There’s no question that the drop in vaccinations led to the rise in measles cases. But what led to the drop in vaccinations? Parents who refuse vaccines for their kids talk of the risks, though the 1998 British study that connected vaccines to autism has been widely discredited. The doctor—who was paid by a law firm that intended to sue a vaccine maker—had his license revoked. Ten of the 13 authors of the study retracted the findings. The prestigious medical journal, Lancet, where the study first appeared, cited ethical misconduct.
So what happened?
The issue was given new life when Brian Hooker, a biomechanical engineer who has an autistic son, spoke to a senior scientist at the CDC about his 2004 study confirming no link between vaccines and autism. The lead researcher, William Thompson, said that data that should have been included in the study was not.
The ensuing furor hinges on whether the missing data showed that African American male children who have been vaccinated have more than three times the risk of being autistic. Hooker made calculations that he felt showed that the CDC study was flawed, if not a cover-up.
The CDC’s rebuttal was that the calculations and information that Hooker used in making his claim are unclear and unreliable. The journal that published Hooker’s paper has withdrawn it. Most experts and organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC stand by the importance of the measles vaccine.
Untold articles and blogs have been written about the dangers of vaccines, using Thompson’s statement about the missing data. They don’t always include the part of his statement that reads:
I want to be absolutely clear that I believe vaccines have saved and continue to save countless lives. I would never suggest that any parent avoid vaccinating children of any race. Vaccines prevent serious diseases, and the risks associated with their administration are vastly outweighed by their individual and societal benefits.
But the Internet continued to fan the flames. And then, a court case awarding more than a million dollars to the family of an autistic child through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program added even more fuel. The safety of a preservative called Thimerosal has been called into question, and it was taken out of vaccines in 2001, (except for certain flu vaccines). Some wonder about the motives for recommending an increased number of vaccinations.
Opinions, facts, misinformation and emotions found their way onto non-profit autism sites as well as a social media platform established by a mainstream media outlet. From there, the anti-vaxxer movement was on a roll.
In this age of accelerated and unfiltered information, you find just about anything you want to believe. But there is some unquestionable information out there, and it has to do with what measles can do to your child or others. While it’s true that most kids that get measles will recover just fine, here’s what you’re risking if you don’t have your child vaccinated:
- Dangerously high fever, which can result in seizures
- Lost pregnancy, stillbirth or low birth weight
- Encephalitis, meningitis or pneumonia, all of which can be fatal
- Bronchitis
- Ear infections which can lead to hearing loss
- Low platelet counts, which can affect clotting
Serious complications from measles are rare, but the CDC notes that one in 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia. And the ear infections? About one in 10 children gets one. A fever can often go as high as 104 or even 105.
So when we think about measles, we shouldn’t think of an irritating rash and a few days of feeling under the weather. Parents need to take that into account.
The current mistrust of authority, whether the focus is corporations or government or institutions or the media, may have been earned, but when it comes to health, we all need to refocus.
Public health is something most of us didn’t think much about till recently. It’s an abstract concept. But now we need to deal with it. The uproar over the measles vaccine is not over. What we do know is that the actions of a few affect the many. If parents don’t want their kids vaccinated, they need to keep them away from other people.
Sources:
American Academy of Pediatrics
New England Journal of Medicine, “The Hannah Poling Case,”
CNN.com, “Retracted Autism Study an Elaborate Fraud”
Lancet retraction, Wakefield Study
CDC.gov, Vaccine Safety Concerns 1
CDC.gov, Vaccine Safety Concerns 2
ABCnews.com, “How Now Retracted Autism Study Went Viral – Again”
Statement by William Thompson, press release
Translational Neurodegeneration retraction
© 2015 ShareWIK Media Group, LLC. All Rights Reserved.