Sunday, 29 November 2009
-
Hep B vaccine confers three-fold risk of autism according to study
The question of whether vaccines cause autism came to the forefront again. In its September issue, the respected Journal of Epidemiology published news of research demonstrating that boys vaccinated with Hepatitis B as infants were three times more likely to develop an autism spectrum disorder than boys where were not. Now, I tried to take a firsthand look at the abstract, but decided not to pay the necessary $31.50. So we will rely on secondhand info, on others who have seen the abstract, namely Joseph Mercola of Mercola.com and David Kirby of the Huffington Post and The Age of Autism.
The study authors used data from 1997-2002, including boys born before 1999. The authors concluded,”Boys who received the hepatitis B vaccine during the first month of life had 2.94 greater odds for ASD (autism spectrum disorders) compared to later- or unvaccinated boys.” Odds were higher for African-Americans than for whites.
The authors, Carolyn Gallagher and Melody Goodman of the Graduate Program in Public Health at Stony Brook University Medical Center, cited an earlier study they had made which showed a correlation between receipt of the hepatitis B vaccine and requiring early intervention services. So the current study corroborates those findings.
For a really concise review of the vaccine controversy, check out Joseph Mercola ’s article. He contends that there is no need to give infants the hepatitis B vaccine; I have read elsewhere that it is given in order to forestall possible transmission of this venereal disease from the mother during birth. But why not give it in the cases where the mother is known to have hepatitis B, and leave the rest alone?
It’s really obvious to me and many others that research needs to be done comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, just to settle the question. So why isn’t this happening? Turns out that some high-level policy makers blocked it in January, specifically the CDC and the head of NIMH, Dr. Tom Insel. For details, see this press release from the advocacy group SafeMinds. There are too many vested interests in this controversy.
What can we parents do? We need to protect our families’ interests, since the big guys aren’t doing it. For one thing, we can say no to vaccinating our tiny children. Maybe if more of us did this, someone would notice. We can vaccinate them when they get close to school age, or we can homeschool them and vaccinate them even later. Or maybe we don’t need to vaccinate them for every conceivable disease. We need to consider the risks and the benefits of vaccination for each of these diseases. For hepatitis B, the risks are high and the benefits involve protection from a venereal disease. So why not vaccinate near the age of sexual activity, conferring immunity when it is most needed? And so on.
Pro-vaccine professionals talk about “building the herd immunity.” We need to quit acting like a herd and more like humans who can make up their own minds.
-
recommend
- recs 6
-
share
-
email
- sent 0
Related Posts
Post a Comment
- Back to autisable's Autisable Site!
- Note: your comment will appear in autisable's local time zone: GMT -05:00 (Eastern Standard - US, Canada)
About the Author
-
- From: curingautism
- About Me: I am Phyllis Wheeler, mother of two kids with Asperger's: "Mike" and "Shannon."
Stats: This Week All Time Posts: 0 12 Views: 0 8388 Comments: 0 206 View all posts by curingautism
Comments (63)
Why am I not surprised......
Carolyn Gallagher and Melody Goodman reported on their analysis of over 1800 responses to these questions. 1) “Does your child receive Special Education or Early Intervention Services”; and 2) “Has the survey participant ever received the 3-dose series of the hepatitis B vaccine.”
Problem: Correlation does not imply causation.
Sadly, many scientists don't stop to question that they presented interpretation of facts as fact.
Oops.
One of the other problems is that in some states, you are not allowed to "opt out" of only specific vaccines. It is kind of an "all or nothing." You can opt out for religious reasons, but then you're out of all of them.
Wait, you didn't actually look at the source but rather chose to use the biased commentary of second-hands?
Come back after you've either coughed up the money to pay for it or found someone else who did so you can read the actual paper and post a more intelligent post that isn't totally bereft of factual accuracy.
@sari0009 - When people have agendas in mind, it's easy for them to overlook things like correlation-causation fallacies.
My daughter was given the vaccine (and at 1 year, shows no symptoms, thankfully)...at the time they didn't present it as something that was optional. "Sign here." and they were out of the room. I was so sleep deprived that I would have signed virtually anything if it meant they would go away and let me sneak in another 10 minutes of sleep before the next person came in to take vitals or hound me about buying pictures.
"But why not give it in the cases where the mother is known to have hepatitis B, and leave the rest alone?" Even if you strip away everything else, I do have to wonder about that... Why not group it into the shots that kids have to have before going on to highschool? You're going to tell me not to leave my house unless 100% necessary, but in the same breath, you're going to inject my newborn with a vaccine for a virus that she's not going to encounter for at least another decade? Why?! Anyone??
I'm thankful for my mother getting me all the vaccines. I'm glad most of them were given to me when I can't remember the experience.
It was the Annals of Epidemiology, btw. I followed one of your links to see the name of the source, then looked up the journal myself. I found it was only the abstract published in the September 2009 volume; perhaps the paper itself is still under peer review? Anyway, I'm not going to argue for or against vaccines here... I will say that jumping to conclusions without reading the research or even the abstract yourself is very much like following the herd (albeit the anti-vax herd).
You might be curious to know that another abstract appears on that same page regarding occupational exposure and ASD. The authors (McCanlies et al.) found that "exposure to asphalt was positively associated with ASD". They also found that ASD was "at least twice as likely in children who had at least one parent exposed to disinfectants, solvents, phenol, styrene, lacquers, and varnish". Hmmm.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - My thoughts exactly.
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - Hep B can be contracted from something as benign as a blood transfusion. That's something that can occur far earlier than high school.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - And the problem with, oh, I don't know...testing the blood before giving it to someone? Something that I was under the impression was fairly common practice anyway...? If there's a chance of a false negative, still...we're going vaccinate EVERYONE against Hep B because they might need a blood transfusion and it might have falsely tested negative for a disease that might be in...?
It just strikes me as 'off' that they continue this practice when it seems like it should be suspended until further research can be done to show one way or the other.
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - //
If there's a chance of a false negative, still...we're going vaccinate EVERYONE against Hep B because they might need a blood transfusion and it might have falsely tested negative for a disease that might be in...?//
Would you rather we gave vaccinations AFTER the fact? (By then it would be too late anyhow).
I mean, you DON'T have to put on your seatbelt before you start driving a car, but it won't help you when you're dead.
//
It just strikes me as 'off' that they
continue this practice when it seems like it should be suspended until
further research can be done to show one way or the other.//
Show what, precisely?
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Uhm...are we still speaking on the same topic??
How about we hold off on vaccinating until our children have built up immune systems and are somewhat likely to be exposed to Hep B? Bump it to the round of shots to go into middle school even rather than battering a newborn with it. Or even just giving people the option instead of forcing it down our throats the way that it is.
To prove whether or not this vaccine is contributing to the rise in cases of Autism...hello?
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - //Uhm...are we still speaking on the same topic??//
It looks like we are, notwithstanding your inability to communicate effectively.
//How about we hold off on vaccinating until
our children have built up immune systems and are somewhat likely to be
exposed to Hep B?//
Again, why? That's like saying we shouldn't put on our seatbelts in a car until we reach a busy intersection.
//Bump it to the round of shots to go into middle school even rather than battering a newborn with it. //
"Battering" a newborn? Lol. Maybe your newborn can blame you for being so constitutionally weak as you're implying, but last time I checked, the dose amounts are far too little to pose a major threat to a baby's health. Of course, you may correct me if I'm mistaken.
//Or even just giving people the option instead of forcing it down our throats the way that it is.//
There are exemptions available for vaccination; in other words, you could claim a religious excuse (or some other excuse) and not have to have your child take the vaccine. The fact that you were sleep-deprived in your case is no excuse to eschew guarding the health and welfare of your child.
//
To prove whether or not this vaccine is contributing to the rise in cases of Autism...hello?//
Please provide evidence that there is a causal link between vaccinations and the rise in the cases of autism, to the point that you feel it's a toss-up.
http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/immu10.html
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Your seatbelt analogy doesn’t apply here. Seatbelts have been around far longer than the Hep B vaccination. There is a vaccine injury compensation program which by it’s very existence acknowledges that vaccines do cause immediate harm to a certain percentage of the population. We won't know the long term or cumulative affects for possibly decades but I'm pretty sure the only side affect to wearing a seatbelt is a wrinkled shirt.
@P1AutismMom - //Your seatbelt analogy doesn’t apply here. Seatbelts have been around far longer than the Hep B vaccination.//
You've missed the point of the seatbelt analogy. The point is that a seatbelt is intended to protect the occupant from bodily harm during a collision, or at least minimize the effects. Likewise, a vaccination is intended to protect a person from contracting the said virus. If you contract the virus, it's already too late to get the vaccination; likewise, if you get killed in a car accident because you didn't wear a seatbelt, you can't reverse your death by putting on a seatbelt post-mortem.
//There is a vaccine injury compensation
program which by it’s very existence acknowledges that vaccines do
cause immediate harm to a certain percentage of the population.//
"Information obtained from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System
not(VAERS) has been cited as "evidence" for serious adverse and chronic
health conditions caused by hepatitis B vaccine. VAERS is a
surveillance system for adverse health effects occurring after
immunization; reports should
be construed as evidence of
"vaccine reactions." [21] Vaccinations are frequent in adults and
children, and most medical conditions occurring afterward represent
coincidental association. Many of the case reports by anti-vaccine
lobbyists suffer from faulty medical logic, as exemplified by the case
of a 13-day-old said to have died from sudden infant death syndrome
(SIDS) brought on by hepatitis B vaccination. SIDS—by definition—has no
known cause and is not diagnosable in a child under one month of age."
- taken from http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/immu10.html
The existence of a precautionary/compensatory system is not evidence that the vaccines are clearly harmful in general. Sure, some people (a "certain percentage", care to quantify that vague claim?) will react adversely to vaccinations, just as some people are allergic to shellfish, peanuts, cats, etc. This does not mean, however, that vaccinations are all bad and should be avoided because of a few unfortunate cases, just like you wouldn't go banning peanuts or shrimp. That's like saying that because we have a police force, it's very existence is evidence that all people are born criminals and should be executed.Or, akin to saying that the existence of car insurance is proof that cars ought to be banned.
http://www.quackwatch.org/03HealthPromotion/immu/autism.html
Excellent as usual.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Why is it that when someone dies shortly after receiving a vaccination it is always a coincidence and never possible evidence that there could be a problem with the vaccine?
Hep B was just added to the schedule when my second son was born. His own doctor questioned the need to vaccinate all babies when there was no evidence that there was exposure nor would the ristk of future exposure be high. His only reason for offering the vaccine was that it was added to the schedule by the CDC.
The rush to market vaccine has increased at a rapid pace in recent years and there should be some caution and reason for concern when the majority of the first doses come at such a vulnerable age in human brain development. There is a real cause for concern when disease such as Type 1 diabetes, epilepsy and autoimmune diseases are on the rise
Incidences of Epilepsy are on the rise
<li>200,000 new cases of epilepsy are diagnosed each year.
<li>Incidence is highest under the age of 2 and over 65.
<li>45,000 children under the age of 15 develop epilepsy each year.
<li>Males are slightly more likely to develop epilepsy than females.
<li>Incidence is greater in African American and socially disadvantaged populations.
<li>Trend shows decreased incidence in children; increased incidence in the elderly.
<li>In 70 percent of new cases, no cause is apparent.
<li> (nothing apparent but do we have any suspects?)
<li>50 percent of people with new cases of epilepsy will have generalized onset seizures.
<li>Generalized seizures are more common in children under the age of 10; afterwards more than half of all new cases of epilepsy will have partial seizures.
I see no reason to brand anyone who has questions as someone not worthy of being heard. I think we would be negligent in our duty as parents not to be diligent in investigating all of the information out there before we subject our children to what could be potentially harmful.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Tenpenny-on-Vaccines/171964245890?ref=ts
@P1AutismMom - // Why is it that when someone dies shortly
after receiving a vaccination it is always a coincidence and
never possible evidence that there could be a problem with the
vaccine? //
The source never said it is "always" a conicidence and "never" possible evidence... but that's a nice, subtle attempt on your part to twist the statements. The source reads (emphasis mine):
"Vaccinations are frequent in adults and children, and most medical conditions occurring afterward represent coincidental association."
Furthermore, if no causal link can be established between the death in question and the vaccination that was given, then it's simply a coincidence. If an eclipse appeared at the time a person died, would you claim the eclipse was the cause of death? No. It's a correlation-causation fallacy, and that's what's usually the case with a lot of the anti-vac claims of deaths after vaccination. There ARE cases where people have reacted adversely to vaccinations, and they probably make up that "certain percentage" of the population you stated (which, by the way, you have not yet quantified, so any quantification of your "certain percentage" statement would be great).
// His own doctor questioned the need to
vaccinate all babies when there was no evidence that there was exposure
nor would the ristk of future exposure be high. His only reason for
offering the vaccine was that it was added to the schedule by the CDC.
//
Aaaaand because your doctor questions it, you're just willing to blindly trust him without doing independent research... right? Because Big Pharma and Big Gov't are wrong but individual doctors aren't?
//The rush to market vaccine has
increased at a rapid pace in recent years and there should be some
caution and reason for concern when the majority of the first doses
come at such a vulnerable age in human brain development. //
Okay... why?
//There is a real cause for concern when disease such as Type 1 diabetes, epilepsy and autoimmune diseases are on the rise//
Any evidence that causally links them to vaccinations? If not, you're just doing the equivalent of gossiping.
// (nothing apparent but do we have any suspects?)//
The "suspects" analogy is cute, but to take it further, suspects are "innocent until proven guilty". What you are doing is the reverse, and furthermore, without providing any proof of your claims.
//I see no reason to brand anyone who has questions as someone not worthy of being heard.//
I agree. It's not wrong to ask questions.
// I think we would be negligent in our duty
as parents not to be diligent in investigating all of the information
out there before we subject our children to what could be potentially
harmful. //
Agreed, and I would add that I think it would be negligent in your duties as parents if you were not diligent in understanding basic logical fallacies, like correlation-causation fallacies. Simply gathering facts is insufficient; you need to be able to properly understand them, too, and place them in the right context. What's worse than simple ignorance is having the knowledge but misusing it because of an inability to properly understand the significance of the knowledge, AND THEN taking it a step further and misinforming other innocent souls.
Re: Facebook link.
I went to her homepage (outside of FB) and her "advice" isn't worth ten pennies, ironically. Like you, she has an obsession with correlation-causation fallacies (and her frontpage articles like to frequently cite them).
You make herd immunity sound like a bad thing, which it isn't. The more people around you who are immune, the better it is for you, if you're not immune.
Ironic really how some people are so desperate to give credence to their belief that vaccines cause autism that they seize on anything they find, but totally ignore the massive amount of research that has shown that vaccines do not cause autism. These people do not want to read the original and totally discredited research by Andrew Wakefield which was based on only 12 children, research he was paid (in the end) about $500K for and was himself developing a rival vaccine. They still say there must have been something in it but his results have never been able to be duplicated in over twenty years of research. The knock-on effect is that just about every vaccine is now accused of causing autism and people add to the scare (like the author of this blog) by not doing the research themselves but passing on secondhand information as gospel.
Did you know that because of Wakefield, so many people didn't immunize their children against measles that an almost-eradicated disease has now been declared endemic again (in the UK) and at least two children have died?
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Labeling others with a difference of opinion is a widely used tactic but if you look at the facts which you so heavily rely on, you may want to check my web page which never mentions vaccine http://www.autismmom.net/ and my blog http://p1autismmom.autisable.com/ which ONLY ONCE, questions the possibility of vaccine being a cause for the increase in certain conditions.
Check your facts before you attempt to label me as "obsessed".
@P1AutismMom - Your personal blogs are your personal blogs. I wouldn't expect them to necessarily reflect all of your opinions on this matter especially if your primary purpose for those specific pages isn't to launch a crusade against vaccinations. However your arguments here, on this post, show that like Dr. Tenpenny, you have an obsession for correlation-causation fallacies. Seriously, just look at how you're substantiating your arguments (or trying to).
The notion that your personal sites MUST reflect every aspect of every opinion you hold is absurd at best, so nice job trying to distract from the original issues at hand.
So, any response to my earlier post with regards to the points/counterpoints I made would be appreciated. I know it's tough being called "obsessed" about something or just being labeled in general, but it's a personal viewpoint so get over it.
Anyhow I'd like to see you address my counterpoints regarding the correlation-causation fallacies you're using. Also any info regarding the "certain percentage" you used for those who react adversely to vaccines - that info would be useful, too. I'd also like to see why you think epilepsy is significantly attributable to vaccinations.
@QuantumStorm@xanga - Would it not be logical if one has an obsession that they would at least mention the topic with which they are obseessed at least once in a personal webpage or in their blog? hmmm
I believe you are obsessed with getting in the last word. Now You Go..............
@P1AutismMom - Of course, I love having the last word!
And no, it's not always the case that a person who has an obsession for something must post it even on a personal blog. For example I am very much obsessed with milk chocolate but I have rarely ever mentioned that in my blog; the key between a blog and talking in real life is that we have the option to edit/delete what we say on a blog; we have the ability to control what we present on our blogs. And for the record, you DID say you mentioned it once on one of your personal pages, but here on this post you've done it liberally
But I'm just going to re-iterate my last set of requests until you stop with the distractions.
I said earlier -
"Anyhow I'd like to see you address
my counterpoints regarding the correlation-causation fallacies you're
using. Also any info regarding the "certain percentage" you used for
those who react adversely to vaccines - that info would be useful, too.
I'd also like to see why you think epilepsy is significantly
attributable to vaccinations."
@P1AutismMom - 'Hep B was just added to the schedule when my second son was born. His own doctor questioned the need to vaccinate all babies when there was no evidence that there was exposure nor would the risk of future exposure be high. His only reason for offering the vaccine was that it was added to the schedule by the CDC.' That deserved to re-posted again!
Aside from that, I'm moving past this topic. "Someone" needs attention and I'm just not into feeding trolls...especially when they refuse to make a valid point and only wish to go around in circles. Sorry dude, I have a one year old to chase after and still working on that sleep idea...quick! Someone let me have a nap before I neglect my baby some more!! Heaven forbid you have a lapse in judgement and expect medical professionals to obey that silly oathe they took about doing no harm!
@filtered_sunlight@momaroo - I am too but with my apparent "obsession" with this topic.
I may not be able to contain myself from commenting further on another blog post. Maybe they will develop a vaccine for obsessive and lengthy commenting. LOL