VACCINE Lawsuit & News Blog

Thimerosal not likely a major cause. But vaccination still may be linked to Autsim.

Sun, 2 Mar 2008 07:22:44 -0500

According to the newest data, which does not exclude thimerosol as a cause of autism, it is clear that it is not a major cause. Thimerosol would have to be, at most, a minor factor.

It is possible, some now think, that the vaccines themselves, or chemicals in the vaccines, could be responsible for the rise in autism. Research into this is needed so that we can reduce the number of children afflicted by this devastating condition.

Vaccines: Double or Nothing

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:28:02 -0500

The case of a tragically ill Arizona girl seemed to hinge on the legitimacy of an Irish laboratory's findings of measles virus fragments in the girl's GI tract. The complaint was framed, at the start, as a test case for the theory that two kinds of vaccines, one containing a weakened measles virus and the other the mercury-based preservative thimerosal, combined to cause autism in a subset of the thousands of children whose cases have been brought before the court.

The defense did not present a single expert on autism. An experienced heavy metals toxicologist presented a theory of how thimerosal could have damaged the girl's immune system in a way that set her up for autism.

But none of the other witnesses had much specialized knowledge in mercury or other metals, and the focus quickly shifted to the theory that the attenuated measles virus had created a persistent infection in her gut, causing a severe inflammation that resulted in brain damage and other injuries.

In order to win their case, three special masters -- the judges, in effect, in the special vaccine court at the U.S. Court of Claims -- will have to be convinced of the reliability of the witnesses' account that measles RNA was detected in her bowel and cerebrospinal fluid.

In 2003, a biopsy from the girl's GI tract was sent to Unigenetics, an Irish laboratory which reported finding the RNA. The head of the laboratory had published a paper a year earlier that disclosed the discovery of measles RNA in the guts of several autistic children.

The lab also was said to have found evidence of measles in spinal taps of autistic children, but those results were never published. In testimony that followed, five additional witnesses expressed full support for the Unigenetics findings. Those witnesses were gastroenterologist, molecular biologist, immunologist, virus immunologist, and a pediatric neurologist who has testified in vaccine court hundreds of times.

The argument for how vaccines hurt their child was presented most efficiently by a virus immunologist at Texas Tech University. He said that the 112.5 millionths of a gram of thimerosal contained in six vaccines administered to the victim during her first seven months of life had damaged her immune system. When she received an MMR vaccine at 16 months, shortly before Christmas 1995, the weakened vaccine virus lodged in her gut, causing an inflamed bowel and eventually damaging her brain.

The victim is very ill. In addition to her autism she suffers from inflammatory bowel disease, a seizure disorder, and chronic eye inflammations that have left her 90 percent blind. She was pushed into the courtroom in a wheelchair because arthritis has left her unsteady on her feet.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arthur-allen/in-autismvaccine-case-r_b_52408.html

Post smallpox vaccination fever risk

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 10:31:51 -0500

U.S. researchers spotted eight common genetic variations linked to susceptibility to fever following smallpox vaccination. The findings might help lead to a genetic test that can identify people who are at increased risk for developing vaccine-related fevers. This kind of test may also help doctors predict and prevent more serious vaccine-related complications.

Most of the genetic variations found by the team increase the likelihood of fever, but some reduce the risk. The study is the first to link individual genetic differences with a vaccine-related complication.
The researchers said their findings raise the possibility that these same genetic variations may also influence fever risk after other live-virus vaccines, including the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine given to children. Fever is a common side effect of the MMR vaccine.

In most cases, vaccine-related fevers do not pose a serious threat. However, some people who get a fever after receiving the smallpox vaccine develop myopericarditis, a dangerous inflammation of the heart muscle or sac surrounding the heart. And some children who get a fever after the MMR vaccine develop seizures.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20070622/hl_hsn/genesraisepostvaccinationfeverrisk

Major changes in 2007 vaccination schedule

Tue, 9 Jan 2007 12:21:57 -0500

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its annual recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents in the United States -- these include extending the age range for influenza vaccination and giving the new human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, to girls between 11 and 12 years old. The changes for 2007 were approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Family Physicians. They include:

Routine administration of oral live rotavirus vaccine to all infants at ages 2, 4, and 6 months. Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe diarrhea in infants and young children and kills roughly 500,000 children a year globally. In the United States, rotavirus affects 2.7 million children in an average year and 75 percent of children get diarrhea from rotavirus by their 5th birthday.
Administration of a second dose of varicella (chickenpox) vaccine to all children between 4 and 6 years of age.
Administration of the HPV vaccine to girls 11 to 12 years of age, with a catch-up vaccine given to girls 13 to 18 years of age.
Annual influenza (flu) vaccination has been expanded to include children between 6 and 59 months of age. Vaccination is also recommended for close contacts of children between 0 and 59 months of age.

Research May Lead to Better Flu Vaccines

Mon, 8 Jan 2007 12:25:09 -0500

Researchers report that more effective flu vaccines might be on the horizon. While researchers have already deciphered the molecular structures of essentially all flu virus strains, less is understood about how the immune system recognizes these pathogens. Researchers 58 strains of influenza A virus. They looked at how the difference between strains of bird flu viruses and human flu viruses. The immunity a person has developed toward one strain may provide protection against another. (Yahoo)

6,000 Maryland students have no vaccinations paperwork

Sat, 6 Jan 2007 12:20:32 -0500

More than 6,000 students in the Maryland suburbs of Washington were kept out of classes because they did not have a proper record of vaccinations. A new law requiring students in sixth through ninth grades to provide records of chickenpox and hepatitis B vaccinations took effect in 2007.

School officials say they've been working for months to get the word out, but some parents didn't pay attention.

Public Health Wants HPV Vaccines Available in Developing Countries

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 08:36:11 -0500

Sixty experts from public health agencies, pharmaceutical companies, nongovernmental organizations, and philanthropic foundations met in London for a two-day conference to discuss ways to make HPV vaccines available to women in developing countries.

In clinical trials, GlaxoSmithKline's experimental HPV vaccine Cervarix have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. According to the World Health Organization 500,000 women worldwide are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, 80 percent of whom live in developing countries. (Medical News)

Are Pet Vaccines Necessary?

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 08:37:04 -0500

Vaccines, once thought of as providing great benefits to animals with few side effects, are being examined more closely these days as vaccines may not be as harmless as previously thought. The American Animal Hospital Association, recently published vaccine guidelines for dogs and many veterinarians use these recommendations to guide their selections.

Vaccines are separated into three categories: core vaccines (universally recommended), noncore vaccines (optional) and not recommended vaccines. Core vaccines should be given to all dogs and noncore vaccines only if the risk of exposure to disease is sufficient to warrant its use. Not recommended vaccines are viewed as not effective or considered to contain potential risks that outweigh their use. (Delaware Online)

California Banned Mercury-Based Thimerosal in Vaccines

Fri, 3 Nov 2006 06:10:50 -0500

Can you have it both ways? This is the first year that California banned the mercury-based preservative known as thimerosal from vaccines given to pregnant women and children younger than 3 years old.

Thimerosal, a compound that is 49.6 percent ethyl mercury by weight, has been used as a preservative in some vaccines and other pharmaceutical products since the 1930s. Its purpose is to prevent fungal and bacterial contamination in multidose vials. In 1999, as a precautionary measure, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Public Health Service urged drug companies to voluntarily remove thimerosal from children's vaccines.

The request came after the Food and Drug Administration concluded that children who received the full set of recommended immunizations could accumulate doses of mercury exceeding Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. The problem is that pediatricians cannot get enough of the thimerosal-free version to inoculate all their patients. A temporary waiver has been sent to the California Secretary of Health requesting the power to use thimerosal-based vaccines to cover this flu season. (Bradenton)

FDA Wants Comments Regarding Materials Used to Create Vaccines

Thu, 2 Nov 2006 06:12:03 -0500

The FDA is requesting comments and feedback regarding the guidelines that they have issued to pharmaceutical companies that produce vaccinations. The guidelines pertain to the developing of vaccines which are created using either ethical cell lines or cell lines, both new and existing, from aborted babies.

Part of the controversy surrounding modern day vaccinations is that some originate from unethical cell lines such as cellular material used to produce the vaccines taken from the body of an aborted baby.

Critics of such vaccinations assert that there are several adequate and ethical cell sources that could be used to create vaccinations. Japan currently uses a rubella vaccine that was initially produced and subsequently reproduced from ethical cell lines. (Lifesite)