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From: kenc@islenet.UUCP (Ken Cribbs)
Newsgroups: net.kids,net.med
Subject: RE: Immunizations causing handicaps
Message-ID: <1646@islenet.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 21-Sep-85 22:13:18 EDT
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Posted: Sat Sep 21 22:13:18 1985
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> The very best situation is for everyone _else's_ children to be vaccinated,
> but not yours.  Then you avoid both the possibility of getting the disease, and
> having any side effects from the vaccination.
> 
> > We have been avoiding
> > immunizations for our child who is now 20 months old, but feel some
> > i.e. tetanus may be needed.  Thank you very much.
> 
> Immunizations are required before a student can enter school (at least in
> many states - anyone know of exceptions?).
> 
> The whooping cough vaccine can cause side effects - something like the 
> disease, I gather.
> 
> This is posing an interesting public health issue: apparently in England
> this issue came up some years ago with the result being that a significant
> population of children were not immunized.  There have been subsequent
> outbreaks of childhood diseases - which can be very serious, even in children.

The emerging philosophy of "my kid is safe if she's the only un-
immunized one in her group" is a fallacy.  Adults and older
children who have been immunized (or partially immunized) against
pertussis (whooping cough) can be carriers of the organism,
even though they themselves are not clinically infected with
pertussis.
I am a medical consultant to a law firm which recently handled
a case against the manufacturer and distributor of a DTP
vaccine; I learned the pros and cons of immunizations from
the best authorities in the world, and arrived at two basic
conclusions:  first, although American pertussis vaccines are
crude, outdated biologicals which could and should have
been improved years ago, right now the statistical risk of
a serious adverse reaction (i.e., seizure disorder/mental
retardation) from the vaccine is less than the statistical
risk of the disease itself, pertussis.  Second, parents must
realize that a safe, "acellular" vaccine is available in
Japan, where it has been in general use since around 1981 with
no reports of serious neurological complications after more
than 15 million immunizations.

The most conservative American statistics have shown that
at least 1 in 310,000 children immunized with American
DTP vaccine will suffer serious neurologic sequelae.  (I 
personally believe the incidence of major adverse reactions
is much higher.)

Pertussis is a "killer" disease, and I agree that children
should be immunized against it whenever possible.  But the
pertussis vaccines currently available in the U.S. are, to
my thinking, unreasonably dangerous in light of current
vaccine technologies (which have the ability to produce a
relatively non-reactogenic vaccine).

The children of my wealthy friends are going to Japan for
their primary immunizations; those of my friends who can't
afford that luxury are taking their chances on "vaccine
roulette," and hoping their child isn't among the unlucky
one-in-whatever that will be permanently damaged by an old,
outdated vaccine that could be made safe, but isn't.

Evaluation of the "acellular" vaccines must become a national
priority.  One victim of a less-than-best vaccine is inexcusable,
especially if the victim is your child; epidemiological
arguments don't hold up against the dichotomy of am immunized
child who will never speak.


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