The Anti-Vaccine
Movement:
A Deadly
Manufactroversy
By Harriet Hall, MD
The SkepDoc
Whooping Cough Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZV
4IAHbC48&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuv
n-vp5InE&feature=related
The last person on Earth to catch Smallpox
Ali Maow Maalin
26 October 1977
Somalia
Variola virus: Smallpox
Mortality Rate: ~30%
Estimated deaths: 300,000,000
Ramses V
Vaccine Preventable Diseases:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Anthrax
Cervical Cancer
Diphtheria
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Haemophilus influenza type b
Human Papillomavirus
Influenza
Japanese Encephalitis
Lyme Disease
Measles
Meningococcal infection
Monkeypox
Mumps
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pertussis
Pneumococcal disease
Poliomyelitis
Rabies
Rotavirus
Rubella
Shingles
Smallpox
Tetanus
Tuberculosis
Typhoid Fever
Varicella
Yellow Fever
1,113,009 vs. 11,539
How Did We Go From:
Vaccines are Good
Vaccines are the greatest triumph
of scientific medicine and have saved
more lives than any other intervention
to
Vaccines are Bad
They cause autism and kill children
They Created a Bogeyman
Andrew Wakefield
His Subjects:
•Lancet article 1998
found bowel disease in
autistic children whose
autism started right
after they got MMR.
12 children with diarrhea, abdominal pain,
bloating and food intolerance
Developmental disorder, 10 probably
autistic.
8 linked to MMR by parents or doctors
No controls
His Findings:
Abnormal biopsies of bowel.
What the Paper Said
• “We did not prove an association between
measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine and
the syndrome described.”
What the ____?
• Although the paper stressed no causal
connection had been proven, Wakefield
called a press conference saying that the
MMR vaccine probably caused autism and
calling for the suspension of the triple
MMR vaccine.
His Thinking
• Measles virus damages bowel wall
• Bowel leaks some unidentified protein
• Protein goes to brain and somehow
causes autism
• Solution: give measles separately, not as
MMR.
WHY?
Why Single Vaccines?
• No rationale, no evidence, just a hunch
• “Single vaccines, spaced a year apart, clearly
expose children to greater risk of infection, as
well as additional distress and expense, and no
evidence had been produced upon which to
adopt such a policy.”
• PS. Wakefield had filed a patent for a single
measles vaccine
The Consequences
• Vaccination rates fell from 93% to 75% and as
low as 50% in London.
• Confirmed cases of measles in England and
Wales rose:
– 56 in 1998
– 1348 in 2008, with two child fatalities.
• One hospital in Dublin: 100 children admitted for
measles complications, 3 died.
• Fourteen years after measles had been declared
under control in the U.K., it was in 2008 declared
endemic again
Study Retracted
• 10 of the 12 co-authors issued a retraction
• The Lancet retracted the paper
• The Lancet removed it from the published
record.
– Conflict of interest not reported
– Unethical practices
– Data falsified
Investigations
• 2001 – Royal Free Hospital asked
Wakefield to resign
• 2003 - Award-winning British investigative
reporter Brian Deer launched a
devastating investigation
• 2005 – General Medical Council charged
Wakefield with several counts of
professional misconduct
• 2010 – Wakefield lost his license
Wakefield Hired by Lawyer
• A lawyer was representing several families with autistic
children.
• He hired Wakefield to do research to provide ammunition
for a class action suit against MMR manufacturers.
• The children of the lawyer’s clients were referred to
Wakefield for the study.
– More than half of the autistic subjects in the study were lawyer’s
clients
Failure to Disclose Source of
Funding
• Lawyer paid Wakefield nearly half a million
pounds plus expenses.
• Payments were concealed by billing
through a company of Wakefield’s wife.
• He initially denied being paid at all.
• Brian Deer proved that he was paid.
• Even after he admitted it, he lied
about the amount paid.
Dangerous Tests; No Approval
• The General Medical Council accused him of ordering
invasive and potentially harmful studies (colonoscopies
and spinal taps) contrary to the children's clinical
interests, when these diagnostic tests were not indicated
by the children's symptoms or medical history.
• One child suffered multiple bowel perforations during the
colonoscopy. Several had complications of anesthesia.
Children were subjected to sedation for other nonindicated tests like MRIs.
• The study had supposedly been approved by the
hospital’s ethics committee. It had not. When confronted,
Wakefield first claimed that it was approved, then
claimed he didn’t need approval
Conflict of Interest
• Before the study was published, Wakefield
had filed patents for his own separate
measles vaccine, as well as other autismrelated products.
• He stood to make a lot of money if MMR
vaccines could be linked to autism.
• He failed to disclose this serious conflict of
interest.
Paying for Blood Samples
• Wakefield bought blood samples for his
research from young children (age 4 and
up) attending his son's birthday party. He
callously joked in public about them crying,
fainting and vomiting. He paid the kids £5
each.
Did MMR Leave Measles RNA in
Bowel?
Wakefield’s own lab found it.
Unigenetics Lab found it.
Other labs couldn’t find it.
But Wakefield’s Lab DIDN’T Really
Find It
• Chadwick testified that he personally did
the PCR tests in Wakefield’s lab on
intestinal biopsy and spinal fluid.
• All tests were negative
• Dr. Wakefield knew tests were negative,
but published a paper saying they were
positive.
• Chadwick asked that his name not appear
on the paper
And Unigenetics Didn’t
Really Find It
• Funded by the lawyer who funded Wakefield.
• Found measles RNA with a test that should only detect
DNA.
• Didn’t use proper controls
• Lab was contaminated with DNA from adjoining Plasmid
Room.
• Lab was never accredited
• Test: It couldn’t tell which coded samples contained
measles virus.
• Investigator said “I do not believe that there is any
measles virus in any of the cases they have looked at.”
• It is no longer in business
New Allegations – Errors and
Falsification of Data
• Review of medical records showed most
subjects had signs of autism before MMR.
• Biopsy reports were originally read as
normal, then reviewed and declared
abnormal for the published study.
Wakefield’s Study Now
Entirely Discredited
• Attempts to replicate his study all failed.
• Other studies showed
– Detection of measles virus no greater in
autistics.
– Rate of intestinal disease no greater in
autistics.
– No correlation between MMR and autism
onset
– No correlation between MMR and autism
period.
It Was All a Mistake
• Fraudulent study
• Autism didn’t start after MMR
• No measles in biopsy samples
• Wakefield’s study didn’t show any
connection between MMR and autism, but
was used to deny children MMR.
Measles Outbreaks in England
& Wales
MMWR, 2008
The Role of the Media
• MMR was big story in UK
• Was not reported in France:
– What do you mean?
– Everyone knows MMR is safe
– But Hepatitis B vaccine causes MS
The Thimerosal Fiasco
• Vaccine preservative thimerosal contained
mercury as ethylmercury
• Methylmercury caused Minamata disaster
• Ethylmercury much less toxic, excreted
faster
• EPA methylmercury guidelines based on
fetus
• No EPA guidelines for ethylmercury.
Thimerosal is Safe
• Thimerosal preservative to permit multidose
vials
• Tested for safety before use
• Harmless in animals at high doses
• 1929 Indiana meningitis outbreak
– adults injected with 2 million mcg didn’t develop any
symptoms of mercury poisoning.
– Total amount in all children’s vaccines: 187.5 mcg.
– Over 10,000 times as much wasn’t harmful.
WHO Says:
“The theoretical risk from exposure to thimerosal
has to be balanced against the known high risk
of having no preservative in vaccines. Therefore,
WHO,UNICEF, the European Agency for
Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA), and
other key agencies continue to recommend the
use of vaccines containing this preservative
because of the proven benefit of vaccines in
preventing death and disease and the lack of
data indicating harm.”
Neil Halsey Got Thimerosal
Banned in the US
• Wasn’t thinking of autism
• Concerned about the possibility of subtle
neurologic effects of methyl mercury
• No evidence of harm from ethyl mercury or
vaccines
• Invoked precautionary principle
• Railroaded committee
Wording Confused Public
“Current levels of thimerosal will not hurt
children, but reducing those levels will
make safe vaccines even safer.”
?
?
?
First Do No Harm
• Precautionary principle assumes that there is no
harm in exercising caution
• The alarm caused by the removal of thimerosal
from vaccines was quite harmful.
• Hospitals suspended use of the hepatitis B
vaccine for all newborns because a thimerosalfree vaccine was not yet available.
• At least one child died of overwhelming hepatitis
B infection that would have been prevented with
the vaccine.
US Removed Thimerosal
• Absent from all US vaccines since 2002
except for negligible amount in flu vaccine
• If thimerosal caused autism, rates should
have dropped by now.
• They have risen.
Jenny McCarthy’s Wisdom, part 1
• Indigo mother, Crystal child
• Indigos are “difficult” children who are
alleged to possess special traits or
abilities such as telepathy, empathy, and
creativity, and are said to represent the
next stage in human evolution.
• Crystal children represent an even more
advanced evolutionary step. They are
“so sensitive, so vulnerable to the world
around them, that they go inward,
disconnect as best they can from even
humans and do their best to survive in a
world where they really don't yet fit.” .
Jenny McCarthy’s Wisdom, part 2
• Evan is autistic because of vaccines
• Mommy instincts
• “My science is Evan, and he’s at home.
That’s my science.”
• Grandma disagrees
Jenny is Willing to Let Children Die
• I do believe sadly it's going to take some
diseases coming back to realize that we need to
change and develop vaccines that are safe. If
the vaccine companies are not listening to us,
it's their f___ing fault that the diseases are
coming back. They're making a product that's
s___. If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It
shouldn't be polio versus autism.”
- Jenny McCarthy in Time Magazine, April 2009
That Kind of Expert
• Puppet Stephen Colbert on Jenny
McCarthy: "Now sure, she's not the kind of
expert who relies on facts and
figures....She knows what she feels is true.
She's that kind of expert.”
“Listen to the Parents”
• Scientists DID “listen to the parents”
• Appropriate studies were done
• The answer is in:
– 10 studies show MMR doesn’t cause autism
– 6 studies show thimerosal doesn’t cause
autism
– 3 studies show thimerosal doesn’t cause
subtle neurological problems
IOM Immunization Safety
Review on Vaccine and
Autism
“…the body of epidemiological
evidence favors rejection of a causal
relationship between the MMR vaccine
and autism…the body of
epidemiological evidence favors
rejection of a causal relationship
between thimerosal-containing
vaccines and autism.”
Anti-Vaccine Activists and Nasty
Behavior
• Emotional appeals
• Shouting down opponents
• Repeating lies even after being
corrected
• Hateful language
• Death threats
Incredible Nastiness
• Meryl Dorey “Court ordered vaccination
constitutes child rape. This is assault
without consent and with full penetration
too.”
More Nastiness
Jenny McCarthy Body Count
Bogus Treatments for Autism
• Kids are still being treated with chelation to remove
mercury
• Secretin
• Lupron for testosterone
• Diets
• Hyperbaric chambers
• Supplements galore
• Cranial manipulation
• Facilitated communication
• DAN!
• Intravenous hydrogen peroxide
Geier and Geier
• Mercury causes autism.
• Autistic children have high levels of
testosterone
• Autistic children undergo premature
puberty
• Testosterone binds to mercury, forming
sheets in the brain
• This prevents mercury from being
excreted even with chelation
• So let’s castrate the kids!
Geier Loses License May 2011
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
“Misdiagnosed autistic children with precocious puberty and other genetic
abnormalities and treated them with potent hormone therapy (“Lupron Therapy” or
“Lupron Protocol”), and in some instances, chelation therapy, both of which have a
substantial risk of both short-term and long-term adverse side effects. The
Respondent’s treatment exposed the children to needless risk of harm.”
Misrepresented his credentials (as both being a geneticist and epidemiologist)
Ordered “extensive and expensive” batteries of tests that were outside the standard
of care
Failed to properly examine patients (even ordered Lupron therapy based solely on a
phone conversation and selected lab tests).
Failed to provide adequate informed consent
Used therapies not based on evidence and not supported by the medical community
Used an IRB (Institution Review Board) that failed to meet state and federal
guidelines
Exploited patients and parents.
Emergency action – even required to surrender all his prescription pads.
•
• Son prosecuted for practicing medicine without a license.
• Still licensed in our state – clinic in Redmond is still castrating
children.
The Real Losers
• Parents and children wasting time and
money on dangerous or useless
treatments.
• Research into real causes of autism
• Effective behavioral treatments
• Labeling and stigmatizing autistic kids
What Are the Actual Risks of
Vaccines?
VAERS Reports of Vaccine Deaths
• Deaths after vaccines have been reported to
VAERS, but only a tiny few are believed to be
even possibly associated with a vaccine.
• 13 reported deaths after flu vaccine
– 9 had severe underlying disease
– 1 died in a car accident
– None caused by vaccine
• VAERS accepts all reports,
even Incredible Hulk spoof.
Disease Risks vs Vaccine Risks
• Measles
– Pneumonia: 6 in 100
– Encephalitis: 1 in 1,000
– Death: 2 in 1,000
• Rubella
– Congenital Rubella Syndrome: 1 in 4 (if woman becomes
infected early in pregnancy)
----------------------------------------------------------• MMR Vaccine
– Encephalitis or severe allergic reaction:
1 in 1,000,000
– No deaths, no congenital rubella
Disease Risks vs. Vaccine Risks
•
DIPHTHERIA
Death: 1 in 20
TETANUS
Death: 2 in 10
PERTUSSIS
Pneumonia: 1 in 8
Encephalitis: 1 in 20
Death: 1 in 1,500
------------------------------------------------------------------------• DTaP VACCINE (newer version of DPT)
– Continuous crying, then full recovery: 1 in 1000
– Convulsions or shock, then full recovery: 1 in 14,000
– Acute encephalopathy: 0-10.5 in 1,000,000
– Death: None proven
Diseases Are Coming Back
7 Babies
died in
California
in 2010
Measles Outbreaks
• The U.S. is experiencing its worst measles
outbreak in 15 years, with 118 cases so far in
2011.
•
•
•
Typical example: A 7-year-old boy, who was intentionally unvaccinated
against measles, was exposed to the virus while traveling in Europe. When
he returned home to San Diego, he unknowingly exposed a total of 839
people, and an additional 11 unvaccinated children contracted the disease.
Three of those infected were babies, too young to have yet received the
measles vaccines, and one of the babies was hospitalized for three days
with a 106-degree fever.
In immunocompromised patients (AIDS, chemotherapy, etc.) the fatality rate
would be around 30%
Moving Goalposts
•
•
•
•
MMR
Thimerosal
Mercury from all sources
Other vaccine ingredients - formaldehyde, aluminum,
ether, anti-freeze, and human aborted fetal tissue
• Too many vaccines overwhelm the immune system?
– Fewer antigens in all vaccines today than in one smallpox
vaccine.
– If the 11 routinely recommended vaccines were all administered
together, the immune system would need to use only about 0.1%
of its capacity to process them.
• Delayed vaccine schedule?
– No evidence of benefit.
– Inherently dangerous
False Claim: Diseases had begun
to disappear before vaccines
Some Typical Lies
• Vaccines don’t prevent diseases, they cause
them.
• Smallpox hasn’t gone away, it’s just being called
chickenpox.
• Vaccines cause cancer, autism, crib death and
everything else that is increasing. (Pirates?)
• “Swine flu was made in a government lab for
genocidal purposes
• “No flu vaccines have ever worked and it's all a
scam.”
Contrary to Nature?
• Claim: Mercola says “Injecting organisms
into your body to provoke immunity is
contrary to nature.”
• Fact: Nature kills people. Doing something
contrary to nature is what medicine is all
about. It’s a good thing.
Anti-Vaccine Arguments
• Every anti-vaccine argument has been
thoroughly refuted.
• Even the only one that sort of makes
sense:
– My child is unlikely to be exposed.
– I can ride on the coattails of those who get the
vaccine.
– Puts community at risk and ultimately
endangers child.
An Easy Choice
Vague hypothetical possibility of risk
contradicted by strong scientific evidence
Vs. Known benefits of vaccines
Heads We Win; Tails We Lose
An Actual Debate
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I don’t want the flu vaccine because A
A is false.
OK, but I still don’t want it because B
B is false
OK, but I still don’t want it because C
C is false
OK, but I still don’t want it because I don’t
like needles.
WA State Counties’ School Entry
Exemption Rates
2005-2007
“Falsehood flies, and the
truth comes limping after.”
- Jonathan Swift
Lest
we
forget