Up to 1-in-50 Troops Seriously Injured... By Vaccines?

Up to 1-in-50 Troops Seriously Injured... By Vaccines?
Posted August 14, 2008 | 07:56 PM (EST)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-..._b_119048.html

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

US Department of Defense: 1-2% of individuals may experience severe
vaccine effects that "could result in disability or death."
American Academy of Pediatrics: 2+ % of children have "defects" that cause
vaccine "risks"

On August 5th, the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr.
Renee Jenkins, made a rather puzzling comment on Good Morning America,
during a segment on vaccine safety and the risk of autism.

Dr. Jenkins said that, "97-plus percent of children don't have these kinds
of defects, and so when you look at what the (vaccine) risk is to children,
and then what the benefits are, the benefits far outweigh the risks that
occur."

Many observers, myself among them, were startled by the comments. But due to
awkward editing, it was left entirely unclear as to what Dr. Jenkins meant
by "defects," and what sort of vaccine-related "risks" threatened the
remaining two-plus percent of children.

Some in the autism community took the statement to mean that at least 2
percent of children (or 1-in-50) were somehow genetically destined
("defective" is such an ugly term) to be at-risk for serious vaccine
injuries.

I didn't believe it. It was inconceivable to me that any pediatrician would
so nonchalantly find it acceptable that somewhere between 1-in-50 and
1-in-33 children faced such severe risks. Certainly, Dr. Jenkins had
misspoken.

So I emailed the AAP and, sure enough, they assured me that Dr. Jenkins had
never intended to use the word "defects." Instead, I was told, she was
referring to certain susceptibilities that some infants might have to very
mild side effects - such as temporary fever, or localized pain or swelling.

The AAP official I spoke with said studies had shown that less than 3% of
children encounter such non-serious side effects.

So I published this account on the "Age of Autism" blog, where I concluded
that, "some people may not accept this explanation, but I do."

Well, a lot of people did not accept the explanation. Some insisted that Dr.
Jenkins was not talking about minor side effects: She had been asked a
question about vaccines and autism.

I called ABC and spoke with a producer who had worked on the segment. She
confirmed that the question Dr. Jenkins had been asked was this: "Do you
completely dismiss any connection between autism and vaccines?"

In other words, Dr. Jenkins was not speaking about mild side effects at all.

So I emailed the AAP once again, for a little further clarification. Did Dr.
Jenkins stand by her original contention that she was actually talking about
susceptibilities, and not "defects?" And were the "risks" she mentioned
really related to simple pain and swelling, when the question posed to her
was about autism?

It didn't make sense. And it still doesn't.

Which brings us to the military.

Following the Jenkins remarks, one parent directed me to a report, prepared
last year by the Government Accountability Office, that contained this
rather surprising statement:

"Officials from the VHC (the Department of Defense's Vaccine Healthcare
Centers) Network and CDC estimate that between 1 and 2 percent of immunized
individuals may experience severe adverse events, which could result in
disability or death. Some of these events may occur coincidentally following
immunization, while others may truly be caused by immunization"

I had never heard of the VHC, so I went to their website, where I found this
Power Point presentation, and this slide in particular: Download file

This slide suggests many things to me. Namely:

1) Some 10.4 million service members, DoD employees and their beneficiaries
(including children) have been vaccinated.

2) Up to 2%, or 1-in-50 service members (and it looks like DoD employees and
beneficiaries as well - though I have yet to confirm this) have sustained
"serious" adverse vaccine reactions, including disability and death.

3) Among active duty and reserve service members, up to 48,000 individuals
may have sustained serious vaccine injuries which might need to be
classified as "casualties."

4) These vaccine-related disabilities are often severe, and may require
teaching "new skills" to the injured.

At first, I thought the injury rates might be so high because of the anthrax
and smallpox vaccines. But military studies on both shots claimed that they
were extremely safe. (For example, there were only 140 reports of inflamed
heart muscle following smallpox vaccination, out of 1.2 million service
members vaccinated).

But then I read that the possible cause of so much injury, for service
members at least, was "multiple vaccines" or "drugs + vaccines," according
to the VHC slide.

I wrote to the VHC, and to the GAO, seeking more information on these data,
but did not receive any replies (so far, although I will be happy to update
this column if I do).

The questions raised by this, by other slides in the series, and within the
GAO report, are numerous. They could have serious implications for the
military, and for the population at large. Here is what I asked the two
agencies (GAO and VHC):

What, exactly, were the serious side effects found in the population?

What information is there on the impact of these effects, in terms of
medical discharges, relocation and reassignments, teaching of "new skills,"
treatments, veteran care, etc?

Of those service members injured, how many did not return to active duty
or reserve assignments, and what impact, if any, is this having on our
military?

What are the financial costs of training troops who may no longer be able
to serve due to vaccine injuries?

If the 1-2% rate for serious side effects is the same for all 10.4 million
DoD personnel and their beneficiaries, does that mean there have been
100,000-200,000 serious side effects within the DoD system?

The GAO said that some service members who received anthrax or smallpox
vaccines experienced severe reactions such as the onset of diabetes and
multiple sclerosis. How rare were these events and why don't they show up in
the safety data?

Why does DoD believe that adverse events effecting up to 1 in 50 people
are "rare?"

Is DoD stating that vaccines can cause diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome
and autoimmune disorders, however rare?

DoD says that possible risk factors for severe adverse events include
"multiple vaccines." So why does the AAP and CDC say this is not a risk
factor for infants?

DoD also says that gender and ethnicity may be risk factors as well. What
evidence, if any, is available to support this?

One slide says that the "ever expanding" number of CDC-recommended
vaccines is one of several "complex immunization exposures" to be
considered - Could the DoD elaborate on that?

DoD says that "travel vaccines mixed in new ways" also need to be
considered. What impact might they be having?

The military says that people who have adverse reactions to a vaccine may
be exempted from further doses. Why doesn't the American Academy of
Pediatrics adopt this approach as well?

If the rate of serious vaccine effects in this population is 1-2%, what is
the rate in the general population?

Is autism more common in military families than the general population?
(Some anecdotal reports, at least, estimate the rate at about 1-in-80
children of US military personnel).

These seem like sensible questions to me. But I am not sure anyone will get
any answers that are any more sensible than those coming out of the AAP.

Dr. Jenkins spoke about 2-plus percent of children with "defects" putting
them at risk for vaccine injury. Is that the same 1-2 percent risk found by
the military? I have no idea.

But I did look up the rates for mild side effects from some common childhood
vaccines. Many of them were much higher than the "2-plus" percent cited by
Dr. Jenkins

The diphtheria -- tetanus-pertussis vaccine, for instance, carries a 25%
risk for fever, 25% for localized redness or swelling, and 25% for soreness
or tenderness where the shot was given. Haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB)
vaccine causes redness, warmth, or swelling where the shot was given in up
to 25% of children, and fever over 101 degrees Fahrenheit in up to 1 out of
20 children.

Which leads me to believe, sadly, that I defended Dr. Jenkins prematurely.
It would appear the AAP President is either misinformed, or not telling the
whole truth.

But we will never know. This afternoon, the AAP wrote to me to say they
would have no further comment on Dr. Jenkins's appearance on Good Morning
America.