I was watching a news clip a few weeks ago when I heard,
“ . . . tonight we’re reporting on a new trend, parents saying no to vaccinations. Could this trend be causing the latest outbreak?”
What did he just say?
Parents saying no to vaccines. And that it’s “trending”?
Like how the latest pop song or obnoxious celebrity news trends?
Like how a fashion statement or a must-see television show trends?
Like it’s something new, but it’ll eventually go out of style? That kind of trending?
“ . . . a new trend: parents saying no to vaccinations . . .”
Really, Media?
I was actually speechless when I heard the intro to their vaccine news story. But something else made me pause. What else was it that he said? Ahhh, yes.
The newscaster implied something else. That parents’ decisions to not vaccinate had something to do with the current outbreak, the same outbreak that saw vaccinated individuals coming down with the disease they were vaccinated against. So, not only is not vaccinating trending in the news, but they’re questioning parents and blame them. Again. Will the media ever get it right? Will they ever accurately report the news?
Thinking about what I’d just heard, and how glib the newscaster and his co-caster were while those words came spilling out of his mouth had me riled up, this is what came to my mind:
Dear America,
Your “news” media’s poor investigative reporting skills are showing again. You might want to do something about that.
Signed,
An uninspired viewer
It really isn’t worth the effort to yell at my television, but I thought of something more that I really wanted to say.
Dear American News Media,
Listen up. If you’re going to “report” on what’s happening in America, do that. Do your job, and fully investigate a topic before you combine reality television tactics while verbally vomiting up half-truths on live TV. Quit making stuff up to help your ratings, and do your audience a solid by sharing facts that can actually help them.
Unimpressed,
A disappointed parent
Of course, the likelihood of my thoughts reaching the TV execs is little to none, but I know my thoughts will get circulated to those who want to hear them — to parents who read our blog, who can see through the media’s lies and who also want to make a difference.
If they’d caught on years, no, decades ago when more parents began to question and subsequently opt out of vaccines, the media could have done this country a huge favor. They would have not only looked at the reasons why parents choose to say “no, thank you” to vaccinations, but they would have also shared that information. If they did, maybe we’d have fewer vaccine-injured children.
If they’d listened and looked for those answers, the media would have learned that vaccines had been questioned, doubted and declined for quite some time. Instead of waiting until this year to report on “the trend” of not vaccinating, imagine if more people had heard in a news report to question, doubt and decline ineffective vaccines. If they did, maybe more parents would have the chance to be more fully informed.
If they’d discovered that despite the steady uptick of vaccines, including the ones causing severe problems, the media would have realized that adding more vaccines to an already full schedule wasn’t coming from parents’ suggestions, but from the entities that profit from vaccines themselves. If they did, maybe we’d have fewer severely affected children struggling with allergies, asthma and autism.
Fortunately, a group of parents saw the truth through other channels — through the stories and lives of vaccine-injured children. They listened to those stories and knew to question, to doubt, to decline and to further investigate on their own. Because of what they learned, they said not just no, but No way! to vaccines. I’d like to believe that the knowledge they discovered created an opportunity for their children to remain healthy and not be injured by vaccines.
The media may have the loudest voices, but we’ve got real stories and absolute truths backing ours.
I have one more thing to say the media – the mainstream media – who doesn’t realize that with each and every “anti-vaccine” story, with each and every “outbreak” news report, and with each and every half-researched “trending” topic that they choose to flash across the screen . . .
Dear Media,
Your attempts to silence us and to dismiss our stories only made us stronger. Your attempts to insult our intelligence only reveal your weaknesses. Your attempts to blame us show your lack of knowledge and a disgust toward us and our children. Trending absurdities instead of relaying news is pointless. How does that help anyone? And how is that effective reporting?
We see through your tactics. We see through your disrespect. We may be smaller and we may have to work ten times harder than you to be heard, but we at least have truth on our side. We have a vision too — to help, to prevent and to guide. So continue to browbeat us if you must. It doesn’t change our goal, and it doesn’t scare us. We’re not afraid. And we’re not going to go away. Ever.
Respectfully,
One of an army of parents who refuses to get their news from the “news” stations
No one can deny what happened to our children. No one can turn us off like we can turn off the media’s TV and radio stations and the online smarm that comes from stations’ sponsors and financial supporters. They may be able to stand the drivel that comes out of their talking heads. They may be able to go to sleep at night, too, knowing that they’ve added more drama to their “news” segments than necessary. But we can go to sleep each night knowing that we offered help. That we provided reassurance. That our relationships are true. And that the friendships we have with other parents of vaccine-injured children are based on truth, love and hope.
~ Mamacita
For more blogs by Mamacita, please click here
It is the truth that there are more and more people don’t vaccinate their children. I really hope it’s not a “trend” but it seems like it is. Very often people make their decision not to vaccinate because they read some unverified information on the internet.
As a scientists and a parent, I would like to encourage everyone to make their decisions regarding vaccination based on scientific, verified information, not coincidences and other’s opinion. The fact is that vaccines save lives, and not vaccinating can cause serious health problems on global scale. If you are not sure what to do search deep, go to the primary scientific literature before you make any conclusions. Talk to the scientists. Many of them are parents as well (as myself). We are open to discussions and offer our help if you need more information, or if you need help understanding scientific jargon. I think visiting CDC website is a good place to start and parents should really carefully read through references.
Anna, we absolutely agree that parents should go to primary scientific sources! One of our primary mantras here is “Educate before you vaccinate.” The funny thing is that once parents do so, they frequently decide that the current vaccine program is pretty much insane. Yes, you will have to delve a little deeper than the CDC website to get most of the information you need, but even the CDC website can yield some gems, like the fact that 95% of cases of polio can be so mild that someone doesn’t even know they have polio. Can you tell me how we know we have “eradicated” polio if 95% of the people who get it don’t get sick enough to know they’ve had polio?
Every vaccination carries a risk. A risk that is likely to be cumulative the more you vaccinate. Most “required” vaccines are for diseases that people are either unlikely to encounter (infants and hepatitis B, for instance) or are at no particular risk from (rubella, chickenpox and influenza, for instance). That means that at the very least people are being “required” to put their child’s health at risk numerous times for dubious benefit. We here at the Thinking Moms’ hope the “trend” continues, because as seems clear from the countries that have far fewer “required” vaccines, our children will be healthier as a result.
Unfortunately I must disagree with you. There are significant risks associated with diseases such as influenza in infants, even otherwise healthy ones. You also need to think about the ones that cannot get vaccinated because their immune system is compromised due to underlying disease or, for example, chemotherapy. Those children are more susceptible to any infection and any infection can be more dangerous to their lives. If they encounter unvaccinated child who happens to have rubella or chickenpox they might not be able to fight this infection.
In regards to polio, we know that we have not eradicated it yet. The efforts are made to eradicate the disease but it has not happened yet. That is true that many cases are asymptomatic but would you take your chances? What if your child is in this “unlucky” group who get sick? In regards to my child I will not take those chances.
Anna, you are absolutely free to disagree and free to choose to vaccinate YOUR children.
Yes, there are “significant” risks associated with diseases, including influenza, but there are also significant risks associated with the vaccines. Any calculation of risk to benefit ratio is invalid if it doesn’t take them into account. And those risks are clearly higher in certain populations, in particular anyone who has difficulty in detoxing.
In addition, according to the Cochrane Group, which did an analysis of all the available science on the subject, the average influenza vaccine (as it changes yearly) prevents 1.5 cases of influenza for every 100 shots. If you read the package inserts, at least 1% of those who receive the shots will be incapacitated by symptoms that sound strangely like . . . influenza. That means that approximately 99.5% of the people who get a flu shot are likely to derive NO benefit, but are still going to be subject to all the risk, a risk that accumulates every year. In addition, most influenza vaccines come with a nice dose of thimerosal. If you feel confident in your children’s abilities to detox mercury, by all means get them their flu shot every year.
Yes, children with compromised immune systems (like, oh, say . . . a child who has had a severe vaccine reaction in the past) are at greater risk from infection, but it is not my responsibility to risk MY child’s health in order to make sure that YOUR child is not exposed to influenza (vaccinating would do very little good in that regard anyway. The vaccine contains three strains of flu. There are many strains circulating at any time. In addition, a hefty percentage of “flu-like” illness isn’t even caused by influenza viruses, and thus are not at all affected by vaccination status).
And, yes, I’m well aware that polio hasn’t been “eradicated.” Though that is how many people describe it because there hasn’t been an endemic case of paralytic polio that was not attributed to the vaccine for many years in this country. We have rushed to vaccinate India, which was recently declared polio-free as a result, but if you check the WHO website, you can see that as the numbers of paralysis due to polio have fallen in recent years, but there has been a concomitant rise in the numbers of “acute flaccid paralysis.” (http://apps.who.int/immunization_monitoring/en/diseases/poliomyelitis/afpextract.cfm) Don’t you find that a tiny bit interesting as a scientist? As the saying goes, there are lies, damned lies, and statistics. Yeah, at this point, I WOULD take my chances.
I so wish reporters would work on understanding the trending increase in neurological, autoimmune, and inflammatory disorders relating to the trending increase in vaccines.
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Here is one of the reasons for an increase in mumps. In addition to the fact that receiving the vaccine does not confer lifetime immunity, unlike having a wild case of mumps, the efficacy of the mumps portion of the MMR is diminishing – a fact which Merck has tried to hide.
Class Says Merck Lied About Mumps Vaccine
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/06/27/47851.htm
Have you heard about this story in the news? Nope, like Mamacita says, the journalists are not doing their jobs.
Why Did the Wall Street Journal Bury the Merck Fraud Story?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/23/merck-vaccine-fraud-story-buried.aspx
Here are some of the reasons for recent pertussis outbreaks. Yet the so-called “anti-vaxxers” are blamed:
The Broken Vaccine
Whooping cough is on the rise, exposing a worrisome trend: The vaccine that holds it in check is losing its potency, and nobody is sure why. http://discovermagazine.com/2013/march/15-broken-vaccine#.UeyPBhaxP8v
When immunity fails: The Whooping Cough Epidemic
http://www.kpbs.org/news/envision/whoopingcough/
Whooping cough evolves vaccine resistance
WHOOPING cough is outgrowing the vaccine introduced a decade ago to prevent the potentially deadly disease, Australian researchers have found.
http://m.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/whooping-cough-evolves-vaccin
Whooping cough antigen disappearing from U.S. bacteria
An antigen used in whooping cough vaccines is now absent from more than half of all isolates of Bordatella pertussis, according to a study recently published ahead of print in Clinical and Vaccine Immunology.
http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/vaccine_development/328936-whooping-cough-antigen-disappearing-from-u-s-bacteria/
Dr. Anne Schuchat, director for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, speaking at a CDC briefing:
“We think there are many things going on. Pertussis is a cyclical disease and the vaccines are not perfect. So even with increasing vaccination coverage, we expect to still have cycles. We think there are some unusual epidemiologic features that have caused us to launch a more detailed investigation in Washington State. Waning of immunity or a weakening of the time or waning of protection over time may be part of the story that we’re seeing. On the other hand, we know that people who are not vaccinated have about an eight times higher risk of disease than people who are vaccinated. We know there are places around the country where there are large numbers of people who aren’t vaccinated. However, we don’t think those exemptors are driving this current wave. We think it is a bad thing that people aren’t getting vaccinated or exempting, but we cannot blame this wave on that phenomenon. “
http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2012/t0719_pertussis_epidemic.html
California pertussis epidemic, 2010 – JPediatr
“Most pediatric cases were vaccinated according to national recommendations, although 9% of those aged 6 months to 18 years were completely unvaccinated against pertussis. High disease rates also were observed in fully vaccinated preadolescents, especially 10-year-olds.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22819634
A recent study exposed four groups of baboons to pertussis germs and found that:
– Unvaccinated baboons who had previously come down with whooping cough did not get infected.
– Unvaccinated baboons who had never come down with whooping cough got very sick.
– Vaccinated baboons came down with mild cases of whooping cough but were infected with the germ and able to transmit it to others for an average of 18 days (DPT) or 35 days (TDaP).
Acellular pertussis vaccines protect against disease but fail to prevent infection and transmission in a nonhuman primate model
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/11/20/1314688110
“These data provide a plausible explanation for pertussis resurgence…”
Scientific American
Why Whooping Cough Vaccines Are Wearing Off
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-whooping-cough-vaccines-are-wearing-off/?page=1
Whooping cough vaccine efficacy called into question
http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2014/06/15/Whooping-cough-vaccine-efficac…
“Of the 621 people in San Diego County diagnosed with whooping cough this year, 85 percent were up to date with their pertussis immunizations, calling into question the effectiveness of the vaccine…
“Of the 621 people who’ve had the disease in San Diego County this year, 527 had the six shots necessary to be up to date with their pertussis vaccine and 67 were not. Immunization status for 27 of the ill wasn’t known.”
I used to be able to link to a CDC chart showing the vaccine uptake rates over the past few decades, but now the link just goes to gobbledygook.
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/pinkbook/downloads/appendices/G/coverage.pdf
What this chart showed is that back in the 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s vaccine rates for toddlers receiving shots such as MMR and DPT/DTaP were about 60% to 75%, compared with over 90% in the 21st century. Yet the implication of many articles is that those were the golden years of vaccine compliance.
We who are old enough to remember those decades recall that we were not in the midst of terrible epidemics.
This article contains a chart showing vaccine uptake rates from 2002 to 2012:
http://www.culturalcognition.net/blog/2014/1/28/the-logic-of-reciprocity-and-the-illogic-of-empirically-unin.html
It’s interesting that when we have a mild flu season we are told that’s because the flu shot worked, even though the uptake for flu shot is below 50%. When we have an outbreak of measles we are told it’s because of vaccine refusal even though the uptake is over 90%.
It’s all a bunch of bull. When people say, “My child suffered xyz vaccine injury,” they are told, “Shut up! Diseases are dangerous! We need 99% vaccine compliance or we will die!!! Do your part as part of the community!!!”
It’s a way to avoid addressing problems. Using fear of disease as a smokescreen.
Great article!
It’s not lack of research, it’s not ignorance. The ‘media’ knows exactly what they’re doing.
Do you remember how we laughed at the blatant government controlled media of the eastern block in the 70s? Then we learned that the people lived their lives outside of the manufactured reality – they got their news by reading between lines or knowing the ‘truth’ was the exact opposite.
We in the west are beginning to see and learn that our governments and media are a facade. Will the CDC man, the news reader, the hate-filled skeptic blogger be surprised when their Ceaușescu moment arrives?
Amen!