New Jersey – New Jersey First State To Require Flu Shots For Preschoolers.

If I may, my son had the chicken pox disease (not the vaccine) when he was 5. 4 other kids in his class had had the vaccine, 3 of whom contracted the virus which then spread to my son, and the 4th got shingles. Shingles was never a childhood phenomenon and if you don’t blame the vaccine you won’t care to look for the cause of this awful state of affairs in regard to childhood health risks.

12:10

1. They might TEACH basic principles of alternative medicine in many medical schools (indeed in america they are starting to do this), but only so Drs can be aware of what is out there. So if a patient comes in and tells you “Im taking yeast extract for my heart, eccinachea for immunity,” or whatever, you can be aware of what theyre taking because various drugs can indeed interact with these natural substances which can potentially be very dangerous. Theyre not encouraging MDs being traned in Denmark or England to practice Naturopathic medicine. There are naturopathic schools for that.

2. About your friends 2 year old. I am sorry that he/she developed autism. I dont know if you have kids yourself, but I hate to break it to you, most 2-year-olds scream and cry after any sort of shot. Lots of 6 and 8 year olds cry too.

3. Now the fact that this child developed a fever immediately after the vaccine leads me to believe that he/she had an adverse rxn to the vaccine. Thank G-d they were able to control it in the hospital.

But saying that the vaccine “caused” his autism is a strech at best. I am assuming you think that the mercury in the vaccine might have been the causative factor, not the inactivated MMR virus given via the vaccine. Therefore, allow me to clarify something:

Characteristic motor findings in high dose mercury findings: tremors, muscle pain, ataxia
Characteristic motor findings in autism: repetitive behaviors-flapping, rocking, etc

Sensory findings – mercury poisoning: bilateral visual constriction, pain in hands and feet,
sensory findings – autism: hypersensitivity to sound, light etc, decreased responsiveness to pain.
Other manifestations – mercury poisoning: hypertension, skin eruption, low platelets, depression and or irritability.
None of these symptoms are manifested in ppl w/ autism.

Now. incase you are even more off-base and actually believe that autism occurs due to the actual vaccine (and not hte mercury), allow me to clarify that point for you as well by simply telling you that the markers that would come along with any sort of immune injury or inflammation (which would occur in someone who had an adverse reaction to the MMR vaccine) are not present in patients w/ autism.

And I dont mean to bash you or anyone else who doesnt vaccinate their children, but the facts remain facts. So the parents may very well be “concerned parents” and decide to get all their important medical facts from the yated or their chiropractor, and thats their choce. But such parents must also admit to themselves that they are also quite ignorant, very irresponsible, and incredibly selfish, for not vaccinating their children. Again, theyre putting hudreds if not thousands of other children at risk. This is NOT a phenomenon we should be thanking Hashem for. It is a tragedy that must be stopped. When uneducated parents read garbage on the internet, and decide that they can be better doctors than real ones, we have major problems.

anon 12:28:

I dont know what other “modern countries” youre referring to. Cuba maybe. Or Guatemala? Guadelehara Mexico? My friends and peers educated in France, Sweden, and Israel, didnt have any formal training in any of the areas you mention.

And I am very glad you are so educated as to the curriculum being taught in american medical schools! Impressive! Did you even graduate from college?

For your information, We do take a class in our first year on NUTRITION.

VITAMINS? um, those are covered pretty extensively in first-year biochemistry as well.

And there was an elective in my second year on “ALTERNATIVE forms of MEDICINE in the western world,” which I did indeed sign up for. It covered such topics as accupuncture, accupressure, naturapathic medicine, HOMEOPATHY and HERBal medicine, etc.

Until you graduate from medical school, your opinions on such matters are just laughable at best. Its very funny to me to watch you rant about how “stupid” I am as a Medical Doctor for believing that vaccination actualy works, when history just speaks for itself.

And just to clarify, I dont have a problem with eastern medicine, in fact, Ive gone to an accupuncturist many times to help me with my back problems. If it works, it works. Id rather do that, than be on drugs at all times.

And with regard to reading about “recent and past findings on correlations and supposed coincidences” etc etc, YOU obviously dont know how to read a medical journal. again. they are SUPPOSED coincidences. Until someone can prove otherwise, they will still remain just that – COINCIDENCES. and in medicine, you learn in biostats first year, correlation doesnt prove causation.

And FTR, I DID read “Evidence of Harm” once on a flight to Israel, upon the recommendation of a patient! The questions raised in that book are very interesting, but any intelligent and knowledgeable person will find that the evidence presented is, at best, very very weak. They throw lots of fancy shmancy medical jargon at you, and while the normal layperson might find this believable and fall for it (because it sounds all fancy and educated and advanced) the more seasoned reader, with more experience in evaluating actual real medical evidence, will find that alot of what is said therein is just plain funny. I also find it sad that people actually believe what is written in such works. And I find it scary, because these “educated consumers” borrowing hte phrase from syms, turn into the parents who decide for “religious” reasons (even though we know full well it has nothing to do w/ religion) not to vaccinate their children, and put thousands of other children at risk. In their ignorance, they become quite selfish and cruel.

anon 4:50, you can exercise whatever consitutional rights you want, that is your ability as an american.
But just a bit of imporant info. Meningitis and Polio are two entirely distinct disease states. Im sorry your daughter had meningitis, that is truly tragic, and im sorry that it happened due to the ineptitude of a dr.
with regard to your cdc link that discusses the effectiveness of the flu vaccine, yes, youre right, teh CDC doesnt claim that the flu shot “cures” the flu. And it varies from season to season, depends on the strain of the virus, immune state of those vaccinated, etc. There are many many factors that go into play. But, probability wise, you have a far less chance of contracting the flu if you are vaccinated, than if you choose not to be vaccinated. And the complications related to influenza infection can be dangerous in the elderly, infants, and pregnant women. No one ever claimed that it “cures” the flu.
And my point was just that i find it humorous that people are so ignorant as to post things on PUBLIC blogs such as “flu shots cause autism…” when in the world of REAL medical professoinals, not just people who claim to know what theyre talking abt because they read an article in the Yated, written by a non-medical professional, about how dangerous immunization can be, there is no real correlation.

12/14/07 3:30 pm
Mercury is known to cause autism?
Hmm. In my four years of medical school and three years of residency after that, somehow, I never learned that vital piece of information. Wanna show me real proof? because so far in the medical world, statements like that are still laughed upon. I agree with you that the flu shot isnt 100% necessary, but not because it “causes” things it doesnt.

Pediatrics Blog
From Vincent Iannelli, M.D.,
Your Guide to Pediatrics.

About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by Kate Grossman, MD
Hib Vaccine Recall
The FDA and Merck, is recalling 1 million doses of its PedvaxHib and COMVAX vaccines, including 13 lots of vaccine, which were distributed since April 2007. The vaccines are being recalled because of a “lack of assurance of product sterility,” after Merck found the Bacillus cereus bacteria on some of the manufacturing equipment. B. cereus is a common cause of food poisoning, although it can cause other infections too, including skin infections, meningitis, sepsis, etc.

Fortunately, none of the vaccines themselves were found to be contaminated and no children have been harmed. If your child recently received a Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine that was involved in the recall and is showing signs of an infection, such as swelling and redness at the infection site, be sure to see your pediatrician.

It is unlikely that your child recently got a PedvaxHib shot though, as Merck stopped shipments of the vaccine in mid November because of a “manufacturing problem.” The current recall makes it more clear what that problem might have been.

The Hib vaccine is commonly given over three or four doses to infants and toddlers at their 2, 4, 6, and 12 to 15 month checkups to prevent bacterial meningitis, pneumonia, epiglottitis, and other infections. There is another version of the Hib vaccine, so even though the PedvaxHib and COMVAX is temporarily unavailable, there will hopefully be enough vaccine to go around to prevent a shortage.

11:15, I am your favorite wacko and if you are so brilliant, why don’t you know about the recall on HIB vaccines for INFANTS which was just reported?? I, for one, don’t have to worry a fig, because my kids never got em. You and your friends however should start davening real fast.

So new we’ll have to raise taxes again.