{"id":7888,"date":"2016-09-05T08:47:03","date_gmt":"2016-09-05T13:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/?p=7888"},"modified":"2022-03-10T14:29:31","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T20:29:31","slug":"immunizing-your-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wholehealthchicago.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/05\/immunizing-your-kids","title":{"rendered":"Immunizing Your Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At least once a week someone asks my opinion on mandatory immunization, I suppose because WholeHealth Chicago is so widely known as an alternative medical center. Most often, the inquirer is pregnant and she\u2019s read something about the (totally disproven) link between the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine and autism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another question is whether vaccines contain mercury, in the form of the preservative thiomersol, followed by queries about a possible link between mercury and autism. I say that while there\u2019s been no thiomersol in childhood vaccines since 1999, sadly there has been a steady rise in autism throughout the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Probably the single most damaging public health hoax of the 20th<\/sup> century was former physician Andrew Wakefield\u2019s 1998 article published in the British journal Lancet<\/em><\/a> that linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Unbeknownst to the Lancet<\/em> editors, Wakefield had been receiving funding from anti-vaccine groups. And because this idea was such a hot topic, Wakefield received a tsunami of media attention that resonates to this day in the form of doubts from the pregnant patient sitting across from me in my office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-Wakefield infection rates skyrocket<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After Wakefield, childhood immunization<\/a> rates fell around the world and infection rates of the three potentially fatal childhood illnesses rose dramatically. Once Wakefield was investigated, his data was proven to have been manipulated and false. Later, his medical license was taken from him, and he\u2019s no longer allowed to practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wakefield is considered indirectly responsible for dozens of totally preventable deaths around the world and yet to this day, still revered by anti-vax advocates, he just won\u2019t let go. Wakefield produced, directed, and stars in \u201cVaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe,\u201d<\/a> a pseudo-documentary laden with scary misinformation. \u201cVaxxed\u201d was recently yanked from Tribeca Film Festival by festival director Robert DeNiro (father of an autistic child) because \u201cwe do not believe it contributes to the discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other things, the film erroneously accuses Blue Cross of giving doctors financial kickbacks for immunizing kids. This link provides the (false) basis for that accusation.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In actual fact, the alleged kickbacks are simply a standard reimbursement for the cost of the vaccines themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Persistent opposition and immunization\u2019s global reach<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yet the very vocal opponents to childhood immunization persist in their endeavors on websites and in chat rooms around the world. Interestingly, organized vaccine opposition first began with smallpox vaccination in 1798<\/a> and in one way or another has never let up. When you read the history of anti-vaccine movements, the tenor is much less about safety and much more about government control. The phrases used by the opposition are similar to those employed against water fluoridation, designated smoking areas, and mandatory seat belt use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep in mind that except for seriously underdeveloped countries, mandatory immunization requirements exist worldwide. This is not an American thing. The government health departments of various countries may have slightly different immunization schedules, but virtually all developed countries will not let a child attend school if he or she arrives without immunization documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, in every country where immunization was suspended (such as occurred after the MMR hoax) there was a documented rise in infection and death. Here in the US, the so-called Disneyland measles outbreak in 2014 triggered a six-fold rise in measles<\/a>. It began with a single unimmunized tourist walking through the crowds. The virus quickly spread around the country, exclusively infecting those who had not been immunized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One issue I have with opponents of immunization is they\u2019re too young to remember the physical and psychological devastation these illnesses once caused:<\/p>\n\n\n\n