Comments on Science for Sale: Applying Science to Dr. Sears

One more note, regarding Anne's comment. If yo...

2009-10-13T22:28:45.552-05:00

One more note, regarding Anne's comment. If you want to uncover conflict of interest in vaccine research, take your first look at Andrew Wakefield, the now-disgraced author of the now-repudiated study from the 70s that supposedly linked vaccines to autism (all other authors of that study retracted their names from it because of design flaws and incorrect analysis). Wakefield accepted money from lawyers planning a class action suit against vaccine manufacturers; he had an undisclosed conflict of interest in that he had a patent application for a single shot measles vaccine, which would be more valuable if the MMR were thought to be unsafe; and ultimately was accused of scientific fraud based on strong evidence published by investigative journalist Brian Deer.

Anne, if you've read my blog, you will know th...

2009-10-13T16:43:53.217-05:00

Anne, if you've read my blog, you will know that the very reason I started this blog was to combat conflict of interest in science, particularly the manipulation of science for profit or gain. One of my biggest targets was Big Pharma. Do a search on the blog for some of my posts on this. However, I have uncovered absolutely no--nada--conflicts of interest in vaccine research. I don't ever cite Offit, not because I think he is embroiled in a conflict of interest but because the very appearance of a conflict of interest is enough for me to stay away. I challenge anyone to cite and support a legitimate, documentable conflict of interest in the pharmaceutical/vaccine community in which a researcher has developed a vaccine, fabricated science to support it, quelched science that showed it was harmful, and reaped the profits. It will be difficult, because no such conflict of interest has existed in modern times. And this comes from a journalist who has devoted the last five years of her career to uncovering just this kind of manipulation.

Thanks, Wendy, for sharing the post. I was wonderi...

2009-10-13T16:40:14.384-05:00

Thanks, Wendy, for sharing the post. I was wondering why my reader count suddenly went up! ;-) I've been silent on this for too long--I think more people need to stand up and represent the vast majority of people who vaccinate their children. I, for one, just didn't want the headache of having to deal with people citing Sears and other "science" about vaccinations, but now I know that I have a responsibility to speak out. Thanks for your support.

I am not anti-vaccine, but I think this issue is m...

2009-10-13T13:33:45.267-05:00

I am not anti-vaccine, but I think this issue is much more complex than you portray it. There are many conflicts of interest in our profit-driven health and pharmaceutical industries, particularly among doctors on panels that make vaccine recommendations. For example, one of the most vocal pro-vaccine physicians, Dr. Paul Offit, voted to include the rotavirus vaccine in the childhood immunization series. He helped create the Merck version of this vaccine and therefore made enormous financial profit from his vote to mandate the vaccine (which was later withdrawn after children died from it.) Many other committee members have ties to the companies producing these vaccines, so it is not a simple matter of "applying science."

Please consider the fact that not all industrialized nations follow our vaccine schedule and their citizens are doing fine. Also note that Japan began using the attenuated pertussis vaccine many years before we did, due to safety concerns about the live virus vaccine. In that case, the U.S. was very much behind the times and was not offering the best product available.

I've shared the link to your article with frie...

2009-10-12T13:12:12.190-05:00

I've shared the link to your article with friends on Facebook and email, and have gotten only positive, appreciative responses. Thank you for posting the information and your experiences!

Yes, but vaccines are no 100% effective. And, an u...

2009-10-06T10:55:20.520-05:00

Yes, but vaccines are no 100% effective. And, an unvaccinated child is at great risk should another unvaccinated child a.) go on a trip to a country where vaccination is not widespread or where these diseases (measles, polio, etc) remain widespread or b.) come to this country as an immigrant from one of these countries and has not yet been vaccinated. There are reasons why there have been measles outbreaks in California and Minnesota. In addition, the vaccinated child may contract the disease if the vaccine didn't take. But most important, and this is very close to my heart since I have a one-week old baby, vaccinated children can carry home the virus or bacteria that cause these diseases, and while they may be protected, their younger siblings, who are too young for the vaccines, will not be and could contract the diseases. This is my great fear, as my son is in a preschool setting.

2009-10-06T10:55:05.670-05:00

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I also found the formaldehyde section interesting,...

2009-10-06T10:51:02.306-05:00

I also found the formaldehyde section interesting, as this is something I've had so many headaches about (no pun intended! well--maybe a little). What I understand about formaldehyde is that its toxicity to humans is mainly in its airborne form. It has been linked, somewhat conclusively, so nasal cancer. Most of this has to do with the fact that our indoor environments are chock full of formaldehyde-containing materials--kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, cheap bookcases, tv consoles, etc. Formaldehyde itself is, of course, naturally occurring in tiny amounts in the human body, and even in trees. The amount of formaldehyde used in vaccines as a preservative is so miniscule--according to the papers I've read--that is actually serves to dilute the amount of naturally occurring formaldehyde already extant in our bodies--much like water might. I'm still not 100% on this, and continue to research, but for now I am comfortable with the presence, at current levels, of formaldehyde in certain vaccines.

Fascinating. I have not read the Sears vaccine boo...

2009-10-05T13:23:31.584-05:00

Fascinating. I have not read the Sears vaccine book but I've mentioned it to friends and I had assumed from what I had read about it that was not anti-vaccine and that it simply gave parents that "alternate schedule." This seemed like a good middle road for parents like myself who did want to vaccinate, but were somewhat spooked by the no-vax crowd. So this is eye-opening indeed.

The article is back up: http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=512

I was curious, by the way, of your reaction to their take on formaldehyde.

Just curious, not trying to take a side... Why ar...

2009-09-28T12:27:24.800-05:00

Just curious, not trying to take a side... Why are unvaccinated children a threat to a vaccinated child? If the child is vaccinated isn't he protected? Isn't that, (I must be missing something) why we have them vaccinated... to keep them from getting the disease?