Vaccines and Autism

 

Although there is much in the media today denying the connection between autism and vaccines, there is simply too much evidence to the contrary.  The U.S. government has compensated families for children in whom it has been determined that vaccines were the cause of autism.  Still the government denies that vaccines cause autism (see Federal Court Compensation and HSRA Statement below).

Could there be multiple factors that could be contributing to the skyrocketing rates of autism?  Of course.  But to dismiss vaccines as one of those factors is negligent.   The information below contains just some of the evidence that vaccinations are a contributing factor in the rise in autism, which now affects 1 in 50 children in the U.S.

Federal Court Compensation

 

WASHINGTON, May, 2011 PRNewswire

83 Cases of Autism Associated with Childhood Vaccine Injury Compensated in Federal Vaccine Court

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/83-cases-of-autism-associated-with-childhood-vaccine-injury-compensated-in-federal-vaccine-court-121570673.html
 

HRSA Statement

 

Excerpt from the book Vaccine Epidemic - Habakus and Holland, Skyhorse Publishing 2011:

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA) statement on whether or not vaccines could cause autism:

“The government has never compensated, nor has it ever been ordered to compensate, any case based on a determination that autism was actually caused by vaccines.  We have compensated cases in which children exhibited an encephalopathy, or general brain disease.  Encephalopathy may be accompanied by a medical progression of an array of symptoms including autistic behavior, autism or seizures.
Some children who have been compensated for vaccine injuries may have shown signs of autism before the decision to compensate, or may ultimately end up with autism or autistic symptoms, but we do not track cases on this bases.”

In summary what the government is telling us is that vaccines can cause brain damage that leads to autism, but vaccines don't cause autism.
 

MMR Vaccine and Autism: Case Not Closed

 

There has been much in the news lately attempting to clear any connection between vaccinations and autism. In regards to the MMR vaccine, the CDC states that “many carefully performed scientific studies have found no link between MMR vaccine and autism.” (1)

 One study in particular, referred to as the Danish Study, looked at more than a half million children for a period of nearly 8 years and showed no link between MMR and autism. (2)  This has been the primary study used as evidence that there is no connection between the MMR shot and the disorder.

However, there is also evidence that there were serious flaws in this study.  In fact, experts that have analyzed the very same data used to exonerate the MMR vaccine found not only that there was a connection between the vaccine and autism, but also a dramatic increase in the disorder amongst study subjects, where the original authors saw none. (3)

In addition, there are also studies that do show a connection between MMR and autism.  However, it has also been study flaws that have been cited to dismiss these studies and the connection, including the study that initially started the investigation into the MMR/Autism link, done by Dr. Andrew Wakefield et al in 1998.  The study consisted of case studies of 12 children and saw a possible connection between inflammatory bowel disorder (chronic enterocolitis), regressive developmental disorder, and the MMR vaccine. (4)

The primary criticisms of the paper were that it only consisted of 12 subjects, it had no control group, and it suggested a possible link to the MMR vaccine without sufficient evidence. These criticisms are justified if this study were being touted as the final proof that the MMR shot causes autism, but this was only an initial paper on case studies suggesting further research into the issue.  However, so much heat was brought on the authors of the paper to retract their findings that 10 of the 13 authors did just that. (5)

Furthermore, Dr. Wakefield has been continually smeared by health officials and the medical community for not retracting his findings and his continued belief that there is a connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.  In February 2009, journalist Brian Deer accused Wakefield of fixing data on the 1998 study. (6)

However, Deer’s story has proven to be false, as Deer himself was the instigator of the accusations, and then reported the story as news. (7)  It may also be of interest that Brian Deer’s boss at The Sunday Times, media executive James Murdoch, was recently appointed to the board of MMR vaccine manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline. (8, 9)

So what can we conclude from the all the conflicting studies, the accusations and the political banter that clouds this issue?  According to Dr. Paul Offit, vaccine developer and expert, “It has been asked and answered, vaccines don’t cause autism.” (10)

In his book, Autism’s False Prophets, Dr. Offit discredits those who have linked autism with vaccinations, criticizing the science done to show a connection, the tactics used to prove the link, and the cures touted to help the autistic.

To his credit, Offit raises some valid points, but instead of concluding that better science needs to be done and admitting a possibility that there could be a vaccine/autism connection, he simply concludes that vaccines don’t cause autism.

How do we account for the dramatic rise in autism in the past two decades?  Dr. Offit offers two possibilities: better diagnosis and genetics. (11)

In a paper published in the Journal of American Physician and Surgeons in 2003, Edward Yazbak, MD states, “The increase cannot be attributed to changes in diagnostic criteria, which have actually become more restrictive.” He goes on to say “In fact, it is probable that autism in the U.S. schools is actually underdiagnosed and that many less severe cases are labeled behavior and communication disorders, in order to avoid the stigma and/or the added cost.” (12)

In regards to a genetic cause of autism, Yazbak states “Genetic disorders have never presented as epidemics, and investing the scant available resources solely in genetic research diverts them from the scientific exploration of more plausible environmental factors.” (12)

So why are there those that are so anxious to close the door on the possibility of a vaccine/autism connection?  The answer is somewhat obvious, in that if there is a connection it would mean a lot less people wanting to give their children vaccinations.  This was just the case in Europe, where vaccination rates fell due to concerns with the MMR vaccine/autism connection. (13)

Possibly a side effect of this drop in the MMR vaccination rate, a study published in 2009 in Pediatrics looked at a large European population comparing vaccinated to unvaccinated children, and found that vaccinated children were more likely to have allergies.  Further analysis also showed that allergies were less likely in children who had a case of measles, but not in those who had been vaccinated against the measles. (14) 

A study such as this may not directly contribute to the MMR/Autism debate, but does raise the question of the possible adverse long-term effects that our children may experience by avoiding childhood diseases through vaccination.

It would be convenient if not comforting to say that vaccines such as MMR don’t cause autism.  The thought that we have unknowingly thrust an epidemic of autism upon our children could be dismissed, and research for a cause could be devoted to other possibilities.

The truth is, there is an epidemic of autism affecting more than 1 in 50 children in the U.S., and we don’t know for sure the exact cause.  There may be several factors involved, and at this time, despite what health officials proclaim, vaccines cannot honestly be dismissed as one of those factors.


References

1. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/mmr_vaccine.htm
2. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1124634
3. http://www.thenhf.com/vaccinations_19.htm
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9500320
5. http://www.thechildrenshospital.org/wellness/info/news/34122.aspx
6. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article5683671.ece
7. http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/sunday-times-made-up-wakefield-mmr-data-fixing-allegation/
8. http://childhealthsafety.wordpress.com/2009/02/25/sunday-glaxo-vaccine-cases/
9. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/644f5db4-f13c-11dd-8790-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
10. http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/conditions/03/24/autism.vaccines/index.html
11. Autism’s False Prophets, Paul A. Offit, M.D., Columbia University Press, 2008
12. http://jpands.org/vol8no4/yazbak.pdf
13. http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Measles-Europe-Unlikely-To-Meet-2010-Ellimination-Target-After-MMR-Vaccination-Slump/Article/200901115198694?f=rss
14. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29514092/

 

 

Whistleblower Reveals CDC buried data showing MMR vaccine increases autism by 340%

Researcher Brian Hooker, PhD, received research data from a top CDC scientist, William Thompson which had been originally published in 2003 showing that there was no connection between the MMR vaccine and autism.
What Thompson revealed was that the data had been manipulated in order to show the desired results.  The original raw data actually revealed that the MMR vaccine caused a 340% increase in autism in African American boys when given the vaccine before 36 months of age.
Dr. Hooker confirmed and published these findings in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Translational Neurodegeneration on August 8, 2014.
In the original published study in 2003, after data on 2,583 children who were living in Atlanta, and who were born between 1986 and 1993, had been assembled, CDC researchers excluded children who did not have a valid State of Georgia birth certificate, a decision that reduced the sample size being studied by 41 percent.
Hooker said that by adopting this arbitrary criterion into the analysis, the cohort size was dramatically reduced, thereby eliminating the statistical power of the findings and essentially negating a very strong MMR-autism link in the boys.
Other than being posted on a CNN website only later to be pulled down hours later, this story has been blacked out by main stream media.
 

 

Vaccines containing Human DNA from aborted fetal tissue and Autism

    Vaccines containing Human DNA from aborted fetal tissue and Autism

In September 2014 a research paper was published titled “Impact of environmental factors on the prevalence of autistic disorder after 1979” in the peer reviewed Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology.
This research found a strongly significant correlation between vaccine containing human DNA from aborted fetal cell lines and autism. 
Change point analysis was used to pinpoint specific years where there was a sharp increase in autism.
Three specific years were identified where there were unmistakable changepoints, marking a sharp increase in autism: 1980, 1988, and 1995.
Taking into consideration all possible causative factors for autism, the only changes that correlated with these dates were the introduction or increase in usage of vaccines containing human DNA from aborted fetal cell lines.
Dr. Theresa Deisher speaking on the cause of changepoints in autism:                                                http://www.verifyyourvaccines.com/#!changepoints/c1yz6
For more information go to www.verifyyourvaccines.com
 

Fourteen Studies

 

But I thought they have concluded there is no link between vaccines and autism?

"Fourteen studies have been conducted (both here in the US and abroad), and these tests are reproducible; no matter where they are administered, or who is funding them, the conclusion is the same: there is no association between autism and vaccines."

Amanda Peet, Hollywood Actress, Spokesperson for Sanofi Aventis, a vaccine manufacturer

http://www.fourteenstudies.org/index.html

Problems with the 14 Studies

  • No real world studies of the vaccine schedule have ever been done. Of the 11 separate vaccines given to American children (many given multiple times), only one vaccine -- the MMR -- has ever been studied for its relationship to autism.
  • Not one study compares vaccinated children to unvaccinated children -- every study only looks at children who have received vaccines.
  • The studies are rife with conflicts including authors who have been paid by vaccine companies and federal agencies and foreign governments charged with administering vaccines.
  • Many of the studies reach false conclusions or conclusions that have nothing to do with the simple question: do vaccines cause autism? They are simply being misrepresented in the press by public health officials taking advantage of a docile media that is heavily dependent on advertising from pharma companies.

http://www.fourteenstudies.org/index.html
 

Primate Study

 

INFANT PRIMATES GIVEN VACCINES ON U.S. CHILDREN’S IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE DEVELOP BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM
University of Pittsburgh’s Dr. Laura Hewitson, Ph.D., described at the International Meeting For Autism Research (IMFAR) meeting how vaccinated animals, when compared to unvaccinated animals, showed significant neurodevelopmental deficits and “significant associations between specific aberrant social and non-social behaviors, isotope binding, and vaccine exposure.”
Researchers also reported at the scientific meeting that "vaccinated animals exhibited progressively severe chronic active inflammation whereas unexposed animals did not” and found “ many significant differences in the GI tissue gene expression profiles between vaccinated and unvaccinated animals." Gastrointestinal issues are a common symptom of children with regressive autism.
 

Amish and Autism

 

Rolling Stone: Deadly Immunity
As the federal government worked to prevent scientists from studying vaccines, others have stepped in to study the link to autism. In April, reporter Dan Olmstead of UPI undertook on of the more interesting studies himself. Searching for children who had not been exposed to mercury in vaccines – the kind of population typically used as a “control” in experiments, Olmstead scoured the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who refuse to immunize their infants.
Given the national rate of autism, Olmstead calculated that there should be 130 autistics among the Amish. He found only four. One had been exposed to high levels of mercury from a power plant. The other three, including one child adopted from outside the Amish community – had received their vaccines.

Infant Mortality

 

 Are we on the right track?
The United States has the highest number of mandated vaccines for children under 5 in the world (36, double the Western world average of 18), the highest autism rate in the world (1 in 150 children, 10 times or more the rate of some other Western countries), but only places 34th in the world for its children under 5 mortality rate.
Vaccines and Autism around the World, April 2009. Generation Rescue
 
 
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