Here are ten facts you should know about vaccines

1. Vaccines are made by taking a weakened live OR killed version of a virus or an inactivated toxin. [1] The first step is to harvest or grow the pathogen.  Viruses are grown in cell cultures.  Bacteria are grown in devices.  Some viruses are grown on chicken egg cells, some on human cells derived from fetuses aborted decades ago. [2]  This is not a threat to human health at all.
2. Vaccines use ingredients such as aluminum salts, formaldehyde, or msg in the process.  These are not toxic in the amounts in vaccines. [3][4]  Formaldehyde is also produced naturally in the human body as a part of normal functions of the body to produce energy and build the basic materials needed for important life processes. This includes making amino acids, which are the building blocks of proteins that the body needs.[5]
3. Some people think vaccines are the cause of asthma, allergies, autism and a whole host of autoimmune disorders.  But, there is no evidence to support this.
4. Vaccines contain an inactivated (killed), weakened form of the germ, or a germ component. When introduced into the body, the dead or harmless germ causes an immune response without causing the disease. The immune system develops antibodies that will effectively kill or neutralize the germ if exposed to it in the future. The antibodies circulate in the bloodstream. Vaccination protects a child against infection with a germ without the child ever suffering through the disease.
5. Vaccines are given in multiples because it is the most efficient way of administering them.[6]  The safety of the vaccine schedule is proven and vaccines are very well researched.
6. Vaccines work by introducing a substance called an antigen that, when introduced into the body, stimulates the production of an antibody. Antigens include toxins, bacteria, foreign blood cells, and the cells of transplanted organs.  The human body is exposed to antigens every day, all day long.  There are antigens all around us.  So, the human body is fully equipped to handle the antigens in vaccines.  The number of antigens in the vaccine schedule is nothing compared to the germs a child encounters on a daily basis. 
7. There is no increased risk of SIDS with immunizations. [7] In fact, vaccines are associated with a decreased risk of SIDS, according to all SIDS information.  There is also no evidence linking vaccines with increased risk of autoimmune diseases.
8. The statistics about autism and special needs children are scary to read until you learn that more diagnosis means more children are getting help in school. In past generations, children with any kind of special needs were simply kicked out of school.  Or, they were institutionalized for life.  Now, we diagnose and treat them.  Rates of autism are up but rates of mental retardation are down. Why, because of better diagnosis.
9. Vaccines eradicated polio and smallpox.  And polio does not exist today under a different name.  [8]

10.  You don’t have to vaccinate your children.  Most US states allow exemptions for school enrollment.  You can always home school or move if your state does not allow exemptions. No one will ever force you to vaccinate. But, herd immunity is very real and you should consider how keeping your children healthy from vaccine-preventable diseases helps keep everyone healthy. [9]


[1] http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-science/how-are-vaccines-made.html


[2] http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/vaccine-components/human-fetal-links-some-vaccines


[3] http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/vaccine-components/aluminum-adjuvants-vaccines


[4] http://www.immunizationinfo.org/issues/thimerosal-mercury/mercury-vaccines


[5] http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/SafetyAvailability/VaccineSafety/ucm187810.htm


[6] http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Vaccines/multiplevaccines.html


[7] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X12000692


[8] http://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/history-polio-poliomyelitis



[9] http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/herd-immunity/

Doctors and vaccine profits

This study shows that doctors actually lose money from vaccines

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/124/Supplement_5/S492.abstract

"
RESULTS: The total documented variable cost per injection (excluding vaccine cost) averaged $11.51, calculated from the following categories: nursing time, $1.71; billing services, $2.67; nonroutine services, $1.64; registry use, $0.96; physician time, $4.05; supplies, $0.36; medical waste disposal, $0.12. Nonroutine activities primarily included performing vaccine inventory and ordering, providing vaccination records to requesters, and answering parent telephone questions about vaccinations. With the use of a simulation model to compensate for the small number of participating practices, the calculated total variable cost per injection was $11.83. When 2 vaccines were administered, we compared the sum of the 2 payments with the sum of the 2 variable costs ($23.02). More than one third of the payment agreements (13 of 37 agreements) paid the practices less than the combined variable costs for 2 immunizations.
CONCLUSION: This study shows that the variable costs of vaccine administration exceeded reimbursement from some insurers and health plans."


The Washington Times also found that"About one in 10 doctors who vaccinate privately insured children are considering dropping that service largely because they are losing money when they do it, according to a new survey."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/01/doctors-rethink-costly-vaccines/


These are for the USA.  There are some managed health plans that give doctors incentive payments to meet certain healthcare goals, like cutting smoking in patients and vaccinating, so that is one form of payment some doctors in managed health settings do receive for promoting healthcare options that are proven, by the insurer, to cut healthcare costs.

This NYTimes article shows how pediatricians are concerned about the cost of vaccines. They are increasingly not getting reimbursed enough to cover the costs. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/24/business/24vaccine.html?pagewanted=all

Vaccine positive websites

• Allied VaccineGroup http://www.vaccine.org/ 
• CA Immunization Coalition http://www.immunizeca.org/
• Colorado Childrens Immunization Coalition http://www.childrensimmunization.org/
• Emory Vaccine Center ,Emory University http://www.vaccines.emory.edu/index.php
• Every Child By Two (ECBT) http://www.ecbt.org/ 
• Families Fighting Flu http://www.familiesfightingflu.org/ 
• Get Vaxed, Pkids http://getvaxed.org/ 
• History of Vaccines, Mutter Museum http://www.historyofvaccines.org/
• Immunization Action Coalition http://www.immunize.org/ 
• Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/ 
• Meningitis Angels http://www.meningitis-angels.org/ 
• National Foundaiton for Infectious Diseases http://www.nfid.org/ 
• National Meningitis Organization http://www.nmaus.org/ 
• National Network for Immunization Information (Nnii) http://www.immunizationinfo.org/ 
• Parents PACK, CHOP http://www.chop.edu/service/parents-possessing-accessing-communicating-knowledge-about-vaccines/home.html 
• Pirls, Pkids http://pirls.pkids.org/ 
• Pkids http://www.pkids.org/ 
• Prevent Childhood Influenza http://www.preventchildhoodinfluenza.org/ 
• Shot of Prevention, ECBT, http://shotofprevention.com/ 
• Stop Meningitis, National Foundaiton for Infectious Diseases http://stopmeningitis.nfidinitiatives.org/ 
• Vaccinate YourBaby, Every Child By Two http://www.vaccinateyourbaby.org/ 
• Vaccine Information Immunization Action Coalition http://www.vaccineinformation.org/safety.asp 
• Vaccine Information Center, CHOP, http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html 
• Vaccines page, http://www.vaccines.org/ 
• Vacinews.net http://www.vaccinews.net/ 
• Voices for Vaccines http://www.voicesforvaccines.org/ 
• Why I Choose, CA Immunization Coalition http://whyichoose.org/

Some of my fave sites

http://www.chop.edu/service/vaccine-education-center/home.html


http://momswhovax.blogspot.com/

http://www.historyofvaccines.org/

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/reference/

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/

http://antiantivax.flurf.net/

http://www.antivaxxers.com/

http://op12no2.me/posts/279

http://leftbrainrightbrain.co.uk/

Pertussis, WA State, 2012

Washington State outbreak info, 2012

Click on the first choice at this link to see county by county vaccination surveillance for kindergartners:  http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/schools/schooldatarprts.htm

This link has general exemption info:  xemption rates www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/immunize/documents/k-12exemptco09-10.pdf2

Click here for the weekly pertussis updates:  http://www.doh.wa.gov/Topics/pertussis2012/


If you put all of that together as of this date, May 31, 2012, you can see that Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish and San Juan Counties are all at epidemic levels for pertussis and all have pertussis vaccination rates below herd immunity levels: Whatcom, pertussis vax rate in kinders is 88.8% for 2011-12 school year, dtap is 88,8%.  Other counties with outbreaks: Skagit 91.7% dtap vaxed, Snohomish 92.3%, San Juan 76.5% HA!


The case for pertussis being more likely if you are unvaxed, in Australia
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150912367858588&set=a.144130563587.111188.143367983587&type=3&theater

A blog post by the awesome SkewedDistribution, about pertussis
http://skeweddistribution.com/2012/05/14/true-or-false-there-are-more-vaccinated-pertussis-cases-than-unvaccinated/

Placebo

What is a placebo

pla·ce·bo/pləˈsēbō/
Noun:

1. A harmless pill, medicine, or procedure prescribed more for the psychological benefit to the patient than for any physiological effect.
2. A substance that has no therapeutic effect, used as a control in testing new drugs.

Many vaccine critics find fault with vaccine trials that do not use what they consider to be a true placebo in trials or studies.  Vaccine critics believe placebos are supposed to be completely inert. Since they are concerned with vaccine ingredients, they find it troublesome that vaccine trials still use as a control a substance containing similar ingredients to vaccines. 

So, why do researchers do this?

If you gave a shot of vaccine to one group, and no shot to the other group, it would be obvious to them who got the actual vaccine and who did not. Instead, the people not getting the active vaccine are given a shot with similar ingredients except for the vaccine component. This is consistent with experimental protocol to have as few variables at stake as possible.  You want to control for everything but the one ingredient you are changing, is how it is explained to me. Since vaccine adjuvants are well tested, you don't need to remove them from the study at all when you are testing a new vaccine.

Evidence that autism is genetic

Mcgill J Med. 2011 Jun;13(2):38.
Evolutionary approaches to autism- an overview and integration.
Ploeger A, Galis F.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;68(11):1095-102. doi: 10.1001/
archgenpsychiatry.2011.76. Epub 2011 Jul 4.
Genetic heritability and shared environmental factors among twin pairs with autism.
Hallmayer J, Cleveland S, Torres A, Phillips J, Cohen B, Torigoe T, Miller J, Fedele A, Collins J, Smith K, Lotspeich L, Croen LA, Ozonoff S, Lajonchere C, Grether JK, Risch N.

Zhong Nan Da Xue Xue Bao Yi Xue Ban. 2011 Aug;36(8):703-11.
Genetics of autism spectrum disorders.
Guo H, Hu Z, Zhao J, Xia K.

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;68(11):1113-21.
Evidence that autistic traits show the same etiology in the general population and at the quantitative extremes (5%, 2.5%, and 1%).
Robinson EB, Koenen KC, McCormick MC, Munir K, Hallett V, Happé F, Plomin R, Ronald A.

Nucleic Acids Res. 2012 Jan;40(Database issue):D1016-22. Epub 2011 Dec 1.
AutismKB: an evidence-based knowledgebase of autism genetics.
Xu LM, Li JR, Huang Y, Zhao M, Tang X, Wei L.



South Korean autism study,

Am J Psychiatry. 2011 Sep;168(9):904-12. Epub 2011 May 9.
Prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in a total population sample.
Kim YS, Leventhal BL, Koh YJ, Fombonne E, Laska E, Lim EC, Cheon KA, Kim SJ, Kim YK, Lee H, Song DH, Grinker RR.

Vaccine Inserts

One of the most commonly cited reasons for not vaccinating is the side effects read in the vaccine inserts. But, if you are only reading the vaccine inserts and assuming that they cite what vaccines cause, you are misreading them.

Vaccine inserts have specific language about causality because they are saying that just because XYZ happened during the trial does not mean it was caused by the vaccines.

Here is what Pediarix states: "This list includes serious adverse events or events which have a suspected causal connection to components of Pediarix. Because these events are reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not possible to reliably estimate their frequency or establish a causal relationship to vaccine exposure." Which does not mean that XYZ is caused by the vaccine and we have no clue how common it is. It is saying that the data in this insert is not going to tell you about vaccine safety, you have to look further in the research literature.


And they all say pretty much the same thing. So, you need to look further, into safety studies, to find out what is really going on and how the data is interpreted. And then, you find out, for example, that autism is just as prevalent in the unvaxed as vaxed, that SIDS death rates are lower in vaxed kids, and so on.

Vaccine inserts tell you everything that occurred during a vaccine trial, without regard to causation.  They are not implying the vaccines caused anything and should never be read as such. If you are only reading vaccine inserts for information on vaccines, you are most definitely not well informed or educated.


http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/package_inserts.htm

Formaldehyde

What many people may not know is that our own bodies produce and use formaldehyde as a part of our normal metabolism (Final Report on Carcinogens Background Document for Formaldehyde [PDF], 2010). When we are exposed to methanol (e.g., via inhalation or ingestion of foods like citric fruits and juices, vegetables or fermented beverages), our bodies break it down into formaldehyde and other byproducts. Our bodies produce formaldehyde as a result of DNA demethylation (an important process for controlling gene expression, e.g., in developing embryos) and other biological processes. It is such a regular part of human metabolism, that our normal, naturally produced blood concentrations are generally about 2-3μg of formaldehyde per gram of blood (or about 2.12-3.18μg/mL)*. And it is actually a pretty important chemical; our bodies use formaldehyde to form DNA and amino acids (Toxicological Profile for Formaldehyde [PDF], ATSDR, 1999).

What is formaldehyde?

Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a rather strong odor, made up of a carbon atom, two hydrogen atoms and an atom of oxygen, CH₂O. It has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Many textile industries use formaldehyde in their production processes.

Here is a link where you can learn more about the use of formaldehyde in manufacturing.  Safety concerns do arise and OSHA has guidelines for manufacturers to follow. 

With the ubiquitous manufacture and use of this chemical, questions about its safety naturally arise. OSHA has rather extensive guidelines on its safe use and health effects. Harpocrates sums it up nicely: "Acute, short-term exposure to large amounts can be fatal. Long-term chronic exposure to inhaled or topical formaldehyde can result in respiratory illnesses, skin irritation and has long been a suspected carcinogen. In 2011, the U.S. government changed its designation from "reasonably likely" to cause cancer in humans, based on cancer studies in animals, to "known carcinogen". However, these health issues are primarily a risk for those who regularly work with large, industrial quantities of the substance; they are exposed to much higher levels than the rest of us." Harpocrates also sums up well the risks from formaldehyde exposure and how much is in vaccines:

• HepB - Recombivax - 3 doses (birth, 1-2 mos. and 6-18 mos.) - 7.5μg/dose
• DTaP - Infanrix - 5 doses (2 mos., 4 mos., 6 mos., 15-18 mos. and 4-6 yrs.) - 100μg/dose
• Hib - ActHIB - 3 doses (2 mos., 4 mos. and 12-15 mos.) - 0.5μg/dose
• IPV - IPOL - 4 doses (2 mos., 4 mos., 6-18 mos. and 4-6 yrs.) - 100μg/dose
• Influenza - Fluzone - 7 doses (6 mos., 12 mos. and yearly 2-6 yrs.) - 100μg/dose
• HepA - Havrix - 2 doses (12 mos. and 6-18 mos. after first dose) - 100μg/dose

 Now, what about formaldehyde that we come into contact with on a regular basis and is already in our bodies?  Some people may not realize that our own bodies produce and use formaldehyde as a part of our normal metabolism.  When we are exposed to methanol, via ingestion of fruits and vegies,  our bodies break it down into formaldehyde and other byproducts. Our bodies produce formaldehyde as a result of biological processes. It is such a regular part of human metabolism, that our normal, naturally produced blood concentrations are generally about 2.12-3.18μg/mL.

Now compare that to what is in food. Apples have as much as 22mg/kg, pears as much as 60, cauliflower as much as 27.  Keep in mind that one mg is 1000 ug, so apples have 22,000 ug so a vaccine has a really really really tiny amount of formaldehyde, less than you eat daily and less than your baby is currently making in her body. 

So, what is there, really, to worry about?


1kg = 1,000g = 1,000,000mg = 1,000,000,000μg


references:

• http://www.inchem.org/documents/hsg/hsg/v105hsg.htm
• http://silencedbyageofautism.blogspot.com/2012/04/demystifying-vaccine-ingredients.html
• http://justthevax.blogspot.com/2009/05/toxin-gambit-part-1-formaldehyde.html
• 
  

Drug company profits

It is often claimed, by those against vaccination, that vaccines are big money makers for drug companies. This is, supposedly, the main reason drug companies make vaccines.  However, the cost of making a new drug is truly staggering and vaccines are not really the biggest money makers.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/02/10/the-truly-staggering-cost-of-inventing-new-drugs/

"The average drug developed by a major pharmaceutical company costs at least $4 billion, and it can be as much as $11 billion."

Between 1997 and 2011, Merck spent $67 billion on research and development and got 16 drugs approved.  Sanofi spent $63 billion and got 8 drugs approved. Pfizer spent $108 billion and got 14 drugs approved.

"There are lots of expenses here. A single clinical trial can cost $100 million at the high end, and the combined cost of manufacturing and clinical testing for some drugs has added up to $1 billion. But the main expense is failure. AstraZeneca does badly by this measure because it has had so few new drugs hit the market. Eli Lilly spent roughly the same amount on R&D, but got twice as many new medicines approved over that 15 year period, and so spent just $4.5 billion per drug."


"Right now, fewer than 1 in 10 medicines that start being tested in human clinical trials succeed."

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/industries/21/index.html

In 2010, Merck reported $861 million profit, down 98% from 2009.
In 2010, Pfizer reported $8 billion in profit, down 8% from 2009


And what are the most profitable drugs for pharma companies?

http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/10-most-profitable-drugs.htm

Not one vaccine in that list.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/43025869/America_s_Top_Selling_Prescription_Drugs

Not a vaccine on that list either.


Vaccines are NOT the huge moneymakers the antivaxers would like you to believe. Vaccines are NOT created solely for the purpose of profit.  They are far too expensive to create for that purpose.  Don't fall for the antivaxer BS on this issue. It is not truthful.

Welcome!

The purpose of this blog is to organize information.  The main chatting on the topic of vaccination will still take place on the Facebook page, Informed Parents of Vaccinated Children.

Please enjoy the information you find here and report back on the Facebook page if you have any questions or comments.