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The national vaccine registry that’s been percolating for years has
now been given a serious push following the recent measles outbreaks in
Canada. Your family’s vaccine history will soon be available online for
any health official to scrutinize and drum up ways to pressure those
resisting the vaccinator’s needle. So much for medical privacy! Your
vaccine decisions will now be subject to investigation, interrogation,
and new levels of intimidation. Welcome to the age of vaccine bullying.
The vaccine registry is already in place in six public health units in
Ontario and expected to be province-wide by August, as discovered by a
friend’s son who was challenged about his vaccine status when he sought
medical advice for a minor matter. This young man suffered a serious
vaccine injury as a child and has been exempted from vaccines since
early childhood.
His mother wrote, “My son went to a walk in medical clinic today ... he
was first asked 'are you anti-vaccine?' The exemptions for school entry
were viewable by this doctor (and I'm assuming his medical exemption for
MMR). The doctor proceeded to push vaccines on him. My son told him
‘it's none of your business!’”
Citing a recent Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) editorial
calling for a national vaccine strategy, the Globe and Mail reports that "Ottawa
has committed $133-million to Panorama through a federal agency called
Canada Health Infoway, $97-million of which had been spent as of the end
of February. The participating provinces have doled out millions of
their own, mostly for capital costs. British Columbia, which spearheaded
the project, has spent about $130-million over eight years."
A related CBC News article
outlines the proposed solution to low vaccination rates that include,
identifying children and adults who are due or overdue for vaccinations,
harmonize vaccine schedules which currently vary by province and
territory, a national vaccination registry with targeted education
campaigns towards specific groups and geographic regions, a national
committee to work on vaccine hesitancy.
In his CMAJ editorial, ‘ Measles vaccination: a shot of common sense’, Dr. Gordon Giddings says, that the "disfiguring and paralyzing ravages"
of conditions like measles are not routinely seen in Canada today.
Disfigurement and paralysis? Prior to measles vaccination, in
1962, Alexander Langmuir, MD known as the “father of infectious disease
epidemiology”, described measles as a “self-limiting infection of short duration, moderate severity, and low fatality”,
which accurately described measles at a time when the vast majority of
the population got the disease in childhood. Measles mortality had
already declined by 98-99.6%
prior to the introduction of the vaccine and it was seen overall as a
benign childhood disease that brought the benefit of lifelong immunity.
Giddings’ fear mongering is nothing more than that!
Measles "must be managed and monitored with a national solution”, he says. “We
must emphasize that there is absolutely no scientific controversy about
the effectiveness or safety of childhood vaccines, particularly the MMR
vaccine.” Dr. Giddings’ attempt to reassure the public of the
safety and effectiveness of MMR vaccine is unconvincing however, and is
contradicted by the medical literature which has found MMR vaccine
safety testing inadequate.
The Cochrane Collaboration’s report on MMR vaccine found that, “The
design and reporting of safety outcomes in MMR vaccine studies, both
pre- and post-marketing, are largely inadequate. The evidence of adverse
events following immunisation with the MMR vaccine cannot be separated
from its role in preventing the target diseases.”
A large Canadian study
found that 1 in 168 children end up in ER after MMR vaccine. Deaths
were acknowledged in the study period but were discounted due to the
study design. There was no stated follow-up plan to determine
health outcome in the long run Without a follow up, we cannot be
reassured that their vaccine reactions don’t lead to more serious health
issues in the months and years to come.
Disagreeing as well with Giddings’ platitudes, are the tens of
thousands of families who bought into the myth of vaccine safety who
then witnessed their child’s neurodevelopmental regression and immune
system injuries after MMR and other vaccines.
Data compiled by the National Vaccine Information Center
from U.S. government sources reveal that as of July 9, 2012 there have
been 6,058 serious adverse events reported to the Vaccine Adverse Events
Reporting System (VAERS) in connection with measles vaccine since 1990,
with over half of those occurring in children 3 and under.
As of March 1, 2012, there have been 898 claims filed in the U.S.
federal Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP) for injuries and
deaths following MMR vaccination, including 56 deaths and 842 serious
injuries. There have also been 288 deaths reported to VAERS in association with the MMR vaccine. It is well known that only 1-10% of adverse reactions following vaccination are reported.
We are reminded by this father of a vaccine damaged child, that, “NO
vaccine has successfully passed the scientific rigor of a long-term
study which compares a vaccinated population with an unvaccinated
control group to prove either safety or effectiveness. The vaccination
of children is a complex issue and is one of the most challenging
decisions a parent is required to make. As the parent of a vaccine
damaged child, I know too well that vaccines are not 100% safe. I live
with the consequences of vaccine damage everyday in caring for a son
that requires 24-hour care and whose condition will only deteriorate.”
And as stated so eloquently by long time vaccine awareness activist, Sandy Gottstein, “There
is a whole, growing world out there of parents who are certain their
child(ren) were harmed by vaccines. Insults, shaming, manipulation will
not work on them. Platitudes about no evidence will not work on them. A
sincere effort to understand what has happened to their children would
work wonders, though. Caring about what happened to their children would
work wonders. Treating them like collateral damage in a so-called war
on preventable disease, not so much.”
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Toronto Life magazine reporter
Lauren McKeon is doing a story on the rising anti-vaccination
movement and wants to explore why many parents are refusing to vaccinate
their children and damage vaccination can cause—especially in cases
outside of autism, where little has been written in mainstream media
about its potential harm. Please contact Lauren at lauren.mckeon@gmail.com if you're interested in speaking to her. |
