My Two Cents

I have been working on writing this post for a while. Making sure I get my facts right so I state them correctly. Also finding credible sources that I can cite (Credible in my opinion. As in, I'm not just quoting wikipedia here folks).

I am a scientist. In the interest of full disclosure, I have a PhD in Analytical Chemistry. Through obtaining my degree and through my experience in my job, I have knowledge in chemistry, biology (admittedly limited), biochemistry, and immunology. I work for a very small biotech company. That means we are like a pharmaceutical company except we do not develop "small molecule" drugs. (Most drugs on the market today are small molecule drugs that the general public may call "chemicals", which is funny because everything is a chemical, including water. If someone calls their product "chemical free" they are apparently selling you nothing.) Instead, our drugs are biologically based, specifically being small pieces of proteins already found in your body. Part of my job is to develop tests that determine whether patients in our clinical trials are having an immune response to our drug, which is part of the safety assessment of the drug.

In any case, this means I have more knowledge in the field of immunology (study of the immune system) than a typical, non-scientist parent. For this reason, I have been asked in the past about my opinions regarding vaccinations. And I do have very strong opinions. This is my blog and this is something I feel passionate about so I wanted to give those opinions. You can take it for what it's worth and make your own decisions regarding vaccinating your child but I will present many facts which informed my own decision. I aim to be clear on what is a fact, what is backed up by scientific study, and what is my personal opinion.

• Fact: It is estimated today that 1 in every 110 children is diagnosed with autism. Data suggest that the rate is increasing by about 10-17% each year, but part of this is due to improved diagnosis. Boys are more likely than girls (three to four times) to be diagnosed with autism.1
• Opinion: The increase in autism is alarming and research to find causal links and treatments is desperately needed.
• Fact: More than a dozen studies have shown that children given thimerosal-containing vaccines and/or MMR vaccines have no higher prevalence of autism than children who are not vaccinated.2
• Fact: The only study to suggest (not prove) a link between vaccinations and autism has been retracted by the journal that published it. This is extremely rare for a scientific journal. The research was shown to be flawed in many ways.3
• Fact: The lead author of that retracted study has a patent for a measles vaccine that would have increased in widespread use had the combo MMR vaccine been discredited. Additionally, his research was funded by lawyers seeking to sue vaccine makers.4 Umm, financial conflict of interest much?
• Fact: The Chief Science Officer for the autism advocacy group "Autism Speaks" encourages parents to have their children vaccinated and believes scientific research has rejected a link between thimerosal in vaccines and autism.5
• Fact: People who claim there is a link between vaccines and autism often blame mercury, specifically the preservative thimerosal. MMR vaccines do not, nor have they ever, contained thimerosal. Chickenpox, inactivated polio virus, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have also never contained thimerosal. Some, but not all, flu vaccines do still contain thimerosal.6
• Fact: Thimerosal was taken out of other childhood vaccines in 2001 but rates of autism continue to climb - the opposite of what would be expected had the thimerosal caused autism.6
• Fact: Other vaccines not containing thimerosal have been shown to NOT be linked to higher rates of autism.2
• Opinion: Sound scientific research has again and again shown no link between autism and vaccines. It is time to spend the money finding the real causes and hopefully finding ways to treat children already diagnosed with autism, whether that involves drug, behavioral, dietary, or other therapies.
• Fact: Studies have been done that refute anecdotal evidence given by parents who claim their children were "fine" before being vaccinated and then developed autism as a result of vaccinations. Researchers were shown home videos of children at their first birthday parties, when parents claimed their children were still "fine" or autism-free. Some of the videos were of children later diagnosed as autistic and some videos were of children with continued normal development. Researchers were able to correctly identify which children would eventually be diagnosed with autism based on the behaviors observed in the videos.7 Unfortunately, more obvious signs of autism tend to develop in a time frame coinciding with childhood vaccinations leading parents to blame the vaccines when in fact their children were exhibiting signs earlier which the parents missed. Additionally, it is not uncommon for autistic children to develop skills and then later lose those skills. This is, indeed, an early warning sign of autism.

There is absolutely no evidence that vaccines cause autism, even with the increased numbers of vaccines given today compared to when I was a child. Vaccines save children's lives (fact). There is also no scientific basis for any alternative schedule, including that set forth by Dr.Sears. The Dr.Sears schedule is completely arbitrary whereas the CDC schedule is developed based on research and experience.

When even a relatively small portion of the population decides not to vaccinate their children it puts the rest of us at risk. In order to eradicate diseases, we must rely on "herd immunity". This is because not every person is adequately protected from the disease by the vaccination. But if the vast majority of the population is vaccinated then the disease has no way to circulate and infect those few who were not protected.

The thing that upsets me the most is that from the time my baby was born until she can be immunized she is susceptible to contracting these diseases (in some cases up to a year as with MMR). If the vast majority of the population were vaccinated, as they were when I was a child in the 1980s, this would not be a problem. But now with up to 25% choosing not to vaccinate, many potentially deadly diseases including measles and whooping cough (pertussis) are again circulating. Six children died recently in California (a state high in non-vaccination) from pertussis. This used to be exceedingly rare! So what if my baby or your baby was infected by an unvaccinated child before we were able to vaccinate them? What if my baby or your baby then died from that infection? I am not trying to use scare tactics, this is a reality. Ask the parents of the six infants who died because they were too young to have been immunized. Six children in one year in one state is too many when it is almost totally preventable. MMR vaccines are not given until 1 year of age, meaning my child is at risk from other non-vaccinated children for a whole year. That scares me. My pediatrician feels so strongly about vaccinating that she urges parents who are planning not to vaccinate to find another pediatrician who can go along with that plan with a clear conscience, because she cannot.

In my opinion, trying to avoid a risk factor for autism that isn't real and thereby putting your child and other peoples children at risk by not vaccinating is unwise at best and irresponsible at worst. I am vaccinating my child according to the CDC schedule and I would urge my family and friends to do the same. Know the facts, and the facts do not support delaying or opting out of vaccinations.

I may take heat for this and that is fine. I am not an expert on vaccinations and I am not an expert on autism but I am a concerned parent who did due diligence to educate myself about this topic. I do not have any financial or other interest in stating my case. My company does not make or develop vaccines and in fact does not have any product on the market as of yet. Something is causing the rise in autism diagnoses and the sooner we find the real cause and stop wasting money on something that is already refuted, the better.

Phew, if you made it through this whole post congrats and don't hate me!

1. www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/index.php

2. www.autismsciencefoundation.org/autismandvaccines.html

3. articles.cnn.com/2010-02-02/health/lancet.retraction.autism_1_andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine-and-autism-general-medical-council?_s=PM:HEALTH

4. www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/health/research/03lancet.html

5. pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/14/study-no-increased-autism-risk-from-mercury-based-preservative-in-vaccines/

6. www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/Concerns/Thimerosal/thimerosal_faqs.html

7. Osterling, Julie and Dawson, Geraldine, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1994, 24 (3). (Article entitled Early recognition of children with autism: A study of first birthday home videotapes)