 


"When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change."

www.freepcdiagnostic.com

www.projectcamelot.org

*MLM 1000 Club*



So does everything you eat. But it isn't injected "directly" into your bloodstream, it just ends up their, kind of like the toxins in food.



Loraine

  

 

Post a reply

(Note: Replies are posted to all groups where this topic has been shared.)

Join or Log-In to tell us what you think.
Message Editor

About Healthy Kids & Family

Connect with other moms to share ways to keep the entire family healthy and happy

Sponsored by Healthy Kids & Family  

More about Healthy Kids & Family

New Members
drgrcrmom

drgrcrmom

joined Nov 24

Bethifoody

Bethifoody

joined Nov 23

leopanthera

leopanthera..

joined Nov 23

MsLushes

MsLushes

joined Nov 23

kaltoro

kaltoro

joined Nov 20

momPink

momPink

joined Nov 20

Vedayogagal

Vedayogagal..

joined Nov 20

momarella04

momarella04..

joined Nov 19

  • All members
  • Join this group

Recent activity

     

So, have you seen Twilight: New Moon??..

     

Does anyone else have trouble with weak nails?..

     

How do you cook your turkey?..

     
     

My older daughter has been acting anemic over the ..

     
     

Does anybody have a good stuffing recipe?..

     

Does anyone know of the date for the Parade this y..

     

I have not been on this website in quite awhile...

     

Good morning Ladies!..

See more discussions