Vaccination is the medical sacrament corresponding to baptism. Whether it is or is not more efficacious I do not know.
Samuel Butler
“Nobody needs to be confused but EVERYBODY better be darn well frightened about taking ANY vaccine, under ANY circumstance, for ANY reason, at ANY time in their life.” Dr Duffy DC
In 1998 Lancet published an article by Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a British doctor, linking vaccines to autism. It was subsequently determined that the data presented was fraudulent and based on records purposely altered to support a hypothesis that autism and bowel inflammation occurred due to administration of the MMR (mumps, measles and rubella) vaccine. This article was recently withdrawn by Lancet and an investigative report illustrating the fraud was published in the British Medical Journal. However, the initial report led to a significant decline in vaccination rates, and the resulting damage to the public health continues.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends several vaccines for routine administration in children. A smaller number of vaccinations are also recommended for adults. Following a request from the Health Resources and Services Administration, the Institute of Medicine recently reviewed vaccination related adverse events and the scientific evidence behind this connection. Their report was based on a comprehensive review of more than 1000 studies by a 16-member committee, which included pediatricians, internists and immunologists. Their findings were recently released (August 2011).
The report states that in a review of millions of vaccinations administered, adverse effects were rarely noted. General side effects included fainting and inflammation of the deltoid muscle. MMR was associated with febrile seizures and inclusion body encephalitis in immunocompromised people. Varicella vaccination was associated with brain swelling, pneumonia, hepatitis, meningitis, shingles and chickenpox in a minority of patients. Six vaccinations rarely triggered anaphylaxis shortly after injection: hepatitis B, influenza, meningococcal, MMR, varicella and the tetanus containing vaccines. All these adverse reactions were rare.
The committee found no evidence of a causal relationship between: MMR vaccine and autism, MMR vaccine and type 1 diabetes, DTaP vaccine and type 1 diabetes, inactivated influenza vaccine and Bell’s palsy and inactivated influenza vaccine and exacerbation of asthma or reactive airway disease episodes in children and adults.
A plethora of epidemiological studies have conclusively proved that vaccination helps prevent diseases. Studies suggest that smallpox killed an estimated 500 million people before it was eradicated with the vaccine. It is estimated that routine vaccination may have prevented approximately 16,000 polio related paralysis, 20,000 episodes of mental retardation and birth defects in children due to rubella, 3,000 measles related deaths in children and 15,000 haemophilus influenza B associated meningitis and permanent brain damage each year in the Unites States alone.
The comprehensive review from the Institute of Medicine debunks the strong opinions that vaccinations are dangerous. In particular, no link was found between vaccination and autism. Their overall conclusion was that vaccines are safe and provide a valuable medical tool to protect against diseases.
Millions of vaccines are administered every year. These prevent a lot of suffering and save a lot of lives. Scientific studies have well established their effectiveness. Side effects are relatively rare and usually mild in intensity, limited in duration and easy to treat. This extensive report from the Institute of Medicine conclusively validates their safety.
“So it’s an absolute lie that has killed thousands of kids. Because the mothers who heard that lie, many of them didn’t have their kids take either pertussis or measles vaccine, and their children are dead today. And so the people who go and engage in those anti-vaccine efforts — you know, they, they kill children. It’s a very sad thing, because these vaccines are important.” Bill Gates