I question whether or not “other studies have tried to reproduce Wakefield’s findings”. I believe other studies have tried to disprove his findings – a big difference. - SM
http://healthwatch.medscape.com/medscape/p/gcommunity/HNews/hnews.asp?RecID=236562&Channel=0
March 15 (CBS HealthWatch)--Recent reports featuring kids
allegedly sick from common vaccines are aggravating both parents and public
health officials.
For many parents—who once thought the scariest part of
immunization was exposing their kids to needles—the idea of inoculation being
harmful has left them unsure of the right thing to do. Aren’t vaccines supposed
to keep kids healthy?
“Immunization has been our most effective tool at
protecting children from a whole array of serious diseases that used to kill or
seriously damage [the health of] millions of children around the world every
year,” says Louis Z. Cooper, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP).
Before the measles vaccine was introduced globally, Cooper
says there were nearly 4 million cases of the disease a year. Now, the number
is reportedly down to less than 100 a year. Children who are not immunized, he
says, have a much greater chance of being infected with the potentially
debilitating virus--35 times more than kids who are inoculated.
In the last few years, however, some scientists and
parents have questioned the safety of the vaccine targeting measles, mumps and
rubella. British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield published a report in
1998, asserting the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine may be associated with
the increase in the number of children with autism.
Although a number of studies have tried to reproduce
Wakefield’s findings, Cooper says none have succeeded, which means there is no
reason to believe that there is a connection between the MMR vaccine and
autism. Plus, he says, after an extensive review of scientific literature on
the subject, the AAP has concluded that there is no evidence the two are
linked. The full committee report is expected to be published later this year
in the journal Pediatrics.
The scientific data showing adverse reactions to vaccines
may be poor, but the anecdotal evidence is strong, says Kathi Williams, vice
president and co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center, an
advocacy group tat has been working on immunization reform since 1982.
“We’ve taken these [reports of adverse events] for 20
years,” she says. “We get them from people who’ve never met each other, who’ve
never seen a TV show [on the topic], or they’ve never been on the Internet, and
they all tell basically the same story.”
Williams says people report seeing their baby’s health
turn for the worse, just hours or days after they were given immunization
shots. The reactions differ from one immunization shot to the other, but as an
example, she says the classic adverse reactions to the whooping cough vaccine
include high-pitch screaming and extreme sleepiness.
Cooper says it’s easy for people to blame vaccines for
unexplained onset of diseases, because kids get a number of immunization shots
and it’s the apparent common factor between them. He does admit that no vaccine
is 100% safe, just as no drug is foolproof, but he says the benefits of
immunization far outweigh its risks.
“When one vaccinates one’s child, one not only is
protecting one’s own child, but you’re adding to the protection of all the
other children in the community,” says Cooper, who notes that the kids who
would most benefit from an all-community vaccination include infants who are
too young for immunization, and children for whom inoculation shots don’t work.
Parents who are interested in finding out more information
about vaccines are encouraged to tap into the Web site of the National Network
for Immunization Information, a resource supported by the AAP.
The National Vaccine Information Center also has a Web
site, including anecdotal reports from parents who assert their children were
harmed by vaccines.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.