Researchers Focus On Vaccine Deniers

Many In Small Oregon Town Believe Childhood Vaccinations Do More Harm Than Good

(AP)  There are so many parents in this free-spirited, unconventional small town who won't get their kids vaccinated that federal researchers are paying money just to hear their side of things.

On Saturday, 80 locals will get $50 apiece to talk about their worries over the risks of childhood shots.

"One of the basic tenets of my decision-making is mistrust of the government, a mistrust of the pharmaceutical companies, and mistrust of the big blanket thing that says this is what everybody has to do," says Tracy Harding, an organic farming consultant and mother of two.

"I get the public health standpoint," she said. "I am still questioning (vaccines') safety."

Nationally, there is a budding movement of parents who are getting exemptions from laws requiring children to get vaccinated before attending school. The exemptions are one explanation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives for a spike in measles cases. The government recommends as many as 10 vaccines before a child is 6, plus boosters along the way.

Dr. Ben Schwartz, an adviser to the National Vaccine Program, said the meeting in Ashland is one of three where the government is paying average citizens to give their views to inform officials charting the direction of vaccine research for the next five years. A similar meeting was held in Birmingham, Ala., and another is set for Indianapolis, both sites with more mainstream views about vaccines.

But Ashland stands apart from the mainstream.

The town of 20,000 on the flanks of the Siskiyou Mountains in southwestern Oregon has always been different. In the early 20th century it was on the Chautauqua lecture circuit, and the sulfurous waters of Lithia Springs drew visitors looking for a cure for what ailed them.

Today, it has one of the highest rates in the nation for vaccine exemptions - 28 percent and rising in kindergartens, compared with about 4 percent statewide. One alternative school has 67 percent.

A liberal outpost in a conservative region, Ashland likes to go its own way. The city has its own water and electric utilities, and was a pioneer promoting solar energy, high-speed Internet, and dog parks. It has serious debates about whether to cut down trees to expand the library or whether to allow a woman to ride her bicycle naked in the Fourth of July parade.

For years, Dr. Jim Shames, a physician who prefers a down vest to a lab coat, has argued the benefits of vaccines with Harding, his next-door neighbor.

As Jackson County's chief medical officer, Shames would like every child immunized. Ashland always has some whooping cough around, which can be devastating to babies, but has seen no spike in measles. Still, Shames fears the community is vulnerable because so many international visitors come to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University.

Shames has been working with nursing students from Oregon Health & Science University on a pamphlet that would promote immunization.

While doing interviews for that pamphlet, nursing student Shauna Gargus, who had her own two kids vaccinated, found many parents distrust mainstream medicine. They tend to believe their friends rather than medical research. Their biggest single fear is that the shot for measles, mumps and rubella could cause their children to become autistic, despite solid scientific studies that show no evidence of that.

"The fear is real for parents, and it overshadows the research," she said. "This is my hometown. This is where I grew up. I care about the community here. I just really would like to not make this a browbeating issue."

Harding is suspicious of the need to inject so many vaccines into small children. She stopped vaccinating her son, Frank, after his first shot as a baby triggered hours of crying. Her daughter, Stella, got a tetanus shot, but that is all.

Until now, Tyre Dawn has depended on organic food and plenty of playtime outdoors to keep her 4-year-old son, Lukyan, healthy. But she is planning to open a preschool in the spring, and with so many children around, she is now rethinking her policy.

"It is essential in these times for everyone to look more closely at the choices they are making," she said.

Jennifer Margulis moved here with her husband and three kids from Massachusetts, where her mother is a cellular biologist and member of the National Academy of Sciences. Though she chuckles at some of Ashland's personality quirks, she embraces the city's strong sense of community and many people's distrust of mainstream medicine.

"I never questioned the efficacy or intelligence of doing vaccines until I was in the hospital with my newborn daughter and a doctor tried to get me to give her hepatitis B vaccine," she said. "Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease. I knew I didn't have hepatitis B. I knew my husband didn't have it. I knew there was no way she would come in contact with anyone with hepatitis B.

"You have this tiny, frog-like baby and they want to shoot her up with things."

Afterward, Margulis' pediatrician supported her choice. "I decided it was my responsibility as a parent to research each and every vaccine to make an informed, intelligent decision, not to just follow what doctors told me," she said.

[tobilea]

I am so sorry for the families who have been affected by these vaccines but it is a little naive to want vaccines put out in a timely fashion..not tested adequately because of demands BY THE PUBLIC and expect that the sideaffects be worked out.Nothing in life is perfect and Doctors and scientists are not perfect.Trying to create vaccines that benefit your children has always and will always be the goal no one wants to stricken children with Autism.

So before you point fingers at an industry that has virtually wiped out childhood diseases that thankfully our generation is so unfamiliar with you might want to reflect on the ramifications on the society of not vaccinating against typhoid/polio/ diphtheria/measles/ mumps/german measles.Bringing back these plagues are selfish and putting your un-vaccinated children in a large breeeding ground for these diseases hurts the society so maybe you don't have to vaccinate your children because you can find loopholes in the law but those laws are there for a reason.Home school your children and keep them in a germ free bubble that is your choice but vaccination over the years has done way more good than harm.Get to know the diseases you are so willing to not vaccinate your children aganist.

Choosing not to vaccinate=increasing the prevalence of non -resistant strains which means new vaccines needed.
Just because your family was spared by all those diseases does not mean the rest of society will be and personally who would want to see their children suffer through measles and mumps alot of these are associated with lifelong sideaffects eg. blindness.

Vaccinating or not vaccinating children is a scary choice and in many industries there are those in it for their own profitability but if there is the slightiest chance that they were not doing it out of greed that maybe they didnt want to see people dieing then it is time to re-evaluate your stance on the evils of the industry

[rudybird123]

Rational 1 is not informed at all. Stastically, your children are worse off after they get shots, especially with Autism. If you are a realist, then I thought you would REALLY notice that the Government is corrupt, and malevolent, and is dumbing down society with chemicals and medicines( yes, even kids). Wake up! Go research this stuff, then come back and squawk! BTW, there is no law requiring that school children get shots. People think there is, but its full of holes....just like taxes, and the official 9/11 story....and your brain....

[garbosmed]

Anyone concerned about having to take 2 weeks off to care for a kid with chicken pox might want to stop and consider that taking care of an autistic kid lasts a lifetime.

[rrrockinruth]

I really do not think that there is any right or wrong opinion regarding this issue. I personally trust my pediatrician and make sure that my children are vaccinated for whatever he reccomends. And vaccinations have not made my children''s immune systems weak. Misusing antibiotics is what makes people''s immune systems weak.

If someone makes the personal choice to not get immunized or to not get their children immunized, then they need to take precautions to not be exposed to certain viruses. But I personally believe in immunizations.

My husband and I both work full time, so vaccinating our kids agains chicken pocks and other diseases makes perfect sense to me. Unlike my mother, I would not be able to stay home with my kids for two weeks while they got over the chicken pocks. My family started getting flu shots yearly in 2005 after my nephew was diagnosed with leukemia and started kemotherapy. Besides our being able to spend time with my nephew knowing we would not pass along a potenially deadly influenza virus to him, I have missed less work and my kids have missed less school due to illness.

[garbosmed]

It''s inappropriate to blame parents for jeopardizing the mythical "herd immunity" just because they choose not to vaccinate their children. The CDC states that these decisions are best made by parents and pediatricians. The AAP estimates that vaccines are safe for about 97% of people; deductive reasoning tells us that leaves 3% who shouldn''t be vaccinated. Presently, parents have no way of knowing whether their children fall in that 3%. The CDC, AAP, IOM, HHS, NIH have done no research that would tell them. Many parents already have a child with autism or other autoimmune disorder that would indicate caution in vaccinating future children. The "herd" has no inherent right to dictate to the individual that they must inject drugs that are potentially harmful.

There is plenty of science arguing for a more cautious approach to vaccination. A recent UK report indicates that vaccinating against chickenpox actually leads to a greater risk of outbreaks of shingles in adults; being around children with chickenpox actually gives the adults a "booster" of immunity that can prevent shingles, but that same benefit is not conferred by the vaccine. The zeal to create vaccines for every possible disease may be leading to unintended consequences, not just for children but for society as a whole.

[rational_1]

I had measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox. So did my parents, grandparents, sister and all of my friends. We''re all still walking around today.
Posted by IrishWench at 10:48 PM : Jan 10, 2009

How''d the members of your family do with polio? Do you know that tens of millions died of influenza around the time of WWI and that the mortality rate from measles is 1 in 1000 (in developed countries) and much higher in those who are malnourished or who are immunocompromised. I think because of medical advances like immunizations, we''ve largely forgotten about the severity of plagues that our ancestors had to deal with. Think about what you''d rather deal with - the chance of complications from vaccinations, or the plagues of the past.

[centerfall94]

There is insufficient evidence to determine objectively who is right in this matter. To vaccinate or not is a judgement call where either side has as much chance of being correct as the other.

Posted by imrebeke at 12:33 PM : Jan 12, 2009

Massive ignorance doesn''t help your case.

Or do you think by simply stating something patently ridiculous, that others will fall in line?

You''re a parent. You''re not God. You have to follow the rules of society like everyone else, including vaccinating your little germ factories so they don''t end up spreading plague to other people. You''re VERY MUCH under the control of society, and yes, that society knows better than YOU, in all cases. Your particular attitude is a much too Little House On the Prairie for this realist.

[imrebeke]

My wife and I only consented to have our children vaccinated after having done a great deal of research. It is clear that vaccines are NOT universally safe. The risks are far higher than the medical and pharmaceutical establishment would have us believe. Vaccinating our kids was a difficult decision, one made reluctantly and only because we became convinced that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks, albeit by a hair.

For anyone to condemn those who fall on the other side of the decision is disgraceful. As I wrote in a previous post, parents have no moral obligation to subject their children to any medical procedure which they are convinced is harmful - and moral obligations outweigh legal obligations by several orders of magnitude. Their reasons for their convictions are immaterial. They are the sole and final arbiters of their children''s medical treatment.

Moreover, no parent can be rightfully obligated to place the good of the community ahead of the good of their children. We must all do what is best for our kids - in our own judgement - regardless of the effect on those who have a differing opinion.

There is insufficient evidence to determine objectively who is right in this matter. To vaccinate or not is a judgement call where either side has as much chance of being correct as the other.

[amrt5016]

The question of safety of vaccines, specifically those administered to prevent outbreaks of common childhood diseases, is one that can be addressed empirically. In time, we should have data to say whether this resistance to vaccination for kids is prudent or dangerous. The community of Ashland is not only taking a stand against minstream medicine--they are embarking on an experiment with their health and that of surrounding communities.

[carlylaine]

Anyone who thinks that the government is for us...is delusional. The purpose of anything the government does is to keep us tied to them for our very existence..It''s not the liberals thinking this way because LIBERALS love the idea that the government can tell us when to wipe our @%#%$!..these who are rebelling are the FREETHINKERS.

You guys fight the government....we all should and I don''t care who the president is. FIGHT and REBEL!

[lochlan-2009]

"despite solid scientific studies that show no evidence of that."

The biggest problem is the natural tendency for people in this country to put profit and greed over the value of people''s lives. The educated liberal areas of the country know this full well. Research is often funded by the very companies trying to sell the drugs and vaccines. Then this information goes to the, very well known to be bribed, FDA. These companies and the FDA then lean on doctors to push the products by rewarding them with good old cash and incentives. These people, who live in these areas, don''t doubt that vaccines can work, when done and used right. They doubt the companies who manufacture them and the shortcuts they take to make profits at the expense of other peoples childrens health and safety, and a government unwilling to protect them from these people.

[carlylaine]

If I had to do over again...knowing what I now know...I would never have gotten my son his childhood shots. I think he didn''t do well...but because of his strength as a human and resove he overcame the problems mightily...no thanks to the government.

[garbosmed]

Good for the parents; they''''ve done more homework than this article. The CDC does not recommend "as many as 10" vaccines before age 6 -- that was back in 1983. Take a look at the current CDC Vaccine Schedule for 2009. The current tally, when you add it up, is 48 vaccines by age 6, for 14 diseases. All but 13 of those are given by age 24 months. That''''s 34 vaccines by age 2, starting on the day of birth, many of which still contain "trace" amounts of mercury, or in the case of flu vaccine full amounts, plus aluminum adjuvants that have been implicated in Gulf War Syndrome, MSG, and all kinds of other chemicals. Stop making these parents out to be crazy by calling them "vaccine deniers". They''''re the only ones looking out for their kids. If you look at the 2009 schedule, THAT''''S what''''s crazy.

[garbosmed]

Dear CDC and PHarma,
Give it up, the dam is burst, you went too far and poisoned the kids of too many smart and resourceful people. Now that you''ve killed the vaccine program by licensing toxic products and injecting them into babies, good luck getting parents back on your side.
Love,
The rest of the country

[nobdysfool]

Was your daughter also vaccinated?

Posted by jbrown88881 at 03:33 PM : Jan 11, 2009
-----------------------------------
Yes she was but it was 5 yrs earlier & before the Bush administration was in...

[nobdysfool]

I believe that this is a much larger problem than our government lets on for it to be, as in the honesty & integrity of the vaccine industry. I have 2 children that were born at the same hospital 5 years apart. My daughter (the eldest) is 10 & highly advanced in language & other skills, being fluent in 2 languages. My son, 4, is behind in many areas including social skills, language & also shows mild signs of autism. My friend, ironically enough, also had a son born at the same hospital at the time my son was born & her son is also autistic. Is this merely a coincidence or is there something dangerously wrong with the vaccines being given to our nation''s children???? We need answers!

[Diamonddavej]

"Requiring children to have 22 vaccines loaded with MERCURY IS CRIMINAL." --Posted by zietzke

Mercury (THIMEROSAL) is now only present in one vaccine in the US, the Flu Vaccine.

When Danish removed Thimerosal from all childhood vaccines in 1992, autism rate continued to increase.

"Thimerosal and the Occurrence of Autism: Negative Ecological Evidence From Danish Population-Based Data. KM Madsen, MB Lauritsen, CB Pedersen, P Thorsen, %u2026 - Pediatrics, 2003 - Am Acad Pediatrics"

[perk235]

We are only just beginning to get a handle on the science behind our medical actions. -- Why are we acting as if we know what vaccines, or anything else, will ultimately do in this world?? -- It is bad science to do the SAME thing to the entire population of anything.
Posted by marizara at 04:40 AM : Jan 11, 2009
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The success of the vaccine has a dependence on not allowing the viruses to live. This is because as viruses propagate they change, even if some viruses change more slowly. The viruses that change more slowly have the highest success rate of being eliminated IF people do not contract the virus and spread it around. Smallpox or polio are examples that most people recognize in this category.

To prohibit viruses from propagating, it is most effective for the whole population to be vaccinated and form antibodies that fight the viral infection. That way the virus doesn''t have a handy incubator to populate, as well as a reservoir to hide in. For example, we are reservoirs for chickenpox, which we see come out again as painful shingles if our immune systems are compromised.

The blanket statement that we know it is "bad science" to do anything to an entire population does not recognize that we are in a fight with the CHANGE of viruses and bacteria, for that matter. That is where the choice to not vaccine has public health implications. However, it also has individual rights implications as well.

[perk235]

I had measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox. So did my parents, grandparents, sister and all of my friends. We''''re all still walking around today.
Posted by IrishWench at 10:48 PM : Jan 10, 2009
----------------------

The argument is that the decision of some to not vaccinate their children does have public health issues AND individual rights issues.

The public health issues arise from the mutations of viruses that could generate a vaccine-resistant strain that could infect vaccinated people. Not everyone survives every virus infection, and I think that there are not as many "walking around" after contracting polio, for example.

Some people choose to vaccinate their children and not all those people are blind followers of the powers that be. That would be like saying that all people who choose not to vaccinate are whatever name calling has been happening on this post.

[Marie Zarankevich]

IrishWench -- Wake up, use your own brain cells. This country used to be full of independent thinking individuals. Now you want laws to control everything and everyone. And you ridicule people who choose there own paths.

Posted by IrishWench
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Irish Wench-------------------------------------------
Here, here! -- You are a human after my own heart. -- Let''s hear it for people who actually THINK! -- Excellent posting, not overly wordy, but concisely stated information. -- Thank you, Grrranny