With modern genomics, if we (as a society) were willing to pay for the costs of investigation, it would be worthwhile to actually research to see if children with purported vaccine injury carried biomarkers of genetic susceptibility to such. Whole genome sequencing is an established technology. Maybe a reader is aware of such a study. I am am oncologist but would love to see such research published or performed, regardless of result
That would be very useful, especially in cases of autism, where IIRC evidence is pointing to genetics.
As for autism: I’m a retired speech pathologist, and I recall that as an undergraduate I was taught that autism was extremely rare. The diagnosis was very narrow.
Now it has expanded with more diagnostic tools available.
Plus, before I retired, the mother of a young client with language disorders told me that her previous doctor wanted to diagnose the little girl with autism, so the family would have better access to insurance benefits. (To her credit, the mother refused.) So how many children are misdiagnosed?
That’s why when I read about the “huge spike” in autism, I’m skeptical.
Yes, I’m a teacher for Deaf/Hard of hearing students with a bachelors in at the time Specific Learning Disabilities circa the late 70’s. Special Education had many categories but Autism didn’t pop up until much later. As of retirement it has mushroomed exponentially.
I am annoyed by the “one size fits all” public health mentality. When you force an unnecessary hepatitis B vaccine on a one day old or put 3 mRNA vaccines on the childhood schedule in the 1st year or give Gardasil to every 9 year old or give untested RSV vax to pregnant women I think parents follow the money instead of the science.
I read your article with an open mind and heart; nevertheless, if science and medicine really cared about saving lives, then bring back the one measles shot instead of the combined MMR. It is hard to trust what is "right" when a day old baby is being vaccinated against Hep B (which is almost completely and utterly transmitted through sex or intravenous drug use); when 9-year old boys (how many men does the average person know who has penis cancer) and 9-year old girls are given Gardisil; when 18 month old children are given a the Hep A vaccine that is asymptomatic in children under 6; when there is proof that the most recent vaccine for the big "pandemic" has caused an uptick in myocarditis; when pregnant women are told to get the flu/rsv/Covid vaccines when the efficacy in pregnant women have never been tested.
Furthermore, not all people who do not get their children the MMR jab are anti-vax; they are pro-questioning what is being injected and the absolute staggering amount that is being injected into our bodies and those of our children.
If the science that is pushing for the measels vaccine really cared about health, then offer it as a one shot...not mixed with two others.
Appreciate this, Dr. Leap. As an informed layman (or at least someone who likes to think he is), I'd say that there are two categories of vaccine concern worth considering further:
1. Diminishing marginal returns.
You're right to note that the rewards of longstanding vaccines for measles, mumps, polio, etc., far exceed the risks. I'm not confident that this is true for, say, the vaccines against hepatitis or HPV, and I regret tremendously my decision to get the COVID vaccine (in my case it led to a day of severe aches, much worse than when I actually caught the virus; in my wife's case it may have caused her to miscarry).
2. Intensity of scheduling.
If I'm reading the CDC schedule (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html) correctly, they recommend 25-28 doses of vaccine for children in their first two years of life, and that count understates the intensity by treating DTaP and MMR as single doses each time they're administered.
All of these are plausibly good when administered separately (though I'm skeptical about varicella and Hep A / B for low-risk populations). But why are there so many in a relatively short time? Who's tracking the interactions?
Aside from the medical considerations, there's a structural problem with bureaucracy at work here: bureaucrats (including those at the CDC) have an incentive to add marginally useful or counterproductive process steps/recommendations/regulations, because a) they need to look like they're doing something all day, and b) they have a lot to lose reputationally if they don't do something and a bad outcome related to their work occurs.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a countering incentive to remove unnecessary/outdated steps/recommendations/regulations because the costs of those are obscure enough that the bureaucrat won't be directly blamed.
Your readers might like to know that approximately 20% of autism cases are traceable to maternal autoantibodies; if the specific condition is present, the chance of delivering an autistic child is 98%.
Although not the usual biting sarcasm that I so enjoy, I think this is one of your most profound and well thought out writings in a meaningful way Edwin!
My mother, who was born in 1924, nearly died of pertussis.
My father, born the same year, lost two older siblings: a sister, from tuberculosis, for which we now have effective antibiotics; and a brother, who died after hemorrhaging during a tonsillectomy. (Dad said he was the “replacement baby.”) Again — no effective antibiotics.
I’m old enough to have endured measles, mumps, and chickenpox as a child. My husband, who is three years older, remembers the fear of polio.
Vaccines are a gift. It seems that those who reject them have forgotten history.
Written calmly with wisdom. PS. I am drawn to praying for the little children I see as I drive. I quote what Jesus said about them coming to him. I also ask that the parents help them in coming to Jesus. I know God, through the Holy Spirit, can draw them, but if parents can lead the way, it may be easier for children to "respect authority," and that would help in the schools that have those in authority over them.
With modern genomics, if we (as a society) were willing to pay for the costs of investigation, it would be worthwhile to actually research to see if children with purported vaccine injury carried biomarkers of genetic susceptibility to such. Whole genome sequencing is an established technology. Maybe a reader is aware of such a study. I am am oncologist but would love to see such research published or performed, regardless of result
That would be very useful, especially in cases of autism, where IIRC evidence is pointing to genetics.
As for autism: I’m a retired speech pathologist, and I recall that as an undergraduate I was taught that autism was extremely rare. The diagnosis was very narrow.
Now it has expanded with more diagnostic tools available.
Plus, before I retired, the mother of a young client with language disorders told me that her previous doctor wanted to diagnose the little girl with autism, so the family would have better access to insurance benefits. (To her credit, the mother refused.) So how many children are misdiagnosed?
That’s why when I read about the “huge spike” in autism, I’m skeptical.
Yes, I’m a teacher for Deaf/Hard of hearing students with a bachelors in at the time Specific Learning Disabilities circa the late 70’s. Special Education had many categories but Autism didn’t pop up until much later. As of retirement it has mushroomed exponentially.
I am annoyed by the “one size fits all” public health mentality. When you force an unnecessary hepatitis B vaccine on a one day old or put 3 mRNA vaccines on the childhood schedule in the 1st year or give Gardasil to every 9 year old or give untested RSV vax to pregnant women I think parents follow the money instead of the science.
I read your article with an open mind and heart; nevertheless, if science and medicine really cared about saving lives, then bring back the one measles shot instead of the combined MMR. It is hard to trust what is "right" when a day old baby is being vaccinated against Hep B (which is almost completely and utterly transmitted through sex or intravenous drug use); when 9-year old boys (how many men does the average person know who has penis cancer) and 9-year old girls are given Gardisil; when 18 month old children are given a the Hep A vaccine that is asymptomatic in children under 6; when there is proof that the most recent vaccine for the big "pandemic" has caused an uptick in myocarditis; when pregnant women are told to get the flu/rsv/Covid vaccines when the efficacy in pregnant women have never been tested.
Furthermore, not all people who do not get their children the MMR jab are anti-vax; they are pro-questioning what is being injected and the absolute staggering amount that is being injected into our bodies and those of our children.
If the science that is pushing for the measels vaccine really cared about health, then offer it as a one shot...not mixed with two others.
Appreciate this, Dr. Leap. As an informed layman (or at least someone who likes to think he is), I'd say that there are two categories of vaccine concern worth considering further:
1. Diminishing marginal returns.
You're right to note that the rewards of longstanding vaccines for measles, mumps, polio, etc., far exceed the risks. I'm not confident that this is true for, say, the vaccines against hepatitis or HPV, and I regret tremendously my decision to get the COVID vaccine (in my case it led to a day of severe aches, much worse than when I actually caught the virus; in my wife's case it may have caused her to miscarry).
2. Intensity of scheduling.
If I'm reading the CDC schedule (https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html) correctly, they recommend 25-28 doses of vaccine for children in their first two years of life, and that count understates the intensity by treating DTaP and MMR as single doses each time they're administered.
All of these are plausibly good when administered separately (though I'm skeptical about varicella and Hep A / B for low-risk populations). But why are there so many in a relatively short time? Who's tracking the interactions?
Aside from the medical considerations, there's a structural problem with bureaucracy at work here: bureaucrats (including those at the CDC) have an incentive to add marginally useful or counterproductive process steps/recommendations/regulations, because a) they need to look like they're doing something all day, and b) they have a lot to lose reputationally if they don't do something and a bad outcome related to their work occurs.
Unfortunately, there hasn't been a countering incentive to remove unnecessary/outdated steps/recommendations/regulations because the costs of those are obscure enough that the bureaucrat won't be directly blamed.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has a very nice history of vaccine schedules; it's worth noting that the schedule has *never* gotten smaller with the one exception of the smallpox vaccine being removed in 1972. (https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/science-history/vaccine-history/developments-by-year)
Your readers might like to know that approximately 20% of autism cases are traceable to maternal autoantibodies; if the specific condition is present, the chance of delivering an autistic child is 98%.
Thanks Ed. That was/is so beautifully written and so very relevant to these times!
Although not the usual biting sarcasm that I so enjoy, I think this is one of your most profound and well thought out writings in a meaningful way Edwin!
My mother, who was born in 1924, nearly died of pertussis.
My father, born the same year, lost two older siblings: a sister, from tuberculosis, for which we now have effective antibiotics; and a brother, who died after hemorrhaging during a tonsillectomy. (Dad said he was the “replacement baby.”) Again — no effective antibiotics.
I’m old enough to have endured measles, mumps, and chickenpox as a child. My husband, who is three years older, remembers the fear of polio.
Vaccines are a gift. It seems that those who reject them have forgotten history.
Written calmly with wisdom. PS. I am drawn to praying for the little children I see as I drive. I quote what Jesus said about them coming to him. I also ask that the parents help them in coming to Jesus. I know God, through the Holy Spirit, can draw them, but if parents can lead the way, it may be easier for children to "respect authority," and that would help in the schools that have those in authority over them.