Measles Confirmed in Wisconsin

Is the news in business to inform, or to promote an agenda?

According to WISN TV 12 last night, a case of measles in a toddler has been confirmed. We are then warned that '1 in 1000 measles infections results in death'. Several other sources have since repeated that measles was a ‘leading cause of death’ before vaccines.

Now, that figure is different from the numbers on the Merck MMR package insert which says 1 in 2000. Still alarmingly high to be sure, although not as bad as the doctor who, in trying to convince me to vaccinate my then infant (the vaccine is not proven to be safe or effective under the age of 12 months) told me that ‘every child he’d ever met with measles died’. I told him I found that unbelievable because I had measles, as had every kid I knew, and we were all very much alive. He backed off then, a bit flustered, but I fired him anyway just because I detest manipulation through the use of fear.

In any case, TMJ then quotes Dr. Michael Chusid as saying, "It's one of the most contagious of the viral diseases that we have, so just breathing the air of someone that had been in the room is enough"

I found that interesting because a few years ago my husband went to Germany and after he got home, it was discovered that he had been on a plane from Austria to the U.S. (like a 10 hour flight) with someone who had measles. I called our doctor to ask if my husband was in danger, since I had already researched the issue and discovered vaccine immunity only lasted 10 to 12 years and he had been immunized as a kid. She said no, because he would have had to have been in direct contact with water droplets. In other words, if he was not directly coughed on or sneezed on there was no danger. TMJ4 put adult minds at rest for a different reason, though, by informing us, “Good news for grown-ups: if you were vaccinated as a child, the vaccines are very often still effective, even 40 years later.”

Reading that, I wondered if there was some new research regarding the vaccine’s effectiveness since my husband’s experience 5 years ago or so. Nope. No new evidence. In fact, just a year ago the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (Vol. 161 No. 3, March 2007) reported, “It has been suggested that protection offered by vaccination is life-long, however this is based on data from times when the wild-type virus was still circulating and thus boosting immunity. There is limited evidence on the persistence of immunity where the natural disease has been eliminated.”

WISN TV 12 also reassured parents that there is no concern if parents have immunized their child. But according to the Merck MMR package insert, “As for any vaccine, vaccination with M-M-R II may not result in protection in 100% of vaccinees.”

Also according to WISN TV 12, “About one case in 1,000 leads to death, but other complications include encephalitis and pneumonia.” Ok, that tells us there are risks to the disease, but what are the risks of the vaccine? Wouldn’t unbiased reporting also include those? From the Merck package insert, some risks include:

Atypical measles (in other words the vaccine can give you the measles)

Encephalitis

Pneumonia

Death

In other words, the same problems as with the disease, except that the list of other possible complications for the vaccine is about a page long.

These ‘news’ reports are supposed warn parents to vaccinate their children, because measles is deadly, but the girl is ‘expected to make a full recovery’. What I find even more interesting is that whether or not this little girl was immunized is never mentioned. If the girl got sick, supposedly, because her parents failed to vaccinate her, would be a strong illustration of why vaccination is important. If she got sick despite being immunized, simply not mentioning her vaccination status would allow her case to be used to push an agenda. That makes me wonder, cynic that I am, if the girl actually WAS vaccinated and got measles anyway. As stated above, the vaccine has not been proven 100% effective and can cause measles. Likewise, every case of polio in the US since 1979 has been caused by the vaccine.

Now, I’m not saying that people shouldn’t vaccinate, although anyone who is trying to make an informed decision might want to hear what the speaker for Vaccine Injured Children has to say April 9^th in Beaver Dam or check out 'the other side' of the story.

Or at the very least, not rely on biased and inaccurate news that is repeated nearly verbatim (without any actual investigation it would seem) on every channel. What that often shows is that some organization that wants to promote an issue has issued a 'press release' and no one bothered to verify anything in it.

And just to be clear, my husband still travels for work. He goes to places where he could conceivably contract a disease and bring it home. Therefore, he is vaccinated. We did vaccinate our daughter, but not until we were satisfied that her immune system had a chance to fully develop. I am not 'anti' vaccine. I am PRO informed consent. More importantly, I am vehemently opposed to the 'news' being used as a vehicle to promote an agenda.